“Re-writing existing music for an oboe instrumentation is difficult and certainly if you do so for a trio”, says Erik Desimpelaere, who has already arranged and composed a lot for Astria Oboe Trio. “You do need to take the lowest note of an oboe into account and in addition to this a trio only interprets three voices.” Erik considers this arrangement work as technical and creative at the same time: with the score at hand he studies possible combinations, problems and solutions and tries out alternatives on the piano. He is particularly proud of the Händel Variaties of Brahms. It ends with a 4-part fugue he has translated into 3 oboe voices. Ma Mère l’Oye of Ravel is another technical highlight: here the conversion was from two pianos to three oboes.
