I can only echo the president's enthusiasm over every aspect of the 1978 convention at Los Angeles, and I share his gratitude to hosts Don Christlieb and Earle Dumler who organized programs of great variety and unfailing interest. It should be no surprise that the level of performance was consistently high, given the great wealth of musical talent abounding in the Los Angeles area. Not only were the oboists and bassoonists extraordinary, but the assisting artists -- singers, string players, keyboard players -- were also of the highest caliber. The beautiful Spanish Mission style architecture of Occidental College made a lovely setting for three days of fellowship and musical inspiration shared by a large number of professionals and students alike. The displays prepared by our members and supporters in the industries were visited and appreciated by most all the conventioneers.
It would be difficult to single out individual performances for special praise, but in some cases, certain especially intriguing pieces, such as the Five Rakish Dances of 1973 by Sidney B. Johnson for oboe and string quartet, deserve mention and wider attention. The performance by Catherine Paulu of Madison, Wisconsin, assisted by members of the Pro Arte Quartet of the University of Wisconsin was praiseworthy for subtlety and fine ensemble work. A program of baroque sonatas and chamber music by young Los Angeles area players, performing on authentic instruments, was a treat for me, especially the virtuoso playing of Sand Dalton, oboist, and the bassoon playing of Robin Howell and Michael O'Donovan.
The "Festival of Winds" concert -- a program of music for large ensembles -- opened on a festive note with a processional of pre-baroque instruments played by performers in the colorful costumes of this period; Thomas Axworthy is director of this unique band. The program itself opened with Frank Campo's Fanfare 4/7, especially composed for this occasion, and featuring four ensembles of double reed instrumentalists stationed in the four corners of the hall. It was followed by Percy Grainger's Hillsong No. 1 for six oboes, six English horns, six bassoons, two contra-bassoons, and two flutes. Bernard Herrmann's famous arrangement of the Hitchcock Hour theme for six bassoons and two contras closed this half of the program. The highlight -- and closing number--was Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks in its original instrumentation (26 oboes, 14 bassoons, 4 contras, 9 horns, 9 trumpets, and 9 percussion). The marvelous sound of a group like this--of expert players incidentally--must be heard to be believed. The precise passage work of the oboes, and the fine intonation was most impressive. Also of interest was Clare Fischer's Bachlude I and II for double reed ensemble, featuring some beautiful oboe d'amore playing by Earle Dumler.
I was particularly impressed by Robert Williams' beautifully sensitive performance of the Saint-Saens Sonata, Op. 168 and the most dramatic, intense playing of Benjamin Kamins in his performance of the Alvin Etler Sonata. William Gower presented a program of works for oboe (the Britten Fantasy Quartet, Op. 2), oboe d'amore (the Bach A-major Concerto, BWV 1055), English horn (Autumn Music by Zaninelli), bassoon (Burrill Phillips' American Dance), and contrabassoon (Zaninelli's The Pobble Who Have No Toes). The thought of preparing all those reeds is a daunting one! A performance featuring members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic was a high point. Don Muggeridge and his accomplished young daughter Linda played the English horns in Schutz's beautiful music for voices and obbligato instruments from the Symphoniae Sacrae. Barbara Winters, co-principal oboist of the Philharmonic performed Bruno Maderna's Solo for oboe, oboe d'amore, English horn, and musette, and then Charles Martin Loeffler's Deux Rhapsodies. Another highlight was Paul Chihara's Branches for two bassoons and percussion; David Breidenthal and Walter Richie were assisted by Mitchell Peters, percussionist.
Basil Reeve, co-principal oboist of the Minnesota Orchestra received an ovation for his performance of the Mozart Quartet, K. 370. Earlier in the evening he had performed the CPE Bach G minor Sonata and had participated in Bruce Broughton's imaginative trio for oboe, English horn, and baritone oboe in which he was assisted by Earle Dumler and John Winter. A unique experience was a brilliant performance of the Hindemith Trio for Heckelphone, viola, and piano, in which John Ellis's extraordinary control of the heckelphone was matched by the virtuosity of Pamela Goldsmith, violist, and Delores Stevens, pianist. I was unfortunately unable to hear the performance of the California Double Reed Quartet, but did hear a rehearsal of this group of brilliant young players. Terry Row, oboe; Alan Vogel, oboe d'amore; Marsha Taylor, English horn; and John Steinmetz, bassoon were preparing a new work of George Heussenstamm Reticulum, Op. 66, which was most arresting, with virtuosic writing for all the players and effective usage of taped sounds.
Edwin Lacy has kindly agreed to add some observations on some performances I was unable to hear--especially worthwhile since they come from a bassoonist's point of view. The featured recital of the convention was that of the distinguished bassoonist, Milan Turkovic. His program consisted of the sonata of J. F. Fasch, Danzi's Quartet in B-flat, Op. 40, No. 3, and the Poulenc Trio, in which he was assisted by John Ellis, oboist, and Delores Stevens, pianist. Mr. Lacy's comments follow:
"In addition to the meticulous technical facility for which he is well known, Mr. Turkovic demonstrated a high degree of sensitivity and musicality. Perhaps most notable in his program was the very wide range of stylistic approaches he employed in interpreting the selections, which represented several historical eras as well as different national styles. In the question and answer period which followed the formal program, several members of the audience commented on the fact that Mr. Turkovic apparently had changed reeds at least once during the program, as evidenced by the range of tone colors which were present in his playing, especially in the Poulenc. However, Mr. Turkovic assured the audience that he had used only one reed for the entire recital.
The second half of the program consisted of a lecture in which Mr. Turkovic discussed aspects of his research on the Mozart Concerto, as well as his own technical and stylistic interpretation of the work. Of particular interest were his comments with regard to the interrelationships of the solo and orchestral parts, an area which tends to be overlooked by performers because of their deep involvement in performing the solo part.
A few general comments on bassoon playing heard at the convention:
Perhaps at no previous meeting of the Society has such a wide range of bassoon styles been heard. And yet, the level of playing was consistently outstanding. While it is unfortunate that not every performance can be mentioned, a few stand out as being especially noteworthy. Among these should be mentioned Benjamin Kamins' performance of the Etler Sonata, the St.-Saens Sonata by Robert Williams of the Detroit Symphony, and the Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6, as performed by Steven Paulsen of the San Francisco Symphony with James Walker, flautist."
The Society named Lyndesay Langwill, the distinguished British authority on the bassoon, to its ranks of honorary members. The current slate of officers will be found elsewhere in this newsletter. A new policy for ordering back issues is also described in these pages. Gerald Corey and I are pleased to announce a growing list of "contributing" editors, which includes Peter Hedrick and Edward Gobrecht of Ithaca College who will write on reed problems; James Lakin of the University of Iowa who will review oboe music; and J. Robert Moore and Robert Howe, whose first reviews appear in this issue. Mr. Moore will also review oboe records, and Philip Kolker, first bassoonist of the Baltimore Symphony, will review bassoon records. We hope the work of these gentlemen will add to your reading interest. Keep us informed as to how we can continue to improve these publications.
D.S.