ROCHBERG: CONCERTO FOR OBOE AND ORCHESTRA. DRUCKMAN:...

ROCHBERG: CONCERTO FOR OBOE AND ORCHESTRA. DRUCKMAN: “PRISM.” Joseph Robinson, oboe; New York Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta. New World NW-335 (digital). These two essays in orchestral conservatism may tweak the sensibilities of serialists and minimalists alike, but they both stress meticulousness of craft and accessibility over partisan values and both receive sensitive performances in unexceptionable sound. George Rochberg’s concerto (a 1984 New York Philharmonic commission) offers rapturous Straussian woodwind filigree cushioned by relatively lush orchestral writing. Druckman’s three-part 1980 work bows to pastiche in its quotes from a trio of Medea operas by Charpentier, Cavalli and Cherubini. There’s a message here about the omnipresence of classicism; it never overwhelms Druckman’s ingenious textures. The score’s spatial demands (Druckman places a string complement behind the full orchestra) remain unrealized on disc.