oboeinsight

How did a long-lost 200-year-old Beethoven concerto end up with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic? The Oboe Concert in F, written when Ludwig was 22 and a student of Haydn, had never been seen before it was discovered in the ’60s. Musicologists have slowly pieced it together from the composer’s notes found in the London and Bonn libraries. Oboist (and self-proclaimed inventor of the debit card) H. David Meyers first performed its adagio movement in Russia with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. But it has never been heard live in the United States, which makes the Mount Vernon–based semi-professional orchestra a somewhat surprising choice for its national debut. In fact, Meyers has long co-hosted this annual concert fundraiser for Children’s Hospital with WMP conductor Ulysses James. Meyers “has some interesting plans in mind,” says James, and hopes to “see the reaction with the general public” to what he promises will be an unorthodox interpretation before taking it on the road for a full tour.

THE PERFORMANCE BEGINS AT 8 P.M. AT THE STRATHMORE MUSIC CENTER, 5301 TUCKERMAN LANE, NORTH BETHESDA. $45–$75. (301) 581-5100.

I knew about the Beethoven Oboe Concerto. But who knew about the “self-proclaimed inventor of the debit card”? 😉