ROBERT HOWE, first oboist of the Torrington (CT) Symphony, has played in numerous orchestras and chamber groups in Connecticut and Ohio, studying oboe with Larry Allen, Jon Dlouhy, and Felix Kraus. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry from Case Western Reserve University, where he studied acoustics with Dr. Arthur Benade, and is presently a student at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington.
J. ROBERT MOORE is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Oregon, where he teaches oboe and woodwind classes He is a graduate of the University of Tulsa, and is presently completing the DMA in oboe from the Eastman School of Music. He has studied oboe with Robert Sprenkle, DeVere Moore and Gladys Elliot, and has done additional study with Ray Still and Ronald Roseman. He has performed and taught in New York, Chicago, Dallas-Ft Worth, in France and Germany, and has performed as recitalist in the Northwest. He is oboist with the Eugene (Ore.) Symphony, the University of Oregon Summer Music Festival (with which he has performed approximately thirty Bach cantatas over the past three summers), has played with Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, and performs regularly with the University of Oregon Woodwind Quintet.
Leon Goossens and Edwin Roxburgh
Oboe
xv + 238 pages
Schirmer
Books, NY
$10.95 hardcover, $5.95 paper
Leon Goossens, dean of English oboists, has contributed greatly to the repertoire of the oboe by stimulating the composition of several important works, including the Concerto of Vaughan Williams and Britten's Phantasy quartet. In a recent book, Oboe, Mr. Goossens and co-author Edwin Roxburgh have made an equally valuable contribution to the oboe's extra-musical literature.
In this charmingly English volume, Goossens and Roxburgh examine the oboe's history, technique, reeds, and music. Their writing is lucid and flowing; Goossens' contributions have an authority based upon his 71 years of oboe playing. In marked contrast to the majority of currently available oboe books, Oboe does not suffer from specialization -- it is comprehensive without being superficial, detailed without being tedious. The book is not directed solely at the professional oboist or aspiring student, and is far more than a dry compendium of reedmaking and playing techniques.
Part One, "History," is a fairly thorough account of the evolution and mechanical development of the modern oboe. Of particular interest is the background Goossens paints, by the inclusion of numerous anecdotes and contemporary quotes, of the musical atmosphere in which the four-keyed oboe of Beethoven's day developed into the modern Conservatory system.
Part Two, "The Reed and the Oboist," consists of two chapters, "The Reed" and "General Aspects of Modern Techniques." The former is, of course, concerned with an English style of reedmaking and thus would be of little practical importance to most American players; but oboists using the short scrape will undoubtedly find it valuable and interesting.
On the other hand, the latter chapter is directly relevant to all oboists, and indeed to wind musicians in general. Goossens discusses virtually every facet of oboe playing, including instrument maintenance, embouchure, posture and hand position, breathing, fingering, articulation, dynamics, tone, vibrato, and the use and value of scale study. He also provides us with some valuable thoughts on teaching beginning oboists, supplying the attendant techniques and exercises. His musical examples are well chosen and bring out his points clearly. Unfortunately, Mr. Goossens fails to describe any methods of teaching vibrato, describing it as "a quality which defies close analysis in any useful sense, nor indeed can it be induced by exercises and explanations." His discussion of double and triple tonguing is similarly flawed.
Aside from these sins of omission, however, the chapter is excellent. Although no oboist will agree with every statement Goossens makes, every oboist will learn by considering and examining his own playing habits in light of what is written here. The discussions of posture, breath control, and the use of vibrato are especially fine.
Oboe's third section consists of chapters dealing with baroque, classical, romantic, solo, and contemporary music. Edwin Roxburgh handles the baroque and contemporary worlds, giving insightful and well-thought-out analyses of the styles and techniques needed to perform this music effectively. Three movements of the Handel c minor Sonata are written out with elaborate ornamentation, and the problems of Bach's orchestral oboe parts are discussed (conductors should read this section!).
Roxburgh's discussion of contemporary oboing, though too brief, is the book's finest chapter. He examines circle-breathing, microtones, notebending, glissing, fluttertonguing, multiphonics, notation, and several other modern techniques, drawing upon an impressive background as performer and composer. Excerpts from works of Bennett, Berio, Britten, Castiglioni, Holliger, Huber, and Roxburgh are used to illustrate. (He does not, unfortunately, include quarter-tone or multiphonic fingering charts, although isolated examples are given to illustrate the text).
Goossens' chapters on classical and romantic interpretation are likewise too short. "Playing Classical Music" contains a marvelous discussion of Mozart's Quartet K 370, cadenzas for the Concerto K 314, and a section on classical orchestral technique. "Playing Romantic Music" illustrates performing problems in Beethoven and Berlioz.
Neither of these chapters is quite as comprehensive or directed as Mr. Roxburgh's; here, and especially in the following chapter, "20th Century Music: The Rise of the Solo Oboist," Goossens loosens up considerably, turning more to anecdote than musical analysis. Stories and recollections of Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Tovey, and Piatigorsky are recounted, along with some advice on orchestral intonation problems and the Strauss Concerto.
Finally, a list of manufacturers, discography, repertoire, and a very complete fingering chart (including numerous alternate fingerings--a total of 9 fingerings are given for third space B natural) round off Oboe.
Every oboist should own this book. The student will learn much from Goossen's discussions of basic technique and interpretation, while the professional, who is certain to find faults in many of the author's arguments, will nonetheless profit by considering them as alternatives to his own solutions to oboistic problems. Oboe is a remarkable and valuable book, which will be enjoyed by all who have an interest in the prima donna of woodwinds.
R.H.
Isai Belinsky
One often hears of the giants of the oboe, those few legendary figures whose playing and teaching influence others for generations. This is understandable, for oboists, like anybody else, like to have heroes. However, the emphasis placed on the styles and teachings of a few great players carries an unfortunate danger--that their influence will obscure the otherwise notable contributions of other distinguished artists, who by some combination of luck, fate, and choice, never reached heroic status.
One such man is Isai Belinsky, author of The Complete Oboist. Born in Siberia, Belinsky learned to play the oboe in Russia and France, studying with Louis Bleuzet (a noted pupil of Gillet) at the National Conservatory in Paris. One of the most colorful and traveled oboists in America, he has played in the major orchestras of three continents, including the NBC Symphony, the National Orchestra of Mexico, and the New York City Symphony, where he was principal oboist under Stokowski. In 1960 he introduced the Conservatory system to oboists in his homeland, and has since lectured and given master classes in London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Moscow, and numerous other European and American cities. Now retired, he lives in New York City.
In addition to his careers as player and teacher, Belinsky has authored several books, articles, and an educational film. The Complete Oboist, published last year, outlines the fundamental principles of oboe playing, combining a clear and simple text with some remarkable illustrations.
Chapters on the oboe's history, care, and assembly open this book. Belinsky presents the instrument's evolution in linear fashion, avoiding detailed enumerations of key systems and obsolete models. This pithiness carries over into the discussion of assembly and care. No other author has published such a straightforward description of these matters -- indeed, few mention assembly at all.
If the first chapters are too brief, then the one on reedmaking is just right. Belinsky's discussion of reedmaking is the most succinct commentary on the "American" reed that I have ever seen. The descriptions of shaping, binding, and scraping are all excellent, although some of the photographs would benefit from enlargement. Belinsky has made and played the long scrape reed for almost 50 years, and has a knack for teaching reedmaking which few teachers can surpass. While the text cannot hope to imitate his Russian-French-Mexican-American accent, it does set down his ideas essentially as he does in lesson or lecture.
The highlight of this book, however, is the chapter on embouchure. While the text is characteristically short, it is to the point, and incorporates a number of excellent photographs. An X-ray of the author playing shows the relationships between reed, lips, and tongue better than any verbal description could, but most remarkable is a tonsil's-eye view of the reed on the lower lip, taken from the inside of Belinsky's mouth. The photographer, Cesare de Castro, deserves special credit for this clever and unique shot.
The final chapter, "Practicing," sets down some ideas on fingering, breathing, vibrato, and tonguing. One may disagree with some of the fine points, but Belinsky's methods are fairly common and will not surprise too many oboists. This chapter, more than the rest of the book, suffers by being too direct -- there is little clarification or elaboration of the points made, and the text is rather dry and overly straightforward. This is not to imply that the book is dull or difficult reading, but one wishes that Belinsky's style was more relaxed.
All things considered, The Complete Oboist is a very worthy little book, covering well the basics of oboe playing. It will be of value as a reference and resource to oboe students and teachers alike, and because of its rather practical point of view, will prove more helpful to doublers, general woodwind teachers, and especially to college students suffering through woodwind methods courses, than an overly detailed and advanced text would .
Belinsky has three other books already in print. Visual Fingerings and Trills Charts contains some unique altissimo register fingerings, (extending to a'''), but is otherwise noteworthy mainly in its use of red ink to denote the keys to be depressed. Professional Oboist is an exemplification of the warm-up and technical studies discussed in The Complete Oboist, containing a long tone/ dynamics study, 20 technique and articulation etudes encompassing all major keys, and two short sets of melodic exercises. The first set illustrates Belinsky's advice to practice difficult passages in several keys, thereby facilitating sight-reading and helping to create a better feel for and command of the instrument. (Belinsky is quite emphatic on this point, insisting that all etudes be learned in several keys.) With a little imagination, this book can be modified to provide exercises for students at all levels. The discussions of reedmaking and embouchure from this book and Visual Fingerings are both included in The Complete Oboist.
Belinsky's first and most famous work is Oboe and English Horn Solos from the Symphonic Repertoire, a compendium of orchestral excerpts with the accompaniments transcribed for piano. While only about 150 passages are included, all are "big" solos, and some, such as the excerpts from Le Tombeau de Couperin, La Valse, La Mer, and Iberia, are not available in any other collection. (Also included is the complete Swan of Tuonela). The accompaniments are quite faithful to the original orchestral versions, and their value for study and practice is very great. This book has been used widely in master classes, and should be owned by every aspiring oboist.
R.H.
The Oboist's Companion, by Evelyn Rothwell (three volumes), Oxford University Press
Evelyn Rothwell's The Oboist's Companion is a comprehensive three volume work which deals systematically with practically all aspects of oboe playing and teaching. Volume I is for beginners, Volume II is for elementary and more advanced students, and Volume III is devoted to reeds. The three volumes are illustrated with dozens of photographs, which are of most critical value to less experienced students. Among the valuable features worth noting: Volume I contains a twenty lesson playing method (sparing no pains to guide the beginner), Volume II is a continuation of these lessons, and includes standard orchestral excerpts from the 18th and 19th centuries as well, and Volume III deals with reeds and various reed styles exhaustively. This set of books (soft bound) is among the most beautifully-printed and extensive available today, containing over three hundred pages.
Twenty lessons for the beginning oboist are presented in the first eighty-four pages of the volume, with photographs which illustrate correct and incorrect approaches to embouchure, hand and body positions, positions for playing while seated and standing, correct use of octave systems, etc. (Michael Winfield acts as model for the photographs). Also included are discussion of correct breathing (inhalation and exhalation) alternate fingerings, relaxation exercises, tone quality, intonation, low register production, coordinating tongue and fingers and crescendo/diminuendo. The lessons are progressive in nature, introducing one or two fingerings in each lesson, then major scales and their relative minors. The earliest etudes are quite carefully chosen, with small groupings of notes in a limited range and ample rests between groups. The phrases gradually increase in length and in demands upon breath control. All lessons are laced with the most practical sort of advice, anticipating those problems which are certain to be encountered by many beginning oboists.
Much of the music in the lessons comes from the folk musics of Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, Finland, Lapland, France, Italy and Israel. Other exercises are composed to deal with a specific technical problem. Breathing marks are provided, where needed, throughout.
The remainder of the volume consists of five appendices with the following titles:
The introduction to Volume I discusses and illustrates both Thumbplate and Conservatoire system oboes. Fingering charts for both are included.
Volume II contains an additional twelve lessons, which are a continuation of the sequence begun in Volume I. These cover "more advanced tonguing, breathing exercises and tone and intonation control, playing high notes, harmonics, vibrato, trills, etc., with fingering chart, graded exercises, scales, arpeggios and studies . . . also descriptions of fingering systems, keys and couplings, a list of music to practice and to play, and a section on the cor anglais.''[Volume II, page iii]
Lessons in this volume are increasingly demanding, always containing a specific problem as the core of study for a particular lesson, e.g. embouchure and breath control for high notes, short cut fingerings, making the best use of practice time, how to practice an awkward passage, fingerings for varying intonation and tone quality, etc. All lessons employ scales and arpeggio studies (major and minor in extended range), an etude and orchestral excerpts. Lessons average about ten pages each. Suggestions are presented in short paragraphs in outline form, reflecting in an admirable way the conciseness of Evelyn Rothwell's teaching. A very gracious and witty personality pervades these pages!
Appendices to Volume II (also a continuation of Volume I) deal with the following:
Appendix VI -- Fingering Systems, Keys and Couplings
The illustrations and fingering charts which accompany Volumes I and II explain, in considerable detail, the differences between the Thumbplate and Conservatoire system oboes, and should be instructive for those players who are not thoroughly familiar with these differences. The fingering charts are comparative, being 'side by side' comparisons on the charts. Full page pictures of the instruments, with keys designated, are to be used in conjunction with the fingering charts. Pros and cons of each system are explored, from several perspectives (tone quality, facility in fingerings, etc.) The author suggests that "it is an excellent plan to have a combination of thumbplate and Conservatoire systems and thus to get the best of both worlds."[Vol. II, pg. 46] Her suggestion is for the addition of the thumbplate mechanism to the Conservatoire oboe. Oboists in the U.S. and Canada have generally less exposure to the Thumbplate system, so this suggestion is an interesting one to consider. Key couplings discussed are the low Bb or B to C#, and (on the Thumbplate system) low Bb and B keys with low C (i.e. the low fingering of either Bb or B automatically closes the low C key, unlike the Conservatoire system). Also included: some advice on set screw adjustment, a discussion of the Boehm system as applied to oboe, and discussion of the German and Viennese oboe systems.
Appendix VII -- A short List of Music to Practice and to Play
An excellent short listing of materials is provided, encompassing:
- 1. Scales and repetitive exercises based on scales and arpeggios
- 2. Short exercises
- 3. Longer exercises and studies
- 4. Orchestral excerpts
- S. Duets for two treble instruments
- 6. Oboe and piano: original and transcribed classical music
- 7. Oboe and piano: music-written in this century
Appendix VIII -- Terms Often Used Differently in Great Britain and in the U.S.A.
These terms deal mainly with articles of reed making.
Appendix IX -- The Cor Anglais
Paragraphs deal with the following:
- 1. Buying an Instrument
- 2. The Importance of the Crook
- 3. Keywork
- 4. Fingerings
- S. Reeds
- 6. Learning to Play the Cor Anglais Well
- 7. Orchestral excerpts for the Cor Anglais
Appendix X -- Regular Exercises 1-4 with Notes for Practicing
Here are ten pages of basic technical studies. The first set of studies utilizes the chromatic scale, with mixed articulations, and varying rhythms and meters. These concentrate on either short segments of the chromatic scale or the scale as a whole. Exercises 2-3 are based on scales and arpeggios in all keys, in chromatic sequence. Exercise 4 is based on a Slavic folk tune, to be played in all keys.
Appendix XI -- Studies 1-76 with Notes for Practicing
This set of etudes, to be used with the lessons in this volume, offers a variety of challenges to the oboist. Suggestion for breathing and alternate fingerings are given throughout. Special attention is given to changing meters, harmonics, trills, legato playing style, and the solution of many articulation problems. The last four are particularly difficult technically. Performance suggestions are provided at the beginning of each etude, as are metronome markings.
Appendix XII -- Orchestral Excerpts for Oboe
Selected excerpts from the 18th and 19th centuries are in this collection, including the more famous (infamous!?) ones. The comments preceding each excerpt will be worth much to those with limited playing experience in the orchestra. This is a good smaller collection for students just beginning their study of orchestral excerpts.
Both Volumes I and II have a cross-referenced index, greatly facilitating use of the information contained. One reminder is in order regarding the use of the "ter" and "der" syllables used by the author in discussing articulation. These are pronounced in British English much the same as the "tuh" and "duh" in North American usage, with no active 'R' sound!
The author stresses that certain aspects of this three volume work are geared toward a "do it yourself" approach for those who do not have access to regular instruction on oboe. The introduction to Volume III is entitled Reeds for Beginners (four pages reprinted from Volume I) and provides useful general information which prefaces the elaborate instruction in reedmaking to follow. The following is a listing of chapter headings with a condensed list of contents of each.
There are more than a hundred photographs used to illustrate this volume. Most of these are quite lucid, although occasionally one here or there will not provide a sufficiently clear illustration for its purpose. There is little use made of back lighting to illustrate reed structures.
One may wonder, in consideration of the differences in reed styles between Europe and North America, how beneficial this volume would be to one in the U.S. or Canada. The author has included however, such a broad coverage of reed styles, and has been so careful to offer a variety of perspectives, that the information contained cannot help but be educational for most readers, at their respective levels. We may individually choose to disagree on occasion with information given on either pedagogy or reeds--such a large coverage of these areas would invite differences of opinion. There seems little doubt, nevertheless, that so great an amount of information so effectively organized will prove of considerable value to the world of oboe players and teachers. The author, and those whom she acknowledges in the introductions, have compiled an impressive source of information. These three volumes are recommended as a valuable addition to school and private libraries. Such a free exchange of ideas among oboists of all countries is a laudable objective. Evelyn Rothwell is to be congratulated for her many contributions.
J.R.M.