Taming The Impossible
Navona, 2025
9/10
Listen to Taming The Impossible
The Grammy Award Winner, Alex Klein, has turned playing the oboe into a refined science, and here we’re treated to 8 tracks that occasionally welcome help from others.
“Three Characteristic Studies”, by Antonino Pasculli, begins with 3 chapters of dizzying and mesmerizing oboe playing amid Pasculli’s contributions that add much unpredictability, and Niccolò Paganini’s “Perpetual Motion” follows with Alessandra Odazaki’s upbeat keys interacting with Klein’s swift oboe.
In the middle, Paganini’s “Caprices For Solo Oboe” occupies 12 segments of solo oboe acrobatics that are nothing short of stunning, while “L’Abeille”, by François Schubert, swirls with an atypical energy that makes great use of Christopher Thompson’s skilled piano.
Thompson is also present for the last 2 tracks, where Grigoraș Dinicu’s “Hora Staccato” resonates a festive mood of intricate progressions, and Ernesto Nazareth’s “o Fubá (A Sparrow on the Cornmeal)” illustrates quick, adventurous and memorable songwriting.
A highly technical body of work that explores the many facets of the oboe, Klein has overcome focal dystonia and proceeded with a luminous career, as evidenced by this fascinating album.
Travels well with: Lawrence Mumford- Symphony No. 4: For The Soul; Talon Smith- Debut