Cologne Atherosclerosis Conference no 2 Lipids

The oboe was a special instrument for Bruno Maderna, and he filled these three concertos (composed in 1962-3, 1967 and 1973) with solo lines in which sharply fragmented and fluently rhapsodic materials constantly interact. Heinz Holliger, in turn, pours all his unrivalled dexterity and capacity for infinitely varied expressive nuance into the performances here. Yet the music remains problematic.

What you will hear is a performance and recording that is not unlike 'The Stokowski Sound.' Deep, rich and firm bass line, smooth strings and lushness around. The soloists are as romantic. The second movement of the double concerto is a love duet. It has a beauty that literally arrests you.

Smetana was a musician of great talent who, in self-imposed exile from his native Bohemia, taught music and composition in Göteberg, Sweden. Like other Bohemian artists and musicians in the mid of the 19th century, Smetana longed for the day when his native land would be free from the oppression of its Austrian masters. After the Austro-Hungarian Empire granted political sovereignty to Bohemia, Smetana and other Czech composers could finally return to their home- land to create a national cultural identity for the self-governing provinces.