PERFORMANCES - NEWS NOTES - PERSONALITIES
Earnest Harrison was soloist in the Strauss Concerto and the Persichetti English Horn Concerto at concerts in December, 1981 and January, 1982. He was assisted by the LSU Philharmonia, James Yestadt conducting. Mr. Harrison is professor of oboe at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
Fred Fox, principal oboist of Seattle's Northwest Chamber Orchestra was soloist is Marcello's Oboe Concerto and the slow movement of the Bach Double Concerto. Richard Kapp was conductor of the March 31, 1982 performance in the Seattle Opera House.
Andrew White III announces additional works for oboe, including Theme and Variations for woodwind quintet, a part of his "Jazz for Woodwind Quintet Series." More information is available from Mr. White at 4830 South Dakota Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017.
Felix Kraus, English horn player of the Cleveland Orchestra gave the first performance of Paul Turok's Quintet for English Horn and Strings, Op. 67, on April 25 in Severance Chamber Music Hall, Cleveland. He was assisted by members of the Coventry Chamber Players. Leonard Tartaglia, writing in the Plain Dealer, found the work "attractively modern and individual in sound. It still hews closely to classical forms and values. There are identifiable melodies, a scherzo much like the one previously heard by Mendelssohn, even a perpetual-motion rondo reminiscent of Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony. This means that the listener can assimilate and enjoy Turok's music at first hearing. I, for one, did. The composer was on hand to applaud the sensitive and sympathetic performance and to acknowledge the audience's enthusiasm." The work is available through the performance department of G. Schirmer, Inc., 866 Third Avenue, New York City.
Carol Padgham Albrecht performed Samuel Barber's Canzonetta with the Northland Symphony Orchestra of Park College, Kansas City, Missouri, Theodore Albrecht conducting, on October 10. This is the second performance of the work, commissioned for Harold Gomberg and premiered by him with the New York Philharmonic.
Ray Still, first oboist of the Chicago Symphony, maintains an immensely busy schedule away from his work with the orchestra. In June, he was one of three oboists on the faculty of the Sarasota summer school (together with Robert Bloom and Richard Woodhams). Then from June 10-17 he presented workshops and a recital at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto --followed by his yearly master classes at Northwestern University. He then traveled to Newport, Rhode Island for performances of the Poulenc Sonata and the Wanhal Quartet. In Courchevel, France he coached the woodwinds of the European Youth Orchestra (which performs under the baton of Claudio Abbado, and guests such as Georg Solti). In Tel Aviv, Still recorded the Bach Double Concerto with Itzhak Perlman and the Israel Philharmonic, followed by teaching stints at the Helsinki Sibelius Academy and in Sonderborg, Denmark. From there he flew to Mexico City for two more weeks of teaching, and then to Toronto where he served on the jury of the All- Canadian competition for winds and brass.
Young oboists and bassoonists faced with the astronomical tuition costs at many American conservatories might be wise to consider study at one of Europe's most prestigious schools, the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg (for centuries a center for music). Tuition there for foreign students is currently only $90.00 per semester --the Austrian student studies for no tuition payment at all! At the moment forty percent of the enrollment is foreign, and the school encourages inquiries from American and Canadian students. Lynn Gaubatz (the young American who succeeded Milan Turkovic) is professor of bassoon and Arthur Jensen (who is interviewed elsewhere in this issue) is professor of oboe.
Carol Bernhardt presented a recital at the Linden Road United Presbyterian Church, Mansfield, Ohio, October 17. Her program included Vivaldi's A Minor Concerto, Gardens by Peter Schickele; the Morceau de Salon of J. W. Kalliwoda; Chopin's Variations on a Rossini Theme; the Poulenc Sonata, and Henk Badings' Trio. Mrs. Bernhardt, who is first oboist of the Mansfield Symphony, was assisted by Deborah Hetrick, pianist; Betty Schultz, oboist from Youngstown; and James Byo, English horn player from Wooster.
WHIMSY?
Some psychophysiologist should give earnest study to the effects of the various orchestral instruments upon the persons affecting them. Why is it, for example, that most oboe players are men of violent temper? It has been found in Germany that 8 percent of all crimes of violence committed by musicians are to be laid to oboe players, though they constitute less than one percent of the whole body of performers. A recent census of Bavaria showed that of the 359 oboe players in that Kingdom, 43 were anarchists and 161 were militant socialists. It is generally believed by other musicians that the plaintive, unearthly tone of the oboe is to blame for the eccentricities of its performers. The other men of the orchestra commonly object to sitting next to the oboes. They say that the noise disturbs them and makes them play out of tune.
H. L. Mencken
SONNET FOR OBOE
John R. Starks
This reed pipe in some tune strays along
Through window raised plays in skillful maze
The ear enthralled it so essays
To caress, by beauty of phrase prolong.
It's beyond all art of composer's song
These notes orange sunlight become golden haze
That breach the heart in siege it lays
With tones filtered through the mind throng.
Beneath the window lurks a criminal boy,
A devil's bouquet, in flight from some mean deed;
Now in odd ecstasy: to copy what he can't destroy.
All this from mere breath on reed
That grows in sand 'neath sun of gold unalloy',
Where breathes a Southern wind like on a mead.
To the Editor:
Your December 1981 issue included an article entitled "Oboe and English Horn Works of Gordon Jacobs" by Robert Pusey. Despite the general excellence of the article, we are disturbed that Mr. Pusey erroneously omitted Galaxy Music Corporation as the United States publisher of the Concerto No. 1 for Oboe and Strings, and Concerto No. 2 for Oboe and Strings, though Galaxy was correctly indicated regarding the Rhapsody for English Horn and Strings. The manner in which the pieces' British publisher, Stainer & Bell, is mentioned could be misleading as to their American availability.
If you would amend this in your next issue, we should be very grateful for the clarification of the availability of these pieces in the United States.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Lopez
Assistant to the Director of Promotion
Galaxy Music Corporation
Shortly after my article entitled, "Wm. Babell's Twenty-Four Oboe Sonatas", appeared in the October, 1981 issue of The Double Reed (Vol. 4, No. 2), I discovered two more sonatas by this composer which are now in print. For those readers who are interested in these works, I am including the following list of the sonatas from Babell's set of twenty- four which have been published in modern editions:
Sonata in G minor (No. 3 from Part the Second of his Posthumous Works), ed. Tilmouth. London: Oxford University Press, 1963.
Sonata in F minor (No. 3 from Part the First of his Posthumous Works), ed. Tilmouth. London: Oxford University Press, 1963.
Sonata No. 2 in C minor (from Part the First of his Posthumous Works), ed. Pratt, Musica da Camera series No. 51. London: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Sonata No. 11 in G minor (from Part the First of his Posthumous Works), ed. Pratt, Musica da Camera series No. 52. London: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Many of your readers will no doubt also find the following announcement of interest, and I would appreciate your including it in the next issue of The Double Reed:
In the March, 1982 issue of The Palo Alto Telemann Society's journal there is an extensive interview with Heinz Holliger which took place during his tour of the United States last year. During the course of the interview Mr. Holliger discusses his ideas about reed making, tone quality, sound production, articulation, interpretation of 18th century music, recordings of works by Telemann and other baroque composers which he has made or are in preparation and his ideas about contemporary music both as a performer and composer. Those who would like further information about this publication should write to:
Frederic Palmer
The Palo Alto Telemann Society
1419 Arden Lane
Belmont, CA 94002
Yours truly,
Frederic Palmer