Point of no return (2023)
(for oboe solo)

Point of no return (2023) is an eight-minute work for solo oboe by Bernd Franke. The work features stark contrasts between quiet, cryptic fragments and explosive upward gestures, with a soft, song-like final section, leading to one final improvisatory burst of vivid sound. It contains technical challenges for the oboist, including multiphonics and brief improvisation passages, but also a variegated range of expression. Point of no return was commissioned by the Internationaler Instrumentalwettbewerb Markneukirchen with funding from the ulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen and Buffet Cramon, and is dedicated to Kai Frömbgen. The world premiere took place in Markneukirchen in May 2024.