Title notes: Albinoni, J.S. Bach, Cimarosa, Marcello, Sammartini, Telemann Heinz Holliger, the Swiss composer and oboist has made a huge contribution to the rediscovery of little known and neglected works for the instrument. He has also been responsible for many new compositions for the oboe, and his repertoire ranges from the baroque as heard on these 3 CDs, through the classical era of Stamitz, Krommer, Hummel, Moscheles, Mozart, Bellini and Fiala to the avant-garde where he has worked closely with Pierre Boulez. The oboe was developed from the medieval Shawn, which was a development of the Arabic instruments that would have been heard by crusaders in the Middle East during the 12th-14th centuries. The earliest ‘modern’ oboes appeared in the 1660s, and it had by this time adopted a more flexible and softer sound making it possible to play together with violins. Its popularity spread from France where these innovations to the instrument took place, to Germany and importantly to centres of musical excellence in Italy – notably Venice where composers such as Lotti, Marcello and Albinoni worked. The Venetian musical scene inspired Bach – he adapted Vivaldi concertos for the keyboard, and Marcello’s concertos may well have provided the inspiration for his own concertos BWV1053/5/9. Booklet essay. Recordings made in 1981, 1982 and 1986. ‘I found plenty of things to enjoy in Holliger’s performances of these oboe concerto reconstructions. His sensibility to Bach’s melodic line together with a formidable technique to sustain it make for playing which is anything but routine – his account of the slow movement of the F major Concerto (BWV1053) is as lyrical as one could wish for’ (Bach) Gramophone, January 1986 ‘I thoroughly enjoyed this LP, especially on account of Holliger’s mastery of his instrument and for the opportunity of hearing three unfamiliar concertos’ (Telemann) Gramophone, May 1983 “Period-instrument purists might find the performing style...rather old-fashioned, but Holliger is so technically impeccable and musically intelligent that such niceties fade into insignificance.” (The Guardian, 29th July 2010) "“There’s a meticulousness about everything [Holliger] does. The tone is sinewy and lean, but exquisitely beautiful, the phrasing charged with the nervous intensity that is his hallmark. It’s good now to be able to relish guiltlessly the warm support of the lush string playing...This is a delightful recital.” (The Sunday Times, 12th September 2010)