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Camille Saint-Saëns

Oboe Sonata (Saint-Saëns)

Camille Saint-Saëns's Oboe Sonata in D major, Op. 166 was composed in 1921, the year of the composer's death. This sonata is the first of the three sonatas that Saint-Saëns composed for wind

Structure#

It is written in three movements: The movements are not ordered according to the traditional fast-slow-fast sonata system. The tempo of the movements increases successively. The first movement, Andantino, is music of a pastoral kind, in ternary form ABA. The opening theme of the oboe solo is an echo of the Westminster Quarters. The core of the second movement is a Romance, marked Allegretto. It is preceded by an introduction and followed by an epilogue. The introduction and epilogue are marked ad libitum - that is, the performer is free to choose the tempo considered most appropriate. The last movement, titled Molto allegro, short and brilliant, has passages of great difficulty and virtuosity.

    • , performed by Francesco Di Rosa and Akanè Makita
Composer
Camille Saint-Saëns