In late 1936, Stravinsky was at the end of an exhausting concert tour of Europe, South America, and the United States. He was able to relax for a time at Dumbarton Oaks, the estate of his friends Robert and Mildred Bliss, in the Georgetown suburb of Washington, DC. The Blisses were a true “power couple” in Washington society. Robert Woods Bliss was a respected retired diplomat, and his wife Mildred—whom British art historian Kenneth Clark called “the Queen of Georgetown”—were philanthropists and generous patrons of the arts. Mildred Bliss offered Stravinsky a commission of $2500 for a composition honoring the Blisses’ 30th wedding anniversary. Stravinsky completed the concerto in March 1938. It would in fact be the last composition that he completed in Europe, prior to his return to the United States in 1939. Stravinsky lived in United States for the rest of his life, and would become an American citizen in 1945.

Like most of his works of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s Stravinsky’s Dumbarton Oaks can be described with the rather slippery term “Neoclassical.” One of the dominant musical idioms of the early 20th century, Neoclassical compositions reject both the emotionalism of Romantic music, and the more shocking elements of the early 20th-century avant garde. Stravinsky and others adopted 18th-century forms of Mozart and Bach as the basis of their compositions, using the clear and logical forms of 18th-century music to explore musical ideas in a rational and sometimes ironic way. This is often described as simply “music about music”—that is, there is no story line or emotional interpretation implied or needed. In Dumbarton Oaks, he referred to Bach—Stravinsky called it “a little concerto in the style of the Brandenburg concertos.” It is scored for flute, clarinet, bassoon, two horns, and strings. The scoring of the strings, in groups of three, is in fact the same as in the Brandenburg Concerto No.3, which follows this work on our program, and Stravinsky’s viola part actually quotes Bach’s theme in the first movement. Stravinsky noted that “I do not think that Bach would have begrudged me the loan of these ideas and materials, as borrowing in this way was something he liked to do himself.”

Though the harmonies, constantly-changing meters, and spiky melodies of the opening movement (Allegro giusto) are unmistakably by Stravinsky, it works very much like a Baroque concerto: short solo passages alternating with the full ensemble, and a central fugue-style episode. A sudden change of texture provides a link to the Allegretto. This opens with an oddly-accented string figure that expands into extensive solos for the woodwinds. There is a contrasting middle section, where short woodwind solos play against a static string background, before the opening idea returns, now with elaborate decoration by the flute. Once again, Stravinsky ends with a short passage that links to the next movement (Con moto). The third movement begins with short figures set above a plodding background from the low strings, before the horns announce a fugue theme. What sounds very much like Baroque hunting-horn music leads into a furious string passage that ends the first section. The middle section has brief, relaxed duets passed around the orchestra from pair to pair. A densely-scored transition leads to an energetic coda.

We generally think of Bach’s six “Brandenburg” concertos as a set. In 1720, Bach copied these works into a presentation manuscript, as part of a job application for a position in the musical establishment of Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg. The Margrave did not offer Bach a job, but he did have the historical good fortune to save the manuscript! For that reason alone, his name has been applied to some of the finest orchestral music of the Baroque era. In reality, Bach’s manuscript of “concertos for various instruments” represents a collection of works that he wrote over a period of nearly a decade, for a wide variety of situations. It is not surprising, therefore, that the range of musical styles contained in this set is so wide. The “Brandenburgs” contain both fine ensemble writing (as in the sixth concerto) and awesome virtuoso passages (as in the famous harpsichord solo of the fifth concerto or the trumpet part of the second). The group also contains both dance music (in No.1) and masterful contrapuntal writing (as in the finales of No. 3 and No. 5).

The dating of Concerto No. 3 is uncertain. Most of the Brandenburgs were composed after 1717, when Bach took a position as Kapellmeister (music director) to the provincial, but musically rich court of Cöthen. However, No. 3 may have been written even earlier, for court of Weimar, where Bach served as organist, and eventually as concertmaster, from 1708-1717. The Duke of Weimar’s court favored Italian music, and this concerto has a distinctly Italian sound. The scoring is unusual, however: parts for three violins, three violas, and three cellos, with basso continuo. The usual form of a Baroque concerto calls for a soloist or small group of soloists to play in alternation with the entire ensemble—with all players joining in for passages known as ritornellos. In the opening Allegro, Bach turns this on its head. The ritornellos are played in relatively simple three-part texture, but in the intervening sections, Bach writes dazzling nine-part counterpoint. In essence he calls on the entire orchestra as soloists. (Never one to avoid reusing good music, in 1729 Bach recycled this movement as the overture to his Cantata No. 174.) In place of the usual slow movement, there is just a pair of chords. Bach’s intention here is unclear, though it may have been that these chords gave a violinist or the harpsichord continuo player space to improvise. In this performance harpsichord plays a brief interlude above the chords, They may also be used as a simple bridge between the two fast movements. The final Allegro is mostly a grand fugue, in which each line develops a dance-inspired subject at breakneck speed.

Dr. Laura Arganbright is in demand as a freelance oboist with a diverse portfolio of musical projects including performance, education, and reed-making. She currently holds the principal oboe chairs with the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra and the Opera Neo summer program. She has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Arizona Philharmonic, Grand Junction Symphony, and in 2021, completed a 4-year fellowship as principal oboe of the American Youth Symphony. Laura’s 2019 world premier performance of the double oboe concerto Extra(ordinarily) Fancy by Viet Cuong was met with enthusiastic praise by audiences, including the composition and double reed communities. 

Laura is passionate about music education and fostering music appreciation in youths. She serves as the Recorder and Oboe Teaching Artist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic YOLA program, an El Sistema based organization that provides music education in traditionally underserved communities. Laura maintains a robust and competitive private studio and has operated a handmade oboe reed business since 2015. Equally enthusiastic about reed-making pedagogy, Laura has presented master classes at the University of Southern California and serves as the reed-making coach for all current oboe majors.

Laura completed the Doctor of Musical Arts at USC in 2018. She graduated with honors and was awarded the Brandon Mehrle Service Award in recognition of individuals who demonstrate extraordinary support of the Thornton School of Music through a commitment of energy and professional expertise. Laura’s teachers include Marion Kuszyk, Joel Timm, and Martin Schuring. When not playing oboe, teaching oboe, or making oboe reeds, Laura can probably be found hiking, backpacking, camping, or generally indulging in a love for nature.