I Virtuosi Italiani: Oboe d'Amore

About the Event

In this highly‐anticipated concert, hear the mellifluous sounds of classical music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Pachelbel and Antonio Lotti at Verona's treasured and world‐renowned San Pietro in Monastero.
In woodwind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet) the name “d'amore” (of love) derives from the fact that they are tuned to A, in the case of the oboe, a minor third lower.
The case of the Viola is different, where probably the definition “d'Amore” derives from “Moorish” because of that series of thin metal strings that pass under the fingerboard and that vibrate sympathetically, giving the sound an oriental color.
The Oboe d'Amore, slightly longer than the Oboe and with a pear‐shaped bell, was widely used in the music of J.S. Bach, G. Ph. Telemann, Ch. Graupner, J. D. Heinichen, A. Lotti and others from its inception at the end of the 17th century.
After this flourishing period, the oboe d'amore practically fell into disuse, until the start of the “Bach renaissance” by F. Mendelssohn‐Bartholdy, who in 1829 in Leipzig revived the St. Matthew Passion, there was a need for Oboe d'Amore with updated mechanics. The Baroque Oboe d'Amore, in fact, made of boxwood, had only two keys, whereas in the mid‐nineteenth century harder woods were already being used, and the key system had grown to 13 keys.
We know that for the Leipzig performance, Clarinets were used instead of Oboes da Caccia, while the part of the Oboe d'Amore was entrusted to the Oboe or the English Horn, depending on the register.
In 1874 the Director of the Brussels Conservatory, F.A. Gevaert, commissioned V.Ch. Mahillon to build a “modern” Oboe d'Amore, which in reality had a bell with a pavilion, like the Oboe. It would be the French makers Triebert and Lorée who would restore the pear‐shaped bell.
The evolution of the oboe d'amore inspired its use by composers such as R. Strauss (in his “Domestic Symphony”), C. Debussy (in “Images”), M. Ravel (in “Bolero”)… and at the end of the 20th century by composers such as B. Maderna, P. Renosto, G. Sinopoli, L. Singer, Ch. Koechlin, G. Ligeti….

PAOLO POLLASTRI oboe
has been principal oboe soloist of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia since 1990. Born in Bologna in 1960, he graduated with honors under the guidance of Sidney Gallesi, and then specialized at the Accademia Chigiana with Lothar Faber (Diploma of Honor 1977) and at the Brussels Conservatory with P. Dombrecht (Premier Prix in modern and baroque oboe 1982). Winner of numerous national and international competitions, he was first oboe in many orchestras (OGI – Orchestra Giovanile Italiana 1977, Teatro Comunale di Genova 1979, Orchestra RAI di Roma 1981, ORT – Orchestra della Toscana 1982‐1990) and has performed as a soloist with the ORT and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, with the Solisti Veneti, the Accademia Bizantina, the Virtuosi Italiani, the Symphonia Perusina…, under the direction of Carlo Maria Giulini, Wolfgang Sawallish, Antonio Pappano, Daniele Gatti, Piero Bellugi, Claudio Scimone, Herbert Handt, Antoni Ros Marbà, Janos Acs, participating in the Salzburg, Montreaux, Zagreb and Belgrade, Martigny and Vevey, Paris, Toulouse, Stuttgart, Lucerne, Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Tel Aviv festivals. He has performed chamber music with pianists Myung‐Whun Chung, Antonio Pappano, Alexander Lonquich, Michele Campanella, with the Chicago String Trio, the Amati Quartet, with the Novecento Wind Quintet and the Italian Wind Ensemble. He has recorded more than 200 CDs for Erato, Emi France, Denon, Tactus, Fonè, Materiali Sonori, Musica Immagine, Europa Musica, Arts, Stradivarius, Brilliant and Naïve. Two CDs with Modo Antiquo received a Grammy Award nomination in Los Angeles in 1997 and 2000. He is the only Italian oboist to have recorded Luciano Berio's Sequenza VII for solo oboe under the supervision of the Maestro, Bruno Maderna's Solo per Musetta, Oboe, Oboe d'amore e Corno inglese, and recently Gabriel's Oboe by Ennio Morricone with the Archi di Santa Cecilia. Winner of the National Competition for Teaching in Conservatories, he taught at the Fiesole School of Music from 1993 to 2000. He has held numerous Masterclasses for the Higher Two‐Year Course in Conservatories (Bologna, Rovigo, Novara, Nocera Terinese) and is regularly invited to Summer Specialization Courses (Bevagna, Portogruaro, Città di Castello, Lanciano, Belluno, Barberino Val d'Elsa, Pistoia, Trevi, Cava dei Tirreni, Naples). In 2005 he founded the Accademia Barocca di Santa Cecilia, the only chamber group that uses period instruments created within a permanent orchestra, with which, in the dual role of conductor and soloist, he inaugurated the Baroque Festivals of Viterbo, Noto, Ottawa and Montreal, also participating in the live RAI television broadcast of the 2007 Christmas Concert, organized by the Senate of the Italian Republic. Since 2013, with the collaboration of Federico Maria Sardelli, the Accademia Barocca has been a constant feature of the Chamber Music Seasons of Santa Cecilia. Since 2016 he has been Artistic Director of the Anciuti Music Festival.