This week’s new release comes from the Chicago-based Cedille label, and it features Grammy-winning oboist Alex Klein.
The native Brazilian was the renowned principal oboist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for many years, but battled a debilitating condition called focal dystonia that affects his control of the fingers on his left hand.
Klein now manages the condition through a grueling daily routine, but it’s paid off.
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He won the 2002 Grammy for Best Instrumental Solo Performance with Orchestra and has been lauded by critics for beautiful tone and “effortless grace.”
His new release, “Twentieth Century Oboe Sonatas,” includes six sonatas for oboe and piano, all with pianist Phillip Bush; the composers range from the more traditional Camille Saint-Saens to the rarely heard Eugène Bozza.
Klein wrote in the liner notes that he chose a combination of “meat and potatoes” of the oboe repertoire plus pieces that are personally important to him. He also reflected that “this may well be one of my last oboe statements.”
Here’s Klein in a video about the new recording:
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