Oboe between Virtuosity and Lyricism

The second and final concert of this year’s China Stage segment at KotorArt Don Branko’s Music Days, took place on Thursday, July 27. In the Church of the Holy Spirit, oboist Lin Qing performed. He is a professor at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdi Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig and at the Xi’an Conservatory of Music. Accompanied by pianist Liu Guijing, he presented works by contemporary composers Paul Patterson and Zhao Jiping. Additionally, the classical repertoire featuring works by Robert Schumann and Francis Poulenc was performed by the evening’s guest artist, young oboist Sandy Zhiy Xu.

Given that previous Chinese Stage performances at KotorArt have mainly featured young and talented performers, including music academy students, Lin Qing’s performance introduced an artist with significant performance experience and accomplished achievements in concerts around the world. In doing so, the KotorArt Festival and its partner in this program, the Shanghai International Cultural Association, presented an artist of great performing expertise. Lin Qing performs as a soloist, chamber and orchestral player. He has performed with symphony orchestras of Sichuan, Qingdao, Muko, and the Thailand Philharmonic. His talent has been recognized in Europe, and he was once the first and remains the only student from China under renowned Professor Maurice Bourgue. His performance at KotorArt commenced with an interpretation of Duologue, Op. 49 by Paul Patterson. Given the composition’s concept, content, and technical demands, Lin Qing displayed his virtuosic skills right from the start, relying on the toccata character of the piece and its complex rhythmic structure. The pronounced fragmentation of the composition and its almost pointillistic structure provided the artists with a roadmap to dramatize the dialogue on various levels. Alongside these recitative musical scenes, Lin Qing presented the lyrical side of the piece, emphasizing the specific timbre and utilizing the effective bisbigliando technique. Subsequently, the oboist demonstrated various performance techniques and a contemporary approach to the instrument through several solo compositions.

As a guest of the concert and a student of Lin Qing, young oboist Sandy Zhiy Xu performed two compositions from the standard oboe repertoire. Xu completed his studies at the Haute école de musique in Lausanne and is currently completing his master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig. For KotorArt, he selected pieces from the cycle 5 Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102 by Robert Schumann, and performed the Oboe Sonata by Francis Poulenc in its entirety. At the end of the concert, the three artists presented three songs by Felix Mendelssohn from the cycle Songs with piano accompaniment, Op. 63, originally written for duets of two vocal artists and piano. By highlighting the serene mood in the Abschiedslied der Zugvögel, the melancholic atmosphere in Herbstlied, and the playful character in Volkslied, the artists showcased Mendelssohn’s romantic style and evoked positive reactions from the audience in the packed Church of the Holy Spirit.

Boris Marković