Madam Laschanzky: Oboe Concerto / Katherine Needleman

Madam Laschanzky (dates and nationality unknown): Oboe Concerto in B Flat Major
Restored, Edited, and Arranged by Katherine Needleman

I. Allegro 0:05
II. Siciliana 3:07
III. Vivace 5:31

Katherine Needleman, oboe
Madeleine Jansen, violin
Cora Cooper, violin
Russell Clark, viola
Rachel Dirks, cello

Madam Laschanzky is a mystery, and so is her Oboe Concerto in B Flat Major. Her nationality, dates (late 18th century?), and first name are only a guess at this point. I found the parts (there was no score despite my looking very hard) for this concerto in several places on the internet, though the hard copies are in a library in Germany. They were handwritten, potentially in Madam Laschanzky's hand, or someone else's--it is really anyone's guess. Since the parts were full of all types of errors and inconsistencies, I have done my best to correct them in a compelling way. The parts sold here required quite a bit of restoration, "filling in the blanks" and "letting go of the Urtext," if you will--lovingly done, if not intelligently and authentically so.

This piece, an oboe concerto by a Baroque woman composer, is fully under the control of an early high school oboist, someone who could play the Marcello Concerto. I would grade it a 4 or 5 based upon the scale the Maryland Music Educators Association has put forth with other repertoire for their Solo and Ensemble Festivals.

This three-movement work runs between eight and ten minutes in length. Here it is performed with string quartet, one player to each orchestral part. It is also available in piano reduction and can be heard in that format in a performance by the restorer/editor/arranger here:    • Madam Laschanzky: Oboe Concerto in B ...  

Orchestral parts and score, as well as piano reduction and a solo part with some articulation and ornamentation suggestions are available at katherineneedleman.com/publications .