John Minsker 1912-2007 - International Double Reed Society · John Mack (1927-2006) Stephen Maxym...

Vol. 30 • No. 4

John Minsker1912-2007

IDRS OFFICERSPresidentNancy Ambrose King3019 School of MusicUniversity of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI 48109Bus: (734) 764-2522Fax: (603)843-7597E-mail: [email protected]

1st Vice PresidentMartin SchuringSchool of Music 0405Arizona State UniversityTempe, AZ 85287-0405Bus: (480) 965-3439Fax: (480) 965-2659E-mail: [email protected]

2nd Vice PresidentSandro CaldiniLoc S Piero 14Rigano S/Arno50067 Florence ITALYE-mail: [email protected]

secretaryKeith W. SwegerBall State UniversityMuncie, IN 47304Bus: (765) 285-5511Fax: (765) 285-5578E-mail: [email protected]

Past PresidentTerry EwellChair - Department of MusicTowson University8000 York RoadTowson, MD 21252Bus: (410) 683-1349Fax: (410) 830-2841E-mail: [email protected]

executiVe secretary/treasurerexhibit coordinatorNorma R. Hooks2423 Lawndale RoadFinksburg, MD 21048-1401Office: (410) 871-0658Fax: (410) 871-0659E-mail: [email protected]

at Large MeMbersPhillip A. M. Kolker3505 Taney RdBaltimore, MD 21215Bus: (410) 659-8238 E-mail: [email protected]

Barbara Herr Orland8034 Crescent DriveSt. Louis, MO 63105Bus: (314) 533-2500E-mail: [email protected]

Music industry LiaisonLarry FestaFox Product CorporationPO Box 347South Whitley, IN 46787Bus: (219) 723-4888Fax: (219) 723-5587E-mail: [email protected]

adVertising coordinatorWayne Gaver 15 Crestwood DriveMilton, PA 17847Home: (570) 742-8434E-mail: [email protected]

bassoon editorRonald James Klimko 657 Douglas DrivePO Box 986McCall, ID 83638-0986Home: (208) 634-4743E-mail: [email protected]

oboe editorDaniel J. Stolper7 Hermosillo LanePalm Desert, CA 92260-1605Bus: (760) 837-9797E-mail: [email protected]

idrs-on-Line PubLications editorYoshiyuki (Yoshi) IshikawaUniversity of Colorado at BoulderBoulder, CO 80309-0301Bus: (303) 492-7297Fax: (303) 581-9307E-mail: [email protected]://www.idrs.org

LegaL counseLJacob Schlosser4937 West Broad StreetColumbus, OH 43228-1668Bus: (614) 878-7251Fax: (614) 878-6948

conference coordinatorMarc Fink School of MusicUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison455 North Park StreetMadison, WI 53706-1483Bus: (608) 263-1900Fax: (608) 262-8876E-mail: [email protected]

archiVistMichael J. BurnsSchool of MusicP.O. Box 26120University of NC at GreensboroGreensboro, NC 27402-6120Bus: (336) 334-5970FAX: (336) 334-5497E-mail: [email protected]

giLLet-fox coMPetition chairNancy Ambrose King3019 School of MusicUniversity of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI 48109Bus: (734) 764-2522Fax: (603)843-7597E-mail: [email protected]

giLLet-fox coMPetition oboe chairRebecca HendersonUniversity of Texas at AustinSchool of Music1 University StationAustin, TX 78712Bus: (512) 471-0837Fax: (512) 471-7836

giLLet-fox coMPetition bassoon chairKeith W. SwegerBall State UniversityMuncie, IN 47304Bus: (765) 285-5511Fax: (765) 285-5578E-mail: [email protected]

ASSOCIAtE MEMbERSAustralasian Double Reed Society (ADRS)british Double Reed Society(bDRS)Chinese Association of bassoon (CAb)Finnish Double Reed Society(FDRS)IDRS-DeutschlandJapan bassoon SocietyJapan Oboe Association

Mägyar Fàgottos tarsasag (MAFAt) of HungaryViennese Oboe Society(Gesellschaft der Freunde der Wiener Oboe)L’Association Francaise du Hautbois(French Oboe Society)L’Association “bassons”(French bassoon Society)FagotClub Nederland

THE DOUBLE REED 1

VOL. 30 • NO. 4

Ronald Klimko and Daniel Stolper, Editors

© 2007 International Double Reed Society www.idrs.org

ISSN 0741-7659

Designed by Edward CraigEcraig3 Graphic Design

Baltimore, MD 21212 U.S.A.Printed by The J.W. Boarman Company

Baltimore, MD 21230 U.S.A.

THE

DOUBLE REEDQuarterly Journal

of the

INTERNATIONALDOUBLE REED

SOCIETY

01 TOC_30_4.indd 101 TOC_30_4.indd 1 12/11/07 6:45:51 PM12/11/07 6:45:51 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS2

Table of Contents Vol 30 • No.4

Table of Contents Vol 30 No.3

ON THE COVER: John Minsker, backstage at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, circa 1938. (Photograph by Adrian Siegel)

Honorary Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

37th Annual Double Reed Conference, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, July 22-26, 2008 . . . . 5

Sponsor-a-Member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Martin Schuring

President’s Message. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Nancy Ambrose King

Report of the Executive Secretary/Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Norma Hooks

Th e 2008 Fernand Gillet – Hugo Fox Bassoon Competition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Th e First IDRS Young Artists Oboe Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

John Minsker, 1912-2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Michael Finkelman

John Minsker, January 23, 1912 - August 5, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 David McGill

Bassoonists’ News of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Ronald Klimko

Oboists in the News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Dan Stolper

Le 5ème Concours International de Musique de Chambre de Lyon (France) s’Adressera Aux Quintette a Vent – Woodwind Quintet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 William Waterhouse (1931-2007), Noah A. Knepper (1921-2007), Albert Goltzer (1918-2007), Ferdinand Prior (1913-2007)

Charles Robert Reinert: Remembrances and Tributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Compiled by Fernando Traba

Th e Fulbright Experience: Life as an American Oboist Abroad Part IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Merideth Hite

IDRS – WWW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

CURRENT EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Second International Oboe Master Classes and Festival in Ostrava,Czech Republic (September 17-22, 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Marlen Vavřiková

56th International Music Competition sponsored by ARD Munich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Second Double Reed Day at Grand Valley State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Marlen Vavřiková


THE DOUBLE REED 3

My First Time Attending the Stacy English Horn Seminar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Devin Hinzo

From Baltimore to Greenland with Oboes and Enthusiasm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Michael Lisicky

ARTICLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Georg Wenzel Riter and His Tonleiter des Fagotts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Daniel Lipori

Making Peace Between International Reeding:Developing the Ridilla-Heng Oboe Gouging Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Andrea Ridilla

Some Th oughts on Auditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Peter W. Cooper

Bassoonists’ Left Hand Index Finger Problem Solved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Gerald Corey

Response Issues on the Bassoon: Cracking Low Notes, Cracking High Notes, Bocal Flex - Voicing - Foghorn Eff ect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Michael J. Burns

IDRS Membership Application Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Albrecht Mayer’s Singing Oboe: An Interview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Frances Colón

A Short Interview with Eugene Izotov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

A Bassoon Lite, Please…Existential Bassoon Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Alan Goodman

REVIEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Oboe Music Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Libby Van Cleve

DRASTIC MEASURES: New Oboe Music by Elliott Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Oboe Recording Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Robert J. Krause

Ermanno Wolf Ferrari: Capolavori del ‘900 per Oboe e Corno inglese Alessandro Baccini . . . . . . . . 87Virtuosic and Enchanting XIX and XX Century Music for Oboe and Piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Love’s Lore - 16 Folk Melodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Bassoon Music Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Daniel Lipori

Music from TrevCo Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Music from EditionsVIENTO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Music from Yazz Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Music from Ryan Hare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Music from Wehr’s Music House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Bassoon Recording Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 James Kopp

Antoine Dard: Sonates pour le bassoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Contributing Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Use of the IDRS Trademarks/Th e Double Reed Printing and Publishing Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100


HONORARY MEMBERS4

Günter Angerhöfer(1926)

Lady Evelyn Barbirolli(1911)

Gerald Corey(1934)

Bernard Garfi eld(1924)

Alfred Genovese

James Laslie(1923)

Humbert J. Lucarelli(1937)

Ivan Poushechnikov(1918)

Mordechai Rechtman(1926)

Lowry Riggins(1930)

Roland Rigoutat(1930)

Louis Rosenblatt(1928)

Matthew Ruggiero(1932)

Ray Still(1920)

Daniel Stolper(1937)

Laila Storch(1921)

K. David van Hoesen(1926)

Maurice Allard(1923-2004)

Philip Bate(1909-1999)

Robert Bloom(1908-1994)

Gwydion Brooke(1912-2005)

Victor Bruns(1903-1996)

Donald Christlieb(1912-2001)

Lewis Hugh Cooper(1920-2007)

John de Lancie(1921-2002)

Robert De Gourdon(1912-1993)

Ferdinand Del Negro(1896-1986)

Willard S. Elliot(1926-2000)

Bert Gassman(1911-2004)

Fernand Gillet(1882-1980)

Harold Goltzer(1915-2004)

Ralph Gomberg(1921-2006)

Leon Goossens, CBE(1897-1988)

George F. Goslee(1916-2006)

E. Earnest Harrison(1918-2005)

Norman H. Herzberg(1916-2007)

Cecil James(1913-1999)

Benjamin Kohon(1890-1984)

Simon Kovar(1890-1970)

Dr. Paul Henry Lang(1901-1991)

Lyndesay Langwill(1897-1983)

Alfred Laubin(1906-1976)

John Mack(1927-2006)

Stephen Maxym(1915-2002)

Robert M. Mayer(1910-1994)

John Minsker(1912-2007)

W. Hans Moennig(1903-1988)

Frederick Moritz(1897-1993)

Karl Öhlberger(1912-2001)

Fernand Oubradous(1903-1986)

Wayne Rapier(1930-2005)

Charles Robert Reinert(1913-2007)

Frank Ruggieri(1906-2003)

Sol Schoenbach(1915-1999)

Leonard Sharrow(1915-2004)

Jerry Sirucek(1922-1996)

Louis Skinner(1918-1993)

Robert Sprenkle(1914-1988)

William Waterhouse(1931-2007)

H onorary M embers

D eceased H onorary M embers

President’s Award: Peter Klatt (Industry Liason), Jim Prodan (Archivist), Noah Knepper (Founding Member)

02 HonoraryMembers.indd 402 HonoraryMembers.indd 4 12/11/07 6:46:15 PM12/11/07 6:46:15 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 5

03 BYU.indd 503 BYU.indd 5 12/11/07 6:46:48 PM12/11/07 6:46:48 PM

37TH ANNUAL DOUBLE REED CONFERENCE, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY PROVO, UTAH, JULY 2226, 20086


THE DOUBLE REED 7

Call for Proposals July 22–26, 2008 Presentation Guidelines

Call for Proposal forms may be completed online or downloaded at the IDRS 2008 Web site: www.idrs2008.org. Please refer to proposal guidelines on the Web site.

The artistic committee of IDRS 2008 requests that any individual or group interested in appearing at the 37th Annual 2008 Conference of the International Double Reed Society submit a written proposal of participation. There are three presentation categories: Artist Recital, Lecture/Master Class/Panel Discussion, and Avocational Series.

Artist RecitalRecital proposals may be for a full program of 45–50 minutes, a half program of 20–25 minutes, or a single piece to be performed on a compilation program. Due to the high volume of proposals anticipated, performers are strongly encouraged to consider half programs or single-piece proposals. Accompanists will be available upon request. Please be concise and specific in proposals. Presenters must register for the conference and are not paid to appear by the IDRS, nor will expenses be reimbursed. If presenters are sponsored, they may not advertise their sponsors from the stage.

Lecture/Master Class/Panel DiscussionTo propose a lecture or panel discussion, please submit a title and concise description of the topic. Lectures and panel discussions may be up to 50 minutes in length. To propose a master class, please submit a title and concise description of the master class topic. Please request either a 50–minute or 90–minute time allotment.

Avocational SeriesWe are excited to continue this series. The IDRS recognizes that there are many talented double reed players who have chosen careers in fields other than music. The committee requests proposals by such players for either a single piece to be performed on a compilation program, or for roundtable discussions on topics relevant to the nonprofessional. If requesting a performance, please submit a live CD of a recent performance, including program information and total performance time. If requesting a roundtable discussion idea, please submit a title, concise description, and requested time allotment.

All completed proposals must be received by December 1, 2007. Proposals with incomplete information will not be considered. Proposals may be completed online or mailed, submitted via e-mail in Microsoft Word format as an attachment, or faxed. Please submit proposals or questions to:

IDRS 2008 Phone: (801) 422-7692 352 HCEB Fax: (801) 422-0745

Provo, UT 84602 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.idrs2008.org


37TH ANNUAL DOUBLE REED CONFERENCE, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY PROVO, UTAH, JULY 2226, 20088

Call for Proposals July 22–26, 2008 Artist Recital, Avocational Series Performance


Name(s) of Individual(s) or Group

Affiliation

Street Address

City State/Province Zip Code/Postal Country

( ) ( )

Phone Fax E-mail

Type of Event: ___ Artist Recital ___ Avocational Series Performance

Title of Event: _____________________________________________________________________

For all works to be performed, please provide the following: title, composer, composer dates, instrumentation, exact duration, publisher, and any audio/visual equipment needed.

___ I am requesting a pianist or other instrumentalist(s) for the performance.

Instrumentation requested: ___________________________________________________________

___ I am requesting a piano tuned to: ____ A = 440 ____ A = 443

Please provide a brief biography of each individual and/or group to be included in the presentation. Limit the biographies to 100 words each.


IDRS 2008 Phone: (801) 422-7692 352 HCEB Fax: (801) 422-0745 Provo, UT 84602 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.idrs2008.org


THE DOUBLE REED 9

Name(s) of Individual(s) or Group

Affiliation

Street Address

City State/Province Zip Code/Postal Country

( ) ( )

Phone Fax E-mail

Type of Event:

___ Lecture ___ Master Class ___ Avocational Panel Discussion

Title of Event: _____________________________________________________________________

• Please submit a brief description of the proposed topic. Limit the description to 100 words.

• Please provide a brief biography of each individual and/or group to be included in the presentation. Limit the biographies to 100 words each.


IDRS 2008 Phone: (801) 422-7692 352 HCEB Fax: (801) 422-0745 Provo, UT 84602 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.idrs2008.org

Call for Proposals July 22–26, 2008 Lecture, Master Class, or Avocational Panel Discussion



IDRS SPONSORAMEMBER PROGRAM10

IDRS Sponsor-a-Member Program

Martin SchuringTempe, Arizona

The IDRS established a Sponsor-a-Member program in 1995 for the purpose of enabling double reed players from around the world

to participate and enjoy the opportunities of mem-bership in our organization through the sponsorship of current members. Th e primary purpose of the Sponsor-a-Member program is to attract to our so-ciety double reed players who because of economic circumstances would not otherwise be able to join the IDRS. Th is is an important outreach mission of our society. Since the program’s inception, spon-sored members from the Peoples’ Republic of China, Vietnam, Lithuania, Ecuador, El Salvador, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Ukraine, Tartart-stan, Russia, and South Africa have become IDRS members through the generosity of sponsors. An ad-ditional aspect of the program has been the exchange of letters and communications between sponsors and new members.

In coordination with Norma Hooks, Executive Secretary, I will be pairing sponsors with potential

adopted members. IDRS will honor sponsors’ re-quests for specifi c adopted members as well. Anyone may become a sponsor by requesting an adopted member and paying one year’s dues for that indi-vidual. Sponsors may elect to pay an additional fee for fi rst-class postage so that publications arrive more promptly.

IDRS is thankful to all sponsors who have par-ticipated in this worthwhile project in the past, and looks forward to new sponsors becoming active in the program. If you are interested in sponsoring a member, or know of a potential member who needs assistance, please contact me for more information at:

Martin SchuringSchool of Music 0405Arizona State UniversityTempe, AZ 85287-0405E-mail: [email protected]

SPONSORSARGENTINA . . . . . . . . David SoggARGENTINA . . . . . . . . Glenn HarmanARGENTINA . . . . . . . . Heidi Huseman DewallyARGENTINA . . . . . . . . John TowleARGENTINA . . . . . . . . Laurel KuxhausARGENTINA . . . . . . . . Peter ZeimetARGENTINA . . . . . . . . Rebecca NagelARGENTINA . . . . . . . . Shirley RobertsonBRAZIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara OrlandBRAZIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harold EmertCHINA (P.R.O.C.) . . . . Donald VogelCHINA (P.R.O.C.) . . . . Jim ProdanCHINA (P.R.O.C.) . . . . LaRae Croft CHINA (P.R.O.C.) . . . . Norma HooksCHINA (P.R.O.C.) . . . . Patty MitchellCHINA (P.R.O.C.) . . . . Sherry SylarCOSTA RICA . . . . . . . . Gerald CoreyCROATIA . . . . . . . . . . . Nora SchankinCUBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marsha BurkettCUBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nigel RobbinsCZECH REPUBLIC . . . Aaron HilbunCZECH REPUBLIC . . . Loretta Th omas

DENMARK . . . . . . . . . . Walter DeinzerECUADOR. . . . . . . . . . . Rebecca HendersonENGLAND, UK . . . . . . Dan StolperGUATEMALA . . . . . . . Terry EwellJAPAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gerald CoreyKAZAKHSTAN . . . . . . Bill ChinworthPOLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . James & Kimberly BrodyPOLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . Margaret MarcoPOLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . Phil FeatherRUSSIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellen Sudia-CoudronRUSSIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marc FinkRUSSIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard & Isabelle PlasterRUSSIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard KillmerRUSSIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stepháne LevesqueSOUTH AFRICA . . . . . Linda Strommen, IU Oboe StudioSOVENIA. . . . . . . . . . . . Christa GarveySPAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Craig StreettUKRAINE . . . . . . . . . . . David BellUKRAINE . . . . . . . . . . . Fredrick CohenVIETNAM . . . . . . . . . . . Steve WelgossVIETNAM . . . . . . . . . . . Troy Davis

04 SponsorAMember.indd 1004 SponsorAMember.indd 10 12/11/07 6:47:12 PM12/11/07 6:47:12 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 11

“THE ARTIST/SCHOLAR”

Our Society recently lost one of the true pillars of our musical community with the passing of William Waterhouse. He was known as a performer, a peda-gogue, a historian, and a scholar, collecting bassoon literature and publishing rare works in addition to his positions with symphony orchestras in London. He will be remembered for the enormous impact he made upon the musical world: the numerous compo-sitions dedicated to him by such well-known com-posers as Gordon Jacob and Jean Francaix; the many published works which he authored, such as Th e New Langwill Index: a Dictionary of Musical Wind-In-strument Makers & Inventors which was awarded the prestigious C.B. Oldman prize in 1993, and his bas-soon entries for New Grove. Fortunately for us all, his work is immortalized in the library built next to his family retreat in Gloucestershire, which houses all of his books, manuscripts and instruments. Th e infl u-ence of William Waterhouse on our Society will be felt for generations to come and we are all extremely saddened by his passing.

Th e legacy that William Waterhouse leaves is one that is increasingly pursued by musicians today: that of the Scholar/Performer. As the academic fi eld continues to emphasize the pursuit of a terminal degree, most commonly the DMA for the members of our society hoping to enter academia in the applied teaching arena, we are fi nding more oboists and bassoonists interested in researching topics which are scholarly and historically relevant to our instruments. Th e result is an increasingly knowledgeable group of young musicians entering the performing and pedagogical fi elds, and their realization that the pursuit of signifi cant scholarship does not need to be left solely to musicologists anymore. Students graduating with oboe and bassoon degrees today are inspired by, and benefi t a great deal from, the performer/scholars who have preceded them, those who focused their research primarily upon our specifi c instruments. From these scholars, we learn the details of our instruments’ historical origin and progress through the ages, the manufacturers who continue

to make advances throughout history, the literature written for our instruments and the composers who enriched our repertoire with their work, the types of performance practices implemented at various points in music history and their relevance to our modern day instruments, unique approaches and perspectives for the modern day musician to use when encountering contemporary music, and diff ering pedagogical philosophies.

It is not only today’s students whose performances are enriched by the research of the artist/scholars of their instrument. Professionals and avocational musicians continue to be enlightened and challenged by the latest research, both historical and pedagogical. It is truly inspiring that each issue of Th e Double Reed features scholarly contributions from a very wide range of authors, from the student looking to publish portions of their research for the fi rst time to established oboe and bassoon scholars whose articles have been featured in scholarly journals worldwide.

One needs only to browse through the stacks of dissertations and theses found on the shelves of most any music library to see the impact that the advanced performance degree has made upon our musical community. It may even be fair to say that at no time in music history has there been a more educated and historically aware community of performing artists as we have in the present day. We owe much of this knowledge to the performer/scholars who have preceded us, who taught our students to blend their artistry with their intellect. William Waterhouse epitomized the Artist/Scholar and will be profoundly missed. ◆

Message from the President

Nancy Ambrose KingAnn Arbor, Michigan

05 PresMessage.indd 1105 PresMessage.indd 11 12/11/07 6:47:35 PM12/11/07 6:47:35 PM

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY/TREASURER12

Report of the Executive Secretary/Treasurer

Norma R. HooksFinksburg, Maryland

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

An outstanding opportunity is being aff orded a de-serving student by a generous benefactor. A Scholar-ship to attend our conference in Provo, Utah, includ-ing transportation, is being off ered. Do you have an outstanding student who would like to attend the International Double Reed Society Conference in Provo, but can’t aff ord to make the trip? If so, your nomination of the student will make them eligible. See page 116 for further details. According to the benefactor, this student could be located anywhere in the world. Don’t let this opportunity slip by, send your student recommendation now.

WILLIAM WATERHOUSE

Bassoonist, historian, and all around renaissance man, William Waterhouse died on November 5, 2007. He was a vibrant man of 76, always fi t and still very active. He was a member of the IDRS from its earliest days and became an Honorary Member in 2003 aft er his retirement. I’ve known Bill Waterhouse for the past 25 years and it pained me to hear the re-port of his death. I understand that his family and friends are planning a memorial concert in London at some future date. Our sincere sympathy go to his wife Elisabeth and family. He, and his vast knowledge will be missed by the double reed community.

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

I could write you pages and pages of notes reminding you of the same darn stuff I usually do, but I’m not going to. I’m only going to say, “Remind your friends, and yourself to pay your dues. If you move, send me your change of address. Don’t forget to update your email address. etc., etc. and so forth.”

WARMEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!

Another year has begun and we look forward to mak-ing music all over the world. Th e International Dou-ble Reed Society is a vital, growing organization that strives to promote double reed playing and teaching. We hope that you will encourage your students and colleagues to join us.

May you all enjoy a Happy, Healthy and

Prosperous New Year!!!

06 ExecSecReport.indd 1206 ExecSecReport.indd 12 12/11/07 6:47:57 PM12/11/07 6:47:57 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 13

FERNAND GILLET-HUGO FOX 2008 BASSOON COMPETITIONJuly 22-26, 2008 - Provo, Utah, USAwww.gilletfox.org

Th e International Double Reed Society is pleased to announce the 28th an-nual performance competition for oboists and bassoonists. Th e competition is dedicated to the memory of the late master oboist and Honorary member of the IDRS, Fernand Gillet, and to the memory of master bassoonist Hugo Fox, principal bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1922-1949.

First prize for the 2008 competition is an $8,000 US cash award. Th e second prize is a $3,000 US cash award. Other fi nalists will receive a $1000 US cash award.

1. ELIGIBILITY. Bassoonists who have not reached their 31st birthday before the date of the fi nal audition (July 25, 2008) are eligible to enter, but no previous fi rst prize winner of the Fernand Gillet-Hugo Fox Competition is eligible to participate. All entrants must be current members of the IDRS. For member-ship information, contact:

Norma Hooks, Executive Secretary/TreasurerInternational Double Reed Society2423 Lawndale Rd.Finksburg, MD 21048-1401 USATelephone: (410) 871-0658Fax: (410) 871-0659E-mail: [email protected]

2. LEVELS OF COMPETITION. Th ere are two levels of competition.

A. Preliminary Stage - All entrants must send a completed application form; an application fee of $75 US payable to IDRS by check drawn against a US bank or by credit card (VISA and Mastercard only); and a cassette tape, CD, or mini-disc containing the entire repertoire list, performed in the order listed, to the competition chair. Th e recording should include:

1. Carl Maria von Weber Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, op. 75 (recommended edition: Universal Edition UE 18131)

2. Pierre Max Dubois Sonatine Tango for Bassoon and Piano (Billaudot G 3826 B)3. Johann Sebastian Bach Partita, BWV 1013 trans. for Bassoon Solo (Universal Edition UE 18135) with repeats4. Jacobo Ficher Sonata para Fagot y Piano (TrevCo Music TCO 3107)

To be considered, all application materials must be received on or before April 1, 2008. Entries should be mailed to:

Keith Sweger, ChairIDRS Gillet-Fox Competition for BassoonSchool of Music - MIB125Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306-0410 USATelephone: (765) 285-5511Fax: (765) 285-5578E-mail: [email protected]

B. Final Stage - Up to fi ve fi nalists will be selected by the competition committee, with the results announced by May 15, 2008. If selected for the fi nals, all applicants must agree to appear and perform in the fi nals. Th e fi nal round will be heard by a distinguished panel of judges in an open concert at the International Double Reed Society meeting in Provo, Utah, USA, July 22-26, 2008. Repertoire for the fi nal round will be the same as that for the preliminary round tape, with the judges selecting portions for use in the competition. A professional accompanist will be provided for the contestants, however, contestants may elect to use an accompanist of their own choosing at their own expense. Th e decision of the judges is fi nal. Th e judges may elect to award fewer prizes than outlined above or no prizes. IDRS will provide meals and lodging for each of the fi nalists for the duration of the Conference. Th e winner of the competition will agree to perform the entire Weber Concerto on a concert during the 2008 IDRS Conference.

Please complete and return with payment and recording to the above address:

Credit Card Number:

Expiration Date: / V code:

Name on Card:

Signature:

TYPE or PRINT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Fax:

E-mail:

Date of Birth:

Education:

Bassoon Teachers:

Professional Experience:

I certify that the enclosed CD contains my own, unedited, performance. If selected, I agree to perform in the fi nal round competition. I also certify that I am a current member of the IDRS.

Signed

3 digits on signature area

2008GilletBassoon.indd 1-3 9/13/07 8:12:19 PM

Find the complete Fernand Gillet-Hugo Fox Competition brochure and registration form in English, Deutsch, Français, Español, 日本語 on the iDRS website at:

http://idrs2.colorado.edu/Gillet2/Gillet.2008/2008GilletBassoon.pdf

07 Gillet_YA2008.indd 1307 Gillet_YA2008.indd 13 12/11/07 6:48:18 PM12/11/07 6:48:18 PM

THE DOUBLE REED14

Th e International Double Reed Society is pleased to announce the fi rst annual performance competition for young artists.

First prize for the 2008 competition is a $2000 US cash award. Th e second prize is a $1000 US cash award. Th e third prize is a $500 US cash award.

1. ELIGIBILITY. Oboists who have not reached their 22nd birthday by the date of the fi nal round of the competition (July 24, 2008) are eligible to enter, but no previ-ous fi rst prize winner of the IDRS Young Artist Competition is eligible to participate. All entrants must be current members of the IDRS. For member-ship information, contact:

Norma Hooks, Executive Secretary/TreasurerInternational Double Reed Society2423 Lawndale Rd.Finksburg, MD 21048-1401 USATelephone: (410) 871-0658Fax: (410) 871-0659E-mail: [email protected]

2. LEVELS OF COMPETITION. Th ere are two levels of competition.

A. Preliminary Stage - All entrants must send a completed application form; an application fee of $35 US payable to IDRS by check drawn against a US bank or by credit card (VISA or Mastercard only); and a CD containing the entire repertoire list, performed in the order listed, to the competition chairman. Th e recording should include:

1. G. Ph. Telemann Sonata XI in e minor from “Essercizii Musici” (Schott OBB23)2. W. A. Mozart Concerto, KV 314. Mvts. 2 & 3, with cadenzas (edition of the entrant’s choice)

3. Émile Paladilhe Concertante (edition of the entrant’s choice)4. Hendrick Andriessen Ballade (Donemus 0013)

To be considered, all application materials must be received on or before April 1, 2008. Entries should be mailed to:

Timothy Clinch, ChairIDRS Young Artist Competition for OboeSchool of Music – MIB132Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306-0410 USATelephone: (765) 285-5549Fax: (765) 285-5578E-mail: [email protected]

B. Final Stage - Th ree fi nalists will be selected by the competition com-mittee, with the results announced by May 15, 2008. If selected for the fi nals, all applicants must agree to appear and perform in the fi nals. Th e fi nal round will be heard by a distinguished panel of judges in an open concert at the International Double Reed Society meeting in Provo, Utah, USA, July 22-26, 2008. Repertoire for the fi nal round will be the same as that for the preliminary round recording, with the judges selecting portions for use in the competition. A professional accompanist will be provided for the contestants; however, contestants may elect to use an accompanist of their own choosing at their own expense. Th e decision of the judges is fi nal. Th e judges may elect to award fewer prizes than outlined above or no prizes. IDRS will pay the registration fee for the entire conference week for each fi nalist. Th e winner of the competition will agree to perform a half-hour program selected from the competition repertoire on a concert during the 2008 IDRS Conference.

Please complete and return with payment and recording to the above address:

Credit Card Number:

Expiration Date: / V code:

Name on Card:

Signature:

TYPE or PRINT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Fax:

E-mail:

Date of Birth:

Education:

Oboe Teachers:

Professional Experience:

I certify that the enclosed CD contains my own, unedited, performance. If selected, I agree to perform in the fi nal round competition. I also certify that I am a current member of the IDRS.

Signed

3 digits on signature area

YOUNG ARTIST OBOE COMPETITION 2008July 22-26, 2008 - Provo, Utah, USAwww.idrs.org

2008 YA Oboe.indd 1-3 9/13/07 8:16:00 PM

Find the complete Young Artist Competition brochure and registration form in English, Deutsch, Français, Español, 日本語 on the iDRS website at:

http://idrs2.colorado.edu/gillet2/2008%20YA%20Oboe.pdf

07 Gillet_YA2008.indd 1407 Gillet_YA2008.indd 14 12/11/07 6:48:19 PM12/11/07 6:48:19 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 15

John H. Minsker, likely the last surviving solo player engaged by Leopold Stokowski for his leg-endary Philadelphia Orchestra, died at the age

of 95 in his home near Philadelphia, Sunday, August 5th, 2007. At his request, no memorial service of any kind was held. Condolences may be sent to his son, John S. Minsker, 416 Roberts Road, Rosemont, PA 19010.

Born in West Virginia in 1912, John Minsker came to Philadelphia in December of 1930 to study with Marcel Tabuteau, initially as a private student, and shortly thereaft er at the Curtis Institute of Mu-sic. He left Curtis early in his fourth year of study to join the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as English hornist. Upon Robert Bloom’s resignation two years later, Minsker joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as solo English horn, a position he occupied with great distinction for more than twenty-three seasons. In this capacity, he gave a host of fi ne performances at home and on tour, including almost seventy of Th e Swan of Tuonela alone. His last work with the Or-chestra occurred at the time of Stokowski’s return to Philadelphia (aft er a nineteen-year absence) early in 1960.

John Minsker set a quality standard recognised across the country (and indeed the world) which had a lasting infl uence on the performing abilities expect-ed of English hornists. He has left us the permanent legacy of his artistic work in the form of numerous recordings (many of which fortunately are available on compact disc) as well as enlightening reminis-cences of his experiences in one of the most remark-able symphonic organisations ever created in this country.

Th e original title of Chapter Six of Philadelphia Story (DR XXVI/4), containing these memoirs, was to have been “Portrait of the Artist: John Minsker”, but with characteristic modesty, he insisted it be changed to something simpler. In similar fashion, although his last contact with Robert Bloom had not been positive (due to some careless commentary by the latter regarding Tabuteau), he demanded none the less that “Little Boy Bloom Blows his Horn”, a line by one of the Philadelphia critics, and the original

John Minsker, 1912-2007

Michael FinkelmanPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

John Minsker, ca. 1939. (Photo probably by Adrian Siegel)

08 Minsker.indd 1508 Minsker.indd 15 12/11/07 7:42:57 PM12/11/07 7:42:57 PM

JOHN MINSKER, 1912200716

part about him, but the entire Philadelphia Story series. Th e writer of these lines remembers with great fondness the many hours spent as a guest in John and Betty Minsker’s home. It was one of life’s privileges to know this unique and gracious man, the memory of whom will always be treasured.

With John Minsker’s pass-ing, our last direct link with distinguished traditions es-tablished in Philadelphia three generations ago is no more. Just as Tabuteau and Minsker’s ex-traordinary work on the oboe and English horn established a standard carried on by de Lancie and Rosenblatt, so did Guetter’s bassoon playing reach a previously unknown plateau, brilliantly continued by Schoe-

nbach and Garfi eld. Minsker worked with all of these artists. Th e rest of those who established the Philadel-phia double reed traditions are gone. Minsker was the very last of the old guard still with us. (He may even have been the last living player hired by Stokowski for the Philadelphia Orchestra.) His passing represents not only the close of a signifi cant artist’s life: it is the fi nal chord of a passage in musical history.

title of Chapter Five of Phila-delphia Story (DR XXVI/3) be altered to something more befi tting an artist of Bloom’s stature.

He would equally not have a line present in the fi rst draft of Philadelphia Story Chapter Six referring to Eugene Ormandy’s abominable 1944 recording of the New World Symphony. Here, the writer nominated his English horn solo in the Largo as “virtually the only moment of fresh air in this misinterpre-tation”. He felt this detracted from the contributions of Kin-caid and Tabuteau (whose solos were in fact obscured by very poor engineering).

Following the last of four performances of Berlioz’ Dam-nation of Faust in April of 1959, Ormandy told Minsker that his solos that eve-ning were the fi nest English horn playing he had ever heard. Naturally, the present writer wanted to docu-ment this matter in Philadelphia Story, but Minsker would not hear of it, and insisted on its excision. At other times during the course of our extended con-versations, he commented that he did not believe he ranked very high among the world’s English hornists. Clearly, Stokowski, Ormandy, local, national and international critics, to say nothing of audiences at home and abroad did not share this opinion. Th e IDRS lauded his life and work with a well-deserved Honorary Membership in 1999.

Th e late John de Lancie described Minsker’s mu-sicianship as “impeccable and unerring”. As Director of the Curtis Institute from 1977, de Lancie quickly hired him to teach in that institution, knowing full well that as one of Marcel Tabuteau’s most impas-sioned disciples, Minsker had a great deal to teach the talented young artists there in the formative years of their professional careers. When the Tabuteau chair was created two years later, Minsker was its fi rst in-cumbent. He remained throughout de Lancie’s ad-ministration, leaving a valuable legacy in this regard.

Here was a true artist and real gentleman, whose marvelous lucidity, strong musical values and lasting enthusiasms came through resoundingly during the fi ft een years the present writer had the good fortune to work with him. His wisdom infl uenced not just the

John Minsker, ca. 1999(Photograph by David McGill)

08 Minsker.indd 1608 Minsker.indd 16 12/11/07 7:42:58 PM12/11/07 7:42:58 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 17

DEFENDER OF TABUTEAU

All three of my extraordinary teachers expressed admiration of and gratitude towards their guiding musical mentor, the unique Marcel Tabuteau, but none was more adamant in his reverence for Tabuteau than John Minsker. As evidence of this, Minsker jumped to the fore fairly recently to defend Tabuteau when remarks made by Heinz Holliger - published in this very magazine - seemed to disparage Tabuteau. Minsker had also zealously protected Tabuteau’s name when, in 1988, as part of Robert Bloom’s 80th birthday celebrations, remarks made by Bloom that were quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer - to the eff ect that Tabuteau’s playing “never soared” - raised his ire. I do not bring up these instances to open old wounds. I merely mention them as examples of John Minsker’s absolute adherence to and undying love and

John MinskerJanuary 23, 1912 - August 5, 2007

David McGillChicago, Illinois

A CONTINUING FRIENDSHIP

Aft er my graduation from the Curtis Institute in 1985, I cul-tivated relationships with the

three men who changed my life while I was a student there: John de Lancie, who served as Director of the Institute and as its oboe instructor and wood-wind teacher; John Minsker, woodwind teacher; and Sol Schoenbach, my bas-soon teacher.

For twenty-two years, I kept up my association with John Minsker. I visited him nearly every year - sometimes twice.

Dr. Schoenbach remained “Dr.” Schoenbach to me until his death in 1999. Mr. de Lancie was always “Mr.” until his death in 2002. But John Minsker told me to call him “John” shortly aft er my graduation from Curtis. Th is, more than any other single story or memory I have of him, illustrates the warmth of John’s personality and the personal depth of the friendship I felt for this man, fi ft y-one years my senior.

My last visit with him was on June 29, 2007, fi ve weeks before his death. Al Genovese and his sister, Mary Anne, and I, spent a wonderful aft ernoon at John’s apartment with his wife Betty and their caregiver. John’s son, also named John, told me that John (Sr.) had called him late that day to tell him it had been a wonderful day. In the words of John (Jr.), it had not only been the last “good” day of John’s life, but it had also been one of John’s all-time “great” days.

We had laughed a lot. I brought some Tabuteau memorabilia to show him and Al, whom I had suspected would be there. During the last few years, John always tried to surprise me by having Al come over whenever I visited. Th at day, John even drank a couple of “very light” Scotch and sodas. John, at 95 and ½, was still mentally “all there” - but he was extremely weak and, aft er seeing him, I strongly felt that this might be the last time we would be together.

Alfred Genovese and John Minsker reuniting in 2000 after not having seen each other since 1979.

09 Minsker_McGill.indd 1709 Minsker_McGill.indd 17 12/11/07 7:43:26 PM12/11/07 7:43:26 PM

JOHN MINSKER, JANUARY 23, 1912 AUGUST 5, 200718

the other quintet would audit. Th e auditing quintet on Monday would then play in Minsker’s class on Th ursday. Th e quintets would then switch functions the next semester. It was invaluable to be able to listen to the other group play without the terror of having to produce. Th is helped me learn how to be a better teacher as well as how to be a better player. In Minsker’s class, especially, we would play passages over and over to the point of tedium at times. And he was adamant about playing pianissimo!

But there was a method to this drudgery.

One of the unspoken messages of Minsker’s teaching that I drew from these classes was: “Never compromise.” Another was: You have to be able to play in an inspired way even though you may not be inspired.” And most importantly: “Know what you WILL do.” Some students did not take to Minsker’s methods. However, I found his teaching to be irresistible. He delivered his important message to us in his inimitably low key, slightly raspy voice, scarcely above a whisper. When we failed to produce, his downturned eyes and slight shrug of the shoulders, coupled with a half-hearted smile said it all. “Try it again,” he would say, in that gently rolling West Virginia accent he never lost.

THE LISTENING SESSIONS

For me, an equally invaluable part of his woodwind class was his “listening sessions.” Once or twice a year, the students in his wind class would gather in the cramped space of the Curtis Institute’s music library listening room where Mr. Minsker would expose us to those great artists who exemplifi ed the attributes he was attempting to instill in us. An avid listener, Mr. Minsker would place a large reel of audiotape onto the massive playback machine. A push of the button and out would come the sounds of Tabuteau himself, the man Minsker had spoken of so reverently in his classes week in and week out. Next, we would hear the great Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski, another giant Minsker regaled us with stories of. Fritz Kreisler, the great musician of the violin would play for us and be compared to Heifetz, who Minsker considered “antiseptic.” Th en, Maria Callas would begin an aria and Minsker would freeze. Only his trembling lower lip would indicate the intensity of feeling he was experiencing. His love of Callas and all of the artists he played for us was of a depth I have rarely seen. John was a profoundly emotional and sentimental person. Along with the aforementioned

respect for the musical values represented by Marcel Tabuteau’s teaching and playing - a love and dedication he managed to impart to a whole new generation of musicians from the late seventies through the mid-80s in his woodwind classes at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. A more dedicated foot soldier for the cause of the “Philadelphia Tradition” one could not imagine.

Lest one get the impression that John Minsker was a disagreeable person, let me state unequivocally that he was the most gentlemanly individual I have had the pleasure of knowing. He was soft -spoken to a fault, with a slightly breathy voice that still bore the mark of his “Southern” origins in West Virginia. He was a gracious host and always inquired about how “you” were doing. He was not in any way self-absorbed, nor did he ever, without vigorous prompting, speak of his own playing or career. He was supremely modest and was a great listener. Only at the end, in fact, in my last phone call with him a week before he died, did he say, in very labored tones, that he was “proud” that he was able to bring the art of playing the English horn a bit forward and that he had been able to infl uence a few young lives at Curtis. He had also, years before, in a rare moment of justifi able pride, sent me a copy of his 1954-57 personal contract as English horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra in which he was off ered “66 and 2/3% over the minimum” - a fi gure as principal bassoon of both the Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra that I have never remotely approached!

Minsker’s personal modesty aside, when the name of Marcel Tabuteau, or, for that matter, that of John de Lancie, was perceived by him to be attacked in any way, he came to the fore with the tenacity of a pit bull. He defended John de Lancie aft er de Lancie’s unfair dismissal from the Directorship of the Curtis Institute by shady members of the Curtis board of directors in 1985. Th rough the ensuing decades Minsker wrote directly to them and to the press about their mistreatment of Mr. de Lancie.

THE WOODWIND CLASS

John Minsker’s uncompromising nature manifested itself in the classes I was lucky to be a part of in the early 80s. When I was studying at Curtis, most Th ursdays John Minsker taught a woodwind phrasing class. I attended those classes for four years, from 1981 to 1985. His Th ursday class and Mr. de Lancie’s Monday woodwind class consisted of two woodwind quintets, one would play in de Lancie’s class while


THE DOUBLE REED 19

TABUTEAU’S “GETTHEMREADYFORME” MAN

In earlier days, the 40s and the 50s, John Minsker taught many of the most illustrious oboists of the latter half of the 20th century: Louis Rosenblatt, Alfred Genovese, William Criss, and John Mack - among others - before their days at Curtis with Tabuteau.

I was one of the fortunate crop of musicians he taught at Curtis a quarter of a century later.

A PASSIONATE LIFE

Born in Charleston, West Virginia on January 23, 1912 - ten weeks before the Titanic sailed - like Tabuteau, John Minsker began his early musical training as a violinist. He achieved a high level of performance on that instrument and as a teen took part in the National Youth Orchestra

in Dallas. Just three years ago, I brought a violin to John’s apartment in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. I had recently purchased it and was learning to play - badly! Th ough reluctant, he was persuaded to pick it up. Aft er a few moments required to “get his bearings” he began to faintly play the opening theme of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, adroitly shift ing into higher positions! I asked him how long it had been since he had held a violin. Aft er a moment of refl ection he matter-of-factly said, “74 years.”

At 16, Minsker bought an oboe and George Crumb, a clarinetist and an eminent local musician in Charleston (father of the famed composer) helped him to begin playing. Soon aft erwards, while vacationing with a friend in Philadelphia during the 1930 winter break from his fi rst year of study at Ithaca College in New York, he planned to take one or two oboe lessons with the great Marcel Tabuteau.

Prior to those lessons with Tabuteau, Minsker had heard recordings of the Philadelphia Orchestra and had noticed that the oboe sound in particular drew his attention. He later told me that, at the time, he thought, “‘Th at oboe’s such a marvelous instru-ment.’ - Well, of course, it wasn’t the oboe. It was Tabuteau!”

John confessed to me that when he met Marcel Tabuteau on that fateful December day in 1930, he

artists, I heard my fi rst Fischer-Dieskau and Feuermann in those sessions. John didn’t just enjoy the artistry of these legendary performers, he absorbed it and then transmitted the essence of their greatness to us kids at Curtis through detailed analysis of their musicianship, sometimes note by note. Th ose listening sessions were, in short, a revelation. Th rough them, John taught us how to listen by pointing out what to listen for.

MINSKER AND “LINE”

Th rough John Minsker, Sol Schoenbach, and John de Lancie, I was exposed to a great artistic tradition, the “Philadelphia School of Woodwind Playing,” which was founded by the legendary oboist Marcel Tabuteau. While Dr. Schoenbach cultivated an understanding of the structure of music and Mr. de Lancie gave us the strategies of playing long tones, intervals, attacks, and infl ections, Minsker, above the others, stressed the importance of the concept of the ‘musical line.’ In my life, this has been the single most important musical lesson I have ever learned from anyone, and I thank him for that. Of course, all aspects of musical expression were addressed in his classes in addition to the all-important ‘line,’ but with Minsker ‘line’ was a consuming passion.



of his tone are astounding. Minsker’s clear, unforced quality rings. As Tabuteau taught, Minsker’s truly was “the amplifi cation of a dolce tone.”

In November of 1959, Minsker’s impulsive nature struck. He quit the Philadelphia Orchestra aft er 23 years of service, citing to the management that Louis Rosenblatt, who had been substituting as an extra oboist, was an excellent English horn player, so there was no longer a need for his services! So that week Minsker left . He told me his decision to leave was a combination of his frustration at not being able to deal with the diffi culties of reed making as well as Ormandy’s dull music making.

Minsker had a wonderful run with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He had played for fi ve seasons with Leopold Stokowski; had taken part in the orchestra’s fi rst international tour in 1949; had made numerous recordings of the standard works, including many of the great orchestral English horn solos; yet I truly believe that the crowning moment of Minsker’s professional life occurred aft er he left the orchestra.

With great sentiment, John told me the following story. Aft er nineteen years away, Leopold Stokowski returned to lead his Philadelphia Orchestra again. Th is was in February of 1960, four months aft er Minsker’s resignation. Minsker had played the previous week as an extra oboist and wanted to play for Stokowski one last time. He asked the personnel manager if he could play extra oboe for those concerts. Before Stokowski’s fi rst rehearsal with the orchestra, the personnel manager, knowing the extra expense of hiring another

knew immediately that his destiny awaited him in Philadelphia. Not completely sure of pursuing a career in music before this providential meeting, his lessons with Tabuteau convinced him that, “If I’m going to do this, this is the only place to be!” In fact, Minsker was so inspired by Tabuteau that he never returned to Ithaca. He remained in Philadelphia to study privately with Tabuteau through the winter and following spring. In the fall of 1931 he was formally admitted as a student of Tabuteau’s at Curtis. Minsker’s impulsive nature, illustrated here by his willingness to drop everything and move to Philadelphia, allied with his great insight, made his life one of great passion and sudden upheaval. Yet he was a supremely low-keyed individual in demeanor, but with an inner core of iron. Even though he was a man of certainty in his beliefs, in the 26 years I was granted to know him I never once heard him raise his voice.

In the fall of 1934 he was hired, while still a student at Curtis, as solo English horn of the Detroit Symphony by Ossip Gabrilowitsch. It was in Detroit that he met his fi rst wife Lily, who passed away in 1960 (they had two sons). In 1936, aft er only two seasons with the Detroit Symphony, Leopold Stokowski hired Minsker as solo English horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was the last solo instrumentalist hired by Stokowski during the Maestro’s illustrious partnership with that orchestra.

Minsker soon became known not only for his phrasing but also his magnifi cent tone. John Mack said, “I remember when I was a youngster going to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra with their great English horn player, John Minsker. Th e whole orchestra could be tuning up on the stage of the Academy of Music, and Minsker would pick up the English horn and begin to play in this great cacophony of sound, and you heard him! Th ere it was, no forcing - no anything! Perhaps [this occurred] by the purity of his thoughts or something!” Remembering a Philadelphia Orchestra concert in which Minsker played the massive, unaccompanied off -stage English horn solo from Tristan und Isolde, John de Lancie recalled, “At the conclusion, Tabuteau turned to me and said, ‘I could not have done it better myself!!’ Th at should say it all.” Coming from Tabuteau, that was immense praise indeed.

Among his many wonderful recordings, John Minsker recorded Sibelius’ Swan of Tuonela with Ormandy twice, in 1940 and 1950. Both recordings are spectacular, but I am partial to the earlier one. Minsker’s seriousness of purpose, the fl awless line (without a hint of bulging) and the depth and breadth

John Minsker onstage at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia (1951).


THE DOUBLE REED 21

off er of a position at Curtis, was answered by de Lancie with the following words, written on August 22. In this letter de Lancie held an ace up his sleeve:

“ … my initial reaction was one of great disap-pointment. … I don’t think I have to reiterate my admiration and respect for your artistry, which I was privileged to hear and share for many years. I am positive there is no one in America today that can even approach your knowledge and understanding of the great concepts of music Tabuteau represented. For the young wind play-ers not to have at least some contact with you is, to me, a very sad thought.

“… I am pleading with you to reconsider, with the prospect of fi nding a period of four or fi ve weeks, say in the middle of the winter, or at some other time that would be convenient for you [to come and teach].”

Minsker wrote to de Lance in response two days later, August 24, 1978:

“In reply to your letter of August 22, 1978 I must say that you are a very clever devil. By invoking the venerable name of Tabuteau you have intro-

oboist had not been allocated, spoke to Stokowski about it. As per the policy of the Philadelphia Orchestra at that time, when a conductor wanted more players than had been agreed upon in advance, it fell to the the conductor to pay the extra player’s salary out of his own pocket. Stoki listened and while at the podium he looked at Minsker who was standing some distance away and said, in that strangely Stokowskian idiom, “If I play, you play.” Minsker testifi ed that his participation in those historic reunion concerts with Stokowski was “the musical thrill of my life.” To be a part of the Stokowski magic again aft er nearly twenty years was a fi tting end to John Minsker’s playing career.

Upon his abrupt retirement from the Philadelphia Orchestra, he became a piano technician. He quickly developed a clientele that was loyal through the years.

In 1970 he married his second wife Betty. Th is year they celebrated 37 years together.

RELUCTANT RETURN TO TEACHING

In a strange parallel to Stokowski’s long absence from Philadelphia, nineteen years were to pass aft er Minsker’s resignation from the Philadelphia Orchestra before Minsker received a letter from his continuing friend, John de Lancie, asking him to teach a woodwind class at Curtis. In 1978, part of de Lancie’s master plan as the Institute’s new director was to get Minsker to take part in the education of the Curtis students by having him teach a woodwind class. Minsker would have none of it. He had sold his instruments shortly aft er leaving the orchestra and had no interest in teaching. He had not played a note in nearly two decades. At 66, he was happy in his life as it stood. His only ambition as a musician had been to play up to the standards he and his beloved teacher had set. And he had devotedly lived up to those standards through 25 years of orchestral playing. He politely refused de Lancie’s request.

De Lancie’s original letter and Minsker’s reply seem to have vanished, according to Minsker himself, but their subsequent correspondence survives.

Minsker’s letter of April 18, 1978 (ironically Stokowski’s birthday), in which he refused de Lancie’s initial Th e only known photo of John Minsker teaching at Curtis in 1982.



in 1947, when people thought you were from Mars if you didn’t eat meat. He was a pacifi st during World War II and handed out anti-war pamphlets on the streets of Philadelphia. He abruptly resigned from the Philadelphia Orchestra, mid-season, because he had become fed up with the diffi culties of reed making and with his ever-rising, unreachable musical standards. He also confessed that he absolutely despised touring! Additionally, he was an unashamed atheist - but only spoke his mind on this subject if asked. He was in favor of doctor assisted suicide and was a proud member of the “Hemlock Society.” Earlier, in his school days, in what must have been a particularly diffi cult lesson with Tabuteau, he had become so frustrated with the diffi culties in achieving the musical results he wanted - and could undoubtedly hear in his head, but not from his oboe - that he took the upper and lower joints of the oboe and “raked” them across each other, displacing and bending a number of keys. Tabuteau, most assuredly sensing something of great value in the young Minsker, had the oboe fi xed.

TABUTEAU’S CLOSEST COLLEAGUE

Th e time Minsker spent with Marcel Tabuteau, both as a student and colleague, adds up to more than twenty-one years - a longer musical association than that experienced by any other oboist (except Louis de Fulvio, who played alongside Tabuteau as second oboe for twenty-nine years.) Th is makes Minsker the Tabuteau student who, in Minsker’s own words, “heard Tabuteau more than any other.” In addition, Minsker oft en accompanied Tabuteau to his music studio on the fourth fl oor of the Ludlow Building on 16th Street where the Maestro (or “Maitre” as he was sometimes called) would make reeds until late into the night. He would oft en ask Minsker to step into the hallway, close the studio door behind him, and then judge the merits of various reeds and oboes he was testing inside the studio. Th rough that closed door, Minsker further developed his consummate understanding of what Tabuteau was striving for both tonally and artistically. If the tone colors and infl ections penetrated that door, the reed and the oboe must be responding to Tabuteau’s wishes. Minsker remembered, “Some of the playing I heard there was just fantastic. I had a key to the studio and I practically lived there. I prepared Tabuteau’s cane for him. He treated me like a son.”

duced a new perspective from which point of view it makes it diffi cult for me to hold fast to a decision which I had considered irrevocable.

“I will, of course, have to discuss this with you in person. Perhaps we could meet at my apart-ment in Wynnewood, in which case, and time permitting, I think you would fi nd it rewarding to listen to a recording of Maria Callas.”

I fi nd it amusing, and telling, that Minsker was inviting de Lancie to a “listening session” while tacitly accepting the position at Curtis!

In a letter written in 1979, Minsker wrote to de Lancie:

“I deeply appreciate the honor which you be-stowed upon me by selecting me to be the fi rst to occupy the Marcel Tabuteau Chair for Wood-wind Studies, and I am keenly aware of the tre-mendous responsibility it places upon me. I shall do my utmost to prove myself worthy of your confi dence in me, and I am certain that I may feel free to call upon you from time to time for advice.”

In 2004, Minsker, at age 92, wrote to Gary Graff man, the Curtis Institute’s Director at that time:

“… I declined [de Lancie’s] fi rst request that I teach at the Institute, and reconsidered only af-ter a conversation with him subsequent to [his] letter. It became clear to me that I owed it to Mr. Tabuteau’s memory to aid in the preservation of his pedagogy for at least one more generation of students. I attempted to instill in them the feeling that they were part of a long tradition of excellence at the Institute with the hope that they, in turn, would wish to pass this on to their students. … I refused all monetary compensa-tion for this six year period as an instructor …”

Considering his reverence for the memory of Marcel Tabuteau, Minsker’s generosity is not surprising.

Personally speaking, I can say that Minsker succeeded wonderfully in his eff ort to pass on the Tabuteau tradition.

A PASSIONATE MAN

John was a fi ercely uncompromising person and musician. For example, he had become a vegetarian


THE DOUBLE REED 23

END OF AN ERA

John Minsker’s infl uence upon my own development as a musician as well as his impact on other areas of my life has been immense. His love of music, his admiration for those recorded musical artists he revered and the deep respect he held for his teacher were and are continuing sources of inspiration to me. Finally, his entreaty to “Read great books. Experience life. Do things. Go places. Educate yourself beyond the study of music and all of that will be refl ected in the music you play,” was a revelation to me while a student of his at Curtis. I count myself as extremely fortunate to have had John Minsker as a guiding musical mentor during my time at Curtis and in my life since then.

John Minsker and his gentle wife, Betty (b. 1911), hosted me time and again at their apartment home. Over a decade ago they even asked if they could be my surrogate grandparents - an honor the thought of which still aff ects me emotionally today.

With John’s death, a door to that now almost mythical world of Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra - with Marcel Tabuteau as its shining star - is now closed forever. For the most part, only second-hand accounts remain. But John was there. He lived the greatness of that era. And he was here with us only weeks ago.

I feel that anyone who was lucky enough to know John would feel as I do: that John was a grateful participant in a blessed time of musical life in America.

By the way, to the last, a large, framed photograph of Marcel Tabuteau graced the Minsker piano.

I will miss John immensely and I am grateful that I shared his last “great” day with him. I will miss his unforgettable smile and the quiet laugh he had that always had him closing his eyes tightly and opening his mouth as far as he could.

With his passing, the world has lost a great gentleman. And the musical world has lost an invaluable source of information and inspiration. ◆


BASSOONISTS’ NEWS OF INTEREST24

Congratulations from the IDRS to both Nathaniel and Jacqueline for these appointments

Laura Hauser was recently appointed to the faculty of the University of Central Florida where she teaches bassoon and music theory. Laura is an active free-lance bassoonist performing frequently with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and Winter Park Bach Festival Orchestra and will continue to serve on the faculty of the Rollins College School of Music.

Th e fi rst annual Advanced Bassoon Institute at Interlochen took place at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in June, 2007. Bassoonists representing 22 states came to Interlochen for six days of intensive study in private lessons, masterclasses, recitals and reading sessions with three well-known artist faculty: George Sakakeeny, Eric Stomberg and William Winstead.

Students participated in ten masterclasses, which covered a wide spectrum of repertoire. Th e classes covered unaccompanied repertoire, works for bassoon and piano, concerti and orchestral works. Th ere was, of course, a class dedicated to the Concert Studies, Op. 26 of Ludwig Milde. Th e student experience was also enhanced by the tireless work of teaching assistant Oleksiy Zacharov, and pianist Taisiya Pushkar. Oleksiy worked with many students in masterclass, lessons and reed scraping while Taisiya gave students the opportunity to play many works with a truly fi rst-rate pianist and collaborator. Bravo Oleksiy and Taisiya!

One of the highlights of the week was the faculty recital performed by Sakakeeny, Stomberg, and Winstead, with Pushkar’s collaboration at the piano. Aft er spending time talking about the importance of young bassoonists working on Milde, the faculty each performed a Concert Study from Milde’s Op. 26 collection on the recital. Other works performed included the Stomberg’s rendition of Cavatina from Gioacchino Rossini’s Th e Th ieving Magpie, arranged by Frédéric Berr; Sakakeeny’s performance of Antonio Torriani’s Divertimento per Fagotto con Accompagnamento di Pianoforte Sopra Motivi dell’opera Lucia di Lammermoor di Donizetti, Op. 26,

Bassoonists’ News of Interest

Ronald KlimkoMcCall, Idaho

RECENT BASSOON APPOINTMENTS

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, recently announced the appointment of Christopher Millard as lecturer in bassoon. Chris comes to Northwestern from the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa, Canada, where he has served as principal bassoon since 2004. Prior to that, he was principal bassoon of the Vancouver Symphony and the CBC Radio Orchestra, Vancouver for 28 years. Chris has also appeared at various festivals and with such prestigious ensembles as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Marlboro Festival and the Grand Teton Music Festival. He is also a member of the Caliban Bassoon Quartet and can be heard on various recordings on the Summit and CBC labels. In 2004 he was a Juno Award winner for his recording of the Bassoon Concerto by Canadian composer Jacques Hétu. He will be commuting from Ottawa to Evanston on a regular basis. Congratulations, Chris, on this important appointment.

Bowling Green (Ohio) State University’s College of Musical Arts has announced the appointment of bassoonist Nathaniel Zeisler as Assistant Professor of Bassoon and oboist Jacqueline Leclair as Assistant Professor of Oboe. Dr. Zeisler recently completed his DMA degree from the University of Michigan, following his MM from Michigan and his BM from Old dominion University. He has studied with Daniel Matsukawa, Kathrine Oliver, Steven Wilson, Richard Beene and Jeff rey Lyman. In 2004, Nathaniel founded the Envision Chamber Consort, an ensemble dedicated to making contemporary communication through the arts, and he continues to serve as executive director and bassoonist of the group. Dr. Jacqueline Leclair has been a freelance performer and teacher in New York City for the past thirteen years. She will continue to perform in New York and teach at the Manhattan school of Music’s Graduate Contemporary Performance Program in addition to her duties at BGSU. Jacqueline received her BM, MM and DMA from the Eastman School of Music and from State University of New York- Stony Brook. Her teachers were Richard Killmer and Ronald Roseman.

10 BNOI.indd 2410 BNOI.indd 24 12/11/07 7:43:54 PM12/11/07 7:43:54 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 25

OF INTEREST TO BASSOONISTS…

Th e International Music Competition of ARD for 2008 will be for viola, clarinet, string quartet, and most important bassoon. Th e competition will take place in Munich, Germany from April 1-19, 2008, and is limited to ages 16 to 28. First prize is 10,000 Euros. For more information regarding repertoire, application forms, and application deadline, one may write to:

Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARDBayerischer RundfunkRundfunkplatz 180335 MunichGermany Tel: (48/89) 59 00 24 71Fax: (49/89) 59 00 35 73Email: [email protected]: http://www.be-online.de/kultur

In recent e-mail correspondence with retired Los Angeles Philharmonic bassoonist, Alan Goodman, I learned of the following sad news on November 13th:

“I just last night received an e-mail that David Breidenthal (principal bassoon of the Los An-geles Philharmonic, Ed.) was hit by the mirror of a London bus while crossing the street. My in-

and Winstead’s performance of Ping Jin’s work Four Shaman’s Songs, which was premiered by Stomberg in 1997. Th e faculty concluded the evening with a rousing rendition of the Polonaise and Polka from Julius Weissenborn’s Trio (complete with an encore performance of the Polka!).

Congratulations to all of the bassoonists who participated in the inaugural Advanced Bassoon Institute! We are excited to announce that the second annual Advanced Bassoon Institute will take place June 14-19, 2008. For more information, please go to: www.interlochen.org/camp/advanced_bassoon_institute.

BASSOONISTS’ PERFORMANCES

Bassoonist Th omas Priest, professor of bassoon and music education at Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, performed the Bassoon Concerto in A minor (RV 495) with the Weber State Symphony Orchestra on October 7, 2007, in Ogden. Th om also gave a faculty recital there on October 23, 2007 where he was assisted by Lori Wilke, bassoon; percussionists Don Keipp, Dan Chamberland and Aaron Chavez; and pianist Lydia Wu. Works performed included compositions by Vivaldi, Galliard and Dan Levitan, and included a performance of Th om’s own Quartet for Two Marimbas and Two Bassoons.

On October 21, 2007, Marc Vallon, professor of bassoon at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presented a lecture/demonstration on Playing the Baroque Bassoon in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Minnesota Bassoon Association.

Bassoonist David Oyen served on the faculty as bassoon teacher and performer at the 25th Annual Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota during June to July, 2007. Th e Lutheran Summer Academy and Festival has taken place over the years at Augsburg College, Minneapolis; Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois; Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota; Luther College, Decorah, Iowa; St. Olaf College, Northfi eld, Minnesota; Valparaiso University, Indiana; and Wittenberg University, Springfi eld, Ohio.

David Oyen


BASSOONISTS’ NEWS OF INTEREST26

part of the European jazz scene in the 1950’s playing with such luminaries as the pianist, Ro-mano Mussolini (yes, the very same dictator’s son), and the popular bandleader, Hans Kohler on TV on the continent. Later Fred toured with a some pop fi gures, backing stars like Johhny Mathis.

His grandmother was a performing classical pianist which infl uenced his decision to become a musician. He recieved a degree in Musicology in 1957, and came into the LA Philharmonic in the late 60’s after a successful career as a jazz man, staying on until retirement in the late 80’s. Afterwards he freelanced in the Los Angeles area, gradually becoming less active as a series of debilitating illnesses aff ected his health. He passed away in October of 2007, and is survived by his wife of many years, Marlyn, and two sons. Fred was a great colleague, humanitarian, and an unbelieveable ear.”

Alan Goodman 11/15/07

Th e IDRS joins Alan and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in mourning the loss of Fred Dutton.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE…

Recently, I have resurrected my lovely Buff et French system bassoon, Fifi from under my desk and have begun to run my scales and study my Milde as my Maître Maurice Allard so carefully taught me when I studied with him in 1983-84. Th is “Renaissance” constitutes an attempt (desperate?) to “fi nish” the work I started on the Buff et so long ago. Now that I am retired and have the time, I hope I can fi nally achieve the artistic level on the instrument to which I once aspired. Wish me luck! Meanwhile, through the wonderful Yahoo Group; [email protected] and French bassoon performer Larry Ibisch, I have learned that recordings of French bassoonist Jean Claude Montac can be found at www.quantum-classics.eu. If you are curious about the French bassoon, go ahead and check both of these internet sites out.

AN “OUT OF BODY” EXPERIENCE!

From the Doublereed list serve comes the following fascinating report from Phil Freihofer:

“Th ere’s an amusing paragraph in Th e Art of Quartet

formation is that his nose and both cheekbones are broken. He’ll be brought back to Los Angeles, from a London hospital when he stabilizes. He’ll undergo reconstructive surgery in LA. I’m pretty upset to hear all this as I played duets with him last month at the memorial service for Fred Dutton, our contra-bassoon colleague of long ago in the LAPO. He was in good spirits - look-ing forward to the tour, his last before retiring after (approximately) 45 years ofplaying in the LAPO. Big Bummer for sure.”

It was heartening, however, to receive the more recent e-mail correspondence from Alan:

“You might be interested to learn that Breiden-thal has had surgery to repair 14 fractures to his face. I’m told he’s recovering well, and is up, around, walking outside, and, except for swelling and bruises, is on his way back to stardom.”

Th is indeed is encouraging news, and the IDRS wishes David speedy recovery and a successful return to his performances.

I was also surprised to learn through this correspondence with Alan that retired Los Angeles Philharmonic contrabassoonist Fred Dutton had passed away. I asked Alan if he would also provide a tribute to Fred and he wrote me the following:

“Fred Dutton was a about as talented a musi-cian as you could fi nd hiding behind a contra-bassoon in a major symphony orchestra. At times I would sit next to him during a heavy duty romantic symphony and he would lean over and whisper, “Hey, Man, listen to this. Mahler brought the violas in as the turning of the inverted Italian 6th chord moves to modu-late at letter G. Listen, right here ....... beautful, Man!” He had an ear that could hear a rat uri-nate on cotton - as they say in the Army.

He was contra-bassoonist of the Los Ange-les Philharmonic for over twenty years, having studied bassoon with the principal, Fredrick Moritz (who retired in 1970). But before his clas-sical stint with the Philharmonic, Freddy had a distinguished career in the major leagues of jazz as mainly a bassist, but also recording some jazz tunes on bassoon and contra. He was the bassist for Dave Brubeck’s fi rst quartet in 1951, playing and recording alongside the mainstays, Brubeck and alto saxophonist, Paul Desmond. He was


THE DOUBLE REED 27

AND FINALLY…

From one of my wonderful former teachers, Richard Lottridge, emeritus bassoon professor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, comes this neat picture with the following words: “How’s this for an embouchure? It’s my three year old grandson Dana who loves to play the bassoon whenever he visits us.”

Well, when it comes to bassooning, it’s never too young to get started…

Playing, Th e Guarneri Quartet in Conversation with David Blum (Knopf 1986).

Th e topic is on how to interpret two eighth notes (same pitch) both beamed and tied together (when it seems obvious that a straight quarter note could easily have been used instead, as far as the notation goes).

From page 73, Th e Shaping Process:

SOYER: I have an amusing story about this. Some years ago I met a girl who claimed to be a clair-voyant and to have spoken with Dante. I asked her if she thought she could also speak with Beethoven, and she said, “I don’t see why not. What is it you would like to know?” I wrote out one of these examples of slurs over two notes and put a big question mark next to it. Several weeks later I ran into her. “I’ve just spoken with Beethoven,” she said. “I’m never going to do that again. He was very unpleasant; he’s short, has a rough voice - and I don’t even speak German. But I showed him what you had written and he sang the answer. It sounded like this: ‘uhh-uhh . . . uhh-uhh.’” Th is girl had had no musical train-ing and couldn’t possibly have known what the notation meant.

Hmm…Hoax or not, it is a great story!!!


OBOISTS IN THE NEWS28

to participate in the group commission and premiere of Bernard Rands’s Memo 8 for Solo Oboe. Jennet has been principal oboist of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra since 2006, and serves as instructor of oboe at Valparaiso University and at the Pine Moun-tain Music Festival in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She also performs as principal oboe with the North-west Indiana Symphony Orchestra, the New Philhar-monic, and the Illinois Symphony, and is a former member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Jennet has served as principal oboe with the Spoleto-USA Festival Orchestra, and can be heard on that group’s recording of Kurt Weill’s Die Bürgschaft , available on EMI Classics. As a founding member of the Barossa Quintet, she has performed numerous recitals and countless educational presentations in the Chicago Public Schools through the International Music Foundation and the Ravinia Festival’s Classical Con-nections program. Since 1998 she has owned and op-erated Jennet Ingle Reeds, specializing in customized oboe, English horn, and oboe d’amore reeds. Jennet is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Richard Killmer.

JARED HAUSER recently joined the faculty of the University of Central Florida. He will con-tinue to serve on the faculty of the Lynn Conservatory of Music and as principal oboe of the Or-lando Philharmonic Orchestra. Jared is also pleased to announce

the release of his CD Temporal Phantasies of Britten and Hindemith on Blue Griffi n Records (available at http://www.bluegriffi n.com), and will perform selec-tions from the recording on January 13th in Lansing, Michigan as part of the Blue Griffi n/First Presby-terian Church of Lansing Fine Arts Series. Some of Jared’s recent activities have included performances of the Martinů Oboe Concerto with the Hot Springs Music Festival Orchestra at the Clinton Presidential Libarary in Little Rock, Arkansas, serving as guest principal oboe with the Orchestra Camerata Du-

Oboists in the News

Compiled by Dan StolperPalm Desert, California

Oboist JENNET INGLE was soloist in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Oboe Concerto in C Major, with the Illinois Symphony on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at the First Christian Church in Springfi eld. In an interview with Nick Rogers of the Springfi eld Journal-Register, Ms. Ingle refers to the concerto as “a fun piece, it’s

happy all the way through, and it’s got all sorts of light technique, which is fun to do. But it’s not the easiest thing. To capture that very Mozart-y fl uff y elegance takes a more experienced player. A young student or young player can’t really pull it off because there’s a fair amount of technique you have to get through. Th at’s why it’s always on auditions. It’s very revealing.” Th is was Ms. Ingle’s fi rst performance of the piece with a professional ensemble. Conductor Karen Lynne Deal was on the podium for a program that included Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 in A Major, and Adolphus Hailstork’s Sonata da Chiesa.

Jennet Ingle has been noted for her “extraordi-nary artistry and virtuosity” (Illinois Times) and for the “intimacy and spirit of fun” (State Journal-Regis-ter) in her playing. She has appeared as soloist with the Illinois Chamber Orchestra, the Pine Mountain Music Festival’s Baroque Chamber Orchestra, the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, and the Rochester (New York) Philharmonic Orchestra. In March 2007, Jennet gave the world premiere of Doug Lofstrom’s Oboe Concertino, a work commissioned for her by the New Philharmonic Orchestra and the College of DuPage. She has performed on Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess concert series, broadcast live on WFMT radio, and in numerous solo recitals in Chi-cago, Springfi eld (Illinois), and Valparaiso (Indi-ana), and at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In 2001 Jennet won a Farwell Award from Chicago’s Musicians Club of Women, and in 2003 she was a semifi nalist in the Seventh Tokyo International Oboe Competition, fi nishing in the top fi ft een out of one hundred fi ft een applicants worldwide. Jennet has a lifelong interest in new music, which led her in 2000

11 OITN.indd 2811 OITN.indd 28 12/11/07 7:44:24 PM12/11/07 7:44:24 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 29

a backdrop whose mood shift s from mysterious to triumphant and back again.

Th e second movement, entitled “Meditation” is a slow lamenting “song” in G minor that was initially inspired by a fi lm score by Trevor Jones. An agitated episode in which the soloist plays various fast scales and arpeggios against the strings who play a more intense variation on the main theme, contrasts with the slower and more lyrical outer sections. Instead of ending in the home key of G minor, however, the movement has a coda which ends in the key of E Major. Th is serves to set up the fi nale, a rondo in the same key.

Th e third movement combines the light classical styling of Mozart’s own oboe concerto with a more contemporary harmonic language and requires the soloist to play the highest practical note on the instrument, a high G above the treble staff . Th is revised version of the concerto is for solo oboe, strings, and two horns.

Mr. Fossa received his bachelor’s degree and the performer’s certifi cate from the Crane School of Music (Potsdam, New York) in May, 1998. He was awarded the Master’s degree in music performance from Florida State University in December of 2000. His oboe teachers were Gene-Marie Green, Glenn Guiles, and Eric Ohlsson.

JAREN PHILLEO is currently the principal oboist of the Loui-siana Philharmonic Orchestra. Born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, Jaren auditioned for the LPO following her graduate stud-ies at the Shepherd School of Mu-sic at Rice University where she studied with Robert Atherholt.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in music perfor-mance from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with John Mack. Jaren also attended the Interlochen Arts Academy for two years and studied with Dan Stolper. Prior to obtaining her position with the LPO, Jaren was the principal oboist of the Sarasota Opera for two seasons. She has spent her summers attending the Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, Verbier Youth Orchestra, Spoleto Festival USA, and has spent the past three summers at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. Jaren currently resides in New Orleans and teaches oboe at Tulane University.

cale of Turin on their US tour, and on February 14, 2008 he will appear as soloist with the Lake Sumter Chamber Orchestra performing concerti by Bach and Albinoni.

Principal oboist SHEA SCRUGGS joined the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in 2007. Originally from Miami, Florida, Shea attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadel-phia where he studied with Richard Woodhams. He also holds a degree

in English Literature from Swarthmore College. He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy where he studied with Dan Stolper. Shea has performed with many orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and Atlanta Symphony. He joined the San Francisco Opera Orchestra following a season as acting princi-pal oboe of the Cincinnati Symphony.

MATTHEW FOSSA’s Concerto for Oboe received its world premiere performance in the opening concert of the Pensacola (Florida) Symphony Chamber Orchestra’s Silver Bullet Stained Glass Series on Friday, September 21st, 2007; the composer was oboe soloist. Fossa is a prolifi c composer, having written works ranging from solo pieces to

compositions for full band and orchestra. His music has been performed in various venues throughout the United States, England and Brazil. He is principal oboist of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, and co-principal oboist of the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra. He balances his busy performance career with a faculty position at Pensacola Junior College.

Discussing this concerto, the composer observes that it was completed on New Year’s Day of 2003, and later revised in 2007. It was written mainly as a “prescription” of sorts for self-improvement. It is a neo-classical work inspired by a variety of ideas ranging from fi lm scores to authentic classical oboe concerti. Th e fi rst movement, entitled “Pastoral Sonata” is based in part on a baritone aria in Carl Orff ’s famous Carmina Burana. Beginning on a tonal center of E, lyrical themes and virtuoso passages are played over


OBOISTS IN THE NEWS30

development seminars. Th is summer, they were able to hear performances and master classes by a wide variety of artists including Sarah Chang and Evelyn Glennie. In addition, they worked with a variety of conductors including Robert Moody, David Lock-ington, James Gaffi gan and festival Music Director Gerard Schwartz.

Visitors to the OBOE CAFE in Bellingham, Wash-ington were in for a surprise on August 16th. An im-promptu convention descended on the small cafe to toast the recent nuptials of Karen Birch Blundell and her husband Reuben Blundell. “Adam De Sorgo and Dwight Parry were both members of our wedding party. As the reception drew to a close we decided to see if Joe Robinson was in town and might like to get together. What better place for a passel of oboists to meet?” Th e cafe, housed in the Best Western Lake-way Inn, features oboe inspired drinks, menu items and decor. Souvenir mugs will soon be available for purchase as well.

As principal oboe of Sinfo-nia da Camera, JOHN DEE performed at several loca-tions throughout Beijing this past summer including the Central Conservatory and at the major concert venue in Shanghai, China. Professor of oboe and the Bill A. Nugent Endowed Professor of Music

Performance at the University of Illinois, John was the featured soloist with Sinfonia on October 27th

Oboist THOMAS GALLANT gave master classes at the High Plains Band Camp this past July 16-21. Th e program was founded in 1947 and took place on the campus of Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan-sas. Mr. Gallant gave classes in oboe and reed mak-ing to the 12 oboe students at the camp. While at Fort Hays State University he performed Donizetti’s Sonata and Verroust’s Solo de Concert as well as Rim-sky-Korsakov’s Variations for oboe and band. Also on the faculty were Fort Hays State University oboe instructor Kay Werth and Salina Symphony oboist Lindsay Ladman.

Th is summer, eight young oboists were chosen through competitive auditions to participate in the EASTERN MUSIC FESTIVAL. Students at the fi ve week festival performed in weekly orchestra concerts, played and performed chamber music, took lessons and master classes and participated in professional Photo Op at the Oboe Cafe. Pictured (left to right)

Adam De Sorgo, Joe Robinson, Dwight Parry, Karen Birch Blundell and Reuben Blundell.

Eastern Music Festival Oboe Section pictured (left to right). Front row: Kendra Cheney, Jeralee Johnson, Caroline Ross. Back row: Sarah Kendis, Juan Flores, Evan Ocheret, Sara Lynch, Patrick Carter.

Tom Gallant with students and staff at the High Plains Band Camp.

Phot

o by

Kar

en B

irch

Blun

dell

Phot

o by

Kar

en B

irch

Blun

dell


THE DOUBLE REED 31

for a Choir of Oboes and English horn on October 30, 2007 to observe John Mack’s birthday. Mr. Mack would have been 80 years old, and the oboe studio wanted to perform the piece on his birthday. Th ey played the piece again on November 15, 2007 on our woodwind ensemble recital.

“Th e performances were very successful and the students really liked the piece! Besides playing the piece in Mr. Mack’s memory, the recital was the day before Halloween; the students wanted to wear these reed hats to mark the occasion. I’m sure Mr. Mack would smile at the headgear!”

Le 5ème concours international de musique de chambre de Lyon (France) s’adressera aux

QUINTETTE A VENT - WOODWIND QUINTET

JuryPaolo Grazia (hautbois - Italie)

Andrew Marriner (clarinette - Angleterre)Michel Moraguès (fl ûte - France)

Jean-Claude Montac (basson – France)Froydis Ree Wekre (cor - Norvège)

Stefan Schilli (hautbois - Allemagne)Milan Turkovic (basson - Autriche)

RÉCOMPENSES - PRIZESA reward of 30,000 euros, several concerts in

France and in Europe

CONDITIONS DE PARTICIPATIONBe born aft er 1st January 1976 and 150 years max.

for the quintet

Closing date for applications: 31 January 2008

Young talented musicians attending your establishment may be interested. Please

let them know about the contest!

All information, rules, program, application, registration on

www.cimcl.fr

performing the Mozart Oboe Concerto K. 314 AND Le Tombeau de Couperin, on the same program. “Dee played the virtuoso passages with notable elan.”

In recent recitals at the Krannert Center’s Great Hall, John performed the French Suite by Alan Rich-ardson given to him as a gift by John deLancie and the Oboe, Bassoon and Piano Trios of Francaix and Previn with UI colleagues Tim McGovern and Julie Gunn. In addition, his Novenber 8th recital included three world premieres written for him. Bring Me an Axe and a Spade by Rafael Mevorach for soprano, oboe and string quartet, Serenade for oboe and string quintet by Elaine Fine and Suite for oboe and string quartet by Seymour Barab. Each new piece was re-ceived with enthusiasm by the large audience in at-tendence at the Krannert. On November 18th, John performed another oboe recital in Delray Beach, Florida with pianist, Edward Turgeon. Th e new year (February 16, 2008), brings John back to the stage performing the Marcello Concerto in C minor with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony and this summer (July 22-28, 2008), off ers the Th ird Annual Double Reed Week at the University of Illinois which has hosted 70 high school and college oboe and bassoon students from all over the world.

Dee and McGovern host this exciting week of double reed activities in addition to inviting guest clinicians each summer. Dee will join his UI col-leagues for the Burgos Chamber Music Festival in Spain (July 20-August 7), which will conclude with performances in Italy for the fi ve woodwind and fi ve brass student quintets selected to participate.

From double reed instructor LORRAINE DUSO of the University of Central Arkansas at Conway: “Th e Too Many Double Reeds Ensemble of Conway, Arkansas performed Margi Griebling-Haigh’s Sinfonia


OBITUARIES32

Klimko is accepting tributes and remembrances of Bill for publication in the next issue of Th e Double Reed. Th ose wishing to contribute can email their documents to him at [email protected] for inclusion in this article.

William Waterhouse was a teacher, mentor, and dear friend to so many of us, that it is almost impossible to imagine that we have lost such a great artist and truly remarkable human being. Shown above in a candid photo conversing with his dear wife Elisabeth and one of his many students Henry Skolnick at the Towson, Maryland, IDRS Conference in the summer of 1992, he appears as ageless as time itself. He will be so dearly missed by the double reed world which he served so tirelessly his entire life. With the very deepest regrets, the IDRS mourns the loss of this great man.

Obituaries

William Waterhouse (1931-2007)Noah A. Knepper (1921-2007)Albert Goltzer (1918-2007)Ferdinand Prior (1913-2007)

WILLIAM WATERHOUSE 19312007

It is with the deepest sadness and regret that the IDRS announces the death of one of the world’s truly great double reed artists: William Waterhouse, distinguished IDRS Honorary Member, former principal bassoon of the BBC Orchestra in London, former President of the British Double Reed Society, author of the New Langwill Index and Th e Bassoon, as well as scholarly articles and musical arrangements too numerous to mention, has died of multiple organ failure in the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence, Italy, while on vacation on November 5, 2007, at the age of 77.

A memorial service in his memory was held at St. Michael’s Church in Highgate, London, on November 23rd, 2007. Th ere are plans for a memorial concert in the future as well. IDRS bassoon editor Ronald

12 Obituaries.indd 3212 Obituaries.indd 32 12/11/07 8:12:44 PM12/11/07 8:12:44 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 33

a long and distinguished orches-tral career. Born in Brooklyn, New York on July 25, 1918, he did not begin to study music until he was thirteen, while at Brooklyn’s Tilden High School. Young Albert was a natural. In 1938, just nineteen years old, he was invited to join the New York

Philharmonic by then music director Sir John Barbi-rolli, who heard him play chamber music at a party. Just before that, he had won a scholarship to Juilliard as well as the Gabrilowitch Memorial Scholarship of the National Orchestral Association. He studied with Philharmonic musicians Engelbert Brenner, Bruno Labate and Michael Nazzi. Mr. Goltzer was so young he lied about his age so he could sign his contract with the orchestra. Mr. Goltzer took a leave of absence to serve in the military during World War II. In 1946, he assumed the position of solo oboist with the St. Louis Symphony. Aft er his stay in St. Louis, he was solo oboe with the CBS Symphony and the WOR Orchestra, and a member of the New York Woodwind Quintet. In 1955, Mr. Goltzer was in-vited back to the New York Philharmonic by Dimitri Mitropoulos, where he played until 1984 as associ-ate principal. Albert Goltzer made numerous record-ings and was on the faculties of the Juilliard, Mannes and Manhattan Schools of Music. He is survived by his beloved wife, Doris, an accomplished oboe and English horn player currently with the New York City Opera, son George and George’s wife, Barbara Gertel Goltzer, son Seth, brother-in-law Alvin Delman, and grandchildren Andrew, Jill, Samantha and Adam. His late brother, Harold Goltzer, played with him for many years as associate principal bassoonist of the New York Philharmonic.

From HAROLD EMERTRio de Janeiro, Brazil

Th e news of Al Goltzer’s passing is very, very sad news for me particularly because he was not only my prin-cipal teacher at Manhattan School of Music, but my long-time musical guide, my friend in good and bad times and a person I admired not only for his musical achievements but for his good humor and ....humil-ity! Many years ago I interviewed him for the IDRS magazine, in one of his (unsolicited) rare moments of self promotion.

I fi rst heard him play with the New York Philhar-monic back in the days when Pierre Monteux led the

NOAH A. KNEPPER 19212007

It is with great sadness that we report of the death of one of the IDRS’ most important members. Former IDRS founding member and past president Noah Knep-per, 85, passed away on Septem-ber 10th, 2007.

Noah A. Knepper was a fi ne musician and teacher. He was born on November 14, 1921, in

Columbus, Ohio. During World War II, Noah served in the Army Air Corps, and following his war service, received his Masters Degree in Music Education from the University of Michigan. He distinguished himself by teaching at colleges and universities in Mississippi, Kansas, Illinois and Texas. In 1990, Noah retired from Texas Christian University, where he had served as Dean of Graduate Studies in the School of Fine Arts. As a founding member of the IDRS, Noah was a long-time member of the Executive Committee and served two terms as President of the Society in the 1980’s. During his teaching career, which spanned more than 45 years, Noah taught performance, composi-tion and conducting, as well as his principal instru-ment, the oboe. He performed with many symphony orchestras and dance bands over the years. During the 1960’s through the 1980’s, Noah was a regular fi xture at the Café Manãna in Fort Worth, Texas. He was preceeded in death by his wife of 57 years, Doro-thy B. Knepper. His survivors include his daughter, Nedra Dibeler and her husband Vernon, of Bethany Beach, Deleware; sons Dennis Knepper and his wife Susan, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Scott Knepper and his wife, Cheryl, of Grapevine, Texas; grandchil-dren Colleen Scout and husband, Matt, Reed Dibeler, Allen Knepper, Blake Knepper and Nathan Winslow; and brothers John Knepper of Avon Park, Florida, and Edwin Knepper of Toledo, Ohio.

Th e IDRS joins Noah’s family, friends and former students in mourning his loss. We will, no doubt, have a memorial article in a future issue. Noah, you will be greatly missed.

ALBERT GOLTZER 19182007

Albert Goltzer, retired associate principal oboist of the New York Philharmonic, died Saturday in a Connecticut hospital of pneumonia. He was 89. Mr. Goltzer retired from the Philharmonic in 1984 aft er

Albert Goltzer


OBITUARIES34

I was just meaning this week to send him a re-cording of my performance this year for the fi rst time of the Sibelius Swan of Tuonela, which he himself had recorded so long ago with the CBS Symphony long before computer and digital recording. Th e reason I wanted to send him my recording was that - as usual when I was in need - he attended my telephone call from Brazil to the home for the aging (where he was being treated for illness) to give me what turned out to be my last lesson with him.

My only regret is that - for a lack of self promotion and knowhow in this fi eld of politicking for honors - Al Goltzer, my teacher, never was made an honorary member of the IDRS.

His humility, professionalism and good humor are qualities I have always admired and continue to pursue in my own professional and private life.

FERDINAND PRIOR 19132007

Ferdinand Prior, who played oboe and English horn with many major American orchestras and was also a much-loved teacher in the Cincinnati area, died on September 16, 2007, at the age of 94. For 63 years, he was married to the late Irma Biedenbender, a fellow Cincinnatian. He was the father of Daphne Prior of New York City and Dr. Stephen Prior (Patricia) of Wellesley, Mass., and the son of the late Howard and Bertha (Nadler) Prior.

A graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Mr. Prior played oboe for the original NBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Toscanini. He also played for the Minneapolis Symphony Orches-tra. Aft er the war and service in the Merchant Ma-rines, he joined the New York Philharmonic in 1946. Mr. Prior returned to Cincinnati in 1956 to play English horn in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He also began an active teaching career. He taught at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Miami and Xavier Universities and many local high schools. He also performed with regional music groups and ensembles. Mr. Prior retired from the CSO in 1978, but continued teaching well into his 80s. A long-time resident of Wyoming, Ohio, he remained physically active despite the onset of Parkinson’s disease. In his last years, he resided at Bridgeway Pointe Assisted Living, where he passed away last Sunday.

Contributions in memory of Mr. Prior can be sent to: Gift of Music Fund, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.

orchestra in a summer series of concerts at Lewisohn Stadium. I still recall his fi ne playing of the Beethoven 7th, which inspired me to try the unpredictable path of an oboe player,which has since taken me all over the world with numerous professional orchestras and as a recitalist and composer.

During the highlight of his career, the New York Philharmonic manager reportedly called him, as as-sociate fi rst oboe, “a rock of stability and dependabil-ity, ready to step in for whatever musical emergency and occasion.” And, from what Goltzer told me (be-tween puff s on the pipe he used to smoke), there were many such moments.

He was a tough teacher who told a student not what we would like to hear but what should be told.Parallel to his own life style, Goltzer emphasized musical excellence without too much “showing off .” But at the end of most lessons, there was usually time to speak shop talk about about pressures and diffi cul-ties of playing so many years in one of the world’s greatest orchestras with among the fi nest conductors and soloists. And there was also talk of his teacher,the unique and oft en eccentric Bruno Labate - an obo-ist who in the American musical scene dominated by Tabuteau - is oft en neglected or forgotten.

Numerous times since - at his urging - I left my hometown of New York City for a “little out of town experience” - I would visit him at what was once his studio near Lincoln Center or at his home in Con-necticut. Arriving from South Africa, Israel, Germa-ny or Brazil or from one of the many IDRS conven-tions and entering his work studio with new music, CDs, a gouging machine from Italy (- “you could have purchased a better one in Brooklyn”), etc. I al-ways thought I was coming to visit a type of musical father with something “new.” But most times though, Goltzer - from his long experience of playing in the original Porgy and Bess on Broadway, or in the St. Louis Symphony or in the tough professional world of the New York Philharmonic - had seen or heard it all!

Aft er many telephone calls and visits, I fi nally got Goltzer and his wife Doris, also a professional obo-ist and English horn player (New York City Opera), to visit the IDRS convention in Greensboro, North Carolina, where I performed a recital (and proudly introduced “my teacher”). Like a young musician just beginning his career on the oboe, Goltzer loved every moment of the gathering, the people, the recitals, and the competition for young artists. (And to think he had once insisted a double reed convention “was not for him” - “I prefer fi shing”).


THE DOUBLE REED 35

this remarkable musical force who changed each of our lives forever.

I fi rst met Bob Reinert in 1992 shortly aft er my arrival in Sarasota, Florida to join the Florida West Coast Symphony as its new principal bassoonist. Bob introduced himself to me backstage aft er a concert, complimented my playing and began a conversation about the bassoon and music which would continue until his death some fi ft een years later. At the time we met, I had been playing professionally for more than fi ft een years in four diff erent countries. My fa-ther had been a professional bassoonist before me; I had studied at two of the United States’ fi nest conser-vatories with exceptional, dedicated teachers; I had performed concerti in live television broadcasts in my native Mexico….in short, I felt like I had a good handle on the ins and outs of this most idiosyncratic of instruments. Th e last thing I expected to fi nd in Sarasota, Florida was a master teacher who would turn my concepts of sound and music upside down and who would, over more than a decade, completely transform my playing. I also found a second father, best man at my wedding, grandfather to my children, mentor, therapist, and best friend.

In the following paragraphs you will read testi-monials from bassoonists with much higher profi le careers than mine, off ering their memories and in-sights into Bob’s unforgettable presence. I am so very grateful to the IDRS for their recognition of Bob’s amazing contribution via his election to Honor-ary Membership just three weeks before he passed away. You cannot imagine the impact that this ac-knowledgement had on Bob – I know it gave him a tremendous sense of pride and humility to join such an esteemed group of individuals. Suffi ce it to say that Charles Robert Reinert, with his unprecedented and unmatched ideas on sound and sound production, reed making, breathing, singing, bassoon construc-tion and the bassoon’s capacity for music making transformed the lives of all those who could see past his quiet, modest demeanor and recognize the ge-nius that he was. To say that I shall never forget him would be an understatement ….I will spend the rest of my life trying to recreate what he achieved so ef-

Charles Robert Reinert: Remembrances and Tributes

Compiled by Fernando TrabaSarasota, Florida

From FERNANDO TRABAPrincipal Bassoon, Florida West Coast Symphony:

On September 21, 2007 on the stage of Hosmer Hall at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, New York, I had the privilege of witnessing and participating in an extraordinary gathering – a celebration of the life of my teacher, mentor and best friend, Charles Robert Reinert. Gathered with me on that stage that Friday aft ernoon were Alan Goodman, Chris Weait, Bob Danziger, Arthur Frackenpohl, Robert Wash-burn and more than 100 luminaries from both the double reed world and the music world at large. We were together to celebrate the life and work of the most extraordinary teacher any of us has ever known, but what made the event so unique and unforgettable was the way in which the attendees, many of whom had never met before, were drawn together from the far reaches of our country as a family. Indeed, that day we not only played together (the event culminat-ed with a bassoon septet arrangement of the Gold and Silver Waltz), but we laughed together, cried together, held each other’s hands and shared our memories of

Charles Robert Reinert, 1998.

13 ReinertTributes.indd 3513 ReinertTributes.indd 35 12/11/07 7:45:11 PM12/11/07 7:45:11 PM

CHARLES ROBERT REINERT: REMEMBRANCES AND TRIBUTES36

itinerant musician. A music teacher is a real profes-sion.”) when a distinguished gentleman knocked on the door and introduced himself as Bob Reinert, my bassoon teacher. He asked to borrow my bassoon, a 9011 Heckel, as his was “in Moennig’s shop.” What do you say to a man who wants to borrow your bassoon, a man who will dispense your grade at the end of each semester? And so, Mr. Reinert carried my bas-soon away to a rehearsal of Th e Marriage of Figaro, which the school was performing as a greeting to the new students.

A few days later I attended the performance of Figaro in which my bassoon was being played by Bob Reinert. What I heard changed my life. For the sound coming forth from the very instrument I had struggled mightily to vanquish through high school, spoke a voice so sonorous, so easy, full and free, that I felt disbelief that such a sound was possible. My study with Bob Reinert - four years of college and forty years thereaft er - has been simply one of trying to imitate that uniquely rich tone, so freely delivered it seemed like it was the product of a deep sleep rather than the squeezing push I had been employing.

Bob Reinert was a wonderful person, a caring and giving teacher, a mentor, an inspiration. His re-cent enshrinement as an honorary member of IDRS is well-deserved. I miss him, and am grateful for his many years of assured guidance and encouragement.

From CHRISTOPHER WEAITProfessor Emeritus: Th e Ohio State University: Discoveries Remembered, December, 1998

I Discover Importance Of Teacher’s Words.(On subway between Brooklyn and Manhattan, Christmas holidays, 1957)Aft er fi rst semester at Potsdam State as Reinert student. Just played for previous teacher (to stay in touch; to be in the big town again; to show off ?). He said, “Your tone is tubby”. From high school lessons I know, Tubby Not Good, Tubby Not Get Job, Tubby Worst New York Put-Down for Bassoonist.

Comparing Mr. Reinert’s “dark, warm” with “tubby”, a glimmer of understanding begins right there under the East River. Resolve to better defi ne Mr. Reinert’s terminology for my understanding.

I Discover I Learn Best When Self-Motivated and Hear THE SOUND Before Playing.(Potsdam, NY February, 1959)Snow on ground since Th anksgiving. Sophomore,

fortlessly – a sound of unmatched ease and beauty, an unquenchable interest in all things musical and a generosity of spirit that wanted nothing more than to off er it all to anyone lucky enough to listen.

From ALAN GOODMANRetired Principal, Los Angeles Philharmonic; Former Principal, Milwaukee Symphony; Former Associate Principal, Pittsburgh Symphony:

Potsdam is a long way from the New York City area, where I spent my beginnings as a student bassoon-ist. Aft er one year of junior high school and four of high school, I had studied among, other fi ne bas-soon teachers, with Simon Kovar, and later, Harold Goltzer, two generations of New York Philharmonic bassoonists. At seventeen, I knew everything there was to know about bassooning. I was ready to accept a call from Juilliard, maybe even Curtis down the road. Hell, why bother with college, I was ready to hear from Cleveland’s, Philadelphia’s, New York’s or-chestras begging me to get there before fall and help them out (“Sure, Dr. Szell, I think I can fi t you into my playing schedule.”). But in September of 1959 my parents drove me the 400 plus miles up the New York State Th ruway, past Utica, through Albany, around Watertown - and beyond - to Potsdam, a mere one hundred miles south of Montreal where I was not only not in Juilliard, but almost in another country.

My mother’s words were still bouncing around the dorm room aft er she and my father had left me to my unpacked bags, (“No son of mine is going to be an

Reinert at Wainwright Band Camp, La Grange, Indiana, 1932.


THE DOUBLE REED 37

destructive tornado came very close (a mile or two) to us. We were oblivious of any danger.

When I returned to our rented abode, I was greeted by a very nervous husband who had been attempting to warn me away from the destructive storm. Moral: When one got involved with bassoon duets and reed making with C. Robert Reinert, noth-ing else seemed to exist.

From MARVIN ROTH(One of Mr. Reinert’s earliest bassoon students. He played in Broadway musicals for many years.)

My fi rst bassoon lesson with Bob at the University of Miami was probably just aft er my graduation from Miami Beach High School in 1939. I didn’t realize at that time that Bob was only about 7 years older than me. What I DID realize was that each lesson was about singing. Before playing my assigned Weissen-born study, Bob would whip out an old recording and play for me one of his favorite songs sung by the noted baritone John Charles Th omas, making sure I would be watching HIS gesticulations as HIS mentor sang. When it was over, he would simply say-------”Now pick up your bassoon--------and SING”! We all know how important a ‘foundation’ is. Th e one that Bob Reinert built for me 68 years ago--------still stands.

From MICHAEL DiPIETRO, M.D.John F. Holt Collegiate Professor of RadiologyUniversity of Michigan:

I fi rst heard the name C. Robert Reinert when I en-tered high school as a beginning bassoon student in 1962. My school regularly had student teachers from Th e Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam, and they would always tell me that I should meet Professor Reinert. I did manage to study with two of his students, Chris Weait and Bob Dan-ziger, in the latter 1960s but it was not until IDRS 1993 in Minneapolis that I met “the Maestro” in person. I noticed his name tag in the exhibit hall and intro-duced myself. He was very friendly and receptive as though we were old friends. I again saw Bob at IDRS in Rotterdam, Netherlands where we spent many en-joyable hours trying bassoons and comparing notes. Although he had already retired years before, it was obvious that he had a keen ear and an astute sense of musicality. Over the ensuing years we had many more opportunities to correspond and to meet at

fi nally playing fi rst. Evening rehearsal of Mozart’s B-fl at Serenade, trio of fi rst minuet. I’m not happy with staccato triplets. Can play notes but should sound better.

Aft er rehearsal: is Mr. Reinert in studio? Yes, light’s on, putting on coat, going home. “Er, Mr. Rein-ert, could I ask a question?” “What’s the question?” “How can I make my staccato better?” His eyebrows go up, coat comes off . (At his home, Mrs. Reinert has another opportunity to exercise her apparently end-less patience.)

About forty-fi ve minutes later, I leave music building, cross quad on crunchy snow knowing those forty-fi ve minutes were turning point. I learned with complete understanding.I Discover Joy Of Continuo and Learn To Use Resonance To Carry Tone.(Potsdam Spring Festival, 1959.)Robert Shaw conducts Bach’s B Minor Mass. He helps me discover the joy and variety of continuo play-ing. In lessons, I learn to allow bassoon’s resonance to carry sound without forcing while playing rising scales in the Quoniam tu solus.

I Discover Certain Teachers Produce Cults and Not All Students Have Aff ection for Former Teachers.(Toronto, some time between 1968 and 1985).My Toronto Symphony colleagues are oft en highly partisan. Pupils of notable teachers bond with those who came aft er or before them. Th is bond can ossify into a cult. I’m surprised some don’t like their teach-er. Can’t imagine that.

Reinert’s students can be pretty clannish, but we’re not cultish. His teaching never produced a cult. Attribute that to his tolerant and respectful con-sideration of all opinions and his great artistry as a musician.

From JUNE PARTCHPrincipal Bassoon, Schenectady Symphony,Former Principal Bassoon, Albany Symphony, 1962-1988:

In fond remembrance:

For several years my husband and I wintered for a short time in Florida near Mt. Vernon and the resi-dence of my former bassoon “guru” C. Robert Rein-ert and his lovely wife Peg. On one occasion I jour-neyed to Bob’s home where he and I played duets and also tried to invent “the PERFECT REED” (hah!!). At the same time, severe weather in the form of a very



about Reinert’s ideas just as Bob Reinert and Alan Goodman did in the Th e Double Reed paper, “Breathe Don’t Blow” a few years ago. I am honored to know Bob and Peg Reinert, and I look forward to continued friendship and association with Peg and their family of students and colleagues.

From JIM STOLTIE:

Although not a member of the IDRS but a lifetime member of the North American Saxophone Alli-ance and a bassoonist of sorts over the years, I write of my long time friendship with C. Robert Reinert, a great teacher and mentor, an amazing musician with a phenomenal ear for bassoon sound and pitch and friend to many. I joined the faculty of the New England Music Camp the summer of 1964 to fi ll a temporary position held by a C. Robert Reinert who was on a sabbatical leave that year from Th e Crane School of Music, State University of New York, Pots-dam. Having returned to NEMC to teach saxophone the following summer, I was sitting on the porch of my cabin shaping and scraping bassoon reeds when I noticed this older gentleman on his porch doing the same, but clearly with more understanding of the process. I walked over, introduced myself as he did the same, and my life changed forever. For Bob had just met another human being who was struggling with the mysteries of creating a responsive reed. We became friends, he became my mentor, he led me to a career at Th e Crane School of Music and to my retire-ment in Florida where we spent time every week play-ing, analyzing, scraping, trying bocals and bassoons and generally commiserating about long and short bore bassoons, breathing, sound and sound produc-tion. Practically all of his 93 years were lived with a bassoon reed in hand being coaxed with sandpaper, emery board, fi le, mandrel, pliers, knife or fi ngernail to perfection. Approaching 94, Bob was the ultimate master teacher, always and subtly leading those will-ing to truly assimilate his observations and sugges-tions to a higher level of musical confi dence and art-istry. In my last phone conversation with Bob the day before he passed away in early July he apologized for not making some new reeds for me to take to camp. Th e week before I left for NEMC he oiled the bore of my 8277 Heckel, undercut several tone holes, shared a fi ne bocal which improved the pitch of my instru-ment dramatically and refi ned several of my promis-ing reeds. He was a true teacher and friend to the end. To this day you can still imagine him with a reed in

IDRS, Glickman-Popkin Bassoon Camp, and at the Sarasota Music Festival. Th e respect, admiration and love that Bob received from his many accomplished students and colleagues was wonderful to witness. I am honored that he later considered me as one of his family of students.

I endeavored to learn more about Bob’s concept of a natural, unforced, and resonant sound produc-tion on the bassoon. Bob stressed that resonance, not loudness, allowed the bassoon to be heard in the orchestra. Bob was also a highly regarded bari-tone and voice teacher. His concept of musicality and resonance on the bassoon derived directly from his vocal experience. As Bob’s health began to wane, he maintained his interest in music until the end. He enjoyed discussing music as it transformed him back to when he was in his physical prime. My last visit with Bob was the week before he received the IDRS Honorary member award. He insisted on working on a reed for me and giving me a lesson, although he tired very easily. He knew that this would be our last visit and as ever the consummate teacher, he wanted to be sure I understood what he had been teaching all these years. I will miss him, especially whenever I visit Sarasota.

I regret that a planned IDRS interview of him dis-cussing his ideas never came to fruition. I hope that perhaps some of his accomplished students will write

Reinert at New England Music Camp, Sydney, Maine.


THE DOUBLE REED 39

to convey the respect and aff ection he inspired in us. But I was unequal to explaining the unique, almost mystical ability he had to convey a concept of musical sound. Was it tone? Yes it was. But it was much more than that. In the music department at Potsdam, it was not unusual to hear people talk about “Th e Reinert Sound.” But the only time I heard the term used in his presence was when bassoonist Bob Price referred to it – and Mr. Reinert was not happy to hear it. “Th ere’s no Reinert Sound,” he said, “Th ere’s good sound - beautiful sound.”

Mr. Reinert had quite a few voice and bassoon students over the years at the Crane School of Music at Potsdam and he was respected and well thought of by all of us. He was jovial, usually easy-going and always very interesting and entertaining to talk with - and a great storyteller. But, there was a deeper level, and not every student saw through to this. He was a modest person and not a self-promoter. Th ere was very little that was fl ashy in the lessons we had. Mr. Reinert could move fast when he needed to, but his normal pace was relaxed. He took his time when talk-ing. As an immature and somewhat oblivious fresh-

hand creating that perfect “crow” that only Bob could achieve and the rest of us who knew him will only hope to emulate but will always be thankful for his guidance and patience in helping us to unlock the mysteries of a perfect reed!

From DR. ROBERT DANZIGER, Professor of Music, California State University, Stanislaus:

I’ve just come back from a wonderful day in Potsdam celebrating the life of my teacher, C. Robert Reinert. Chris Weait organized things beautifully. He and Al Goodman and Fernando Traba played a few trios. From the fi rst note you could hear that they shared that relaxed, resonant, wonderfully balanced, “dolce” sound inherited from their beloved teacher. Joining them for an arrangement, by Chris, of the Gold and Silver Waltz, a favorite Reinert vehicle for tone development, was one of the special moments of my life.

I’ve written about my great teacher before, trying

Robert Reinert at Crane School of Music.



that all starts with resonating the low G, I wonder that it lead in so many unexpected directions. Some examples might include:

Th e relationship of pitch to tone.Th e mystical business of how and when (and

when not) to allow the tone to vibrate.Th e joys of an occasional Manhattan.How to blend the bassoon tone with a French

horn and not sound buzzy.What’s the best cream cheese.Th e subtleties of fi nding a tempo that lets the

music dance.How the death of a beloved family pet (the

Reinert’s little dachshund, “Heckel”) can really knock you for a loop.

Th e virtues of the long bore.Where to fi nd the best biography of Enrico

Caruso.How to really look at and feel a bassoon reed

before scraping.Countless great stories, quotes and anecdotes.

And - how to be a generous, openhearted mentor and friend for a lifetime. ◆

man, I was not quick to really appreciate what was being off ered in lessons. Aft er a few months of study-ing, I was talking to Al Goodman, who was a senior, and he asked me how I was doing. I answered, sort of coolly, that I wasn’t sure I was getting what was go-ing on. Alan looked right into my eyes and said, very seriously, “You know, he’s a great teacher. What he can give you, you can’t get anywhere else. Listen bet-ter.” Well, Al Goodman was, and still is, my favorite bassoon player, so I started listening better and have been - for more than forty fi ve years.

As a young bassoonist, Mike DiPietro never had the chance to formally study with Mr. Reinert, but he knew Chris Weait and Al Goodman and me from the Albany area and Star Lake Music Camp, so he heard a lot about Mr. Reinert. Many years later, he met Mr. R. at an IDRS conference and from then on they spent a lot of time together. Mike was interested to hear Al Goodman and I both insist that we spent our entire freshman year playing low G – trying, usually unsuc-cessfully, to get it right – to not force it – not drive it – let it resonate – breathe it in – start it gently and naturally off the end of the breath – then he’d sing or play this resonant low G - loo loo loo loo loo. And we’d play (with a thin, forced sound) – lee lee lee lee lee. And then he’d talk some more and we’d try it again.

Well, Mike was interested in this and a few years ago he and I were at the Popkin-Glickman Camp, par-ticularly because we knew that the Reinerts would be there. And Mike said, “I’m gonna play my low G for him.” “Mike,” I said, “don’t do it! You’re a fi ne player already. Th ink of Pandora!” “No - I’m going for it,” said Mike. So, he played, “lee lee lee lee lee.” And Mr. R. looked kindly and sang, “loo loo loo loo loo.” Th at was the start - hours of talking and playing and singing and Mr. Reinert literally taking Mike’s throat in his ninety-two-year-old hands and manipulating the internal mechanism to get the feeling of opening up. (Th is, by the way, is not something that any of us would do with our own students – Mr. Reinert had studied with Stanley, in New York, a famous voice teacher and had an intimate knowledge of what goes on in the throat). Well, Mike is a distinguished and honored MD and a respected bassoonist in Ann Ar-bor, but now he was one of us - engaged in the quest. And I was fascinated all over again to see the begin-ning of the long, slow and mysterious process.

It didn’t hurt that Mr. Reinert had, even in his nineties, a glorious baritone voice and a unique and wonderful way of gesturing with his hands for tempo and phrase. When I think of this fascinating process


THE DOUBLE REED 41

me on the Zelenka Sonata and having him there on stage with me made it a special occasion. Playing such amazing Baroque music with him was an un-forgettable experience, and I believe it showed well all that I had learned on the old instrument. Overall, I was very proud of my work on such intense recital programs with a new teacher and only a few months to prepare. I do feel deeply indebted to Professor Nicholas Daniel for having made it possible for me to take these exams, and thus, receive the degree of “Künstlerische Ausbildung” upon leaving.

Aft er the exams, I had some time to hit some “musical hot spots” in Germany that I had never vis-ited. A Fulbright singer who was studying in Leipzig hosted me for two days and helped me do a whirl-wind tour of J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn, and Schumann highlights complete with a concert of the Gewand-haus Orchester in the Th omaskirche. I also made it to Mannheim, Heidelberg, Köln, and Bonn.

I had the great pleasure of hearing and meet-ing Francois Leleux at the Rolandseck Chamber Music Festival outside of Bonn. He and musicians from all over the world performed chamber music of Beethoven, Schumann, Dvořák, Britten, Prokofi ev and Schoenberg in an intimate atmosphere within a renovated train station turned art museum with an amazing view of the Rhine. Chen Halevi, the clarinet professor in Trossingen, performed in this festival as well, and I was honored to simply be there listen-ing. Th e amazing musicians really embodied the es-sence of the chamber music (in its true “chamber” sense), not to mention Francois Leleux’s friendliness (he showed me his oboe and talked reeds with me!) which was an extra treat. I’m continually inspired by Germany’s commitment as a culture to classical mu-sic. Th ose concerts (and most every concert I’ve been to all year) had almost no empty seats. Th ere were almost always encores and the audience would just not stop clapping aft er some of the concerts in Rolan-dseck. I hope somehow to bring back this enthusiasm and passion to audiences in America.

Th e recitals over, my last lessons with Nicholas Daniel and Martin Stadler come and gone, my apart-ment emptied and everything packed, I can’t help but

Th e Fulbright Experience: Life as an American Oboist Abroad Part IV

Merideth HiteBaden-Württemburg, Germany

Farewell

Most musicians, if you ask them, will tell you what moment in their musical life made the most impact on who they are

and how they play. For some people it was a concert, or a masterclass, a festival or a teacher, but for me, professionally, personally, and musically, that experi-ence has been this year in Germany.

Th ese last few weeks have been so exceptional. My Abschlussprüfungen (exam recitals) brought a great deal of work with constant rehearsing and practicing, but it was of course, a blast. Playing both Baroque and Modern oboe on the program was an interesting challenge, but I found that it worked well and the audience really enjoyed hearing both. My baroque oboe professor, Martin Stadler, played with

Professor Nicholas Daniel and me after my fi nal exam recital in the Trossingen Musikhochschule.

14 Fulbright4.indd 4114 Fulbright4.indd 41 12/11/07 7:45:47 PM12/11/07 7:45:47 PM

THE FULBRIGHT EXPERIENCE: LIFE AS AN AMERICAN OBOIST ABROAD PART IV42

Many thanks to the Fulbright Commission and the International Institute for Exchange for spon-soring and funding the exceptionally run grant pro-gram. Th anks also to Professors Nicholas Daniel and Martin Stadler, without whose support I wouldn’t have made it to Germany at all. Th ank you to the Yale School of Music and Steve Taylor for allowing me a leave of absence. And fi nally, thank you to all the readers of these articles for letting me share this wonderful year with you in this journal. I wish you all much success and happy music making. Auf Wie-dersehen! ◆

Merideth Hite, a Fulbright Scholar for the 2006-2007 academic year, currently studies Modern and Baroque Oboe in the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen, Germany under Nicholas Daniel and Martin Stadler, respectively. Merideth is a native of Abbeville, South Carolina and graduated with

a Bachelor’s of Music degree summa cum laude from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in June 2006 where she studied under Mark Ostoich. She hopes to share her experiences in Germany through a set of articles printed throughout her time abroad.

look back and be nostalgic about these past eleven months. When I was writing my Fulbright grant al-most two years ago, there was a line I used that re-mains with me as I prepare to leave. I had said that one of the most important reasons for my needing to go to Germany was because “I’d learn more about my style by being an advocate for it abroad.” When you open the door to new reed styles, new oboes, new tone qualities, new pitch centers (442 is seemed so high!), when you’re in a position like I have been these past months, where you are able to experience such new ideas, the most important thing is not the new things you learn, but the things you learn about all the old things you knew. I wish I could begin to share and show you personally how these experiences have directly changed me as a musician, but now that I sit to write, the words are diffi cult to fi nd. Besides the technical improvements that came with having so much time to practice, I feel that my ability to under-stand Baroque music (having heard and played with amazing people in those ensembles on authentic in-struments), my knowledge of not only music history, but what the music of Mendelssohn or Schumann re-ally means (having stood in their houses and drank coff ee in the same cafes!) and my understanding of German culture (a deeper knowledge of the nuance of the language and the profound expressiveness of its people), all these things help me bring an impor-tant new insight to my oboe playing, an insight that simply cannot be taught or learned in an oboe les-son. I urge anyone who has a chance to spend time playing and listening abroad. I believe strongly that this cultural exchange is necessary for even greater art and these processes surely must move us closer to world peace. I only wish that through these writings I might inspire others to search out these opportuni-ties themselves.

14 Fulbright4.indd 4214 Fulbright4.indd 42 12/11/07 7:45:48 PM12/11/07 7:45:48 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 43

IDRS WWWCONFERENCE RECORDINGS

IDRS 26th Annual ConferenceArizona State University

New Mexico Woodwinds & QuintessenceJeff rey Lyman, bassoon & William Waterhouse, bassoon

15 IDRSWWW.indd 4315 IDRSWWW.indd 43 12/11/07 7:26:57 PM12/11/07 7:26:57 PM

CURRENT EVENTS44

Current Events

16 CurrentEvents.indd 4416 CurrentEvents.indd 44 12/11/07 7:27:24 PM12/11/07 7:27:24 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 45

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

ulty assisted by pianist Radana Foltynová and guest bassoonists, Zdeněk Fintes and Michal Gemrot. Th e varied program included Bauer’s Dualistyl for Oboe and Piano, Castiglioni’s Gruezi, Planel’s Serenade, Barraud’s Romance, Murgier’s Capriccio, Clara Schu-

Second International Oboe Master Classes and Festival in Ostrava, Czech Republic (September 17-22, 2007)

Marlen VavříkováAllendale, Michigan

This year, the Second Biennial International Oboe Master Classes and Festival at the Uni-versity of Ostrava hosted internationally ac-

claimed oboe virtuoso, Omar Zoboli (Hochschule für Musik, Basel, Switzerland). For one week oboists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia worked with Professors Zoboli, Dušan Foltýn (oboe professor at the Ostrava University), and myself, and also had an opportunity to perform solo and chamber repertoire in the beautiful performance hall of the Ostrava Uni-versity. At the end of the week, special guest, Miro-slav Hošek, gave a lecture on “Th e American Oboe Tradition,” sharing with students his knowledge about oboists from across the ocean. An instrument exhibition as well as a lecture-workshop on reed-making styles from various countries was presented by Jurij Likin, a representative of “Oboissimo.” Stu-dents were able to try beautiful new oboes and the latest reed-making equipment.

Th e Friday evening concert featured the oboe fac-

Jurij Likin, Marlen Vavříková, Dušan Foltýn, Omar Zoboli.

17 Ostrava.indd 4517 Ostrava.indd 45 12/11/07 7:46:16 PM12/11/07 7:46:16 PM

SECOND INTERNATIONAL OBOE MASTER CLASSES AND FESTIVAL IN OSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC46

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

mann’s Romance, Yun’s Two Inventions, Bill Ryan’s Autumn Dance (European premiere), Prowo’s Con-certo in F-Major for Th ree Oboes and Two Bassoons, as well as a the world premiere composed especially for this festival by Omara Zoboli, Quasi una impro-visazione for solo oboe. On Saturday morning, se-lected participants performed at the matinee concert, culminating in a group performance of Boismorti-er’s Concerto in A-Minor. At the end of the concert, three awards were given to Kamila Kozaková, Mar-tin Daněk, and Hanka Melkusová for their excellent performances (sponsored by “Oboissimo”).

Th e beautiful sounds of oboe charged Ostrava with an invigorating energy and when saying good-byes everybody was already making plans for the next time they will meet again. Many thanks extend to oboe professors Dušan Foltýn and Omar Zoboli, as well as to all students and guest artists for making this an unforgettable experience, and to the Ostrava University and all the sponsors who made this event possible. ◆

Reed-Making Workshop.

Miroslav Hošek’s lecture.

Omar Zoboli with Ivana Jenešová.

Final performance of Boismortier’s Concerto.Pavla Kostelecká, Omar Zoboli, Barbora Štefl ová, Petr Kadera.

17 Ostrava.indd 4617 Ostrava.indd 46 12/11/07 7:46:17 PM12/11/07 7:46:17 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 47

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

56th International Music Competition Sponsored by ARD Munich

The 56th International Music Competition sponsored by ARD Munich was held in Sep-tember, 2007. Oboe jury members included

Maurice Bourgue (France), George Caird (United Kingdom), Gordon Hunt (United Kingdom), Th om-as Indermuhle (Germany), Stefan Schilli (Germany), and Richard Woodhams (United States). Only two fi rst prizes have been awarded to oboists in the event’s history, to Heinz Holliger and to Maurice Bourgue. Aft er waiting some 40 years, the jury fi nally awarded a fi rst prize again, this time to Ramon Ortega Quero of Spain. Other prize winners were Ivan Podyomov and Maria Sournatcheva, both of Russia. Competi-tors chosen in a recorded round included: Victor Aviat, Armel Descotte, Guillaume Deshayes, Phil-lipe Tondre, Celine Moinet, Olivier Rousset, Antoine Cottinet, and Helene Gueuret (all of France); Lucas Macias Navarro, Daniel Ibanez, and Ramon Ortega Quero (of Spain); Qing Lin and Bentai Li (of China); Mayu Wakaki, Keiko Iyadomi, Izumi Tsuboike, Nanako Kondou, and Tomoko Kusumegi (all of Ja-pan); Ivan Podyomov, Grigori Krasnov, Maria Sour-natcheva (of Russia); Eun Young Cho, Ji-Hyun Park, Jie-Yeong Moon, Sook Hyun Lee, Ji-Young Yoon (of Korea); Kai-Na Syu and Ting-Chiao Yu (of Tiawan); Domenico Orlando, Andrea De Francesco (Italy); Yuriy Nefyodov (of Ukraine); Agnes Farkas (Hun-gary); Sanja Romic (Serbia); Petar Hristov (Bulgaria); Aleksandra Rojek (Poland); Georgi Kalandarischwili and Georgi Gvantseladze (Georgia); Dirk Kammerer, Viola Wilmsen, Tjadiona Wurdinger, Andreas Men-del, Elisabeth Wieland, and Sandra Schumacher (all of Germany); and Shefali Pryor (of Australia).

Ramon Ortega Quero

Ivan Podyomov

Maria Sournatcheva

Ramon Ortega Quero was born in Granada, Spain in 1988. Since 2003 he has been a member of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under the musical directorship of Daniel Barenboim. He studied with the support of the Barenboim-Said Foundation with Gregor Witt at the Academia de estudios orchetrales in Seville, and he is continuing his studies with Prof. Witt at the Academy of Music and Th eatre in Rostock.

Ivan Podyomov was born in Arkhangelsk, Russia in 1986 and he fi rst studied the oboe with Ivan Pushetchnikov at the Moscow Gnessin Special Music School. He completed his studies there in 2003 with honors as the best student his his class. In 2006 he was engaged as principal oboist by the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. He is also a student in the solo class of Maurice Bourgue at the Conservatoire International de Musique in Geneva.

Maria Sournatcheva was born in 1988 in Moscow and also attended the Gnessin Music School there, starting her studies at the age of six. She began studies at the Music Academy of Hanover in 2003, coinciding with her attendance at secondary school at the Institute for the Early Promotion of the Highly Gift ed. Her oboe teacher at Hanover is Klaus Becker.

18 56thInternational.indd 4718 56thInternational.indd 47 12/11/07 8:16:50 PM12/11/07 8:16:50 PM

56TH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITION SPONSORED BY ARD MUNICH48

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

REPERTOIRE OBOE 2007

Pre-selection with recording (CD)a) Nikos Skalkottas, from Concertino for Oboe and Klavier: 1st and 2nd Movementsb) J. S. Bach, from the Partita in A minor for solo fl ute: Allemande and Courante (also in G-minor)

First Round (20 Minutes):1. Georg Philipp Telemann, one of the 6 Partitas from “Die Kleine Kammermusik” (with harpsichord)andAntal Dorati, from Cinq pièces pour le hautbois for solo oboe: No. 1 La cigale et la fourmie, No. 3 Fugue à trois voix or No. 5 Légerdemain. Le «spiel» - Le «trick» 2. one of the following works with piano

- Robert Schumann, Th ree Romances op. 94: No. 1 and No. 2- Robert Schumann, from “Fünf Stücke im Volkston” op. 102: No. 2 and No. 3- Clara Schumann, Th ree Romances (for Violin and Piano) op. 22: No. 1 and No. 3

Second Round (45 Minutes):3. François Couperin, from “Les goûts réunis ou les nouveaux Concerts”: No. 5, No. 6, No. 7 or No.11 (with harpsichord)

4. one of the following works for oboe solo- Luciano Berio, Sequenza VII- Niccolò Castiglioni, Alef- Michael Finnissy, Runnin’ Wild- Vinko Globokar, Atemstudie- Heinz Holliger, Studie II

5. one of the following works with piano- Antal Dorati, Duo concertante- Henry Dutilleux, Sonata- André Jolivet, Serenade- Charles Koechlin, Sonata op. 58: 1st to 3rd movement- Antonio Pasculli, Fantasia sull’ opera Poliuto di Donizetti- Gunther Schuller, Sonata

Semi-fi nals with Chamber Orchestra6. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Concerto in C major, K. 3147. Olli Mustonen, commissioned work for Oboe solo

Composition commissioned by the 2007 ARD Competition (world première). Th e score will be sent to the competitor together with the letter of admission to the competition. Th e commissioned work may be played from the score but not publicly performed prior to the competition.

Finals with Symphony Orchestra8. one of the following concertos:

- Richard Strauss- Bohuslav Martinů- Bernd Alois Zimmermann

Th e works in groups 6 and 8 must be performed from memory.

18 56thInternational.indd 4818 56thInternational.indd 48 12/11/07 8:16:51 PM12/11/07 8:16:51 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 49

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

two master classes were held simultaneously. John Clapp introduced the contrabassoon at Cook-DeWitt Center while Marlen Vavříková worked with young oboists at the Sherman Van Solkema Recital Hall. Following the second set of master classes, students were eager to learn more about oboe and bassoon reed-making techniques. Th e oboe presentation was beautifully done by guest Alyssa McKeithen. Aft er an insightful presentation on gouging, shaping and tying, Ms. McKeithen, and Profs. Dee and Vavříková divided everybody into three groups and worked with students individually. Th e bassoon reed-making

Second Double Reed Day at Grand Valley State University

Marlen VavříkováAllendale, Michigan

On Saturday, September 29, Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan hosted two distinguished guests at its sec-

ond annual Double Reed Day: David McGill, the principal bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony and John Dee, the Bill A. Nugent Endowed Professor of Oboe Performance Studies at the University of Illi-nois in Champaign-Urbana. Over sixty young oboe and bassoon enthusiasts participated in reed-making workshops and master classes given by guest artists as well as GVSU professors, Marlen Vavříková and John Clapp. During the morning hours, students had some time to visit double reed instrument exhi-bitions and purchase reed-making supplies presented by Carlos Coelho and Justin Miller. Soon aft er, Car-los Coelho instructed oboists on how to adjust their instruments properly, while bassoonists journeyed over to the beautiful auditorium of GVSU‘s Cook-DeWitt Center to attend a master class presented by David McGill. John Dee’s oboe master class took place concurrently in GVSU’s Sherman Van Solkema Recital Hall.

At noon professor and chair of GVSU‘s Depart-ment of Music and Dance, Danny Phipps, visited with Double Reed Day participants and at one o‘clock,

David McGill with student Jessica Beal.

19 GVSU.indd 4919 GVSU.indd 49 12/11/07 7:46:57 PM12/11/07 7:46:57 PM

SECOND DOUBLE REED DAY AT GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY50

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

gram opened with a touching performance of the Larghetto from Concerto for Oboe d‘Amore by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), performed by John Dee, Gregory Crowell (GVSU professor of harpsichord) and Pablo Mahave-Veglia (GVSU assistant profes-sor of cello). Marlen Vavříková joined them in the Sonata in E-fl at Major by George Frederick Handel (1685-1759). Th e program continued with solo bas-soon Concert Studies Nos. 3, 5, and 6 by Ludwig Milde (1849-1913), featuring new piano accompani-ments composed by David McGill. David performed these beautifully on bassoon in collaboration with GVSU associate professor of piano Helen Marlais. Aft er a brief pause, the double reed day participants warmed-up their instruments and came to the stage for the grand fi nale. Associate Professor and Direc-tor of Bands, Barry Martin, led the large double reed ensemble in a performance of two arrangements by William Schmidt of Gavotte from the Classical Sym-phony by Sergei Prokofi ev (1891-1953) and Menuet from Le Tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937).

Th e GVSU second annual Double Reed Day was fi lled with music and good atmosphere. Oboists and bassoonists from Michigan and surrounding states came together to meet new double reed friends, listen to world-class performers, learn about various reed-making techniques, and mainly, to have fun. Grand Valley State University is looking forward to seeing many familiar faces and welcoming new double reed friends to next year’s event. Many thanks go to Dr. Phipps for making this event possible and to the guest artists, GVSU students, faculty, staff , and friends who helped to make this day successful. ◆

class was presented by Danny Phipps and focused on fi nishing techniques and reed design. Th e workshops were well-received by those in attendance.

Th e whole day culminated in a double reed day concert featuring guest artists, GVSU faculty, stu-dents, and visiting oboists and bassoonists. Th e pro-

John Dee with student Mezraq Ramli.

Alyssa McKeithen with a student.

From the performance of Handel’s Sonata..

David McGill and Helen Marlais performing Milde.

19 GVSU.indd 5019 GVSU.indd 50 12/11/07 7:46:58 PM12/11/07 7:46:58 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 51

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

Every morning there are master classes in which the participants may play orchestral excerpts, etudes and everything else in between, to receive Tom’s al-ways insightful, encouraging help, frequently well laced with his remarkable wit! Th ere is a large dispar-ity in the playing level of the participants, but Tom is able to present helpful advice and terms for improve-ment to everyone regardless of the player’s degree of attainment.

Aft er the morning sessions, lunch followed, then reed making lessons in groups of two. My reed mak-ing sessions improved not only my English horn reeds, but my oboe reeds as well. Tom is very me-thodical and is incredibly knowledgeable about the measurements he uses. During the evening sessions, there was a trio night where all the players were ar-ranged in groups and we played through stacks of music until late into the night. And on two nights, Tom gave solo coaching, with Teddy accompanying,

My First Time Attending the Stacy English Horn Seminar

Devin HinzoSan Jose, California

I remember signing up for the seminar in early January and being nervous that I wouldn’t be ac-cepted to participate. I was happy to receive both

an e-mail and a letter informing me of the dates and that they were excited for me to attend the ’07 semi-nar. Seven months fl ew by, and aft er returning home from Europe with the San Jose Youth Symphony in mid-July, it was time for me to start planning not only for my fi rst year at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, but also for my fi rst Stacy Seminar!

Arriving at the beautiful Hidden Valley venue in Carmel Valley, California, reassured me that I was going to get the best “camp” experience. I already knew my roommate, Karl Spiker, from playing in youth orchestras in the Bay Area, and we were both going to attend the Conservatory in the fall. Th e “dorm” style rooms (2 people per room) are adequate sized, each with private bath and relatively large stor-age closet. But the most pleasing aspect about living at Hidden Valley is the food service. Th is is not your ordinary camp cafeteria food, these meals are care-fully planned for the week; three tasty meals a day with a delicious dessert following lunch and dinner!

Th e fi rst night aft er dinner, the participants took part in an English horn choir, an activity used to break the ice and get everyone more acquainted. It also defi nitely tested each member’s endurance, thereby preparing and getting us in shape for the rest of the week.

Th e follow evening, Tom, (as everyone calls him), presented an exclusive recital for the participants, giving us a sneak peak of what his new CD release would have in store, accompanied by Teddy Nieder-maier. Teddy, who by the way is all of 23 years old, has been working with Tom for fi ve years at the semi-nar. A Juilliard graduate, he received both his under-graduate and graduate diploma in composition there in fi ve years! Now he’s at Indiana University study-ing towards a Doctor of Music degree. Piano is just something on the side which he had studied when he was younger, but he did not miss a single note when accompanying Tom. Th at was reassuring for the par-ticipants since we would be performing with him at the end of the week.

Tom teaching legato playing

20 StacyMasterClass.indd 5120 StacyMasterClass.indd 51 12/11/07 7:47:16 PM12/11/07 7:47:16 PM

MY FIRST TIME ATTENDING THE STACY ENGLISH HORN SEMINAR52

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

off ering his stylistic advice in a matter of 20 minute time frames. In the middle of the week, Mark Chud-now arrived to provide repair service, as well as sale of supplies which varied from every color thread imaginable to knives and shaper tips.

At the end of the seminar, the participants gave their recital and aft erwards had a party with des-serts, snacks and beverages, a perfect way to end the week with people whom you had grown so closely as players.

Th e upcoming seminar, August 2 to 9, 2008, will mark the 30th anniversary and will be a real treat because Teddy has been commissioned by Hidden Valley to write an English horn sonata, which he and Tom will perform, to commemorate 30 years of excellence.

Being a participant at the seminar was very de-manding, but most of all, VERY rewarding and fun. Tom knows exactly what he is doing, and with his knowledge and experience, he can off er only the best, and nothing less. His approach to teaching is very professional and done in a manner that does not make the participants feel inferior. He can evaluate without being judgmental.

I value the teaching that I have received prior to the seminar, at the seminar and currently at the San Francisco Conservatory and believe that great in-struction can lead to a successful future.

For more information on the Stacy English Horn Seminar go to: www.hiddenvalleymusic.org OR e-mail: [email protected] ◆

Author Devin Hinzo with Tom Stacy following partici-pation at the Seminar.

English horn choir.

20 StacyMasterClass.indd 5220 StacyMasterClass.indd 52 12/11/07 7:47:17 PM12/11/07 7:47:17 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 53

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

gan seasonal service between Bal-timore and Kangerlussuaq, Green-land’s international landing strip. Aft er numerous e-mail exchanges within a relatively short period of time, Trio La Milpa was off ered free air service between Baltimore and Kangerlussuaq. However, Green-land has no road system. Traveling from community to community in Greenland is only accomplished by domestic fl ights (except by dog sledge in the winter) and the of-fer of free air service ended at the landing strip in Kangerlussuaq. Domestic airfare between the “cit-ies” in Greenland can be quite costly, especially in the summer-time when Air Greenland collects most of its revenue. Just when the proposed tour seemed dead in the water, the Katuaq Cultural Center and Nunafonden stepped forward to cover this expense.

Th e Katuaq Cultural Center is located in Nuuk, the world’s smallest capital. Th is modern structure, whose design is infl uenced by the shape of icebergs, hosts the country’s main concert hall and sole movie theatre. Th rough the help of Kat-uaq’s Ove Telemann, domestic airfare and accom-modations basically appeared overnight. It was now offi cial that Trio La Milpa would be heading north.

Th e trio landed in Kangerlussuaq on August 16 and quickly changed planes so they could reach their fi rst concert destination, Sisimiut. Sisimiut has a pop-ulation of about 5,000 and is Greenland’s second larg-est city. Practically all communities in Greenland are coastal towns. Over 80% of the country is covered by ice. One could never imagine how beautiful a treeless community could be! Th e group arrived in Sisimiut at 6:30pm and quickly assembled for an 8pm recital. Precisely on time, Trio La Milpa made its Greenland debut at the Sisimiut Kirke for a largely Inuit audi-ence. With a late night sunset aft er the performance,

From Baltimore to Greenland with Oboes and Enthusiasm

Michael LisickyBaltimore, Maryland

Who said there are no oboes in Greenland? For fi ve days in the middle of August 2007 they would have been wrong. Trio

La Milpa, an oboe trio based in Baltimore, was fortu-nate to tour this remote country where the ensemble performed concerts north of the Arctic Circle. Her-alded as “some of Baltimore’s fi nest chamber musi-cians” (Baltimore Sun), the members of Trio La Mil-pa are Katherine Needleman, Sandra Gerster and Michael Lisicky. Th ough Greenland is under Home Rule, it still operates under the umbrella of the Dan-ish government. Residents of Greenland are actually citizens of Denmark. And with the guidance and di-rection of the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington DC, the trio became the fi rst American music ensem-ble to appear in Greenland.

Th ere has never been direct air service between the United States and Greenland until this past May. For the fi rst time in its existence Air Greenland be-

First night concert at Sisimiut Kirke.

21 Greenland.indd 5321 Greenland.indd 53 12/11/07 8:22:57 PM12/11/07 8:22:57 PM

FROM BALTIMORE TO GREENLAND WITH OBOES AND ENTHUSIASM54

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

cessful. Everybody was eager to present the arrangements of ‘Simple Gift s’ and the Greenlandic song ‘Qaqqat akomani’ (Among the Moun-tains) to the audience the following day.

Th e fi nal perfor-mance at Katuaq had to be delayed as the Center scrambled to add extra seats for the sold-out concert. Along with the stu-dent collaboration, Trio La Milpa per-formed some of the largest staples in the oboe trio repertoire.

Th e Nuuk newspaper Gronlandsposten simply called the performance “elegant”. It was a perfect way to end the stay in Nuuk.

It was not all work and no play. Th e ensemble was able to patiently take a four-hour whale watch, visit the Greenland Museum of History and take a short wade in the icy North Atlantic water.

Trio La Milpa left Nuuk for Kangerlussuaq, the country’s main airstrip and a “city” of 500. It is the closest community to the ice sheath. With a long layover for its return fl ight to Baltimore, the trio was

the evening was an unforgettable memory.Th e next stop in Greenland was the big city of

Nuuk, with a population of almost 15,000. Th is is where the trio would meet its hosts from the Katuaq Cultural Center. Th e city of Nuuk seemed to be at a faster pace than Sisimiut and its citizens complained of its ‘rush hour traffi c’. Yet Nuuk is still basically a walking city. Th at night the trio walked to its next concert at the Hans Egede Kirke. Th e mostly Danish audience included an occasional American who had escaped to this laid back country. Trio La Milpa was honored to meet audience members who were eager to attend their upcoming ap-pearance at the Katuaq Cultural Center.

Saturday was set aside to work with the students of Nuuk’s Musikskolen. Th e trio began with a morning educational performance which was similar to con-certs the group performs through the Baltimore Symphony’s “BSO On-Th e-Go” series. Th e aft ernoon session was devoted to rehearsal with Musikskonen students in preparation for a joint per-formance at Trio La Milpa’s fi nal formal recital in Nuuk at the Katuaq Cultural Center. Th e students played fl utes and violins; remember, there are no oboes in Greenland! Th ere is also no word for oboe in the Greenlandic language. Th e Danish word ‘obo’ suffi ces. Th is educa-tional collaboration was easy and suc-

Rehearsal and workshop with students from Nuuk’s Musikskolen.

Wading in the icy Arctic waters of Nuuk’s harbor, wearing Katuaq’s T-shirts (N. Mantel).


THE DOUBLE REED 55

CU

RR

EN

T E

VE

NT

S

churches in Sisimiut and Nuuk also featured a ver-sion of the Irish hymn “Slane - Be Th ou My Vision”, also arranged by Michael Lisicky. Th e composition was arranged in preparation of the trio’s upcoming residency on Smith Island in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay.

Accompanying the trio were Sandy and Michael’s eight-year-old daughter Jordan, and Katherine’s fi an-ce, Dr. Nicholas Mantel. Th is historic tour would not have been possible without the wonderful support of Air Greenland, Greenland Travel, Nunafonden, the Katuaq Cultural Center and the staff of the Royal Danish Embassy. Th e offi ce of Nuuk Tourism was an invaluable resource for the group’s visit. In May 2008 the twice-weekly air service between Baltimore and Greenland will resume. Hopefully this will not be last time Trio La Milpa or any other American musi-cal group will visit that beautiful and remote country. If you are unfamiliar with Greenland, look it up on the computer or simply look at a globe. Even though it is the world’s largest non continental island with a population of only 56,000 people, it is extremely im-portant to the health and beauty of our planet. ◆

able to take in a musk ox safari and pick and eat wild blueberries grow-ing in the country’s desert area. In appreciation of Air Greenland’s generosity, the ensemble performed a short performance at the transit terminal. Th is location was the larg-est space in which to perform in this small community.

Th e repertoire for the tour in-cluded, of course, Beethoven’s two trios written for two oboes and Eng-lish horn, as well as works by Trie-bensee, Koetsier, Wenth, and Gor-don Jacob. A robust compilation of Bartok’s Hungarian Peasant Dances by David Bussick, a must for any performing oboe trio, was an enthu-siastic addition to many of the trio’s performances. Also included was a new transcrip-tion of Handel’s Oboe Concerto in g minor, arranged by Katherine Needleman and scored for oboe, oboe d’amore, and English horn. Richmond, Virginia mu-sic critic Clarke Bustard recently praised this rendi-tion as “being as close to orchestral as it could be”. An acknowledgment of the trio’s tour to Greenland was an interpretation of the Maritime song “Greenland Whale Fisheries”, which was arranged for the group by Michael Lisicky. Th e performances at the two

Posing next to concert poster at Katuaq in Nuuk (N. Mantel).

At the only international landing strip at Kangerlussuaq.


ARTICLES56

Articles

22 Articles.indd 5622 Articles.indd 56 12/11/07 7:30:39 PM12/11/07 7:30:39 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 57

AR

TIC

LE

S

edly composed the Sinfonia Concertante for Winds K.297b, of which the bassoon part was written spe-cifi cally for Ritter.4

In the fall of 1778 Ritter moved to Munich with most of the Mannheim musicians. In 1788 he joined the Royal Prussian Kapelle in Berlin under King Friedrich Wilhelm II (1744-97), where his salary more than doubled what he was making in Munich.5

Ritter was a very active performer and teacher in Berlin. He taught over sixty bassoonists during his stay there. Some of Ritter’s better-known students during his lifetime include Georg Friedrich Brandt (1773-aft er 1827) (from whom Carl Maria von We-ber (1786-1826) wrote the Concerto and Andante et Rondo Ongarese), Carl Bärmen (1782-1842) and Eti-enne Ozi (1753-1813).6 Several issues of Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung list performances given by him. His popularity even led to him having a portrait made of himself by F. W. Bollinger.7

Th e July 1808 issue of Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung printed Ritter’s obituary and listed that he passed away on 16 June 1808. Th e obituary men-tioned that he studied composition with Georg Joseph Vogler (1749-1814), and that his last perfor-mance was given at the home of Georg Abraham Sch-neider (1770-1839). It was at this concert that Ritter fi rst began to feel ill. Ritter’s beloved instrument was bequeathed to one of his students, Captain Wilhelm von Bredow (n.d.). A memorial concert for Ritter was held on 23 June 1808.

Ritter composed several works for bassoon dur-ing his lifetime. Th ese works include two concerti (extant); a set of six quartets for bassoon, violin, viola, and bass instrument; a separate quartet for bassoon, violin, viola, and cello (manuscript); a duet for two bassoons; and a variation set for fl ute and bassoon (extant).8

Ritter published an item titled Tonleiter des Fag-otts near the end of his life. A copy of this item is held at the Institut für Musikwissenschaft in Vienna (Cat-alog No. AR 593). From the title one would assume that this work is either a scale study or etude book as some sources mistakenly indicate. However, aft er obtaining a reproduction of this item, it actually is a

Georg Wenzel Ritter and His Tonleiter des Fagotts

Daniel LiporiEllensburg, Washington

Nearly every source that discusses the history of the bassoon describes approximately the same timeline. Th is is true as well concern-

ing the addition of keys on the instrument during the 18th century. Th e date for the addition of the 4th key (Gs) ranges from 1705-1738 in various sources. Th e addition of the 5th key (Ef) ranges from 1765-1800, while the addition of the 6th key (wing key, oft en designated as the ‘A’ key) ranges from c. aft er 1765 to 1795.1 Th ese sources oft en mention well-known com-posers and the instruments that they wrote for, such as W. A. Mozart (1756-91) composing his Concerto for Bassoon K.191 in 1774 for a four-keyed instrument. Th e information concerning when keys were added to the bassoon comes primarily from published fi n-gering charts from diff erent centuries.

Th ere is some evidence, however, to support that the fi ft h and sixth keys were in use on the bassoon as early as 1750 in some areas, fi ft een years earlier than has previously been mentioned. One of the sources for this assumption is Georg Wenzel Ritter’s (1748-1808) Tonleiter des Fagotts.

Ritter was born in Mannheim, Germany on 7 April 1748, where his father Heinrich (d. c. 1777) was already a bassoonist in the court orchestra. When Georg was eight years old, his father purchased for him a used bassoon from a regimental musician for one thaler. Ritter became so attached to this instru-ment, that he performed on it his entire life. Will Jansen, author of Th e Bassoon, states that Ritter per-formed everything to the utmost perfection on this bassoon though other players who tried the instru-ment could barely get a sound on it.2 Th is story of how Ritter obtained his instrument is mentioned in nearly every source which includes biographical in-formation on him.

Aft er touring some as a youth, Ritter eventually joined the Mannheim orchestra, though sources vary as to the dates of his employment there, listing start-ing dates between 1758 and 1768.3

In the fall of 1777, Mozart visited Mannheim for a few months and later was in Paris as many of the Mannheim musicians were leaving for that city. It was during this time in Paris that Mozart suppos-

23 Ritter.indd 5723 Ritter.indd 57 12/11/07 7:48:03 PM12/11/07 7:48:03 PM

GEORG WENZEL RITTER AND HIS TONLEITER DES FAGOTTS58

AR

TIC

LE

S

Figure 1. Ritter’s Tonleiter des Fagotts.


THE DOUBLE REED 59

AR

TIC

LE

S

range larger than this, LaBorde’s Essai, and the in-strument pictured almost certainly belonged to Pierre Cugnier (b. 1740), who played in the Paris Opera Or-chestra under both Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) and Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-87).12 Th ough Ritter’s and other composers’ compositions from the time period (including Rameau’s and Gluck’s) do not extend to d f2, one has to wonder how easily these notes came out. (Off the top of my head, one of the earliest pieces using an extreme high note is Weber’s Concerto (1811), which extends up to d2, and was written for one of Ritter’s students.) Also, Ritter’s compositions do not extend below F (only one E in the Duetto), bringing diff erent questions about the instrument on which he played.

Th ough there may always be questions concern-ing the dating of the bassoon, there is some evidence to support that the six-keyed bassoon was in use pos-sibly as early as 1750. ◆

ENDNOTES

1 Th ese dates are shown in several primary and secondary sources. Some of the principal sec-ondary sources include: William Waterhouse, “Bassoon,” Th e New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell, 29 vols. (New York: Grove’s Dictionaries, 2001), 2: 873-95. Anthony C. Baines, Woodwind Instruments and Th eir History (London: Faber and Faber, 1959, Reprint ed.; New York: Dover, 1991). Gunther Joppig, Th e Oboe and Bassoon, translated by Alfred Clayton (Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1988).

2 Will Jansen, Th e Bassoon, 5 vols. (Buren, Nether-lands: Fritz Knuf, 1979), 4: 1779.

3 Woodrow Joe Hodges, “A Biographical Diction-ary of Bassoonists Born Before 1825” (Ph.D. dis-sertation, University of Iowa, 1980), 321.

4 Robert D. Levin, Who Wrote the Mozart Four-Wind Concertante? (Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1988), 4-5.

5 Robert Eitner, Biographisch-Bibliographisches Quellen-Lexikon der Musiker und Musikgeleh-rten der christlichen Zeitrechnung bis zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts, 11 vols. (Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1900-04), 8: 253.

6 Hodges, 553-54.7 Th e original engraving is located at the Institut

für Musikwissenshaft in Vienna.8 Th e surviving works are available through the

bassoon fi ngering chart. (Figure 1)Th is fi ngering chart includes a diagram of a bas-

soon. It would be a safe assumption that the bassoon shown is a reproduction of his instrument, since he was so attached to it and refused to play on anything else. Th e bassoon pictured is a six-keyed instrument. Th e range listed on the fi ngering chart is from Bf to d s2, a much larger range than any contemporary source includes, with the exception of LaBorde’s Es-sai sur la musique ancienne et moderne.9 Also, since Ritter obtained a used bassoon when he was eight, in 1756, we can easily date this instrument to c. 1755 or even as early as 1750, fi ft een years earlier than the fi rst previously documented evidence of a six-keyed bassoon.

Th e belief that Ritter performed on a six-keyed instrument may also be shown through his composi-tions and works written for him. Of the six quartets for bassoon and strings by Ritter, the lower range is not utilized much, but the upper register is used with great regularity. Th e bassoon parts that Mozart wrote for Ritter also employ the upper register a great deal. It is not known whom J.C. Bach (1735-82) wrote his two bassoon concertos for, but there is a strong pos-sibility that they were written for Ritter, especially considering the extreme diffi culty of these works. J.C. Bach certainly was familiar with Ritter’s playing, as the bassoon part in his opera Temistocle was written for Ritter and the Mannheim singers and orchestra, and was premiered in Mannheim on 5 November 1772. One of the arias within, “Non m’alleta quel riso” has a large obbligato bassoon part composed specifi cally for Ritter and the great Mannheim tenor Anton Raaf (1714-97).10 Th ese works of J.C. Bach also have the bassoon playing quite high.

Th ere is some question, however, concerning the bassoon pictured in Ritter’s Tonleiter. Th ere is evidence to support that perhaps some of the keys on Ritter’s instrument were added later, as they appear to be of a diff erent size and shape than other keys.11 Adding keys was very common on woodwind instru-ments in earlier centuries and even today, occurs with regularity. Since there is no documentation of added keys, there is no way to determine when or if more keys may have added on an instrument. Fur-thermore, there could be an argument made that the illustrations of the bassoons in these fi ngering charts are not completely accurate and that the keys shown on them are not the original size of the keys.

Perhaps a more interesting thing to speculate about is the extreme range included in Ritter’s fi nger-ing chart. Only one other source prior to 1800 lists a


GEORG WENZEL RITTER AND HIS TONLEITER DES FAGOTTS60

AR

TIC

LE

S

following publishers/libraries: Six Quartets for Bassoon and Strings, opus 1, edited by Daniel G. Lipori (Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 1999). Du-etto, edited by Helge Bartholmäus (Miami: Bas-soon Heritage Edition, 1995). Duetto, edited by David J. Rhodes (Girvan, Scotland: Piper Publi-cations, 1998). Duetto, edited by Bodo Koenigs-beck (Warngau, Germany: Accolade Musikver-lag, 2004). “Quartetto pour le Basson principal avec accomp: Violin, Viola, et Violoncello” (MS 5350, Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Dresden [ca. 1780-90]).

9 Jean Benjamin de LaBorde, Essai sur la musique ancienne et moderne, 4 vols. (Paris: P. D. Pierres, 1780; Reprint ed., New York: AMS Press, 1978), 1: 342.

10 Daniel George Lipori, “Georg Wenzel Ritter (1748-1808) and the Mannheim Bassoon School” (DMA document, University of Arizona, 1997), 95-96.

11 Paul J. White, “Early Bassoon Fingering Charts,” Galpin Society Journal 43 (1990): 99.

12 Ibid., 94.


THE DOUBLE REED 61

AR

TIC

LE

S

international collaboration for oboe reedmaking in-troducing a new concept in oboe gouging machines for American-style reeds, which can also be adapted to other international reedmaking styles.

During my early formation as a musician, I re-member listening to various European oboists on my LP record player while my teacher would describe the diff erences between German, French, American and “who knows where,” oboe playing as though we all lived on diff erent planets. It was diffi cult for me to ob-tain accurate knowledge about other national styles

Making Peace Between International Reeding:Developing the Ridilla-Heng Oboe Gouging Machine

Andrea RidillaMiami University, Ohio

As our world becomes more intimate and accessible through internet networking, strides in communication technology have

inevitably created unlimited opportunities for dis-cussions of philosophy of art and technique among oboists. In addition, IDRS conferences have opened innumerable doors for the exchange of ideas with in-ternational colleagues. It was at the 2002 Internation-al Double Reed Society Conference in Banff , Canada that I met Udo Heng of Reeds ‘n Stuff in Annaberg, Germany. Five years later, we have arrived at the fi rst

Andrea Ridilla and Udo Heng with the Ridilla-Heng Oboe Gouging Machine at the IDRS Conference in Ithaca New York, 2007.

24 RadillaGouger.indd 6124 RadillaGouger.indd 61 12/11/07 7:48:19 PM12/11/07 7:48:19 PM

MAKING PEACE BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL REEDING: DEVELOPING THE RIDILLAHENG OBOE GOUGING MACHINE62

AR

TIC

LE

S

fundamentals of how gouging machines operate. I was impressed at Dan’s knowledge of the gouging process and his training in singing, which he directly translates into his expressive oboe playing.

Later, I began to perform with the Miami Wind Quintet internationally in Taiwan, Greece, Venezu-ela, Ecuador and Korea. Th anks to John Heard (bas-soon), the Miami Wind Quintet was fortunate to work closely with the Prague Wind Quintet over sev-en years. We performed in the Czech Republic, they came to the USA and together we recorded three CDs together. Th e demands of matching playing styles presented challenges in tone production, projection, and fl exibility of pitch forcing me think “outside the box” beyond my traditional conservatory training. I learned so much about music from these incredible artists and felt so fortunate to make great music with them. My experiences with Libena Sequartova and Jurij Likin opened my ears to a very diff erent and ap-pealing aesthetic concept in oboe playing. To match and vary our tones required fl exibility in my reeds, my pitch and my tone color; I began to search for a reed with stronger capabilities for projection, reso-nance and for playing higher than A=440/442.

I returned to Miami University and thanks to our then Provost, cellist Dr. Ronald Crutcher, I received a generous grant to study oboe gouging. I began my research by working with two experts: David Mat-thews, solo English horn of the Dallas Symphony and Joseph Robinson, then principal oboe of the New York Philharmonic, both to whom I am deeply indebted. Th ese two artists are rather modest in their expertise in gouging, however they are both veritable geniuses - artisans of the “old school.” Th ey form their blades angles by hand on a wheel, soft en and harden the blades with heat and olive oil using a me-thodical method of forming a blade curve. Aft er the blade is set up in the gouger, they make a reed in two minutes and play. If the result is unsatisfactory, the process begins again. Joe Robinson, who learned his skills from the legendary Marcel Tabuteau, quotes his teacher saying, “the answer to reedmaking lies in the gouge.”

Th e cane carved out of the inside cavity of a bam-boo tube is something many people take for granted when they are struggling to master reedmaking. However, it is precisely where the sculpture begins. Th e inside cavity of a double reed can be likened to the inside cavity of a violin. What was Antonio Stradivari thinking during his walks through the Dolomites where he searched for wood near his na-tive Cremona? It was not only the quality of the wood

of playing as well as reedmaking, and it all seemed mystical. I remember reading my former teacher, Allan Vogel’s article in the IDRS Journal about his studies in Germany comparing French, German and American oboe playing. I was in awe of his experi-ences abroad, never to dream that one day I might be fortunate enough to perform with oboists beyond our American tradition.

As the expression goes, “there are many ways to skin a cat,” each national tradition of oboe play-ing champions a unique aesthetic in expressing the same music. My ears are always open for new discov-ery that may help me or my students further evolve. Th rough the invaluable contacts I have made through the IDRS and the generous travel grants available to me from Miami University, I continue to develop the fl exibility to perform with other oboists and musi-cians around the world. As I prepare to attend the masterclasses of Hansjorg Schellenberger and Mau-rice Bourgue in Sachrang, Germany next month, I am inspired by the wealth of knowledge to share among oboists across the continents, if the mind is open and capable of analytical and critical thinking.

Discerning international styles of oboe playing, certainly involves the reed, which inevitably dictates our destiny. My journey in searching for the perfect gouge initially originated from a tone color that I had in my ear - one that I could not fi nd in any gouge. I also searched for greater resonance and the ability for more color possibilites. In addition to tone color, I wanted a reed that would allow me to let go and abandon control at the lips, and that would enable me to play in tune without jaw tension. Above all I was looking for a gouge, which permitted minimal back-pressure while playing to facilitate rapid articulation. Tight neck muscles are the unfortunate accompani-ment of backpressure. Since part of the tongue “lives” in the neck region, any eff orts to keep these muscles free can only enhance the oboist, both technically and musically.

My fi rst teacher, James Caldwell at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, taught me nearly all that I ever needed to know about reedmaking. Almost 30 years aft er graduation, it remains evident that his method of teaching was perfect. It was also thanks to him that my nascent interest in gouging emerged. Jim invented a gouging machine with physics pro-fessor, Harlan Hurd at Oberlin College and we all bought our own machines at $200 each! Years later, I attended a very helpful one-week workshop in Ar-kansas with Dan Ross where I learned more details about cane selection, the “anatomy” of a gouger and


THE DOUBLE REED 63

AR

TIC

LE

S

exceptionally valuable scientifi c resource for faculty. I approached the Lab with a mental concept of my blade and, with more grant funding, I worked for two years with mechanical instrumentation technician, Barry Landrum, a gift ed artist-scientist. He translat-ed my artistic language into scien-tifi c computations. Our objective was to create a reed which would focus the tone with minimal eff ort of the oboist’s lips in an aerody-namic wind tunnel inside the two reeds. Our blade directs the wind towards a focus point, rendering the lips free to move as easily as in speaking. Th e jaw is able to relax as in singing, so as not to inhibit resonance or articulation. My students have been the fortunate benefi ciaries of this gouge and can single tongue twice as fast as

I could when I was their age!In 2004 at the IDRS Conference I approached

Udo Heng of Reeds ‘n Stuff to inquire if he might be interested in developing an American-style goug-ing machine using my blade curve. I had previously purchased reedmaking products from Udo, includ-ing a radius gauge and pre-gouger, which revolution-ized my reedmaking. Since then, everything I have bought from his fi rm has turned out to be innovative, and an improvement for my reedmaking. I was also impressed by Udo’s gregarious, congenial nature; he has always been genuine and kind to everyone. He is also a professional oboist in Germany, therefore his understanding of the “mechanics” of music is as keen as his knowledge of geometry and physics.

Udo and I began our work together by exchang-ing emails and Skype® calls about our ideas. In No-vember 2005, Miami University sent me to Annaberg to work with Udo and Th omas, his chief engineer. Th e Reeds ‘n Stuff factory, in the charming town of Annaberg in eastern Germany, is mid-way between Leipzig and Dresden. When I walked into the factory I found myself surrounded with impressive state-of-the art precision machinery. Th e fi rm makes products for reed players of all instruments including clarinet, bagpipes, shawms and of course, oboe and bassoon. When I arrived, the gouger we designed together on the information highway was ready. Udo and I worked long hours for several days with Th omas to perfect the

alone that made those priceless string instruments, but also the physics of the interior vibrations. Like-wise, the interior vibrations in the cavity of an oboe reed, are the genesis of the oboist’s voice. Th e words of Tabuteau resound, “the answer to reedmaking lies in the gouge.”

A turning point came during one of my sessions with Joe Robinson. A “lesson” with Joe Robinson never means one hour; it is however long it takes to learn something. I once fl ew to New York for four days of gouging lessons not realizing it was going to be 68 hours of lessons - 17 hours a day! We worked from 8am to 1am with only lunch and dinner breaks. I watched as Joe formed and reformed blades on his stone according to the cane and his artistic taste. Joe’s keen scientifi c and analytical acumen allowed him to solve any reedmaking mystery that presented itself. Th is 30-year soloist veteran of the New York Philharmonic changes his the curve of his gouging blade like most of us change reeds! Th e art of goug-ing is second nature to him. Quickly realizing that never would I be able to match his artistic prowess during this short life of mine, I proceeded to develop a blade prototype; one that suited my aesthetic pref-erences and that could easily be replaced when dull. Joe’s dedicated teaching helped me enormously in my future research.

Th e next step was back at Miami University. Th e Hughes Instrumentation Laboratory at Miami is an


MAKING PEACE BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL REEDING: DEVELOPING THE RIDILLAHENG OBOE GOUGING MACHINE64

AR

TIC

LE

S

mechanism while I made dozens of reeds. One of my priorities was that the two blades must close securely at the sides of the tip. If not, the oboist will have to pinch the lips to keep air from leaking out of the reed - good recipe for jaw and neck tension! Udo wanted a machine with the fl exibility to serve the needs of a variety of players. By his implementation of an ad-justable carriage, the player can vary the sides of the gouge as well as the middle; Udo added a miniature micrometer to assure complete accuracy of the reed-maker in this adjustment. All changes in the gouge can be measured with precision. A user-friendly sys-tem of inserting the blade includes a spring mecha-nism whereby the blade easily slips into place. At last, no more weekends spent inserting a gouger blade!

Th e center of the cane measurement may be changed simply by fl ipping a lever and sliding the gouger bed to the left or right. A millimeter ruler is imbedded on the gouger base to assure accuracy. A fi nal and critically important feature of the Ridilla-Heng gouger is the absolute razor sharpness of the blade. Udo’s team utilizes the latest 21st century tech-nology to sharpen the blade both before, and aft er the blade is hardened. Just as a sharp knife positively aff ects the vibrations of a reed, the sharpness of the gouger blade is just as vital to the inside cut of the bamboo tube. With a razor sharp blade, hundredths of a millimeter strips are “lift ed” off the piece of cane with minimal cane compression and reeds are infi -nitely more vibrant with no cane compression. If the blade ever needs replacing, it is possible to purchase/insert another with a stress-free easy to use spring mechanism. Th e objective of the Ridilla-Heng gouger is to simplify reedmaking, making it more enjoyable and eff ective. Just as with all the products I have pur-chased from Reeds ‘n Stuff , this gouger has been a def-inite improvement for my life and my reedmaking!

Reeds n’ Stuff presented the Ridilla-Heng Gouger at IDRS Ithaca 2007 and it is available on the web through Reeds n’ Stuff or in the US at Forrest’s Oboe Shop in Berkeley, Califonia. Th e Ridilla-Heng Goug-er is U.S. Patent Pending. ◆

Andrea Ridilla is professor of oboe at Miami Univer-sity in Oxford, Ohio. She is also principal oboe, and faculty member of the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria. In July 2008, she has been invited to give a one-month masterclass in oboe at Accademia Europea Firenze, Florence, Italy for international oboe students. She is a graduate of Th e Juilliard School and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.


THE DOUBLE REED 65

AR

TIC

LE

S

leaking, even just a bit?You will miss notes.You will need to press down harder than neces-

sary on the keys. Th is extra tension in your fi ngers will spread through your hands to your arms and shoulders and throughout your body causing a tense situation (the audition) to feel even more strained. Th e additional tension may trigger a “panic/survival” mode, which I don’t think is the best frame of mind in which to show your most beautiful playing.

You will have to sacrifi ce dynamics on the soft end because you won’t feel confi dent in your instru-ment to take chances playing really soft ly.

You will need a buzzier reed to help compensate for the oboe not covering. Obviously, you would pre-fer to use your most beautiful sounding reed at an audition.

Your low notes will be even fl atter than usual be-cause you won’t want to risk lipping them up for fear of cracking them. Th e better an oboe covers, the more pitch fl exibility you have in the low register.

REEDS

You don’t want worry about whether or not you have a great reed to be an issue at the audition. If you normally make a reed a day, you should prepare for the audition by making at least three a day for a few weeks before. Choose your cane carefully and reject any that doesn’t seem to be of the highest quality. Use cane from batches that have been successful in the past. Of course, this means you should have on hand plenty of cane from a variety of batches.

I recommend that, three days before the audition, you should have a choice of twelve top quality reeds. If you feel, going into the audition, that you have a choice of reeds, it will remove a tremendous amount of pre-audition stress. Weed out the lesser prospects during the last day or two, but when you arrive at the hall you should have at least three or four excellent choices.

Don’t get emotionally attached to any single reed. It will always break your heart in the end.

Some Th oughts on Auditions

Peter W. CooperPrincipal Oboist, Colorado Symphony OrchestraInstructor of Oboe, University of Colorado at Boulder

INTRODUCTION

Many years ago, aft er I won a major audi-tion, a colleague of mine asked me what the secret was to winning an orchestral

audition. Aft er some thought I told him that the se-cret was to “play your heart out with great accuracy”. Of course, that is a simplistic statement and it begs the question, “How do you do that?”

Probably the most diffi cult and stressful part of pursing a career as an orchestral player is the audi-tion process. In no other part of your professional life will you have to play so much diffi cult music in such a short period of time with so much at stake.

How do you deal with this stress? How can you prepare yourself to present your playing at its high-est level at “the moment of truth”? I have two main concepts to think about as you begin preparation for an audition:

1. Leave no stone unturned in your prepa-ration; and

2. Do not worry about things beyond your control.

In this paper I will address these two main con-cepts, as well as others. I have taken over 20 orches-tral auditions and have won three full time jobs. Th is has kept me gainfully employed for 26 years. I have also been on the audition committee for quite a few as well. I am oft en shocked by the things people haven’t addressed in their audition preparation.

Th e following steps are written specifi cally for oboists, but other instrumentalists can apply most of these ideas to themselves.

YOUR INSTRUMENT

As soon as you know your audition date, make an appointment with your repair-person to have your instrument checked out. At the audition, your instru-ment must not feel “in pretty good shape”. It must feel perfect. Don’t be naïve about this. What happens if your oboe is ever so slightly out of adjustment or

25 Auditions.indd 6525 Auditions.indd 65 12/11/07 7:48:35 PM12/11/07 7:48:35 PM

SOME THOUGHTS ON AUDITIONS66

AR

TIC

LE

S

TECHNIQUE

I oft en tell my students that playing the slow solos well will win the oboe audition but playing the fast solos poorly will lose it. In other words, clean tech-nique won’t win you the audition but sloppy tech-nique will lose it.

Th orough preparation with a metronome is essen-tial. Th ere are many good ways of drilling technique and I in no way profess to have the “correct” method. I think, though, that no matter how you drill tech-nique, it should always be rhythmic and done with an inner pulse. Play with the same style and energy at a slow tempo that you will when it is up to speed. Don’t ever be sloppy when practicing technique. If it’s not clean, you are practicing too fast.

When people practice technique, they oft en get into a rut. Th at means the same notes get slighted, shortened or “blipped” every time and students so-lidify these inaccuracies by repeating them. Look for ways to make a technical passage seem new. Play qua-druplet 16ths as triplets and vice versa. Change the starting notes of the triplets. Th is changes the accents so that diff erent notes are on strong and weak beats. Play dotted rhythms straight and straight ones dot-ted. Th ere are unending ways to make a stale passage fresh. Try to fi nd interesting and imaginative ways to do this.

Th ere is a point in technical practice where you change from hoping a passage will come out clean-ly to knowing it will come out. With some passages this will come easily and others might take weeks or months of daily work. It is important to get to this knowing point before you get to the audition. You can then calm your nerves by saying to yourself, “I know I will ace this because I’ve done it a thousand times.” Th is will be much more comforting than “If I’m lucky, I won’t screw this up.”

I oft en speak to my students about their “Inner Freak-Out Meter”. Th is is a method of checking in with your inner anxiety level. Let’s say we monitor this level on a scale of one to ten, “one” being com-fortable, cool, and confi dent that you will nail the solo 100%. “Ten” on the other hand you would be, well, freaking out. Now, fi nd the tempo you can play the opening of Le Tombeau de Couperin perfectly with a one on your Inner Freak-Out Meter. It doesn’t matter if you have to start at one-quarter tempo or slower to get the Inner Meter to register a one. As you increase the tempo in your practice, keep monitor-ing the I.F.O. Meter and keep it on one. (OK, maybe one and a half.) If it starts to rise, you’re practicing

Don’t decide on your “audition reed” too far in advance. Use the one that is working best at the mo-ment of the audition, even if you weren’t expecting it to be “the one”.

Make sure your reeds are broken in before the audition. Each one should have three or four play-ing sessions with drying out time and adjustments in between. At auditions you oft en have a lot of sitting around time, and you don’t want to worry about your brand new reed stiff ening up.

TEMPO CHOICES

If you haven’t performed some of the works on the list, it is essential to prepare them in such a way that you seem experienced and seasoned. You should lis-ten to at least three diff erent recordings of each ex-cerpt. Why three? Because you must know the range of tempo and interpretive possibilities. Every excerpt has a range of acceptable tempi. Th ere may not be a “right” tempo, but there are many wrong ones. You must choose a tempo within that acceptable range and it must seem reasonable. Playing a fast excerpt too fast can make you look silly and as if you are trying to show off . Too slow a tempo in a fast excerpt makes you look technically insecure, or in the case of a too plod-ding slow excerpt, might bore the (most likely already impatient) committee. Memorize your tempi so you can always play the speed you intend even when under stress. I would suggest picking a measure or two to re-mind you of your chosen tempo. Sing those measures to yourself before you start. Oft en the best measures to be your tempo reminders are not the fi rst few in the excerpt but somewhere in the body of the excerpt.

When listening to recordings of the audition piec-es, get to know the whole work, not just the oboe part. Don’t use excerpt books, get the complete part. Follow the full score if you can. Know what is solo and what is tutti. If you are in unison with a clarinet, for example, you would probably want to use little or no vibrato. If, aft er the clarinet part ends, the oboe continues as a solo, your tone and vibrato should probably change. Some piano markings should actually be played very soft ly, whereas others, such as in the Brahms Violin Concerto, are “solo piano” and have to be sung over a thick orchestration.

If the orchestra sends you specifi c excerpts, obvi-ously you should concentrate on these, but it is wise to study the entire piece. I have been asked on a number of occasions to play things that weren’t on the “list”. Saying to the committee, “but that’s not fair!” is not an option.


THE DOUBLE REED 67

AR

TIC

LE

S

play like Yo Yo Ma. Imitate their style and sound, and their music’s breadth. Imagine a reed with the poten-tial to produce that range. Do not limit your listen-ing to oboists. My former teacher, Ray Still, always recommended listening to great jazz musicians. He felt the most accomplished wind players in the world were the top jazz saxophonists.

You should record every excerpt before the au-dition. Th is can be excruciating, but better you hear and correct your own fl aws than waiting for the audi-tion committee to hear them. Trust your instincts. If you feel a phrase is not “working”, try to fi gure out why. It could be as simple as one note out of sync with the intended direction of the line. If it is right, you will know it.

Spend time with a tuner. Make sure large interval leaps are accurately in tune. Be aware that a habitu-ally out of tune note begins to sound right if repeated enough times. Learn your instrument’s intonation tendencies. Check the notes that oft en lean sharp or fl at so that you can compensate enough without going too far the other way. Use the tuner’s meter to check with your eyes and the tuner’s tone to practice intervals with a steady drone.

Have a “game plan” for every phrase of every excerpt. Every phrase should be thought through in advance so you always know its intended direction. Know where each phrase is heading and go to the arrival points (not necessarily the highest note) and recede from them too. A well thought through game plan is also a great way to deal with nerves. If you have a plan for each excerpt you can focus on it and you therefore won’t have the “mental band width” to also think about how nervous you are. Rather than deny nerves, have something specifi c on which to concentrate and your mind won’t be free to wander and be nervous.

On the other hand, nerves that aren’t debilitat-ing can propel you to play better than normal. Nerves make you feel alive and remind you that you want to present yourself excellently. Nerves aren’t a sign of weakness but a sign that you care about doing your best.

In the big romantic solos, tell a story and paint a picture. So many people just play pretty notes instead of taking the listener by the hand and leading them somewhere. Make up your mind about what your story is and sell it to the listener.

You must exude great energy but also repose where the music calls for it. When Larry Combs won the principal clarinet job in the Chicago Symphony, one of his colleagues told me about his audition, “He

too fast! It you keep it on one you will never experi-ence any anxiety about this excerpt. Th is is impor-tant, because building technique should be a process of building inner confi dence as you drill your fi ngers. If you can play it perfectly but your Meter is on four or fi ve, you’re still practicing it too fast because you’re not building confi dence, you are reinforcing anxiety. Now just imagine if you spend six months practic-ing Le Tombeau without ever letting the I.F.O. Me-ter register more than one. It might take the full six months to get it near the fi nished tempo, but you will have built yourself into a mental super-person in the process. If you then have to play Le Tombeau in an audition, you can say to yourself, “I’ve never felt any-thing less than 100% confi dent about this excerpt and I’ve NEVER played it less than perfectly.” You will be confi dent you will nail it and you will. Imagine the advantage you will have over your mortal colleagues who are registering high numbers on their I.F.O. Meters.

DISTINGUISHING YOURSELF

If you manage to play with a beautiful sound and impeccable technique, you will already be above the majority of applicants. Th is is not enough. You must use a diff erent color and style for each excerpt. Th is means that your sound in La Mer should be diff er-ent than your Eroica sound. You oft en need a slim-mer and more ethereal sound in French music than in German. Vibrato should vary from fast and pas-sionate to languid to non-existent depending on the nature of the excerpt. Also, all staccato notes are not the same. In a Rossini overture, the notes should be short, crisp and bright. If you are playing Wagner, however, the same musical notation oft en requires a fatter and longer staccato. (A former conductor of mine likened them to “fat, dripping sausages”.) Most oboists are obsessive about having a “dark” sound. You should always have a beautiful and complex sound with the darkness or brightness matching the quality of the music.

Every excerpt should have its own distinguishing character. Th is is done partly by having a very fl exible reed, but mostly by taking time to quietly refl ect about every passage away from the oboe. You should spend a fair amount of time without the oboe in your hands thinking what every excerpt would sound like if you had unlimited ability. You should listen to great sing-ers and string players – who generally have far more expressive skills than most oboists. Imagine how it would feel and sound to sing like Jessye Norman or


SOME THOUGHTS ON AUDITIONS68

AR

TIC

LE

S

about things beyond their control. Th ese include:

Who will be auditioning.How many people will show up.What number you draw and what that means.Th e temperature of the hall.Th e acoustics of the hall.What the committee is listening for. Th e weather.Your health on the audition day. (Th is can be

partially controlled in advance, of course, but by the time the audition arrives, you feel how you feel and you must accept that. If you don’t give in to feeling lousy, it’s amazing what you can pull off during a relatively short audition.)

If they like you or not.If you will win.

You cannot control any of the above, so don’t waste energy worrying about them. Command your-self to put these thoughts out of your mind. You will be surprised how eff ective it can be to tell yourself, “I can’t do anything about that so I won’t worry about it.”

THINGS YOU CAN CONTROL

Your attitude.Your preparation.Your reeds.Your performance.

All of your concentration should be on the above. Th is is plenty to worry about and should be all-consuming.

ARRIVING AT THE HALL

If I am unfamiliar with the city, I like to make a trip to the stage door the day before the audition. Th is way I will know where I’m going and it will seem a little more familiar on the audition day.

At auditions you will probably run into old friends, classmates and colleagues. Th is is not the time to renew acquaintances and to discuss old times. Wait until you are fi nished before doing that. Be po-lite, say hello and don’t try to “psyche out” anyone, but remember that all of your energy and concentra-tion should be spent on getting ready to do your most beautiful playing.

I like to start a “page turner” book a day or two

played in color. Everybody else played in black and white.” I give you the same advice: Play in color.

Don’t play it safe. Take musical chances. Th ere will be dozens of safe, conservative applicants losing every audition. Play to win, not to avoid losing.

DO I DESERVE TO WIN?

If you’ve never gone down this particular mental road, then you probably don’t understand the question. But let’s face it, we are all insecure at some level and it is easy to fall into the trap of asking yourself if you in fact deserve to win. I’ve had a number of students ask me this question - talented, hard working, outwardly confi dent students.

Th e way I see it, someone deserves to win who has spent years studying and lots of money on lessons and tuition. Someone who has made and whose fam-ily has made sacrifi ces for this dream. Someone who has passed up social opportunities to instead practice, someone who has desperately struggled to make bet-ter reeds, someone who borrowed or scrimped to buy a new instrument, someone who has agonized over getting a particular excerpt clean and beautiful. Does that person sound familiar? Of course you may not be the only one who deserves to win, but if you fi t the above description, then you defi nitely deserve to win.

PRACTICE AUDITIONS

You should play at least three practice auditions for trusted friends or colleagues. Don’t play for anyone who you suspect might have a negative agenda about you or may be tempted to play mind games with you. Some people use this opening into your psyche to blast you with things they always wanted to tell you, with their hidden agenda being to hurt you. Find sup-portive people who have your best interests at heart.

Make these mock auditions formal and uncom-fortable. Th ey should, as much as possible, simulate the audition experience. Warm up in a diff erent room than the “committee”. When ready, walk in and have them decide the excerpts in an order of their own choosing. No talking or joking. Th ey should take notes, but wait until aft erwards to discuss them with you. Make copies of the music for them. Record this audition and listen later aft er receiving their comments.

THINGS YOU CAN’T CONTROL

People waste a tremendous amount of time worrying


THE DOUBLE REED 69

AR

TIC

LE

S

No fear.No inhibitions.No desire to please.Nothing shall stand between you and the job at hand.

Th e third one is especially valuable for many people. Don’t try to please the committee. You can not make them like you. In Zen-like irony, the best chance that they will like you is if you don’t care if they like you.

Th e second part of the mantra is:

Th rough intense concentration, inhibitions melt away and we are free to perform, unfet-tered by self-doubt.

IF YOU DON’T WIN

Th ere is no shame to losing an audition – most great players have lost many of them. Avoid the temporary balm of being bitter or claiming it wasn’t fair or was “rigged”. Nobody wins every time. Keep in mind that the growth you gained from the long hours of preparation is still with you. It is never wasted time to practice well. Try to ask yourself what went wrong (if anything), and how can you use this experience to better prepare for the next one. Look for ways to pres-ent yourself even greater next time. Th ere will always be another audition.

If you make each situation positive and full of growth, you will be a bit more “battle hardened” each time and ready to approach the next audition with renewed enthusiasm and determination. ◆

before the audition. I tend towards mysteries or thrill-ers in this situation but you will have your own tastes. I don’t want to wait until the day of the audition to start the book because then it’s oft en too diffi cult to get into it. I want to be “hooked” on the book before the audition. Th is way, if the Personnel Manager tells me that I won’t be playing for another two hours, I can say to myself, “Great, I can read my book!”

Be in touch with your reeds to fi gure out how wet they should be. Some reeds work best if they are kept damp, but others will balloon open and be unplay-able if they are wet for too long. Some should dry in your closed reed case and some should be left to dry in the air and re-soaked when needed. A wet reed in a closed reed case will always dry slower and remain more open than the same reed left to dry in the air. Th is “reed management” is a crucial part of having your reed at its best at the moment of the audition. Sharpen your knife before you leave for the audition for tiny last minute adjustments. Double check that you have with you a few plaques (can you imagine only bringing one and accidentally dropping it be-tween piano keys in the warm up room and not being able to get it out?) and cutting block.

THE AUDITION ITSELF

When you enter the hall for the actual audition, don’t warm up on stage. If you must check your reed, do it very quietly, discreetly and briefl y. It’s better to check it just before you enter the stage and hope it doesn’t change too much in the 10 seconds it takes to walk in. Playing scales or noodles will never help you in the eyes of the committee, and can defi nitely create a negative impression on them before you even start the fi rst piece. It’s incredible how many people have ugly warm-up noodles. Starting without warming up in front of the committee can give the impression of great mastery and confi dence.

Take a few moments to immerse yourself in each excerpt’s style before beginning. From the reed’s fi rst vibration you must be “in character”. Aft er the fi rst few measures of the fi rst piece the committee mem-bers will have one of two thoughts: “No”, or “I’d like to hear more”. You don’t have time to get going before sounding good. You must be immediately impressive.

AUDITION MANTRA

My former teacher, Gladys Elliot, gave me this audi-tion mantra to say to myself over and over again. It works for me.


BASSOONISTS’ LEFT HAND INDEX FINGER PROBLEM SOLVED70

AR

TIC

LE

S

Cushion on the chair. Within a few days aft er reading Bill’s article I

purchased some furniture grade foam pieces tapered to my dimensions and cotton material to fi t over the foam to form tapered cushions. One of my students put together three of my new design cushions. Most importantly, I had the student sew a sleeve for the seat strap at the exact angle I just discussed. Th is sleeve maintains the physical advantage I discovered by preventing the weight of the bassoon from sliding the instrument backwards towards the chair back during performance. Without this sleeve, the weight of the bassoon pushes the strap out of its optimum angle position.

Over time, I have sold these cushions to many bassoonists and to other wind instrumentalists who like them by maintaining a more natural curve for the backbone when they are seated and performing with their instruments. Th e cushions are light in weight and come equipped with a handy carry handle for easy transportation.

In my opinion, these two improvements are very important for the health and playing comfort of any bassoonist who sits in a section for most of his or her career. If I had known of these easy-to-copy ideas years ago, my own comfort would have been greatly en-hanced. Please benefi t from my recent experience. ◆

Bassoonists’ Left Hand Index Finger Problem Solved

Gerald CoreyOttawa, Canada

Since my last two seasons of professional or-chestra playing (2001-2003), I have discovered two simple but highly eff ective and wonderful

aids to my bassoon playing. I began using a new angle for placing the seat strap on my orchestra chair - not straight across the front edge of the seat as I had al-ways done before, but, with the leather cup hanging over the right front edge of the chair, and the seat strap placed DIAGONALLY back towards the Left Rear Corner of the chair.

Th is helped me immediately, as I found that the usual heavy weight of the bassoon pressing on my left index fi nger when I was in playing position, was ab-solutely gone! I further discovered that during long rests I could easily hold the bassoon steady with only one hand by the boot joint cap held in my seat strap cup, and for many minutes without any sense of dis-comfort of pain.

If a bassoonist places the seat strap across the front edge of the chair (as I observe most still are do-ing), it isn’t possible to hold the bassoon with only the right hand at the boot cap during rests. Th e bas-soon would immediately topple forward with the unbalanced weight distribution! Try this at the rest position I have adopted, and discover the truth of my statement!

Secondly, I heard about William Waterhouse’s new book, Bassoon in the Yehudi Menuhin Series (Oxford University Press. London). Aft er receiving my copy, I was impressed by the fullsome informa-tion included. Bill explains on pages 65-68 how it is when bassoonists stand to play, our backbone remains more or less straight in the best natural position of the classical S curve of the human form. Th is allows the most freedom in deep breathing needed for per-formance. Bill points out, with the help of a medical drawing, how our spines curve inwards whenever we sit on a standard orchestral chair to perform music. Th is awkward position can sometimes actually cause back pain for some players. For all of us it makes deep breathing less easy to do, in comparison with how easy it is when we play from a standing position. Bill Waterhouse strongly recommends that we improve the seated position of the body by using a Tapered

26 SeatStrap_Corey.indd 7026 SeatStrap_Corey.indd 70 12/11/07 7:48:51 PM12/11/07 7:48:51 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 71

AR

TIC

LE

S

Response Issues on the BassoonCracking Low Notes, Cracking High Notes, Bocal Flex - Voicing - Foghorn Eff ect

Michael J. BurnsGreensboro, North Carolina

What does “cracking” sound like?Th ere are many variants to the sounds and it depends on which register is being attempted, but it may be a growl, squeak, grunt, cough, croak, multiphonic, split-octave, incorrect partial (another actual note), howl, etc. Oft en it occurs just at the beginning of a note and then disappears (see below for a possible ex-planation) but sometimes it lasts the duration of the note.

What causes “cracking?”Here is where the categorization from above becomes useful. Th ese diff erent registers may each have diff er-ent causes of notes that may crack.

• In the ½ holing register, players must adjust and pivot the left hand index fi nger to create three dif-ferent sized ‘½ holes,’ Th e Fs requires the largest opening with about ⅔ to ¾ of the hole uncovered. G is more or less a true ½ hole while Af requires a much smaller opening and I describe it as a ¼ hole. Incidentally, I also use the same size open-ings for the octave higher G and Af respectively. A couple of distinct types of “cracking” can oc-cur when a ½ hole note is mishandled: When the opening is not large enough a low pitch usually will ensue—a growl, split octave, or if you are lucky just the correct note an octave low. When too much of the hole is uncovered a high pitch re-sults creating a squeak or multiphonic. Th is tends to happen mostly on the Af and G as the Fs hole size is already so large.

• In the fl icking register, notes crack because the desired fi rst harmonic partial is not sounding correctly. Debate continues in the bassoon world about how best to address this issue. Some man-date speaker key usage either by touching and re-leasing a speaker key at the start of each relevant

The bassoon is a unique instrument with a characteristically quirky and idiosyncratic sound. In terms of modern instrument de-

velopment it also is something of a dinosaur, lagging behind the other woodwinds in acoustical develop-ments by centuries in certain aspects. Th erefore, the bassoon has some intrinsic issues associated with its acoustical design that lead to response issues. A com-mon term for one form of response issue is “crack-ing” and that is what I would like to deal with in this article.

“Cracking”, a defi nition - my defi nition of cracking on the bassoon is: When an extraneous or non-musi-cal sound is created when attempting to execute a note on the bassoon.

Which notes can “crack” on the bassoon?Th ere are some who might answer ‘all of them’ and any note on the bassoon can be mishandled in such a way that an extraneous noise is produced but I be-lieve that the answer can be narrowed down further and categorized as follows:

• ½ hole notes: [Fs , G, and Af at the top of the bass clef staff and G and Af an octave higher (also the Fs in the higher octave with some fi ngerings)]

• Flicking register notes: the notes at the top of the staff and immediately above it that overblow an octave to the fi rst harmonic partial-A, Bf , B, C, D—not Cs in this register for reasons that will be explained later

• High register notes: from F above middle C and up. Th ese notes all tend to be produced with a fi n-gering which derives a higher harmonic partial.

• Low register notes: those notes in the range ex-tending from low E down to low Bf . Th ese are defi nitely fundamental pitches.

27 ResponseBass.indd 7127 ResponseBass.indd 71 12/11/07 7:49:10 PM12/11/07 7:49:10 PM

RESPONSE ISSUES ON THE BASSOON72

AR

TIC

LE

S

ate the perfect ½ hole size more readily time aft er time.

• In the fl icking register, I advocate learning to fl ick or vent for all of my students but must admit that I do not use these techniques exclusively. I like to address equipment possibilities, especially reed setup and another technique that I strong-ly advocate is learning to correctly “voice” the pitches.

By voicing I mean a couple of related things: 1. manipulating the size and shape of the opening in the oral cavity (particularly tongue position) by creating diff erent vowel sounds. Th is can in-fl uence response, tone, and intonation in various ways. 2. actually moving the vocal chord appara-tus in a way similar to (perhaps even the same as) when singing diff erent pitches. I can demonstrate this. If I sing an A in the bass clef staff and then an octave higher A, there is some sort of motion inside my throat (presumably the vocal chords?) in a distinct upward manner and to a defi nite lo-cation, the location for the A is one place, a Bf , Af or any other note all have diff erent (but distinct) locations. Th is motion is also somewhat visible externally because of the motion of my Adam’s apple. Now, when I play those same octave A’s on the bassoon when I play them properly seemingly the exact same motion occurs and I feel that my vocal chords are traveling to that same distinct location as where I sang the upper A.

When I execute this properly on my regular bassoon setup I can get the note to sound clearly without any cracking. Likewise with the Bf and the other notes in the fl icking register. Th ere-fore, I feel it would be hypocritical to require my students to fl ick or vent exclusively when I may not always do so myself. Instead I have a rule for them. Th ey are NOT allowed to crack but how they prevent it is their business. Most of them still need to fl ick or vent to be sure of the notes, but some can occasionally only voice the note (without fl icking) and still be certain of its clean response.

One more word about voicing, I have found with students that if their voice range does not coincide with the instrument (for example a natural soprano) that octave displacement of this technique seems to work. If they voice A octaves ascending within their own vocal range the prin-ciple still seems to hold true to make the voicing work on the bassoon for playing A octaves even though the range is diff erent between the voicing

note (this is oft en referred to as ‘fl icking’), or by holding the speaker key for the duration of the note (sometimes called ‘venting’); others advo-cate no fl icking or venting as they feel that they can potentially alter the tone and intonation of the notes in question in an undesirable way and instead advocate altering the equipment setup (reed, bocal, instrument) or the player’s execu-tion (see ‘voicing’ below);

Arthur Weisberg, a bassoon professor at Indiana University in Bloomington has been de-veloping over the past several years the ‘no-fl ick system bassoon’ which can be read about and or-dered from his website www.futurebassoon.com. It consists of a somewhat complicated mecha-nism to automatically vent these notes with newly drilled holes and an automatic octave system.

Cs is generally not included as a fl icking or venting note as the Cs key employed whether using a ‘long’ (fi ngerings including both left and right hand) or ‘short’ (left hand only) fi ngering itself acts in a similar manner to a vent key. Th e note is therefore usually stable enough to not re-quire fl icking and also the left thumb is already occupied anyway!

• High register notes tend to crack because a lower partial sounds instead of the desired one, usually at the beginning of the note only but sometimes for the duration. Th erefore, the sound is most of-ten a lower than desired pitch and may sound like a grunt or growl. To address this I advocate “bo-cal fl ex”—see below.

• Low register notes tend to crack because a higher partial sounds instead of the desired fundamen-tal, usually at the beginning of the note only but sometimes for the duration. Th erefore the sound is most oft en a higher sound. I also address this by learning about and using “bocal fl ex.” In the low register this means ensuring that the bocal is NOT fl exed upwards.

How do you prevent “cracking” on the bassoon? Again, it depends on what caused it and therefore to a large extent, which register is being attempted.

• In the ½ holing register, care must be taken to learn and use the correct ½ hole size for each respective pitch. I strongly advocate learning to pivot or roll the index fi nger to create the open-ing rather than sliding the fi nger. By pivoting, the player can learn to control the angle that the fi nger makes at the fi rst knuckle and can recre-


THE DOUBLE REED 73

AR

TIC

LE

S

multiphonic. How does this help, you may wonder? To

explain I need to give a little history. My fi rst exposure to this technique was as a student of William Winstead’s. I was working on the Rite of Spring beginning solo and having diffi culty consistently getting the fi rst note to respond in time, in tune, and with an acceptable tone. One of the things he had me do was come up with a good fi ngering, have the tongue on the reed and prepare the airstream and “pull up on the bocal until you feel it rise.” When he told me this I at fi rst thought it was one of the oddest things I had ever heard and also thought that I would damage my precious bocal for sure. But, I tried it and, of course, it helps tremendously and my bocal is still going strong over a decade later with no signs of mistreatment.

Now, fast-forward several years and I was in my current position as the bassoon professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. One particular week one of those odd coinci-dences that seem to occur occasionally in teach-ing happened where several diff erent students all seemed to be suff ering from a similar ailment. Th ey all were playing pieces that involved some kind of exposed entrance on the F above the staff (e.g. Weber Concerto fi rst movement, fi rst bas-soon entrance) and all were ‘cracking’ the f with a grunt or multiphonic sounding at the beginning of the note in a most audible way. I was puzzled as to the cause. I tried their bassoons and reeds and all was fi ne, I checked their fi ngerings, had them play on my bassoon and/or reeds, checked the shape of their embouchures all to no avail. Th e problem persisted. Now, one of my favorite teach-ing techniques is to learn to emulate a student’s problem so that I can then determine what causes it and how it can be addressed and fi xed.

So I set to trying to learn how to create this problem with the F. At fi rst I was unsuccessful and could not get the note to crack but eventu-ally I lowered the lower jaw experimentally and succesfully recreated the problem, producing the multiphonic or the lower e. It was then that Winstead’s technique from the Rite of Spring came back to me and I decided to apply it in this other context. I also eventually came up with the term bocal fl ex for it both because it fairly accu-rately describes what we are doing and because it sounds like the name of a product being sold on a late night infomercial, which appeals to my

and the instrument.• In the High register, most fi ngerings are pro-

ducing overblown high harmonic partials. As mentioned above, cracking occurs when a lower partial sounds instead of the one desired. Some-times this can be fi xed by changing to a diff er-ent fi ngering and there are a myriad of options in the high register with some notes having a dozen or more fi ngering possibilities. See the Cooper/Toplansky Bassoon Technique, or the IDRS Bas-soon Family Fingering Companion at http://idrs.colorado.edu/bsnfi ng/fi nghome.htm for more information.

Aside from fi ngering adjustments, my pri-mary remedy for this is to use a technique I call Bocal Flex. Bocal Flex, as the name suggests, in-volves very slight fl exing of the bocal in an up-wards direction to achieve higher partials and can be demonstrated by doing the following: Play a low C and deliberately pull slightly upward with the lower jaw while not pinching down with the upper lip and jaw. Keep the embouchure relaxed and let the upper jaw and lip just rest on top of the reed as you would for the low C. You should be able to produce harmonic partials above the fundamental C. Th e fi rst partial is an octave C, the second a 12th G, etc. You are making the bas-soon act in the way that a brass instrument must which is to produce multiple harmonic pitches from a single fi ngering based on an embouchure change. Now, the control is most likely not there to accurately play specifi c harmonic partials and either random partials or multiple partials si-multaneously (multiphonics) may be produced at fi rst but with practice it is possible to play ‘bugle calls’ on the bassoon by fi ngering a single low note and adjusting the amount of bocal fl ex and/or embouchure aperture and pressure. Th is ele-ment of the technique will be discussed further again below when dealing with low register issues but I now want to move the demonstration up to a higher pitch.

Begin with the F third space above the bass clef staff . Fingering this note deliberately allow the lower jaw to drop down as if playing a low register note (like the C from earlier) the bocal should essentially un-fl ex and lower down also and one of two sounds will result: a multiphonic, or, when you have lowered the jaw suffi ciently an e in the staff with a slightly strange timbre. With practice, one can go back and forth between the ‘e’ and the f or even hold on the intervening


RESPONSE ISSUES ON THE BASSOON74

AR

TIC

LE

S

produce ‘bugle calls’ or harmonic partials above a fundamental while fi ngering the low C. Some cracking in the low register is caused by exactly that. Th e player is inadvertently fl exing the bocal upwards, at least at the beginning of the note so that a harmonic partial, or perhaps several (the multiphonic again) sound at the beginning of the note instead of the fundamental.

To illustrate this I can again emulate the problem by deliberately allowing my lower jaw to be too high at the beginning of a low register note and then drop it down into place. If I do this quickly at fi rst and then slower and slower it becomes obvious that the note is doing what the brass players might call a “splee-ah” with a mul-tiphonic or harmonic sound beginning followed closely by a fundamental. Th en I use an analogy (yet another of my favorite teaching techniques) this one I call “training the puppy.”

I ask the student having the cracking problem in the low register to imagine that they are train-ing a puppy to “stay.” At fi rst the puppy doesn’t understand and wants to go everywhere that the master goes but with some dedication and pa-tience one can teach it to stay on command. Now lets think of the lower jaw as the puppy and the tongue as the master. At fi rst the ‘puppy’ (lower jaw) is untrained and wants to follow everywhere the ‘master’ (tongue) goes. When the tongue comes up to the reed, the lower jaw follows and rises up also. Th is motion is fairly common in activities outside of bassoon playing, when chew-ing, the tongue moves in tandem with the jaw and also in some speech, etc.

Now back to the bassoon. In many registers it will not aff ect the note too adversely if the lower jaw follows the tongue upwards as the tongue moves up to the reed, but in the lower register it becomes more noticeable and more problematic as it oft en results in an incorrect partial sounding instead of the fundamental at the beginning of the note (splee-ah.) To address this then I suggest the student teach the ‘puppy’ (lower jaw) to ‘stay.’ Th ey need to send a message from the brain to the lower jaw to fi nd and hold the correct lower position so that the fundamental will result while the tongue independently moves up to the reed. Th is is easiest to achieve when playing repeated notes in the low register (see the Foghorn exer-cise below) but eventually needs to be addressed for a note beginning.

When starting a note in this manner the

sense of humor. By introducing this concept to all of the stu-

dents concerned, I was able to get them to elimi-nate the cracking on the f and we also learned to apply it to several other high register notes. Now part of the trick is to NOT bite. You lift up SLIGHTLY on the bottom of the reed with the lower jaw but do NOT clamp down with the up-per jaw. Instead it sort of rides upwards slightly also, maintaining the correct aperture size as op-posed to narrowing it, but slightly compressing the bottom blade of the reed and fl exing the bocal upwards gradually and gently.

Another element that I fi nd essential to this discussion is that one has to learn to separate the bocal fl ex and associated jaw position and aper-ture between the teeth from what happens be-hind it in the oral cavity. For many high register notes one must combine bocal fl ex and a some-what narrow aperture with an open oral cavity and low tongue position in order for it to come out but with low enough pitch.

I now maintain that I cannot correctly play the F (or perhaps any other higher register note above it) without using at least some bocal fl ex and that I probably had been using it all along without realizing it. I dare say that many (most? All?) other bassoonists probably do likewise.

Bocal fl ex has now become an essential part of my teaching technique and seems to bring much better success and consistency to my stu-dents. When I have presented the technique in a masterclass situation it oft en merits raised eye-brows and looks of skepticism from participants, listeners, students, and teachers and I remember my own fi rst response to Winstead’s suggestion but I encourage you to try it out for yourselves. I really think that it works.

• In the Low Register, again several factors can lead to low notes cracking: A fi ngering issue may lead to a tonehole being uncovered and creating a leak; the instrument may be out of adjustment and either have pads not covering or the link be-tween the low C and D key may not be engaging properly; reed problems can certainly play havoc either from a leak, or just poor response from scraping issues, etc., the student may not be put-ting enough air into the horn, etc.

However, all things being equal I fi nd that again bocal fl ex can be a major issue but this time at the other end of the spectrum. In the demon-stration on the low C described above one could


THE DOUBLE REED 75

AR

TIC

LE

S

during the string of articulated notes following the E-Bf slur of the foghorn.

I hope that some or all of these suggestions prove helpful in reducing the incidence of cracking for some of you. Bassoon tones that are unmarred by cracking can be enjoyed more by all. ◆

player fi ngers it correctly (of course), brings the tongue up to the reed WHILE MAINTAINING THE CORRECT LOW FUNDAMENTAL PO-SITION of the lower jaw, sets the airstream and, on command, releases the tongue to begin a note that should sound as a fundamental from the outset. Another exercise that can prove useful in diagnosing and fi xing low register issues I call the Foghorn. Th is gets its descriptive name because it sounds, well, like a foghorn!

Th e exercise has two parts. Th e fi rst is to play a nice strong low E with the left thumb ‘hover-ing’ over the cluster of keys on the long joint (bass joint) then drop down the left thumb to simulta-neously cover all of the keys necessary to play a low Bf . Th e exercise can show if the player’s em-bouchure and air are working correctly to pro-duce the Bf . Also many students inadvertently pull one of their left fi ngers off of the tone holes (especially the third or lowest fi nger on the wing joint) when reaching the thumb over to the low Bf key creating a ½ hole or leak which makes the low note response tenuous.

By starting on the low E with no left thumb, the player can ensure that the tone holes are cov-ering completely and I usually then have them move and rotate the thumb in multiple directions while maintaining contact with the tone holes on the wing joint to demonstrate that the thumb’s mobility is not dependent upon pulling the fi n-gers on the tone holes out of position before fi -nally dropping the thumb into place onto the B f

key and C-D cluster. Once the player can execute a lovely solid slur

from the low E down a tri-tone to the Bf then we move on to part two of the exercise which is to add an articulation element. It begins the same with the slur from E-Bf but once a good Bf is established then the player tongues slowly but repeatedly on the Bf while maintaining the same open lower jaw position. Th e tongue should be the only thing in motion and the Bf s should speak easily and evenly. Many players will try to bounce or “chew” with the jaw when moving the tongue and this must be eliminated. Once consis-tent clean attacks can be implemented on the low Bf aft er slurring down from the E then the player should try to begin on the Bf but setting the same jaw position, open throat, tongue position, voic-ing, etc. If all elements are successfully accounted for and executed then the response on the low Bf should be just as good from the fi rst note as it was


IDRS MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM76

Please TYPE or PRINT (You may also renew/apply on-line at: www.idrs.org)

Name (Last) (First)

Address:(Students should use home address to assure receipt of publication)

(City) (State/Province) (Postal Code)

(Country) Phone (Area) (Number) Business Phone

Fax Number E-Mail Address

Instrument(s):

Profession or affiliation: (orchestra, school, business)

International Double Reed Society Membership ApplicationFor the calendar year of January 1 - December 31 of

❒ New ❒ Renewal

ANNUAL DUES❏ $50.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Regular Member❏ $35.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Student Member❏ $50.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Institutional Subscriber

CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS❏ $400.00 & Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Benefactor Member❏ $300.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patron Member❏ $150.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Donor Member❏ $75.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sustaining Member

Methods of Payment: ❒ Check, bank draft, or money order enclosed ❒ Charge to Visa/Mastercard account below

MAKE PAYMENT PAYABLE TO THE IDRS IN US$ FREE OF CHARGES TO THE PAYEE. ALL CHECKS SHOULD BE DRAWN ON A US BANK IN US DOLLARS.

Mail application and payment to: Norma R. Hooks, Executive Secretary/Treasurer International Double Reed Society 2423 Lawndale Road Finksburg, MD 21048-1401 USA Phone (410) 871-0658 FAX (410) 871-0659 E-Mail: [email protected]

Card Account Number 3 Digit Security Code Expiration Date (Back of Card)

Print name as it appears on credit card

(Signature required for Credit Card payment only)

(For first class postage, add $35.00)

28 IDRSMemberForm.indd 7628 IDRSMemberForm.indd 76 12/11/07 7:49:25 PM12/11/07 7:49:25 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 77

AR

TIC

LE

S

I later learned that Mr. Mayer was going to give a concert in Germany and, with the help of my Ger-man friends, bought a ticket. Knowing that I would be traveling to Germany in the near future, I spoke with Nicholas Daniel at the 2007 IDRS Convention about my desire to meet Mr. Mayer. He told me they were friends and sent Mr. Mayer a text message say-ing that I was going to his concert in Germany and that I wanted to meet him. And what happened was just that. I went by myself to Germany for the fi rst time this summer to hear Mr. Mayer play the Mo-zart Oboe Concerto with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in Ludwigsburg. Th e hall was packed and the German man seated next to me said that Albrecht Mayer was very well-known in Germany. I felt so for-tunate to be there in person to hear him play.

Th e performance was magnifi cent! It seemed that the applause continued endlessly. During intermis-sion he came out and signed autographs and had pic-tures taken. I had the opportunity to greet him and told him I was the oboist from Puerto Rico, to which he replied, “Oh, yes! You are Nick’s friend! I’m glad you are here!” We happened to be staying at the same hotel as each other (right next door), so he asked if I could meet him in the hotel lobby when the concert was over in order to make arrangements for the inter-view. I did, and we decided to conduct the interview the following morning. He asked me that morning why I had come to Germany and was amazed to hear my story.

Th e following is the interview conducted on Sunday, July 8, 2007, in Ludwigsburg, Germany.

Frances Colón (FC): Last night you played the Mo-zart Oboe Concerto and it was an edition that we are not accustomed to hearing. Could you tell us about it?

Albrecht Mayer (AM): I was working with my oboe professor, Ingo Goritzki, on this edition to get the right shape, the original idea about the concerto. Th e concerto that Paumgartner found in Salzburg is not

Albrecht Mayer’s Singing Oboe: An Interview

Frances ColónSan Juan, Puerto Rico

A unique series of events enabled this inter-view to take place.

In July of 2006 I was visiting a dear friend in Rochester, New York. She had recently purchased a DVD of Gil Shaham and the Berlin Philharmonic performing the Brahms Violin Concerto, which we decided to watch. We skipped the fi rst movement and went straight to the second. Th e camera work was excellent and mainly featured the principal oboist playing his solo. No words could describe my feelings when I listened to that performance.

Upon my return to Puerto Rico I obtained my own copy of the DVD. Aft er receiving it I waited until nighttime, when everything was quiet, to once again experience that wonderful performance. As before, I skipped to the second movement to hear him play. Th is time the music made me cry. It was gorgeous. At that moment I became determined to meet this oboist.

Since there were no credits on the disc or cover, I searched online for oboists in the Berlin Philhar-monic Orchestra until I found his name: Albrecht Mayer. I visited his website, and saw on it a picture of a friend of mine from when I attended Eastman. I wrote to her and told her of my interest in meet-ing Mr. Mayer. She said she would write to let him know about this. I also wrote to the address on his website, and his manager kindly contacted me to tell me that he would pass on my message. Th en I waited expectantly.

Frances Colón and Albrecht Mayer

29 AlbrectMayerInt.indd 7729 AlbrectMayerInt.indd 77 12/11/07 7:49:41 PM12/11/07 7:49:41 PM

ALBRECHT MAYER’S SINGING OBOE: AN INTERVIEW78

AR

TIC

LE

S

AM: Th e point is this. I have been studying singing my whole life. I was a tenor some years and of course with this came the idea and the interest in doing all of this vocal music. I started to record vocal music in 1997 - some Schumann songs - and then I was com-pelled by the idea of getting some arias transcribed.

When I heard people singing - like Th omas Hampson, Cecilia Bartoli, Mattias Goerne - for me it was like, this is how the oboe should be played. A real singer will sing not with his instrument, but with his body. He will use all his resonance, all his natural body resources to make the sound. I think the oboe world was developing towards a quite freaky idea over the last few years. Everybody thought you had to play in a way that’s soft , loud, with very fast fi ngers, and thought, “I have to compete with violins and fl utes and to be very virtuosic.” I think this is a dead end.

First of all, we can never compete with a virtuoso violin, and we can never compete with a piano. But we are very competitive. Singing on our instrument is nearly unreachable with the oboe. Th e oboe is a very physical instrument. You need to be able to control your instrument, your body, in a very complete way to make the oboe sing, to make your body sing. Why is it so diffi cult? Sometimes it is very diffi cult to play the oboe because you need a lot of energy, pressure, and so on. When you achieve control with your body, you have the best singing quality, but it is a long road. And then, of course, I think that when you think back about Vivaldi’s or Handel’s or Bach’s time, the oboe was always like doing little fi gurations around a singer that was the main voice and the oboe was the little accompaniment and going around and around. Th en at the same time, I think, that every oboe player always wanted to be the voice, not only the accom-paniment. Th at is what I want. I want to be the voice with my instrument.

FC: Although you are not publishing the Mozart, are any of the works you just described published?

AM: Th ey are all published. Andreas Tarkmann or-chestrated them. He lives in Stuttgart.

FC: As a perfomer, you want to be the voice, you want to be more like a singer. Is there anything else that you want as a performer?

AM: I always hear my colleagues saying, “I am going to be obedient to the composers I play, and I want to serve Mozart and serve Schumann.” My colleagues are fantastic and lovely players and are very serious

at all Mozart’s writings. It is full of mistakes, full of wrong clues, full of wrong arpeggios, full of wrong things, so my professor worked for thirty years to get a great, fantastic, right edition. Th e edition is fi nished and published now. It’s a very lovely edition with three diff erent ways. Th is is the oboe concerto rear-ranged according to the original fl ute concerto, the original Paumgartner version, and then his version, which suggests which, do you think, is best?

And so, I was raised this last twenty-fi ve years to see this, hear that, so when I made my recording with Claudio Abaddo I decided to do my own ver-sion of this because I thought I had some diff erent ideas about it and the scholars show very clearly what Mozart had written at that time and what the oboe players had been able to play. For instance, the oc-taves in the entrance are very easy on the oboe at this time, but I played it on the original Ferlendis oboe (for which it was written), and the octaves are very easy there, because he has written them in the oboe quartet. So, it was not very diffi cult to get all the clues as to where the original shape would lead us to in the Oboe Concerto. But one thing is very clear: You can fi nd your own shape, your own idea, your own ver-sion of the Oboe Concerto, but if you play the Paum-gartner version - this copy you found in Salzburg in 1920, which is played everywhere in the world - then you play a lot of mistakes, and they are obvious, they are not hidden.

FC: Your teacher’s edition is published. Do you know who published it?

AM: I think it is Henle Verlag; it is a blue cover. You will fi nd it.

FC: What about your edition?

AM: It is not published; it is my edition.

FC: Are you going to publish it?

AM: No. Aft er my teacher made all of these eff orts and this beautiful, very clear and lovely version, I don’t plan to. If someone is interested in my version, just listen to my CD.

FC: I see that you are arranging and reconstructing a lot of works that were originally written for voice. You are transcribing works originally written for voice. Are you doing this to contribute to the oboe world? Or, what is the goal behind it?


THE DOUBLE REED 79

AR

TIC

LE

S

of their stars. He is like 26 and he is absolutely… He will be the next Karajan, the next Cliburn, the next… I don’t know… Fantastic… It is basically the power of will that makes it work. And that is true for every-body, not just for oboists.

FC: What do you want to be remembered for?

AM: I have never thought about that. Many musi-cians are really trying very hard to achieve their idea, their philosophy, their goal in music making, to be singular and unique, to be remembered as somehow very special. I think it is not really important which instrument you play. It is not really important even which music you play. You can achieve the things that I want in connection between audience and me or between all the people on stage and the audience. Th is is my idea. I try to fi nd as much connection to them as possible and to get under their skin. Not to say, “He has such fast fi ngers or he can play so loud or so soft ,” which is this competition idea, which I hate. If you really are able to touch the audience, to touch some people and they would come to you aft er the concert and say, “Wow, this was really something and I will remember it and I will take it home…” I like Bach, Schumann, Handel and Mozart, of course, but it I think it is the wrong way if we try to be competi-tors to the soloists which have been there all the last decades. Like big piano players, the fantastic violin players, the great cellists, the fantastic sopranos, if we try to compete with them, it is hopeless. We must cre-ate our own connection to the audience. Th is is about everything: humanity, soul, caring, your love… I don’t know… It is very hard to describe. Th at is why I am a bit stuck here. I am not so fl uent anymore be-cause how could you describe something that creates by itself?

FC: I truly understand what you are talking about. Th at is why I came here all the way from Puerto Rico. So, I think you accomplished your goal. You conveyed it very well - bravo! BSO job, soloist, teach-er, director, composer, arranger… what’s next?

AM: I do conducting. And it’s fantastic. I am learning every day. I see great conductors. I was just working with Pierre Boulez two days ago and he is the mas-ter of small movements and being very eff ective. His face would not change very much within the perfor-mance, within his conducting, but he is very eff ec-tive. Sometimes you would wonder how diff erent you can conduct and what the outcome is. So, the eff ect of

about making music. But I am not serving anybody. Th e only mass I am serving is the audience. Th e com-poser could write the best piece in the world, but if there is no one that plays it correctly and plays lovely and convinces the audience, then the piece would have been written in vain. So, if I am serving any-thing, it is the audience. Th at means I ended up with the oboe but it could have been anything else. It was just that oboe was my instrument. I found the oboe by coincidence. Over the last twenty years we have had the tendency to look for the original shape of this thing in Mozart and Bach: Was it a comma? Was it a staccato point? We are discussing this for twenty years, but in the end this is not at all the music. Th e music is somewhere else. It is fl owing between the audience and the musicians on stage. I started to do concerts in diff erent places - in bars, restaurants, clubs - where people were lying down and having heavy smokes. Just reach these people with classical music and then they would say, “Great, lovely play-ing. I thought classical music was so stiff and so well organized, we had to sit still for two hours.” So I try to convince more people of the value of this diff erent kind of classical music.

FC: You teach as well. When you teach your stu-dents, what is the main thing you want to convey to them?

AM: Talent - it is nice if you have some, but is not the main thing. I meet a lot of talented people and sometimes they end up as being no musicians, they end up lying under a bridge somewhere. And some-times I meet other people whom I consider being not very talented and they end up as complete shoot-ers. Th ey are fantastic, they do big things. And they are successful and this is all the power of will. Th ey want something and that is the main source of suc-cess. Success not in the fi nancial sense; success in the sense of satisfying for yourself and for the other people around you. Th at is my main goal, to say: If you really want something, then go for it. I worked in Caracas, in Ranchos in Venezuela, for instance, and they would be considered helpless cases, because they could be big talents, but they would not achieve any-thing because they had no education and no money behind them. Now I see some people being so ener-getic and full of willpower that they have achieved the most gorgeous things. Like Gustavo Dudamel, for instance, this famous young conductor, who was conducting me on the tour with the Bamberg Sym-phony, my former orchestra. Now in Europe he is one


ALBRECHT MAYER’S SINGING OBOE: AN INTERVIEW80

AR

TIC

LE

S

a few movements… this is a whole new world, which fascinates me completely. Actually, I think this is the dream of every oboe player - to be conductor at one point. Some of them are very successful. Like Hol-liger or like Paul Goodwin, the baroque oboe player from England. Wonderful oboe player. I think he nearly stopped playing and now is a quite successful conductor. I am not going to stop playing the oboe, but I will do some more conducting. ◆

Albrecht Mayer presented a recital at the Carnegie Hall in November. Details as per the Carnegie Hall Website:

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2007 AT 7:30 PM Berliner Barock Solisten Zankel Hall Berliner Barock SolistenRainer Kussmaul, Violinist and Director Albrecht Mayer, Oboe and Oboe d’Amore Georg Faust, Cello

TELEMANN Concerto for Strings and Continuo in E Flat Major, TWV 43:Es 1

HANDEL Concerto for Oboe d’Amore, Strings, and Basso Continuo in D Major, “Ver-di Prati” (arr. A.N. Tarkmann)

PISENDEL Sonata for Strings and Continuo in C Minor

TELEMANN Concerto for Oboe and Continuo in D Minor, TWV 51:d 2

CORELLI Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 6, No. 7

VIVALDI Concerto for Cello, Strings, and Con-tinuo in B Minor, RV 424

BACH Concerto for Oboe, Violin, and Con-tinuo in D Minor, BWV 1060

Dr. Frances Colón is principal oboist of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and also teaches at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. Her main teach-ers include: Nancy Ambrose King, Richard Killmer, Janet Mascaro, David Bourns and Harry Rosario.


THE DOUBLE REED 81

AR

TIC

LE

S

A Short Interview with Eugene Izotov

Eugene Izotov, principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, will be performing the Mozart Oboe Concerto with the orchestra on December 20th, 21st, and 22d. Ludovic Morlot will conduct. Here Mr. Izotov shares some thoughts about his solo vehicle.....

One day I showed up early for my oboe lesson, while there was an older student still playing inside the classroom. My teacher let me inside the room, told me to take a seat and to remain quiet. When the older student resumed playing, I thought it was the most beautiful music I had ever heard. It was the second movement of Mozart’s Oboe Concerto. Since then, like most oboists, I have had somewhat of a “love and hate” relationship with this piece – performing it for juries, competitions, festival, and job auditions. Un-fortunately, most auditions require only the exposi-tion of the fi rst movement – many oboists never get to play a note beyond that, and sometimes develop a certain sense of indiff erence towards this piece – two minutes of music, even by Mozart, can get pretty old when repeated a hundred times over 15-20 years of auditions, usually played without accompaniment in high-stress situations. However, for me it has always been possible to fi nd a way to step back, and see this piece for what it really is – an extraordinary, beauti-

Why did you choose the Mozart concerto for these concerts?

I guess it was a fairly easy choice – this concerto in C-major, written by Mozart in 1777 and the D-major concerto, written by Richard Strauss in 1945, are probably the two most cherished and well-known pieces featuring solo oboe with orchestral accompa-niment. Th e reason I decided on the Mozart was the fact that it has not been performed at Orchestra Hall over the past 15 years. Chicago audiences have heard the Strauss concerto on numerous occasions by now, so I think it’s time to revisit another old friend – Mo-zart’s incomparable oboe concerto. How long has it been a part of your repertoire? When and where did you fi rst perform it?

I fi rst heard this piece when I was about ten years old as a student at the Gnesin Music School in Moscow.

Phot

o: T

odd

Rose

nber

g

30 IzotovInterview.indd 8130 IzotovInterview.indd 81 12/11/07 7:49:56 PM12/11/07 7:49:56 PM

A SHORT INTERVIEW WITH EUGENE IZOTOV82

AR

TIC

LE

S

I perform a piece by Mozart, I feel like I am trying to polish a diamond while standing at the edge of a cliff - it’s beautiful and exciting, but one step in the wrong direction and it’s all over! Of course, I doubt that Mozart intended to present such a daunting task when writing his lovely and thoroughly light-hearted Oboe Concerto. However, as with any piece by Mo-zart, one has to combine impeccable sense of taste, style, and balance without making it sound too obvi-ous or academic. Mozart was one of the greatest mu-sical tricksters – he had an amazing sense of humor, he was larger than life and every performance of his music should refl ect that. ◆

ful, and dazzling composition packed with all sorts of twists and turns – it truly is Mozart at his best. I have performed this concerto with several American and European orchestras over the years, and every time I fi nd something new and completely unexplored in it. Th is piece is a fantastic showcase of personality – both for the soloist and for the orchestra. Chicago Symphony has more personality than can fi t inside the Sears Tower, so I am especially excited about per-forming it with my CSO colleagues in December.

What can the listener expect to hear, and what do you hope the listener will hear?

Th is concerto is completely fi lled with happiness. Mozart wrote it when he was only 21 years old – it’s uplift ing, playful, sometimes naïve, sometimes a little pompous, probably just like he was. I hope our listen-ers, especially those who mostly know Mozart’s mu-sic from movies and Nokia cell phone ringers, will be able to discover and appreciate this fun-loving, witty, and brilliant side of his personality.

What challenges does it present for you, as performer?

Th ere is a saying that classical musicians are in the “business of perfection.”– we are responsible for capturing, understanding and delivering immortal masterpieces to our audiences. However, the amaz-ing thing about our jobs is that we can and certainly should add something to the music that is uniquely our own and somehow try to make it sound more beautiful and more special. Th is has to be done very carefully, because you never want to replace com-poser’s ideas with your own. Many composers leave much room for the performer’s imagination - there’s great fl exibility in Romantic music, as well as 20th century compositions. However, I think most musi-cians would agree that Mozart, along with Bach and Beethoven are the hardest composers to perform. In fact, Mozart may be in a class by himself. Whenever

30 IzotovInterview.indd 8230 IzotovInterview.indd 82 12/11/07 7:49:57 PM12/11/07 7:49:57 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 83

AR

TIC

LE

S

A man wearing a black, cutaway coat and striped trousers appears at the same door through which the woman has recently entered the room.

“Jeeves,” she says in a voice sounding like a bas-soon fl owing through its low register. “Two cups of tea please, one with lemon.” Here she nods with an encouraging smile to the man who has entered the room through the window. “And one with a drop of brandy -- my usual.”

“Yes, Madame,” the man in the black, cutaway coat responds, backing out of the room, head slightly bowed.

“I see your man, Jeeves, does not play the bas-soon,” says the man who has entered the room through the window.

Th e woman’s eyebrows raise just enough to indi-cate approval for the man’s astuteness. “How did you know?” she says, her voice purring with a warmth the man fi nds attractive.

“He seems quite deferential,” the man says, shrugging.

“Ahhhh, to be sure,” the woman replies.She moves to a love seat brocaded with dark

green fl owers on a background of lemon yellow linen, and gracefully sits on one end of a long overstuff ed cushion.

“But enough of Jeeves,” she says, patting the emp-ty place near her. “Please join me, and tell me if you have ever contemplated...” the woman hesitates. She purses her lips before continuing. “... ever contem-plated playing the bassoon?” ◆

A Bassoon Lite, Please...Existential Bassoon Story

Alan GoodmanBedford, Wyoming

A room is empty. A man enters the room through a window. A fl ower grows in a pot that sits on the windowsill of the window

through which the man climbs. A woman, who does not play the bassoon, enters the room through a door precisely at this moment.

“Who are you?” the woman asks, alarmed at the appearance of a stranger in her home.

“I do not play the bassoon, Madame,” the man tells her.

“Oh, thank God,” the woman says, clasping her hands over her heart. “One never knows who climbs through one’s window these days, does one.”

A rather small bird exits a door in a large clock hanging from a hook on a sunlight-dappled wall in the room.

“Cukoo, cukoo,” sings the rather small bird.“Two o’clock,” says the woman who does not play

bassoon. “Would you care to join me in a cup of tea?” she asks the man who has entered the room through the window.

“You do not play the oboe perchance, do you?” the man who does not play the bassoon asks.

“My fi rst husband used to play the oboe, but Mother disapproved,” says the woman who has en-tered the room through the door, and now stands ab-sorbing dappled sunlight beneath the ticking of the Cukoo Clock. “My fourth husband, Harvey, ran off with the circus when he was going through a rather diffi cult period adjusting to the reality that he would never play the bassoon.”

Th e man who has entered the room through the window removes a bandana from his face.

“Ahhhhhh” he says, his mouth turned down at the corners.

Th e woman thinks the man is saddened.“Life can be fi ckle like that’” the man adds. “A

lemon would be nice with that cup of tea, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“I could tell immediately that you were a man who doesn’t play the bassoon,” she says, clapping her hands. A dry, sharp explosion, much like the crack of a .22 shell fi red in a barrel stored in a small storage shed, echoes through the sparsely-furnitured room.

31 ExistentialBass.indd 8331 ExistentialBass.indd 83 12/11/07 7:50:14 PM12/11/07 7:50:14 PM

REVIEWS84

Reviews

32 Reviews.indd 8432 Reviews.indd 84 12/11/07 7:50:29 PM12/11/07 7:50:29 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 85

RE

VIE

WS

universities as Cambridge, Ohio State and UC Santa Barbara and San Diego. He is the co-author of Music Since 1945, the co-editor of Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music, and author of Music: Ways of Listening as well as numerous essays and reviews for prominent music journals. Schwartz has received signifi cant honors including the Dutch Gaudeamus Prize, three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, an NEA Consortium commission, and two Rockefeller Foundation residencies at Bellagio, Italy.

Marshall Bialosky has described Schwartz’s musical style:

Th e music of Elliott Schwartz – so sweeping in its range of stylistic juxtapositions and perfor-mance challenges, and so inclusive of musical languages (from the familiar to the arcane) that critic Tim Page has dubbed it “beyond eclecti-cism” – can best be understood in the context of its time and place. Specifi cally, Schwartz’s work refl ects the infl uence of mid-twentieth-century Modernism, the subsequent reactions and response of the Post-Modernist movement, and his career as a writer, performer, and teacher in coastal New England.

Schwartz’s Quartet for oboe and strings is the earliest piece discussed here and one of the most compositionally rigorous. A lyrical second movement is fl anked by two lively and dramatic movements, somewhat reminiscent of Bartok in both their rhythmic intensity and pan-total but accessible harmonic style.

“Music for Audience and Soloist,” one of Schwartz’s most popular pieces, is scored for any mobile instrument, for the soloist moves through the performance space. It is suitable for oboe, English horn, or oboe d’amore. In a 1986 interview with Ev Grimes for Yale University’s Oral History American Music project, Schwartz remarked:

It involves the theater of performance and a cer-tain kind of role playing confusion because it’s a piece where the audience does most of the performing. Th e audience is subdivided into four groups. Each group gets a conductor and is rehearsed very briefl y. Th en a soloist comes out and, by improvising according to a general cue sheet, interacts with this antiphonal con-certo grosso set-up of the four orchestral sub-groups. Th e things that the audience members are required to do are all very simple: hand claps, whispers, foot stamps and held hummed tones.

New Oboe Music byElliott Schwartz

Th e featured composer in this installment of “Drastic Measures”

is Elliott Schwartz (1936 - ), an eclectic and prolifi c composer whose seventieth birthday was recently celebrated by concerts at the Library of Congress and London’s Royal Academy.

ELLIOTT SCHWARTZ: Quartet for Oboe & Strings (1963)MMB Music, Inc.Contemporary Arts Building3526 Washington AvenueSt. Louis, MO 63103-1019www.mmbmusic.comMusic for Audience and Soloist (1972)Extended Oboe for Oboe and Electronic Tape (1974)Second Th oughts for Oboe & Piano (1984)Rows Garden for Wind Quintet (1995)Bird Bath for Wind Quintet and Recorded Sounds (2001)By George for Oboe, Violoncello, & Piano (2004)All pieces except for the oboe quartet are available through: Th e American Composers Alliance648 Broadway, Room 803New York, NY 10012http://composers.com/Schwartz website: http://schwartzmusic.com/

Elliott Schwartz was raised in New York City and studied composition with Otto Luening and Jack Beeson at Columbia University. He has achieved distinction for his multi-faceted work as composer, author, and educator. Schwartz recently retired from a position at Bowdoin College where he taught since 1964, augmented by visiting appointments at such

MUSICREVIEWS

OboeDRASTIC MEASURES:New Oboe MusicREVIEW BY LIBBY VAN CLEVENew Haven, Connecticut

33 Reviews30_4new.indd 8533 Reviews30_4new.indd 85 12/11/07 7:50:50 PM12/11/07 7:50:50 PM

REVIEWS86

RE

VIE

WS

frequently include quotations of other pieces. All these aspects apply to Bird Bath, composed for the Quintet of the Americas and the Bar Harbor Music Festival. Th ree compact disks accompany the fi ve instrumentalists with recordings of bird songs as well as musical fragments that represent some aspect of birds: Beethoven’s “Pastorale” Symphony, Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” Saint Saen’s Carnival of the Animals, and excerpts from William Byrd (very punny, Mr. Schwartz!) and Charlie Parker (aka the “Bird.”)

By George, the most recent piece discussed here, and one of the most eclectic, was written for the German ensemble Trio PianOvo, for the “Handel Musik Tage.” Much of the harmonic material is derived from the music-spelling of two famous Georges: Handel and Gershwin. Schwartz quotes their music along with the work of two more Georges: Bizet and Telemann. As in many of Schwartz’s pieces, modernist angular melodies and non-tonal harmonies occur next to tonal sections. I’m particularly fond of the beginning of the piece: a dramatic and engaging opening is followed by a neo-classical gesture that fl oats away with a cello glissando like the melting clocks in Salvidor Dali’s “Th e Persistence of Memory.”

Other Schwartz chamber compositions with oboe include Interruptions for woodwind quintet and tape loop; Aria No. 5 for oboe and mallet instruments; Music for Oboe, Trumpet and Cello; Variations in Nomine for oboe, clarinet and bassoon; and Dreamscape for oboe, cello, piano, and fi ve Th eremins.

Libby Van Cleve is an oboist specializing in new music. Her contemporary music performances are featured on the New Albion, CRI, Aerial, Centrediscs, Tzadik, New World, OODisc, Braxton House, What Next?, and Artifacts labels. Numerous compositions have been written for her, commissioned by organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Connecticut Commission for the Arts, Canada Council, and Minnesota Composers Forum. She is the author of Oboe Unbound: Contemporary Techniques (Scarecrow Press,) and the co-author of Composers’ Voices from Ives to Ellington (Yale University Press.) Ms. Van Cleve received her DMA from Yale School of Music, her MFA from California Institute of the Arts, and her BA, Magna cum Laude, from Bowdoin College.

If you would like to submit a piece to be considered for inclusion in this column, please send it to Dan Stolper; Oboe Editor, Th e Double Reed; 7 Hermosillo Lane; Palm Desert, CA 92260-1605.

Th ere’s a carnival atmosphere in the piece, a very joyous, kind of crazy, super-exuberant at-mosphere when the performer moves among the audience/players. It’s also quite educational for amateurs and kids. Th ey learn an awful lot about the ways a composer can control chance operations and also what it’s like, as performers, to follow a conductor. Th ey really do get a sense of how to work within the musical parameters of a piece.

Music for Audience and Soloist is a lot of fun for soloist and audience members and could be a high spirited addition to a solo recital or chamber music program.

Extended Oboe was composed for wild man Joseph Celli in 1974. Th e score is mostly verbal, delineating a structured improvisation (based on a tune consisting of an F major scale and descending triad) and eventually including long tones, trills, fl utter tongue, multiphonics, and rapid fi gurations. Th e accompanying tape part supplies tune fragments and other gestures, all in the boldest synthesized timbres of the time, reminiscent of Wendy (née Walter) Carlos’s Switched-On Bach. Th e sounds are at once both remarkably dated and yet charming to those of us who are veterans of the era. Extended Oboe would be a fi ne introductory piece for an advanced student or professional interested in exploring improvisation. Joseph Celli’s avant-garde classic album, Organic Oboe, now available on CD on the OO Disc label, includes this piece.

Th e aptly named Second Th oughts presents a re-working of Schwartz’s earlier Sonata for Solo Oboe. Lyrical sections juxtapose boisterous outbursts with such theatrical elements as the oboist playing directly into the piano and the pianist sweeping the inner strings and slamming the keyboard cover. Notation is primarily proportional and calls for some improvisatory elements.

Each of the fi ve movements of Rows Garden is drawn from tone rows of well-known pieces by Schoenberg, Berg, or Webern. Schwartz noted wryly that “the fact that my approach to such rows usually makes them sound rather tonal (and, I suspect, American as well) has given me a kind of perverse satisfaction.” Th e piece includes a number of striking and discrete gestures - here a fanfare, there a warped waltz - that conjure up the image of a garden full of strange and uncommon blooms. A recording of the piece is available on Equinox, an all-Schwartz CD from New World Records.

Schwartz’s pieces almost always contain elements of humor, playfulness, and theatricality - and they


THE DOUBLE REED 87

RE

VIE

WS

his enterprising artistry.Th e fi nal selection on the disc is Arrigo Pedrollo’s

Concertino for Oboe and Strings. Pedrollo (1878-1964) himself described his three-movement concertino as “a work of clear lines with middle-aged troubadour-like reminiscences and natural virtuosity”. Th is little known work, is very charming and performed with confi dence and sincerity.

Baccini’s performances on this colorful disc are really quite captivating. Unfortunately the orchestral playing does not match the same level as that of the soloist. Th e intonation, style, and ensemble unity of the strings (especially in the Cimarosa) is a bit distracting. In spite of that, I still highly recommend the disc for the oboist’s library. Alessandro Baccini’s performances are well worth hearing.

Virtuosic and Enchanting XIX and XX Century Music for Oboe and PianoAlessandro Baccini, oboe and Alessandro Cappella, pianoforteBongiovanni GB 5148-2July, 2007

Th e repertory contained on this disc is representative of a period of European Romanticism and Post-Romanticism when there was little emphasis on writing music for the oboe. Th e following selections are “signifi cant works” of lesser-known composers during that period: Grande Sonate, Op. 35 by Johann Peter Pixis; Morceau de Salon, Op. 228 by Jan Vaclav Kalivoda; Sonata, Op. 13 by Gustav Schreck; Two fantasy Pieces, Op. 2 by Carl August Nielsen; and Improvization by Matyas Seiber.

Th is disc takes the listener on a Romantic journey (in chronological order) from Germany, through Europe into Bohemia, returning again to Germany, then on to Denmark and concluding in Hungary.

Th e Grande Sonate, Op. 35 by Johann Peter Pixis (1788-1874) is an example of a genre that was quite fashionable in the 19th century, Salonmusik or “salon music”. Th e music was characterized by a “pronounced sentimental and lyrical tone that was dreamily elegant and tremendously brilliant.” Pixis’ writing for piano shows apects of great virtuosity, alongside the technical demands also placed on the oboe.

Morceau de Salon, Op. 228 by Jan Vaclav Kalivoda (1801-1866) is in a quasi variation form that is taken from the cantabile opening theme. Here the solo oboe is the clear lead, character, like a coloratura soprano, and off ers virtuoso fl ights, sustained by piano accompaniment. Alessandra Baccini’s virtuosic

ERMANNO WOLF FERRARICapolavori del ‘900 per Oboe e Corno ingleseAlessandro Baccini, oboe and English horn, Orchestra Filarmonic Città di Adria, Giorgio Fabri, directorTactus TC.872301October, 2007

Th is interesting disc of Italian music contains performances of the following: Idillio Concertino, Op. 15 for Oboe and Small Orchestra and Concertino for English Horn and Orchestra, Op. 34 by Ermanno Wolf Ferrari; Concerto for Oboe and Strings by Domenico Cimarosa/Arthur Benjamin; and Concertino for Oboe and Strings by Arrigo Pedrollo.

Ermanno Wolf Ferrari (1876-1948) was born in Venice, Italy. Th e son of a German father and an Italian mother, he spent much of his life between Munich and Venice. As a composer, he seems to be a bit forgotten, although before World War I, his operas were performed rather frequently all over the world. Many critics of Wolf Ferrari’s music fault his style as being too archaic.

Th e four movement Idillio Concertino for Oboe and Concertino for English Horn are fi ne examples of Wolf-Ferrari’s instrumental music. Th ey are composed in a light, late-Romantic style. Th e solo oboe and solo English horn are used more or less as equal partners of the orchestra rather than pure solo instruments. Th e strings are augmented with the pastoral character of two horns. Th e playing of Alessandro Baccini in both of these idyllic pieces is quite lovely and very stylish. He performs both selections with sensitivity and just the right pastoral character.

Next is another recording of the Oboe Concerto which is Arthur Benjamin’s orchestration of harpsichord pieces by Domenico Cimarosa. Mr. Baccini’s performance and interpretation of this familiar work is very creative and interesting. He adds some imaginative ornaments, and takes liberties with tempo changes and articulations. I was very taken by

RECORDING REVIEWS

OboeREVIEWS BY ROBERT J. KRAUSE Canyon, Texas


REVIEWS88

RE

VIE

WS

researching and selecting the north-country folk songs for this album. She was born in Lancashire and brought up in Yorkshire. “Hence the themes in common in the music from both sides of the country are the loss of loved ones at sea…” Her ideas and playing infl uenced hightly acclaimed British composer, Paul Hart, to create the wonderfully fresh settings of these 16 folk melodies:

1. I’ll give my love an apple (Th e riddle song) 2. Lark in the clear air3. Broom of Cowdenknowes4. Oak and the ash, Th e (A north country lass)5. Up the raw6. Sair fyeld hinny (A Geordie lament) –

English horn7. Early one morning 8. Shule agra (My Johnny he has gone for a soldier) 9. My love is like a red, red rose – English horn10. Women of Ireland - English horn11. Annie Laurie 12. Keel row13. Sau gan – English horn14. Blow the wind southerly15. Folk song from Suff olk (title unknown) - English horn16. Scarborough Fair

Paul Hart’s arrangements are imaginative, well craft ed, and so very charming. Th ey are lightly scored, but that makes the lovely playing of Stella Dickinson so much more prominent. She has a wonderfully versatile style of playing that is sensitive, warm, plaintive, and yet very forward. Th e range of timbres which she is capable of presenting is almost mesmerising at times. Her performances on this disc indicate that she has a full understanding of the background and style of the folk melodies which she has chosen.

Stella Dickinson studied at the Leeds College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, winning the Harold Craxton Prize and numerous other awards. Her teachers were Janet Craxton, Michael Dobson, Michael Winfi eld, John Barnet and later Richard Simpson at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As a founding member and principal oboist with the avant-garde group Lontano, Ms. Dickinson has frequently recorded for BBC Radio 3, performed on London’s South Bank and at the Wigmore Hall. She has

playing in the Pixis and Kalivoda is quite spectacular and his interpretation quite elegant.

Sonata, Op. 13 by Gustav Schreck (1849-1918) is full of romantic intensity, but with a rather quiet, somber mood at times. Both piano and oboe lines are more balanced, probably due to the somber tone.

Th e Two fantasy Pieces, Op. 2 by Carl August Nielsen (1869-1931) has tremendous melodic power and varying timbre because of his use of the descending fi ft h within the Romance. Th e Humoresque begins and ends with the fourth, its reverse.

Th e fi nal composition on the disc, Improvization by Matyas Seiber (1905-1960) is a piece that utilizes two 20th century aspects simultaneously: improvisation and the exchange of repeated sounds over a very strong twelve tone series upon which the entire piece is constructed.

Th is disc has a very nice variety of music that should be attractive to almost any serious listener. Alessandro Baccini is a very fl exible musician who is capable of performing a wide array of musical styles from an assortment of genres. His technical abilities are very impressive as are his skills of interpretation. Th ere are times when his tempi are a bit over zealous for my tastes (especially in the Humoresque by Nielsen), but Baccini presents us with two new CDs that are most impressive. I recommend both of them very highly.

Alessandro Baccini received his musical training at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, graduating magna cum laude in 1986, and at the Freiburg Hochschule für Musik in 1990, where he studied with Heinz Holliger. He has performed as principal oboist with the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, and has served as associate principal oboist with the R.A.I. Symphony Orchestra of Milan, the Norddeutsche Rundfunk, the Orchstre Regionale de Picardie, and the European Community Chamber Orchestra.

Love’s Lore - 16 Folk MelodiesStella Dickinson, oboe and English hornCapital VirtuosiPaul Hart,arrangerWhite LineCDWHL2118

Love’s Lore gives the listener over an hour of beautifully arranged and beautifully performed contemporary settings of 16 English folk songs for oboe and English horn with assorted accompaniments for viola, violoncello, and harp, string ensemble, or duets with harp or violoncello. Ms. Dickinson was responsible for


THE DOUBLE REED 89

RE

VIE

WS

agitated and there is more interplay between the two instruments, breaking up the melodic line between the two instruments. Th e longer note melody then returns, but the accompaniment is now fuller with quicker moving notes throughout. Th e bassoon line is mostly in its mid to upper register, extending up to c2, but with the slow tempo, it is nothing that is not easily approachable. Th e title humoresque is very appropriate for the second, quicker movement. Th ere is a lot of passing of the melody between the bassoon and piano and many larger intervals throughout. Th ere are several short sections to this movement, with a variety of changes in tempo, meter and character. Th ere are some measures where the lines are playing diff erent rhythms, such as duple eighths against triplets, but it is nothing that is overly diffi cult. Th is piece has been recorded on the BIS Label (#1085), on a CD titled Wind Music From Faroe Islands, featuring the Reykjavik Quintet. Th e work is about a grade III+, due to the range, and the many meter/tempo changes in the humoresque. Th is work would certainly add a little variety to your recital program, and might make a good ending piece to a concert.

JANÁCEK, LEOSFifteen Moravian Folksongs, transcribed and arranged by Trevor Cramer, for Bassoon and Piano.TCO 1335 ($16)

Here is a set of short, lyrical pieces, that could be the fi ller pieces you were looking for your recital program. Th ese works are arrangements of piano pieces of Janácek’s, based on folk songs found in Bohemia, Moravia, and other nearby regions. Th e pieces are very short, each only two lines of music, but could easily be repeated, as many of the original songs were strophic, with several stanzas of text. All but one of them are in a fairly slow tempo, with no diffi cult rhythms or meters. Th e only moderately diffi cult aspect is the ranges, which go a bit high at times, sometimes up to d2. Because of the ranges, I would give these works a grade of II+. Th ough the movement titles are listed in the original Czech, there is no translation of them, and none of the original song texts are included as well. Personally, I would have liked these included, to help give me a better idea of how to interpret each movement. Despite that, these are very lovely pieces, and might be good works to help introduce younger students to the upper register.

also worked with BBC orchestras, for TV commericals and as a solo artist with her trio, Stellar, for BBC Radio 2. She enjoys teaching and coaching as well as holding the post of Head of Arts Th erapies at one of England’s largest specialist hospitals.

Th is CD is just wonderful for everyone. It will be a very nice addition to the oboist’s library, but I really believe that anyone would be attracted to the disc. Listening to it is such a pleasant experience. Nice music and playing. I highly recommend it!

MUSIC FROM TrevCo MUSICP.O. Box 4, Tallevast, FL 34270 http://www.trevcomusic.com

HARRIS, TRUMANRicky-tick Nightmare, for Bassoon and Piano.TCO 1241 ($6)

Ricky-tick Nightmare is a cute little encore piece written by National Symphony bassoonist Truman Harris. Th ough there is no description of the work included, my guess is that the title is taken from a rhythm and blues club in Windsor, that was quite popular in the 1960s. It reminds me a little bit of a short rag. Th e work has a lot of syncopated rhythms and off accents throughout, and a somewhat recurring ostinato pattern in the piano part. Th ough it appears rather diffi cult at fi rst glance, it is actually quite idiomatic, and falls under the fi ngers fairly easy. Th ere are a few larger jumps and the range extends up to d2, giving the work a grade of III+. If you are looking for a nice ending or encore work for your recital, you should check out this piece.

BAEK, KÁRIElegy and Humoresque, for Bassoon and Piano.TCO 1156 ($18)

Th e elegy is in an ABA form, which starts with a slow moving melodic idea with a fairly simple piano accompaniment. Th e B section gets a bit more

REVIEWS BY DANIEL LIPORI Ellensburg, Washington

MUSICREVIEWS

Bassoon


REVIEWS90

RE

VIE

WS

that it uses the extreme upper register of the bassoon. If you had the chops to play this piece, I am sure you would enjoy it and it would be a very satisfying performance for both you and the audience.

GARFIELD, BERNARDQuartet No. 3, for Bassoon, Violin, Viola, and Cello.TCO 3113 ($28)

Garfi eld’s third quartet, was also premiered by Danny Matsukawa, and as with the second quartet, is very diffi cult technically and uses the extreme range of the bassoon, this time extending up to f2! Again the strings are primarily accompanimental, and provide a nice background for the bassoon to easily be heard in each of the fi ve movements. Th e fi rst movement, subtitled ‘Dreaming’ is perhaps my favorite movement of the two quartets and has an andante tempo marking. A beautiful, lyrical, arpeggiated melody is presented, with one group of fi ve-tuplets within. Near the end of the movement, the groups of fi ve become part of the accompaniment, being passed between all the strings, while the bassoon holds longer notes above. Movement two, titled ‘Morning Serenade’ is by far the simplest movement of the two quartets. Th e melody has a moderate eighth note pulse, with a few meter changes, which gives it a bit of a jagged feel at times. Th is is also partly due to the short rests included in the primary melody. Movement three is titled ‘Practice’ and is just that. It is very similar to something that you might see in an etude book, to work on your triplet arpeggios at a fast tempo. Th is is the movement that features the dreaded f2 and ends on an e2 held for fi ve bars! Movement three is titled ‘Work’ and is a quick movement in a 12/8 meter. Th is movement has many chromatic eighth notes throughout. Th e fi nal movement is titled ‘Play’ and is in a moderate tempo in a 3/4 meter. Th is movement has the most interaction between the bassoon and strings of the two quartets. Th e melody is oft en divided in somewhat of a hocket fashion, with two beats for the bassoon and one beat for the strings as an example. Th ere is a greater variety of rhythms in this movement as well and it is probably the most diffi cult one to play of this quartet. Overall I would say this quartet is slightly easier than the second one, but still quite taxing for the same reasons as the second quartet, so it is deserving of a grade of V-. If you could learn the piece, again, it would be very enjoyable and rewarding performance.

GARFIELD, BERNARD. Quartet No. 2, for Bassoon, Violin, Viola, and Cello.TCO 3114 ($28)

Since his retirement from the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2000, Bernard Garfi eld has picked up composing once again. Many of you may be familiar with his fi rst quartet, written in 1950, and now he has recently completed two new challenging quartets for the same instrumentation. Quartet No. 2, (2005) is dedicated to Danny Matsukawa, the current principal bassoonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Th e strings for the most part, serve as an accompaniment to the solo bassoon. It is in fi ve short, and very contrasting movements. Mr. Garfi eld certainly is not afraid of the upper register of the bassoon, as many passages go up to ef2 and e2 quite frequently. Th e fi rst movement is marked Allegro Marcato, and begins with a triplet melody that is primarily chromatic. Th ere are a few tremolo-like beats scattered throughout, the only one of diffi culty being the last one, going between low F and Af, so you will need to use your alternate Af key to play this one. At times, the cello doubles the bassoon line, bringing out the melodic line a bit more. Movement two starts in a slow, Adagio tempo, with a slurred, legato melody using the entire range of the bassoon, extending up to e2. Aft er the opening Adagio, it moves to a Moderato section in 3/8, with a dotted melody, again extending to e2. Th is is interrupted by an Allegro Giocoso section which has some very fast arpeggiated sixteenth note triplets within. Aft er brief restatements of the Moderato and Allegro Giocoso, the Adagio returns to end the movement. Movement three is marked Allegro Energico, and features fast moving sixteenth notes throughout, again covering the entire range of the bassoon. Th ere are several meter changes throughout, adding to the diffi culty of the movement. Movement four is subtitled ‘Breezy’ and marked poco ‘up tempo’. It once again has many sixteenth and sixteenth note triplets throughout, but also has several accents on off beats, giving it a syncopated feel at time. Th e scale passages are perhaps slightly easier than the previous movement, but it ends on three measures of a high A to B trill (ala Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique 5th movement), which has given many of us nightmares! Th e fi nal movement is marked Andante, is in a 12/8 meter, and has somewhat of a ‘lilting’ feel to it, with a primarily 8th note melody. Th ere are some sections of sixteenth note triplets, but these are all scale passages. Th is quartet is extremely diffi cult, and is more than deserving of a grade V. It is challenging not only for the technical aspects, but also for the many instances


THE DOUBLE REED 91

RE

VIE

WS

Th e string parts are mostly accompaniment, and the scoring is such that the bassoon should easily be heard throughout. Th ere are some quasi cadenzas, giving the soloist a little more freedom in their interpretation. It is a short work in an ABA form, and the bassoon line does not extend beyond c2. Th e A sections are a bit freer, while the middle section, marked Polka, is more strict in tempo. Th ere are some larger jumps, but nothing that is awkward for the bassoonist, and there is bit of contrast of articulations throughout. Th e work is about a grade III+, and would be a nice piece for an intermediate student to tackle.

MAHLE, ERNSTSonatina, for Bassoon and Piano.EV 231 ($7)

Th is is a nice, short, one movement sonata. Neither the bassoon or piano parts are very diffi cult, making it approachable for younger students. Th e primary time signature is 8/8, and in many of the measures, the eighth notes are grouped 3+3+2, at a fairly fast tempo. Much of the work has a constant eighth note pulse, giving the work a sense of always having forward motion. Th e work appears to be in a monothematic sonata-allegro form, with the primary melody returning in a diff erent key area each time. Th e range is not extreme, extending once up to Bf2, and I give the work a grade of III-. Th is would be a good piece to introduce a student to varying eighth note groupings.

MAHLE, ERNSTTh e Melodies of Cecília, for Bassoon and Piano.EV 232 ($10.50)

Mahle’s daughter, Cecília, unfortunately began to go blind at an early age, and died at the age fi ft een in 1973. While she was alive, she composed over 1400 short melodies, which her father wrote down and used in many of his compositions. Th is collection here includes ten of the melodies Cecília wrote. Th ese pieces are some of the fi nest I have seen for beginning bassoon students. Th e ranges are very small, with fi ve of them going no higher than g, four only extending up to b, and one going up to d1. Th e melodies are very simple rhythms and most of the pieces are in a basic ABA form. Only one of the pieces uses the middle Ef, which gives so many young students problems. Th e piano accompaniments are not diffi cult either, and much of the time, doubles the solo line. Th ese works are of a grade I level, and would be an excellent compliment to a beginning student working through

GARFIELD, BERNARDTwenty Etudes, for Bassoon.TCO 3111 ($24)

Th is set of etudes was completed not too long aft er Garfi eld’s new quartets. Nine of the twenty etudes are basically movements from the quartets. Th e remaining ones cover a wide variety of styles and tempos. Some of them are partially based on other well-known pieces. Etude number two is titled ‘Milde Remembered’ and uses part of the fi rst scale study etude. Th e seventh etude uses a motive from the Vivaldi E Minor Concerto, and the sixteenth etude uses the opening motive from Rite of Spring. Others were written for or in memory of someone. Etude number fi ve for example, was written in memory of S.W. (Sherman Walt I assume), while number nine was written for M.T. (I assume Milan Turkovic). As with the quartets, these etudes are extremely diffi cult, and cover the entire range of the bassoon, especially the upper register. Th e are certainly of a grade V level. I love playing etudes (I know I’m weird!), so I am excited to have this new set to add to my practice.

MUSIC FROM EditionsVIENTO 8711 SW 42nd AvePortland, OR 97219-3571http://www.editionsviento.com

MUSIC OF ERNST MAHLE

Mahle (b. 1929) studied composition in both Germany and Brazil, and was one of the founders of the Escola de Música de Piracicaba, where he has served as Artistic Director, Composition Teacher, Orchestra Conductor, and Chamber Choir conductor for fi ft y years. Most of the compositions reviewed here were written in the late 1970s – early 1980s. Th ey are not overly diffi cult compositions, and could easily be played by advanced high school students. Th e works are mostly tonal and fairly idiomatic for all the instruments, with simple rhythms and ranges that are not extreme.

MAHLE, ERNSTConcertino, for Bassoon and Strings.EV 915 ($37.50 score and parts, $8.50 piano reduction)

Here is a not too diffi cult work with string accompaniment. It is listed as string orchestra, but I believe it would work as well with just a string quintet.


REVIEWS92

RE

VIE

WS

on the off beats, making the work sound slightly unstable at times. Movement three, Waltz, also has a stereotypic dance feel to it, with the melodic ideas being mostly slurred dotted half note patterns. Th e fourth movement, Vivo, has a constant eighth note accompaniment, which at times weaves in and out of the melodic ideas. Much of the piece has the bassoon playing in opposition to the fl ute and oboe. Th e ranges are not extreme, and I would give the work a grade of III-. With the limited repertoire for this combination, this is a nice new addition for your library.

MAHLE, ERNSTTrio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano.EV 337 ($10.75)

Here is a newer piece of Mahle’s, just completed earlier this year. Th is work is a bit more challenging than his earlier compositions, but still not an extremely diffi cult piece. Th is trio, in comparison, is very ‘busy’. Th e melodic ideas are regularly being passed between the three instruments, the accompaniment is much fuller, and the harmonies, though still tonal, are constantly changing. Th e rhythms are also changing frequently, and there is a bit of contrasting rhythms throughout. Th e fi rst movement is in an ABA form, starting in brisk cut time tempo, and moving to a 3/2 section in the middle. A rhythm of dotted quarter, dotted quarter, quarter note occurs in piano part throughout the A sections. Th e oboe and bassoon oft en play in imitation, repeating an idea a measure later either in its original form, or in inversion. Th e texture of the B section is much thinner, with the piano playing mostly quarter note triplets, against a duple melody passed between the reed instruments. Movement two is a Barcarola (Italian Gondolier song, about the tempo of what rowing strokes would be) in a 6/8 meter. Th e piano serves more of an accompanimental role here, and has a fairly constant quarter note, eighth note pattern throughout. Th e oboe and bassoon alternate the melody above, weaving in and out of each other’s texture. Th e fi nale is a quick rondo in a 2/4 meter. Similar to the fi rst movement it is in an ABA form, and there is a regular rhythm of dotted eighth, dotted eighth, eighth note throughout much of the A sections, but all three instruments play it, not just the piano. Th e melody is much more rhythmic in this movement, with a strong syncopated feel throughout. Th e B section is a short section in a 3/8 meter and has a bit of a dance feel to it. Th is section, similar to the fi rst movement, also has a thinner texture. Th e piece is about a IV- level, for some of the technical demands and rhythmic variety.

the Weissenborn method book. Th ese would also be nice pieces for a junior high student to play at a solo contest.

MAHLE, ERNSTModal Duets, for two Bassoons.EV 234 ($10.50)

I really enjoyed reading through these duos. As the title suggests, each of the eight pieces is in a diff erent mode, and only uses the notes within that mode for the entire movement. Th ere is good variety of styles, some being imitative, while others are homophonic, and only one has the top voice containing the melody the entire movement. Th e ranges are not extreme, only extending up to Bf1. I would give these works a grade of III. Th ese would be good pieces to introduce students to some of the diff erent modes that are used at times. All of the movements are fairly short, and a set of three or four of them would be a nice addition to a recital.

MAHLE, ERNSTDuo, for Oboe and Bassoon.EV 233 ($8.50)

Th is is a nice new addition to the repertoire for oboe and bassoon. Th e fi rst movement, Allegro, has a constant eighth note ostinato through most of it. Th e oboe has the melody the majority of the time, but the two occasionally play in canon for brief periods. Movement two, Allegretto, is in a 6/8 meter, and has a very light and ‘bouncy’ feel to it. Th ere are some larger jumps for both instruments, but most are fairly idiomatic. Th e third movement, Vivace, has several sections of running sixteenth notes for both instruments, again falling under the fi ngers pretty easily. Th e ranges are not extreme, as the bassoon goes up to Bf1 and the oboe up to f3 one time. I would give the work a grade of III+. I really enjoyed reading through this piece and hope that you will add it to your collection.

MAHLE, ERNSTPequena Suite, for Flute, Oboe, and Bassoon.EV 334 ($8.50)

Pequena Suite is comprised of four short movements. Movement one, Fanfare, is a mostly homophonic work, similar to a stereotypic trumpet courtly fanfare. Movement two, Cantiga, has a slow, lento tempo, with the dotted melodic fi gure passing between the bassoon and the fl ute/oboe. Th e accompaniment is primarily


THE DOUBLE REED 93

RE

VIE

WS

times where the parts are playing diff erent rhythms against one another. Th e third movement is an exercise in the technique of hocket (which is slightly foreshadowed at the end of movement two), where the melodic idea is passed back and forth between both voices. Th rough much of this movement, there are constant sixteenth notes played at a fairly fast tempo, so your tonguing will need to be in order! Th is work is of medium diffi culty, earning a grade of III+ and does not extend above Bf1. Th ese are very enjoyable pieces, which would add some nice variety to you or your student’s recital program.

Viriditas, for Oboe and Bassoon.(no price listed)

Viriditas was written and premiered in 2004 as a birthday present for University of Washington composition professor Joël-François Durand. I was fortunate to hear a performance of this work at the 2007 IDRS convention, with Keri McCarthy on oboe, and the composer on bassoon. It is a very diffi cult work, challenging the technical demands of both players. Dr. Hare described the writing to me as two people conversing, but not always understanding each other. Th is is a good description, for as I listened to the performance, there were times where I thought the parts lined up very well and other times where it seemed as if they were moving independent of one another. Th ere are a lot of varying rhythms throughout and against one another (especially 5s against 3s), as well as many large slurs for both instruments. Th e ranges are also extreme, with the bassoon line extending up to e2 once, though it is approached from cs2 (ala Ravel Piano Concerto!). Th ere are also some quarter tone pitch bends, and one multiphonic, which is not too diffi cult to obtain. Th is is one of the more diffi cult pieces I have seen and certainly deserves a grade of V. If you have the technically capabilities to perform this work, it would be a very enjoyable and rewarding piece for you to play.

MUSIC FROM WEHR’S MUSIC HOUSE 3533 Baxter Dr., Winter Park, FL 32792-1704 http://www.wehrs-music-house.com

GAY, SANDRATriptych, for Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon.WM 350 ($6)

Triptych is a very short, simple work, which would

Th e ranges are not extreme, with the bassoon, only extending to b1. Th is piece is a welcome addition to repertoire for this combination.

MUSIC FROM YAZZ MUSIC 485 N.W. Robert StreetPullman, WA 99163

YASINITSKY, GREGORY W.Godfather of Soul, for Bassoon Alone.(no price listed)

Greg Yasinitsky is professor of composition, jazz studies, and saxophone at Washington State University. Godfather of Soul was written in 2007 for WSU bassoon professor Ryan Hare, who gave its premiere at the 2007 IDRS conference in Ithaca, New York. (A very impressive performance I might add!) Obviously from the title, this work is in memory of James Brown. Th ere are several small recurring patterns in this work, which give it an easy to follow form/shape. Many of these patterns are syncopated ideas, giving it a very obvious blues/jazz feel. Th e piece is just over four minutes in length and only extends up to c2. It is not an overly diffi cult work, earning a grade of IV-. Th e most diffi cult aspect of the piece for me, having limited jazz experience, was getting the articulations and accents correct, as many of them are opposite of how I would play them. Th is is a wonderful new and fun addition to the bassoon repertoire, and I look forward to performing it soon.

MUSIC FROM RYAN HARE (Pullman, Washington, author)

Th ree Pieces, for Two Bassoons.(no price listed)

Ryan Hare is professor of bassoon and composition at Washington State University. Th ree Pieces was written while Dr. Hare was an undergraduate student at Oregon State. Each of the short movements explores a diff erent compositional technique. Movement one is a study in canonic imitation. Th e canon starts out with eighth notes a measure apart, but then compresses and becomes diminished, so the movement ends with sixteenth notes only one eighth note apart. Movement two seems to be a study in tone color. Th is movement is very free, almost rhapsodic in style, with a variety of rhythms being passed between the parts. Th ere are


REVIEWS94

RE

VIE

WS

clarinet retains its melody in the Trio section. It is of a grade II level, because of the Trio section being in four fl ats, and a horn melody which extends up to written fi ft h line F, which could be a stretch for a younger student. Th is arrangement would work very well for a younger quintet.

HANDEL, GEORG FREDRICHallelujah Chorus from the Messiah, transcribed by Dr. Paxton Girtmon, for Woodwind Choir.WM 367 ($24)

Here is a nice, simple arrangement of this popular melody. It is scored for a full woodwind ensemble, including contra alto clarinet, though every line is doubled, so if you are missing an instrument or two, it probably will not hurt the performance. Th ough it is in the traditional key of D Major, the parts are notated in C Major, I assume to help younger students by playing in a more common key. Th e only slightly diffi cult part is some sixteenth notes near the end for the fl utes and oboe. Th e bass part is mainly in the bassoon, baritone saxophone, and contra alto clarinet, so there may be a balance issue if your band is light on these instruments. Perhaps having the bass clarinet play more of bottom line would be a good solution. Th e work is a Grade I+ and would work very well for a junior high band concert.

While by the Sheep We Watched at Night, transcribed by Dr. Paxton Girtmon, for Woodwind Choir.WM 369 ($18.50)

Here is another short work for Woodwind Choir, for the same instrumentation as the Messiah Chorus. Th is arrangement of the well-known Christmas text would be a wonderful companion piece to the Handel. It is slightly simpler as well, earning a grade of I, without having as many sixteenth notes and being in the easier key of C Major. Again, there may be a balance problem with the lower instruments, but nothing that could not be rescored if needed. Th is is a good addition to the literature for younger students.

Daniel Lipori serves as assistant professor of bassoon and music history at Central Washington University. He is editor of Georg Wenzel Ritter: Six Quartets for Bassoon and Strings op. 1, published by A-R Editions, Inc. (1999), and author of A Researcher’s Guide to the Bassoon, published by the Edwin Mellen Press (2002).

be a good piece for a high school or possibly even a junior high group to perform. On her website, Sandra Gay states that this work is an arrangement of one written earlier, though it does not mention the piece from which it is arranged. I would guess that it is from an organ work, as she has composed several works for organ and there are several low pedal tones in the work. It is in an ABA form, with the opening melody featuring several dotted rhythms in slurred passages going between all three parts. Th e B section, though having a slightly faster tempo, has slower moving lines and less interaction between the voices. In this section, the fl ute is clearly the dominant melody instrument and the bassoon primarily accompanying. Th e work is a grade II or perhaps a II+, due to the fl ute part going a bit high a times. Th e bassoon line does not go above d1, and the clarinet part does not ascend very high either. If you are looking for a new work for your young students to play, perhaps try reading this one.

HILFIGER, JOHN JAYFour Hymn Trios, for Bassoon, Baritone, or Trombone Trio.WM 353 ($8.50)

If you are looking for some pieces for a young bassoon trio, these might just suit your needs. Th e four short hymns included, are primarily homophonic, have simple rhythms throughout, and do not have extended ranges, as two of the parts extend up to f1, with one of those lines extending to g1. Th ough listed for trombone trio fi rst, they can work for bassoon, euphonium, or a combination of the three instruments. I would give the works a grade of II-, due to the slightly larger range for a younger student. I feel it is important to have younger students play chamber music early and oft en, so these hymns, would give your students a wonderful opportunity to play in a smaller group.

MOZART, W. A.Minuet from Serenade K. 375, transcribed by John Jay Hilfi ger, for Woodwind Quintet.WM 354 ($5.50)

Most of us have played either the sextet or octet version of this Serenade, as it is one of the gems of the chamber music literature. Here is a good arrangement for quintet of the simplest movement of the work. Th e melody is spread between the top four parts (sniff , sniff ), while the bassoon plays mostly what is the second bassoon part from the original. Th e fl ute is given the main melody at the beginning, while the


THE DOUBLE REED 95

RE

VIE

WS

on a few of the surviving Prudent originals. Such a bassoon is ideally suited to Dard: Prudent became a master maker in 1759 (when most baroque composers were in their graves), and died in 1786.

Rapoport excels in the slow movements (oft en marked aria,” “arietta,” or “grazioso”), where the bassoon line fl oats in the tessitura above the bass staff . As he remarks, Dard’s score includes “written-out decorations and, most importantly, articulation marks for each note, set down with an obsessive precision.” Rapoport’s caressing tone and gentle infl ections breathe the thin air of the fragile galant style: appoggiaturas are oft en long, tapering to a delicate tremblement or trill, while the little ornaments that begin or end so many notes in this style receive the proper featherweight touch. Rapoport is no slouch in the fast movements, however; he handily dispatches the whirlwinds of perpetual motion that Dard included to show off his own technique.

Th e sonatas are delicious. But lest there be too much of a good thing, the artists intersperse four short vocal works by Dard, sung with appealing freshness by Karine Sérafi n. She is accompanied variously and expertly by the fl utist François Nicolet, the harpsichordist Pascal Dubreuil, and the bassoonist himself. With this one exception, the performers chose to omit melodic instruments from the continuo, “an increasingly acceptable solution in this period,” Rapoport comments: it allows for “more freedom and fantasy … as well as transparency.” Th ese qualities mark the graceful continuo playing of Dubreuil, whose collaboration with Rapoport is idiomatic and persuasive.Liner notes and vocal texts in French, English, and German are included.

Rating: 3 ½ crows

James Kopp has performed as an early bassoonist with the Handel & Haydn Society, American Classical Orchestra, Rebel Baroque Orchestra, Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra, and on the soundtrack of Casanova, a 2005 Disney fi lm.

Antoine Dard: Sonates pour le bassoonRicardo Rapoport, bassoon; Pascal Dubreuil, harpsichord; Karine Sérafi n, soprano; François Nicolet, fl ute.Ramée 0702. Website: www.ramée.org

Th ese compositions by Antoine Dard − six sonatas for bassoon and basso continuo, plus other works − show that the composer was quite a bassoonist, and the recording makes clear that Ricardo Rapoport is, too. Dard, born in the small Burgundian town of Chapaize in 1715, rose to become section leader of the bassoons in the Académie royale de musique (the Paris Opera) by 1763. His six sonatas, published in Paris in 1759 as opus 2 (no opus 1 is known), are fl orid works in four movements: slow-fast-slow-fast. Major-key slow movements are generally in the then-fashionable galant style: light, straightforward, and even sentimental, though oft en fi ligreed with ornaments. Minor-key slow movements are more operatic (Telemann’s Sonata in F Minor will not be far from the bassoon-playing listener’s mind), while fast movements are usually dance-like.

Rapoport uses a reproduction of an early bassoon by Prudent Th ieriot, this one made by Olivier Cottet. Its singing cantabile in the tenor range, shading into gruff ness in the middle and lower registers, points the way to the sound of later French bassoons by Savary and Buff et, among others. Rapoport achieves a wide dynamic range and maintains a generally high standard of intonation; soft -pedaling low notes, he ends phrases with fi nesse.

“Dard uses the bassoon as though it were an operatic ‘bel canto’ tenor,” Rapoport writes in his detailed liner notes, “oft en employing the very high register.” Sure enough, Dard tosses in a high C early in the fi rst sonata, and seconds later, a D − possibly the earliest known composition demanding these notes from the bassoon. Rapoport smoothly integrates these and other high notes into the melodic line. In doing so, he is apparently aided by a wing key, which is present

RECORDING REVIEWS

BassoonREVIEW BY JAMES KOPP Hoboken, New Jersey


CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS96

Contributing MembersThe Society thanks those who have given additional financial support by becoming contributors. Their additional support is vital to the accomplishment of our goals.

BENEFACTORCarlos E. Coelho WoodwindsCarla DeForestLarry and Karen FestaJones Double Reed ProductsJan KennedyRichard E. KillmerBuff et Crampon USA -

Francois KlocRichard MeekAlexander L. MillerFrank A. Morelli, Jr.Musik Josef - Yukio NakamuraLowry RigginsChristopher Weait

PATRONAmerican Bassoon Company, IncRaymond H. DustéMichael A. EllertK.A. FennerForrests Music -

John GoebelFox Products CorporationTh omas C. HeinzeKathy HenkelNorma R. HooksT. W. Howarth & Co.Charles B. King IIIEdwin V. LacyAlain De Gourdon - LoréeMcFarland Double Reed ShopYoshiyuki NakanishiEdmund Nielsen Woodwinds, Inc.Michio Sugihara -

Pipers Magazine TokyoJames M. PoeSeth M. PowsnerJames C. ProdanCarl RathRDG Woodwinds, Inc. -

Nancy HuangPhilippe Rigoutat & FilsHarry G. SearingSharon’s Oboe ShoppeGail Warnaar Double ReedsJohn J. Wisniewski

DONORAlexander & Helen AckleyAnn M. AdamsLisa M. AlexanderRichard AronsonPierre Cotelle Arpeges Diff usionMark Eubanks -

Arundo Research Company

William P. BakerSue Schrier Bancroft Robert BarrisBlake BarrowCharles BellBG Franck BichonB. Th omas BlodgettJeff rey BlumenfeldRegina BollingerFratelli Bulgheroni SNCDr. Howard J. Buss -

Brixton PublicationsPaul Buttemer Reed ProductsRichard Price - Candlewood DigitalFerald Buell CappsGene C. CarterCascade Oboe ReedsNancy Jamieson CashCharles Double Reed CompanyPeter ChristAnthony Christlieb -

Christlieb ProductsMark Chudnow WoodwindsDale ClarkTrevor Cramer - TrevCo MusicDavid CrispinTong Cui - InnoledyCustom Music Company -

Fred MarrichMichael DavenportWilliam J. Dawson, M.D.Gilbert DejeanJohn William DentonSharlotte A. DeVere &

Mark DalrympleJosé A. DiazPedro René DiazMichael H. DickerB & D Publications -

David E. DuttonTh eodore J. Eckberg, M.D.Michael W. FayMarc D. FinkFossati L’Atelier Du HautboisWayne B. GaverBruce GburGem WW Products - Gary MoodyAnne GilbyLauren Green GombolayMeg Cassell -

Good Tone Guild Double ReedWilhelm Heckel GmbHUdo Heng - Reeds ‘n Stuff Martha Pineno HessJanie HicksLeonard W. Hindell

Th omas M. HinikerNorth Texas Oboe Reeds and CaneAnn Hodge - Hodge Products, Inc.Carolyn M. HoveWilliam F. HulskerInternational Opus -

Adam LesnickYoshiyuki Ishikawa, DMAJapan Double Reed Inc.Jeanné Inc.Ric Jones - Imagine MusicKe-xun GeMary KirkpatrickYoshihide KiryuPeter KlattMarkianos KoutroulisKim LaskowskiStephan LeitzingerStephane LevesqueDonald V. Mac CourtStephen Margolis, M.D.SML Strasser - Marigaux SADonald C. MattisonBruce McCallProf. James R. McKayMidwest Musical ImportsRoger O. MillerJohn W. Miller, Jr.Th e Miller Marketing Co., Inc.James A. Moore, IIIBernd Moosmann, Ltd.Robert E. Morgan -

Chicago Reed CoJames H. MoseleyMSR Classics - Robert LaPortaJames W. Mullins, Jr.Jane MurrayRyohei NakagawaPascal Neuranter - GlotinPaul NordbyGeorg NorenMargaret Noble - Oboe WorksJason Owen OnksFratelli PatricolaJenifer H. PattersonJanet PolkPrecision Music Products Ltd.J. Püchner Spezial -

HolzblasinstrumentbauGregory QuickJean L. Smith, Pres -

QUODLIBET INC.Robert P. Raker, M.D.Frank B. Ray, Ph.DJesse A. ReadJohn Richardson

34 Contributors.indd 9634 Contributors.indd 96 12/11/07 7:40:54 PM12/11/07 7:40:54 PM

THE DOUBLE REED 97

Daniel RigottiHoward RockwinRoger RoeElisabeth J. RomanoMatthew Rosenberg - MBR ReedsDan RossNancy RumbelBruce M. SaladSchreiber & Keilwerth MusikinstrumenteLeo H. Settler, Jr.Mark SforziniRichard D. SimonGregory J. SmithScott W. Snyder, M.D.Robert and Bailey SortonMichael T. Spevak, Ph.D.Dr. Robert M. SteinStellar Oboe ProductsGordon StengerRobert J. StephensonVirginia K. StittHitomi SugawaraYuhiko Takeda - Takeda BassoonCraig VandewaterCharles O. VeazeyAllan VogelMaarten VonkKim L. WanglerFrank WanglerDavid Weber - Weber ReedsArthur WeisbergKarl-Friedrich WentzelAlan J. Werner, Jr.Westwind Precision MachiningRichard O. WhiteCharles C. WickerWilliam WielgusJan Henrik Eyvind WieseGuntram WolfWomble/Williams Double ReedsRichard C. WoodhamsWilliam S. W oodwardTh e Woodwind and Th e BrasswindWilliam E. W right, M.D.Yamaha Corporation of AmericaYe YuDavid ZarWilma Zonn

SUSTAININGAccurate Manufactured Prod. -

Mark S. FrankoRodney F. AckmannAnn Caldwell AdairJames E. AddisonCarol Padgham AlbrechtMeyrick AlexanderBarbara J. AndersonTerri Armfi eldBetty Krone AsherKeith C. Atkinson

Tom BaiseAlexander BakkerFrédéric BaronPaul H. BarrettLindsey M. BartlettJohn H. BaxleyJeanne Marie BelfyScott J. BellEmily M. BentgenJohn E. BentleyJames T. BerkenstockJem BerryE. Sanford BerryMichel BettezDonald BeyerE. Edwin BloedowDonna BoganBoston Double Reed, Inc.Mindy BraithwaiteJames and Kimberly BrodyPeter BrowerDr. Andrew F. D. BrownWesley A. BrownGonzalo BruscoWilliam F. BuchmanMichael J. BurnsDonald W. ByoMichael K. ByrneSandro CaldiniAnthony CarlsonJanet F. CarpenterBrenda L. CascianiHing Sang ChinDr. Joseph C. CiechalskiTimothy ClinchPerry V. ClissaFredric T. CohenBarbara CohenStephen ColburnJack ColeRoger ColeCedric ColemanJulia C. CombsDavid P. CoombsPeter W. CooperPiroozi CooperJohn H. CorinaDavid CowdyTimothy H. CroninDavid CushmanJerry A. DaggGlen R. DanielsonLewis J. DannRobert DanzigerTroy DavisJuan A. de GomarRenee Anthony DeeDoris A. DeLoachSteven A. DibnerMichael A. DiPietro, M.D.Lyle Dockendorff Elaine Douvas

Barbara Jackson DukeDaryl W. DurranHarold Stephen EmertPamela S. EppleFrances EstesTerry B. EwellNancy Greene FarnetaniPhillip D. FeatherJulie A. FevesLewis T. FitchMaryAnne & Harvey FleetSolomon M. FosterDr. Nancy FowlerJames M. FranklinIan FranklinDarlene B. FranzDean A. FrickJonathan FriedmanTakahiro FujiiAdrienne C. GallagherTrina Baker GallupLawrence A. GardnerBernard Garfi eldRobert G. GemmellJulie Ann GiacobassiDavid L. GibsonLinda M. GilbertOvidio Gimenez MartínezGeralyn A. GiovannettiAlain GirardHarold M. GoldnerDoris and Albert GoltzerJames A. GortonGene Marie GreenAnn E. GreenawaltJulie A. GregorianPeter GrenierH. Gene GriswoldHafsteinn GudmundssonArnie GundersonJames M. HallCharles (Chip) HamannPer HannevoldBryan HarrisMatthew HarvellLisa Harvey-ReedDonald E. HasslerTh eodore C. HegerCharles G. HuebnerRobert D. Huff man, Jr.Nathan HughesRobert G. HumistonSteven and Jennet IngleArnold IrchaiJunji IshibashiSuzanne JacksonPeter Aaron JanickRonald L. JohnsonRussell JonesBenjamin KaminsRichard A. KandetzkiCharles L. Kaufmann, Jr.


CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS98

Wayne KawakamiLeo KenenBurton KesterAndrew Jonathan KingBruce P. KingNancy Ambrose KingStanley E. KingJay C. KlemmeMerilee I. KlempDavid B. KnorrLaura KoepkePhillip A. M. KolkerLisa A. KozenkoLawrence D. Kramer, M.D.Irv KratkaSeth KrimskyRob LadwigCecile LagarenneMiriam LaheyAndré LardrotA. John LarsenLaquita Sue LawrenceLegere Reeds Ltd. - Guy LegereDavid P. LeRoyJudith Zunamon LewisSteven LichtensteinMartin S. LipnickRobert LohrRebecca J. LorgeRichard W. LottridgeJosé LozanoJeff rey G. LymanJulie MaduraAlice H. MagosDr. Kenneth MalhoitDennis ManclRobert ManzoTakashi MasudaJohn MathenyHolden P. McAleerPaul B. McCandless JrSusan Lawrence McCardellEvelyn McCartyD. Keith McClellandCharles McCrackenBret McCurdyDonald J. McGeenOscar MeanaEugen MeierKristy L. MerettaDennis P. MichelAlbie MicklichW. Stuart Mitchell, JrPaige R. MorganCynthia M. MoringielloCandi MorrisL. Bud MouldBernard NaylorRev. Greg W. NetelerAmelia Russo - Neustadt, MD, PhDBo Nathan NewsomeDaina L. Nishimoto

Carl E. NitchieCoreen L. NordlingRebecca J. NoreenEarl C. NorthPatricia Grignet NottTimothy O’BrienJanelle OberbilligEric P. OhlssonBarbara R. Herr OrlandGustavo E. OrozaHavner H. Parish, M.D.Raymond PatricioSandra E. PearsonWilliam L. PeeblesHomer C. PenceTedrow L. PerkinsGail PersteinLesley PettyChristopher PhilpottsLawrence M. Probes, M.D.Darryl E. QuayPaul RafanelliNancy RangerJames F. ReiterScott E. ReynoldsShawn R. ReynoldsAndrea J. RidillaJames E. Roberson, Jr.Christian P. RobertsJohn RojasMark L. RomatzD. Hugh RosenbaumSteven J. RovelstadEdwin RowandHarrison E. RoweRichard Irwin RubinsteinCharles Ruff nerAndrea SaccarolaWilliam T. Saff ordJoseph SalvalaggioDean H. SaylesTh eresa A. Scaffi diRebecca Kemper ScarnatiRichard H. ScheelGrover SchiltzElaine SchlatterPeter J. SchoenbachTracey ScholtemeyerClare ScholtzDavid SchreinerMartin SchuringWilliam J. ScribnerKimberly W. SeifertLaura Jaeger Seiff ertSasaki SeikiKristen SeversonSusan L. ShawHuw ShepheardAlan ShlachterIvan A. ShulmanJoyce SidorfskyRheta R. Smith

Roger C. SorenJoseph SouferDouglas E. SpaniolJennifer Kelley SpeckTh omas J. StacySylvia StarkmanBob Stevens & SonDavid StevensJim R. StockigtMaya StoneDeanne SuttonKeith W. SwegerJane TaylorAlexander J. TiliakosLouis TothFernando TrabaBarry TraylorRobert M. TurnerCharles G. UlleryJohn J. UrbanSteve VacchiGary Van CottNancy Vanderslice & Andrew PecotaMichelle VigneauRobert WagnerLisa WaiteStephen J. WaltWolfgang R. WawersikLaura WeaverLoren WeaverAbraham M. WeissDavid E. WeissSteve WelgossArnold Wexler, MDElizabeth Lyon WheelerBlake E. WienerKerry Willingham -

Reedmaker Reed ShopWilliam O. WinsteadFayette Witherell,D.V.M.Karol WolickiSaul L. WoythalerMalcolm John WrightPeter ZeimetDavid ZimetMS Bernadette ZirkuliMarilyn J. Zupnik


THE DOUBLE REED 99

The logo and the seal of the International Double Reed Society are the exclusive property of the Society and may not be reproduced or used without written permission. The Society will permit the use of logo or seal only if used in conjunction with an official application form for membership in IDRS and not used in a manner that may give the casual reader the appearance of an endorsement by the IDRS, of the person, entity or product associated with such reproduction. Prospective users must obtain permission in writing and submit a press proof of the proposed printed item in advance of publication. Please direct inquiries in writing to the IDRS music Industry Liaison.

ADVERTISEMENTS IN IDRS PUBLICATIONSThe International Double Reed Society sells advertising space in The Double Reed and in The Journal of IDRS to individuals, institutions and businesses for payment of the current advertising rates. The Society does not attempt to verify the accuracy or reliability of any advertising claims, made herein, and thus IDRS does not recommend or endorse any of the products, businesses or services advertised in the advertising section.

The Use of theIDRS Trademarks

ISSUE 1 ISSUE 2 ISSUE 3 ISSUE 4

Deadline for Articlessubmitted to Editors DECEMBER 1 MARCH 1 JULY 1 SEPTEMBER 1

All Copy sentto Ed Craig DECEMBER 15 MARCH 15 JULY 15 SEPTEMBER 15

Copy sent fromEd Craig to Editors JANUARY 10 APRIL 10 AUGUST 10 OCTOBER 10

Corrected Copyreturned to Ed CraigExecutive Secretary'scopy sent to Ed CraigAds sent to Ed Craig

JANUARY 15 APRIL 15 AUGUST 15 OCTOBER 15

Complete FinalCopy Proofssent to Editors

JANUARY 22 APRIL 22 AUGUST 22 OCTOBER 22

Final Proofsreturned to Ed Craig JANUARY 27 APRIL 27 AUGUST 27 OCTOBER 27

Print Date to J.W. Boarman FEBRUARY 1 MAY 1 SEPTEMBER 1 NOVEMBER 1

THE DOUBLE REED PRINTING AND PUBLISHING SCHEDULE

35 IDRSTrademarks.indd 9935 IDRSTrademarks.indd 99 12/11/07 7:42:26 PM12/11/07 7:42:26 PM

John Minsker 1912-2007 - International Double Reed Society · John Mack (1927-2006) Stephen Maxym...

Documents

Transcript of John Minsker 1912-2007 - International Double Reed Society · John Mack (1927-2006) Stephen Maxym...