The ''Double Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet and Orchestra'' is a concerto for two soloists by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

composer

Leonardo Balada Leonardo Balada Ibáñez (born September 22, 1933) is a Catalan American classical composer, who is noted for his operas and orchestral works. Life Balada was born in Barcelona, Spain. After studying piano at the Conservatori Superior de M� ...

. It was finished in 2010

Composition

Balada's compositional career took place mostly in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

, as he has been teaching at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, where he is University Professor of Composition. As a result of this, he has dedicated some of his compositional endeavors to American countries, such as his first symphony. The Double Concerto was finished in 2010, and it features the composer's most recognizable trait: a fluctuation between his avant-garde style and folk music. In this case, he uses two very well known

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

folk melodies. The concerto was commissioned by Rudy Weingartner and is dedicated to him, to Eleanor Weingartner, a clarinetist, and Miguel Salazar, an oboist. Balada also made a reduction for two soloists and piano in 2010. The premiere was given by all three dedicatees with the

Orquesta Filarmónica del Estado de Querétaro The Orquesta Filarmónica del Estado de Querétaro (English: Querétaro Philharmonic Orchestra) is a philharmonic orchestra based in the Mexican state of Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of th ...

on July 8, 2011. The concerto was published by Beteca Music.

Structure

The concerto is only in one movement and has a total duration of about 18 minutes. It is scored for two

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

s, two

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

s, one

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

, a

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

section, a

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

, a

string section The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In ...

, a solo clarinet and a solo oboe.

Recordings

The following is a list of notable recordings of this piece in chronological order: * The

Málaga Philharmonic The Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra ( 'OFM') is a Spanish orchestra based in Málaga. Founded in 1991, the Philharmonic plays regularly at the in Málaga. Since 2014, its principal conductor has been Manuel Hernández-Silva. History The Málaga P ...

recorded the piece under

Edmon Colomer Edmon Colomer is a Spanish conductor from Barcelona. He conducted Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' in 1991, in which Paco de Lucia Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in ...

with soloists Emanuel Abbühl and Joan Enric Lluna for

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records, which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

in 2012.

References

{{Leonardo Balada 2010 compositions Compositions by Leonardo Balada Concertos for multiple instruments Oboe concertos Clarinet concertos