RVW: Oboe concerto (Concerto for oboe and strings)

[Pulcinella]

This delightful work is the subject of The Gramophone Collection in the June 2023 edition of Gramophone.

Of the 17 versions considered, there's hardly a dud, but their recommendations are as follows:

A hidden gem: David Theodore/LSO/Bryden Thomson (Chandos)
The view from abroad: Lajos Lencsés/Budapest Strings/Béla Bánfalvi (Capriccio)
A close second choice: Stéphane Rancourt/Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder (Hallé)
The top choice: Nicolas Daniel/Britten Sinfonia (Harmonia Mundi)

I don't have any of those, the ones on my shelves being
John Williams/Bournemouth SO/Paavo Berglund
Celia Nicklin/ASMF/Neville Marriner
Maurice Bourge/English String Orchestra/William Boughton (one of the few to get a thumbs down!)
Roger Winfield/Northern Sinfonia/Richard Hickox
Jonathan Small/RLPO/Vernon Handley

The work crops up in passing in posts, but still seems relatively unknown. Certainly worth a listen if you don't know it.

[Petrushka]

The only one I have is Evelyn Rothwell and the London Symphony Orchestra/Sir John Barbirolli which surely must be considered as the 'historical choice' recorded, in mono, in July 1955. Wasn't it written for Rothwell in mind?

[Pulcinella]

The only one I have is Evelyn Rothwell and the London Symphony Orchestra/Sir John Barbirolli which surely must be considered as the 'historical choice' recorded, in mono, in July 1955. Wasn't it written for Rothwell in mind?

Léon Goosens should have given the premiere at the Proms on 5 July 1944, in the RAH (moved there following the bombing of the Queen's Hall), but the season was abandoned, and the actual premiere was in Liverpool on 30 September 1944 (Goosens, Liverpool Philharmonic, Malcolm Sargent). Goosens recorded it in 1952, but it was not released until 1963 (available on YouTube), by which time the Rothwell/LSO/Barbirolli (1955) had appeared (though an earlier studio concert performance by Janet Craxton has since been resurrected).

[Petrushka]

Léon Goosens should have given the premiere at the Proms on 5 July 1944, in the RAH (moved there following the bombing of the Queen's Hall), but the season was abandoned, and the actual premiere was in Liverpool on 30 September (Goosens, Liverpool Philharmonic, Malcolm Sargent). Goosens recorded it in 1952, but it was not released until 1963 (available on YouTube), by which time the Rothwell/LSO/Barbirolli (1955) had appeared (though an earlier studio concert performance by Janet Craxton has since been resurrected.

Thanks for that. I haven't yet had my copy of the June Gramophone and presumably all that information is in the article.

[Pulcinella]

Thanks for that. I haven't yet had my copy of the June Gramophone and presumably all that information is in the article.

Yes! I should perhaps have said.

[smittims]

I've always slightly preferred Rothwell to Goossens in this work; perhaps the presence of Barbirolli makes it more sparkling. I also treasure an off-air recording by Jennifer Galloway and Juanjo Mena.