John Williams's Oboe Concerto was made available commercially on Williams's 81st birthday. It was written specially for Boston Pops oboist Keisuke Wakao and performed with the accompaniment of the Boston Pops Orchestra, conducted by John Williams himself. The entire concerto is about 19 minutes long, but my comments will focus on the "Prelude" movement.
The movement starts with a jaunty theme from the strings before the oboe joins in. The oboe gives off a lighthearted vibe, akin to traipsing deer, flighty birds, or wispy grass. As it proceeds, the accompanying strings take on darker overtones, and the oboe becomes more cautious sounding. The strings try to recapture the gentleness from the beginning before becoming even more ominous.
The strings give way to the oboe, which flits and darts musically while the strings slow builds again in the background. This time, the strings climax on a smoother, more melodic theme bringing back the calmer tone from the start of the movement. This calmer tone remains for the rest of the piece, ending on the oboe by itself.
I enjoyed listening to this movement. It gave me both the feeling of optimism as well as a weariness or doubt as the middle of the movement has a more dissonant vibe. With the oboe, I can't shake an image of nature, of some lone creature or plant in the middle of a large forest fending for itself. The music itself is somewhat ambiguous so other interpretations could be read into it.
