C.P.E. Bach wrote both his oboe concertos (which also exist as keyboard concertos) in 1765, but this, presumably the earlier of the two, is far more conventional than the other. The opening Allegretto is in the standard, pleasant galant style of the time, the successive elements of the orchestral tutti developing from each other very smoothly. The solo passages initially offer no contrast, the oboe first simply taking possession of the themes, and on its second appearance repeating the material in more fragmentary but also more ornamented form. The oboe lines become increasingly elaborate, but avoid the sharp contrasts that characterize much of this composer's music (including his other oboe concerto). The Largo e mesto falls into the minor mode and evokes the austere character of the slow movements of Baroque church sonatas from much earlier in the eighteenth century. After a concise introduction, the oboe takes charge of the meditative melody, patiently elaborating on it and often quietly between brief reminders of its original form from the full string orchestra. The Allegro moderato finale begins with pretty civility, but every few measures bolts forward with Bach's typical impulsiveness. The standard pattern pertains: after the tutti, the oboe repeats the material, offering increasingly imaginative commentary on the theme between returns of the orchestral tutti, but at the end settling into a more literal repetition of the melody, with the orchestra having the last word.

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