Music Reviews : Oboist Thomas Gallant in Ambassador Recital

The oboe remains unlike the violin, piano or other frequently heard solo instruments. Even when used in the simplest of music, its complex timbre unavoidably gives the listener a more spicy and--when heard in long stretches--tiring experience.

It was a wise move, then, for oboist Thomas Gallant to keep his Monday evening recital at Ambassador Auditorium light and without weightiness. The result nonetheless displayed the talents of the Boston-born musician impressively, even though nothing in the program required a considerable amount of virtuosity.

Gallant plays intelligently, with remarkable agility in his high register and a special care for phrasing, allowing his instrument to sing. This was most apparent in his convincing performance of Schumann’s Three Romances, Opus 94, as well as the Adagio and Allegro, Opus 70, which is usually performed on the horn.

Accompanying Gallant, Emma Tahmisian’s superb pianism added exceptional support to the flowing, Romantic melody lines. She commands an aggressive style as forceful as it is accurate.

In the Los Angeles premiere of Michael Ruszczynski’s “Songs After Light” for oboe solo, a mixture of tonality and rhythmic regularity contrasted with angular, unpredictable melodies in a mostly unadventurous three-movement study. Also for oboe solo, three selections from Britten’s “Six Metamorphoses After Ovid” playfully used the double-reed sound of the oboe to mimic the ancient Greek aulos .

Hindemith’s Oboe Sonata proceeded satisfyingly, with the final fugue playing out heroically and brilliantly. Gallant’s arrangement of Dvorak’s Violin Sonatina, Opus 100, opened the program, aptly setting the light mood of the evening.