Having been asked to give a short report on the convention in Edinburgh, I cannot begin without first thanking the organizers of this "festival": Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Taylor, who with their team took on the tasks of lengthy preparation and the care of the more than 200 participants. From early morning until late at night they not only made sure that the programme ran smoothly, but also showed concern for everyone's well-being. I am sure that Mr. and Mrs. Taylor felt the sincere thanks of all 200 of us in every single handshake.
As a bassoonist I was especially glad to see our instrument so well represented--we were 120 strong. The U.S., as founder of the marvelous IDRS idea and the country with by far the largest membership, was, next to England and Scotland, the best represented country. We continental Europeans were, however, extremely proud of the 20-member contingent from Finland.
France was represented by 9 bassoon colleagues under the leadership of Maurice Allard; a fact which was greeted with great pleasure. The "French Bassoon Ensemble" joined with some of the American colleagues for an "Etudes Stereo for 12 Bassoons" at the end of their concert, showing the bond with our French colleagues. Any prejudgments by various schools of thought that may have existed in recent years yielded to reciprocal respect. The IDRS family and the artistic personality of Maurice Allard are probably reasons behind this.
Although other countries were not so numerously represented, friends from Canada, Venezuela, Australia, Rumania, East Germany, Sweden, Norway (including northernmost Bodo), Israel, Belgium and my home-town Vienna showed how much we have taken our common interests to heart.
The biographical information with the names of 40 performers during the four days prohibits me from going into detail about the concerts. The three extremely interesting colour films about the bassoon reed-making by Don Christlieb, Dr. Wendel Jones, and Dr. Donald M. Hardisty must, however, be mentioned as foundation stones of our existence as wind players. Diverse exhibits of great interest provided a frame around the artistic programme: William Waterhouse showed a large collection of his antique instruments as well as signed copies and first editions of literature. We were given the rare opportunity by instrument makers of the old and new worlds of trying out a large selection of the various makes of instruments one after the other. The exhibits, which were open daily after 9 o'clock were rounded off by a large supply of literature, diverse makes of reeds, reed-making tools, and accessories. One had to hurry in order to see and hear everything. The exchange of experience was a friendly and joyous give and take.
The invitation by the mayor of this venerable and beautiful festival city should be viewed as a gesture of recognition of the world-wide IDRS idea. At the convention the meaning and great value of IDRS not only as a connecting link between all colleagues the world over, but also, with the aid of the Journal, as a communication centre for all our areas of interest was clearly felt by everyone. The fact that there are still several countries in Europe with a great musical tradition whose oboists and bassoonists remain distant distresses us all. I hope they will find their way to us.
As for myself, the reunion with so many old friends and the warm atmosphere of the convention made Edinburgh unforgettable.