By Tahlia Lamey and Rachel Bruerville
‘Dees’ and ‘Beep’ are distinguished by their artistic courage, curiosity, and magical sense of humour, and it is these characteristics that composer Nigel Westlake has sought to capture in a new commission for this concert: Three Pieces for Oboe and Piano.
“Diana and Bernadette have a very special chemistry,” Nigel reflects. “They’ve got a very similar sense of humour, they’re both incredibly accomplished and brilliant musicians, and I really wanted to bring that to the fore.”
While Nigel grew up with Bernadette and they attended Sydney’s Conservatorium High School together, his relationship with Diana flourished after composing his oboe concerto Spirit of the Wild, which the Sydney Symphony Orchestra premiered in 2016.
“It’s a piece specifically written for her, and the process of writing it really cemented our relationship as very dear friends and colleagues. I became quite excited about the possibilities of the oboe, because you don’t often hear it played the way she plays it, and that’s an inspiring thing for a composer to work with.”
Diana’s memory mirrors the composer’s: “I think Nigel is one of those people who, when he writes for you, really needs to know you as a person and a player. Part of the process for him was sitting down and having a drink together, and just getting to know each other. I love that about him. I’ve noticed that every composer has their own process, and I feel that it’s really important to listen and understand how they work, and try and work with that.”
Not entirely satisfied with the existing repertoire for oboe, Diana is excited by the potential for new works to defy the norm and push her into unknown territory.
“I think composers traditionally thought of the oboe as a ‘character instrument’: the mournful one, or the bouncy one. There are exceptions, of course, but the range can be quite limited, so this new piece is such a fantastic opportunity. It’s more than twenty minutes long, which for oboe is a substantial length, and it explores a whole range of emotions and characters: there’s action, there’s excitement, there’s humour, there’s pathos. I really wanted the whole program to hero his piece, which is why it is the only work in the second half of the concert.”
Nigel extrapolates on how these diverse characters are deeply inspired by the duo he was writing for.
“There’s no narrative to the work, but I think the movement titles suggest a musical characteristic for each movement. The first one, Whirlijig, is quite playful, a bit cheeky. I can’t help being influenced a bit by Prokofiev – but also, in true Diana-style, it exploits the nuance and the technical virtuosity of her capabilities on the instrument, which are very exciting to listen to and wonderful to work with.
“Soon after I started writing this, Diana was talking to me about the fact that she’d started studying jazz piano. I’m not a jazz player at all, but the second movement, The Moon in Broad Daylight, is a bit jazz-tinged in its harmonic flavour. It’s also very slow-moving, and it features the oboe playing these long, sustained lines, which Diana is incredible at.
“It’s quite a soulful, emotional movement – quite moody as well. It puts the oboe in a whole different perspective in between the other two movements, because as you might assume, The Side of You That Dances is also quite a playful piece, pushing the boundaries of extreme virtuosity on both piano and oboe. All three movements are an even dialogue between piano and oboe – they both have a lot of hard work to do!”
In a program that celebrates friendship in many forms, it’s fitting that the Three Pieces have been co-commissioned by people very dear to Diana. “I met the Kaldors through Ross and Helen Edwards, and when we did the Edwards Concerto in New York, Andrew and Renata came over for it. It was a magical time and we became very good friends on that trip.
“Several years ago, my partner Alexandre (Principal Cor Anglais in the SSO) met his chair sponsor, Gillian Eldershaw, and we all became firm friends. Gillian is a lawyer, but also has a keen interest in playing the oboe. I think this is wonderful for her, being an oboist herself, to be able to contribute to this really important work.”
After receiving its premiere at UKARIA, Nigel and Diana are hopeful that this piece will gradually establish its place in the oboe repertory. “That’s the best-case scenario, absolutely, that more people pick it up and play it. I would love that,” Nigel says humbly.
For Diana to have her name stamped on it, is hopefully a testament to the work that she’s done on the instrument and the legacy that will live on in this way. That’s what you hope for – you never know until that actually happens though, do you?
“One thing I said to Diana was ‘wouldn’t it be great to turn this into a concerto?!’ If not a concerto, then maybe a chamber work with string quartet, piano, percussion… I think that would be amazing.
“In Spirit of the Wild, the oboe was the protagonist, whereas this one is for both of us: oboe and piano,’ Diana says. ‘I love that it’s a bit different from Spirit, and I’m so excited about it. I really like the piece, and I really hope other oboists will take it up in the future too, because I think it’s a fantastic addition to the repertoire.”
Main image by Dylan Henderson.
Diana Doherty and Bernadette Harvey premiere Nigel Westlake’s Three Pieces for Oboe and Piano on Sunday 7 September. Book tickets here.
