Britten: Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe, Op. 49

In the orchestra, the oboe gives the tuning A on account of the richness of its harmonics and its stability, but it is also a solo instrument in its own right. Céline Moinet begins her collaboration with harmonia mundi with a veritable tour de force, combining in her programme repertoire separated by more than 200 years. Hence JS and CPE Bach resonate with the 20th century of Benjamin Britten, Luciano Berio and Elliott Carter, in a project that combines exceptional musical coherence with gentle sonority.

Born in Lille in 1984, Céline Moinet studied oboe and chamber music at the Paris Conservatoire in the classes of David Walter and Maurice Bourgue. She also studied the Baroque oboe with Marcel Ponseele and Xenia Löffler. In 2004 and 2005 she completed her orchestral training as a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester under the direction of Claudio Abbado. After this experience, she was invited to appear as guest principal with leading German orchestras and since June 2008 she has been the principal oboe of the celebrated Staatskapelle Dresden. In the autumn of 2011, she was invited by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to appear on an extended tour of Asia and Australia. Céline Moinet performs regularly in solo and chamber repertoire and at the invitation of Fabio Luisi, she has given recitals and masterclasses at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo. Céline Moinet plays an oboe by Marigaux of Paris.

All the beauty, colourfulness and diversity expressed by a solo oboe...

How many timbres, shades and characters can a melodic instrument express? The repertoire for solo oboe is sparse, yet oboists can boast of a true gem: the inspiration brought to Benjamin Britten by the oboe and the verse of the Roman poet Ovid gave rise to the cycle Six Metamorphoses. In six personifications (Pan, Phaeton, Niobe, Bacchus, Narcissus, Arethusa), the impeccably refined miniatures represent contradictory human features. A similar abundance of characters is also rendered by the collection of Twelve Fantasias by G. P. Telemann, one of the most productive composers of all time. This unique cycle was originally intended for the transverse flute, yet its being played by the oboe is fully in keeping with the Baroque performance practice, affording the soloist the opportunity to display to the full the instrument’s virtuosity, as well as the wide colour scale and expressive abilities. A repertoire spanning the period between Baroque and contemporary music is one of the most salient features of the recording’s protagonist, Vilém Veverka, the winner of a number of international competitions and an acclaimed soloist. The 70 minutes simply fly by when listening to a solitary oboe in the hands of an artist of such distinction.