Brazilian-born
oboist Alex Klein, the first oboist in 29 years to win
the First Prize in the Concours Internationale d'Execution
Musicale, Geneva, Switzerland, will join the University
of Washington School of Music faculty this Autumn, announced Daniel
M. Neuman, Director.
Klein will replace retiring Professor Laila Storch as oboe instructor and also join the Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet. Storch said, "Alex Klein is an outstanding musician and one of the few international oboe soloists. He was a student of James Caldwell, who was a member of the quintet before I joined the group in 1965. I feel sure that his appointment will bring the Soni Ventorum a sense of continuity."
The Geneva prize, last given to an oboist Heinz Holliger in 1959, was awarded to Klein in 1988. To Klein this is just the latest in a series of eleven first prizes won in competitions, including the 1987 Aspen Music Festival Wind Competition; the 1986 Lucarelli International Competition for Solo Oboe Players, and the 1986 Fernand Gillet International Oboe Competition.
For his musicianship, Klein has received critical acclaim. Tribune de Gen 'eve praised "his great musicality and superior maturity, as well as charming freedom of interpretation." The Philadelphia Inquirer described his playing as "exemplary" and as "following a seemingly spontaneous flowing curve."
Klein plays a repertoire that includes virtually every major concerto and recital work for oboe. He was featured on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago and Los Angeles, and has also given recitals in Aspen, Boston, Cleveland and New York. His orchestral work includes a performance at Carnegie Hall as guest soloist at the 100th Anniversary of the Modern Oboe, as well as appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Roman de, and several other ensembles in the U.S. and abroad.
Klein comes to the University of Washington from a faculty position in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Cleveland, Ohio. His teachers include James Caldwell, Walter Bianchi and Richard Woodhams. Klein earned his Bachelor of Music in 1987 and his Artist's Diploma in 1989 from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He completed additional studies at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Sao Paolo State University. Klein is represented by Columbia Artists Management, Inc.
Fredric
T. Cohen, Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst and principal oboist for the Springfield (MA) Symphony
Orchestra, participated in the threeday "Oboe Festival '91"
at Christ Church College in Canterbury, England in March, 1991.
Invited by Grenville Hancox, Head of Music, Cohen performed a
recital that included Alec Wilder's Sonata, Thomas Oboe
Lee's The White Pond, Patrick Stoyanovich's Seven Pieces,
and Gunther Schuller's Sonata. In addition , Cohen conducted
a master class and gave a lecture on Marcel Tabuteau's influence
on the American school of oboe playing.
In June, Cohen gave master classes and was the woodwind coach for students at L'Orchestre du Conservatoire de musique du Quebec. Students from eight conservatories audition for places in this orchestra which comes together for rehearsals, concerts and a recording.
Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity held its triennial convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There were over 600 members in attendance. Featured performers included oboist Patricia Stenberg from Sarasota, Florida, and the Somerset Trio from Houston, Texas, composed of oboist Julie Jacobs, clarinetist Mary Rosborough, and bassoonist Betty Thompson. Patricia Stenberg performed the Salutations for Oboe and Piano by Gloria Swisher, the 1990
Winning Composition of the Inter-American Award Series of Sigma Alpha Iota. Somerset performed the Trio by Hermann Grabner. Both performances were well-received by the convention audience.
On January 27, 199 1, Duo Dynamico launched the Fort Bend County Libraries' observance of the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death. The members of the duo are oboist Julitta Jacobs and pianist Paula Stephenson. They maintain a busy schedule of performances in the Houston area.
