The first thing to ask a person like Omar Zoboli is: why
the oboe instead of a more usual instrument, like the piano, violin
or guitar? The oboe, in fact, in spite of being well known and
often used, i's certainly not "usual" as are the forementioned
instruments. So I ask, why?
"Well, in Italy it is different than in other countries. Here in a conservatory one begins from zero, which is different from countries where a certain minimum level is required. Thus you can be shuffled around, even if you might prefer another instrument, depending upon which places are available that year. The choice could be then to study the oboe right away, or study the piano, but to have to wait a few years. This was my case."
The fact remains, however, that you
are very enthusiastic about the oboe. When was it that you began
to "believe" in the oboe and in the possibilities it
could
offer?
"What has always fascinated
me about the oboe is the possibility to play in a way that is
similar to the human voice, and without the breathing problems
that, for example, a flute has. The oboe is also present in the
orchestra, a fact that attracted me from childhood. On the other
hand, one can quickly begin to play chamber music, which cannot
be said of the piano. That has always interested me."
The oboe, as you said, is typicaly an orchestral instrument, and one would believe that an oboist's experience, equal to that of a trumpet player or a flautist, comes through the orchestra. Why is it, then, that at a certain point, you broke off your orchestral experience?
"Up until a certain point my goal was to play in the orchestra: I should say, up until the moment when I was technically able to do so. The turning point was the first time I had the occasion to hear Heinz Holliger play the Mozart Concerto and the Concertino for English horn of Donizetti on the radio. What struck me was that Holliger did not play an oboe, but used an oboe as a means to make music. Holliger possessed a musical way of thinking... by chance applied to the oboe. From that moment my ideas about the instrument changed rapidly. Sound must not be the end point of practicing; the finish line is represented by the music itself. Beautiful sound, in other words, is not everything; there are more important things. From this moment on I began to listen to oboists in another way. Ten years later, after experience in orchestra, I finally managed to go and to study with Holliger. The orchestra, therefore, had been a first concrete arrival point: but if I wanted to go ahead I had to abandon it to have more space to grow, and more time to play all of the "non-orchestral" repertoire, which provides another musical dimension and represents the maximum source of satisfaction for anyone who plays an instrument."
In these years the problem of "philological" performances recovering "original" practices has touched many musicians, especially oboists, since the instrument is particularly bound to baroque repertoire. How have you reacted toward these changing horizons?
"In the "early music", along with technical perfection of modern instruments there has occurred a certain stalling in interpretive research. Structurally and technically, this music is much simpler than romantic and modern music. Beyond the purely structural aspect, early music has different aspects of its contents which require research tied to timbres, phrasing and dynamics. In other words, when one confronts a work of Vivaldi, for example, it is not enough to perform all of the notes precisely as they are written; one must research that which is behind the apparent simplicity of the musical score. To do this, obviously, one must try to understand how the music was performed during its time. It has been important, therefore to read treatises of that period; not so much as to attempt to play as one played at the time, which is utopian, but as to try to understand the real content of this music and to go after it with the means which seem best to us today, without however saying definitively what are these means, because the discussion is still open."
It seems that your reaction has been double: on one hand you began to play the baroque oboe, and on the other you continued to play the normal oboe, but as if you were playing the baroque one...
"Let's say that playing the modern oboe as one plays the baroque oboe has been more than anything else the result of the fact that I play the antique oboe. On the modern instrument that one knows well, that has been used in one's studies, it is very easy to realize certain musical aspects that have been experimented on the baroque oboe, and with which one has become aware through reading the forementioned treatises. Personally, I find it correct to use the instrument on which one feels most at home."
The oboe is an instrument which is essentially tied to the baroque repertoire, early classics and to the modern repertoire. And you are involved in the modern and avant-garde repertoire with enthusiasm and respect equal to that which you have for the other repertoires.
"I think it is normal to have a
dialog with modern composers. I have always tried to play the
music of people I know. I have tried, so to speak, to put myself
at their disposition: I have tried to enter into their problems,
also and above all contributing to resolve the technical problems
of the instrumental writing, which has undeniably helped me to
progress. In this way I try to understand profoundly the music.
The results of this work of colloquy and collaboration between
composer and interpreter have not only given fruit musically,
but also - and this counts very much - humanly."
Soloist at an International Level...
Omar Zoboi, 34 years old, of Modena, Italy, is an emerging oboe solist figuring on the international musical scene. Student of Sergio Possidoni and Heinz Holliger and winner of various competitions, and what counts more, he has behind him a noteworthy concert activity: in the beginning orchestral (Orchestra della Radiotelevisione della Svizzera Italiana and "Scarlatti" -- RAI of Naples) and then as a soloist. As such he dedicates himself equally to the chamber music repertoire (in particular with the Ensemble Musica Viva et Antiqua with baroque instruments, and with the Ottetto Classica Italiano, wind instrument) and to concerts with orchestral or piano accompaniment. On one hand he is an important figure in the contemporary and virtuostic romantic oboe world: he often performs the music of Antonino Pasculli with collaboration of the pianist Antonio Ballista, of which a compact disc has recently come out (Accor-Musicdisc/Teldec), and has works dedicated to him by Bussotti, Castiglioni, Glass, Hazon, Hoch, Kupkovic, Vackar and other composers which have been played in major contemporary music festivals. On the other hand, he dedicates himself to Baroque music played on baroque oboe and recorder (compact disc with Handel's Sonatas and Trio Sonatas, Ex Libris/Schwann). This dedication to the multiple form of the instrument reflects a deep and broad cultural involvement. Omar Zoboli sees and "lives" his music not just as a fact in itself; he thus intergrates his work as an instrumentlist in a cultural dimension that few musicians can match. Hearing his productions one realizes that his virtuosity (which is undoubltedly of the highest level) is not an end to itself: it is the most pure and sincere expression of music-making.
Zoboli dedicates himself also to teaching: he is an instructor at the Conservatory of Turin and holds master classes, among which are those organized by Gioventù Musicale d'Italia ) an Italian national organization for young musicians) which take place every year, the third week in August, at Varenna (Lake Como), in Italy.
Other Records...
Works by Telemann (modern instruments)
LP Rodolphe Productions
Harmondia Mundi France
Works by Ponchielli
CD and LP Accord Musicisc
Teldec
Reinecke Trio
Accord Musidisc
Teldec
Soloist with Orchestras...
Radiotelevision of Milano, Naples, Lugano, Cracovia, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, Kammerorchester Corelli Budapest, Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Orchestra Pomeriggi Milano, etc.