Robert & Clara Schumann: Works for Oboe & Piano – Nicholas Daniel & Julius Drake

One of Britain’s best-known musicians, Nicholas Daniel OBE won the BBC Young Musician competition in 1980, after which he quickly established his career, travelling all over the world, broadcasting widely, and making his début at the BBC Proms. He has premièred hundreds of works for the oboe and made many critically acclaimed recordings of both new and familiar music. As a soloist he has appeared with the world’s leading orchestras, performing a huge range of repertoire and premièring works written specially for him by many of the world’s greatest composers. He is a founder member of the Britten Sinfonia, Haffner Wind Ensemble, Orsino Ensemble, and Britten Oboe Quartet.

This programme features a wide selection of chamber music by Robert Schumann, alongside the Three Romances by Clara Schumann. At the time these pieces were written, there was a rapidly growing interest in amateur music making in the home, fuelled by a burgeoning middle class. Brahms, Schumann, and Mendelssohn all contributed significantly to the array of works published for this market, and it was quite normal practise for parts to be substituted for whatever instruments happened to be available. So, although the Three Romances, Op. 94 are the only works here originally composed for the oboe, the programme is not only musically rewarding in its own right, but also in keeping with what the Schumanns would have considered normal practise.

** The Guardian 15th August 2024

“only Robert’s Drei Romanzen Op 94 were originally intended for oboe and piano…But it’s a measure of the care and sensitivity that Daniel and Drake bring to everything they play that there is never any sense of awkwardness or falseness. Schumann’s lyricism flows beautifully from Daniel’s oboe in every phrase…this one is pure delight from first note to last. – 5 out of 5 stars