Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra: ‘Desert Wind’ (2024)

Desert winds shape sand dunes and, over time, the movement of this sand forms peculiar sculptures from cliffs. If we try to imagine thousands of years of sculpting as happening in a short timespan, we can find similarities in the musical material of my oboe concerto – both in the dynamic between the soloist and the orchestra, and among the various instrument groups in the orchestra itself.

From time to time, human societies draw inspiration from crazy ideas, and the actions of those who are fanatically overcome by these ideas sweep over entire countries and nations like the desert wind, trying to reshape everything. Even composers cannot escape the Zeitgeist – what they are fascinated or terrified by also transfers into their work. Still, I want to emphasise that this composition is not programmatic – rather, the title should be interpreted as a small incentive to spark the imagination of the audience. Despite their eloquent titles, my symphonies and instrumental concertos do not follow any specific narrative. There is always more than one story. In fact, there are as many stories as there are creative listeners.

This concerto takes time to “get started”. The oboe solo begins with long melodic arcs born from sound effects, surrounded by an expanding and increasingly dense orchestral sound. It seems as if the soloist is slowly awakening from a spellbound dream and starting to realise everything that has happened around them. After the first orchestral section, the oboe steps into direct dialogue with various solo instruments and instrument groups. The soloist is increasingly integrated into the overall orchestral sound. The oboe part performs motifs inspired by microintervals, mirrored by the brass section introducing their own microintervals to “bend the horizon”.

After a grand culmination, the tempo and character of the piece changes, accentuated by the jazz-like rhythm of percussion instruments. However, the mood is far from gleeful entertainment. Rather, it reminds us of a caravan that has veered off course and is approaching its inevitable doom. Further development leads us to the soloist’s cadenza that lasts for a couple of bars and then swirls into free improvisation. This is followed by an intense coda-like final part.

The oboe concerto is dedicated to Kalev Kuljus, to whom I am also grateful for all his proposed special effects and multiphonics.

 Erkki-Sven Tüür

(translated from Estonian by Pirjo Jonas)