Peggy's Notes on Our Season of Haydn
As an oboist, I often think I am the luckiest person alive because I have the Bach cantata repertoire. Perhaps this should be enough to keep an oboist going! However, as the artistic director of a chamber series (who enjoys performing), I struggle with the fact that the chamber music repertoire for oboe is limited. Coming up with programs involving the oboe is a challenge, but it's a good challenge to have. That is why I have been commissioning new compositions and transcribing classical works for oboe since we started Winsor Music.
When I do a transcription, I try hard not to annoy my audience and musician friends by avoiding pieces that are well-known or performed often. Early on, I started with rarely performed Bach and Brahms organ works; I moved on to Webern, Landini and Clara Schumann. John Harbison was the one who suggested I take a look at Haydn.
Professional string quartets are playing less and less Haydn: Hah! what are they thinking? I love Haydn, and if they are not going to play Haydn, I am. If I can make a string quartet work for oboe, I’m going to arrange it!
So when one of my board members suggested that I should program Haydn on every concert, I went for it. The Haydn trio on Sunday’s concert was originally composed for flute, cello and piano. I programmed this work because it is a concise and spirited piece, and because I love playing it-- but more importantly, I really wanted to play with George Li!
We would like to take this opportunity to announce that Peggy's transcription of Haydn's Quartet in D Minor, Op. 42, No. 1, is now available as a digital download!
Franz Josef Haydn’s darkly evocative Quartet in D minor, composed in 1785, arranged to include oboe by Peggy Pearson, and here available as a PDF download.
Quartet in D minor, Op. 42, Hob. III:43
1. Andante ed innocentemente
2. Menuetto. Allegretto – Trio
3. Adagio e cantabile
4. Finale. Presto