Sad Steps

This collection of music for oboe offers six examples of the instrument's singular affinity to express grief and suffering. Each piece is concerned primarily with tragedy and loss in various forms, and in each case the composer has gravitated toward the voice of the oboe to portray the emotional dissonances and psychological complexities of the material at hand. Yet within these diverse works we find anger, defiance, resignation, nostalgia, hope and transcendence in addition to sadness and mourning. Oboist Mark Hill's versatile career has spanned a broad range of orchestral, chamber, and solo performing while maintaining a consistent commitment to teaching. He is currently principal oboe of the National Philharmonic and a member of the Left Bank Concert Society. A graduate of the State University of New York-Stony Brook, he is professor of oboe and chamber music at the University of Maryland School of Music in College Park. This is his second recording for Albany Records.