Tango by Eric Rath

Tango! was written for the composer and his father, oboist Richard Rath to premiere at the International Double Reed Society Convention in 2015, held that year in Tokyo, Japan. In putting together their duo recital program, it was found that there was a lot of “serious” music for oboe and percussion, but there was not a lot available that was on the “lighter side.” The composer had spent time previously pouring over the music of Astor Piazzolla, and decided that a tango might provide some contrast to the program. The combination of those particular instruments in that specific style of music worked out so well that Tango! was consistently the best received selection on the IDRS recital and all of the “preview recitals” leading up to it.