Double-Reed Chamber Music: Then and Now

In 1719 the aristocratic Schwarzenberg family inherited the huge castle of Český Krumlov in south-western Bohemia, reviving its distinguished but dormant musical tradition with a new ensemble of two oboes, two cors anglais, two bassoons and two horns, active from 1771 onwards. These musicians soon provided the foundation for a wave of chamber music featuring double-reed woodwind instruments that flourished as the instruments improved. It reached its peak of popularity in Vienna in the last two decades of the century, but has remained largely unknown since then. This series unites past and present by combining some of the scores researched in the Český Krumlov archives (including a 1799 handwritten copy of Beethoven’s 1794 C major oboe trio, which suggests it was a Schwarzenberg commission) with works composed more recently – mainly by oboe-playing composers.

Lonarc Oboe Trio
Joseph Sanders, oboe
Owen Dennis, oboe
Judy Proctor, cor anglais