Search - Alex Klein, Phillip Bush :: Alex Klein: 20th Century Oboe Sonatas

Grammy Award-winner Alex Klein, former principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, performs sonatas that signify the oboes 20th-century reemergence as a brilliant solo instrument. One of the worlds most famous oboe players, Klein says he waited to acquire a professional lifetimes worth of experience before putting his stamp on the six sonatas heard here. With pianist Phillip Bush, Klein plays works that he says define the modern oboe: Camille Saint-Saëns jovial, late-Romantic Sonata for Oboe and Piano, Op. 166; York Bowens lushly beautiful Sonata for Oboe and Pianoforte, Op. 85; Henri Dutilleuxs emotionally wide-ranging Sonata for Oboe and Piano; Petr Ebens youthful, inventive Oboe Sonata, Op.1; Francis Poulencs late, philosophical Sonata for Oboe and Piano, FP 185; and Eugène Bozzas Sonata for Oboe and Piano, an ethereal, rarely heard tour de force. Klein possesses a tone so unique and beautiful that musicians from around the globe would flock to [Chicagos] Symphony Center to hear him play (Chicago Magazine). He won a Grammy Award in 2002 for Best Instrumental Solo Performance (with Orchestra) for his recording of Richard Strausss oboe concerto with conductor Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.