THE EVOLUTION OF THE MECHANIZED OBOE AND ITS NEW MUSIC
Nancy Bonar
Amherst, Massachusetts

Background

The growth towards today's oboe was brought about by great oboists working closely with great instrument makers to build oboes which could more easily facilitate playing existing music. The compositions of Berlioz and Wagner in particular, posed problems for oboists in the 19th century. The Triebert 6 bis, conservatoire plateau model c.1906, pioneered by Georges Gillet, Professor at the Paris Conservatoire, finally brought the mechanized oboe to a facility level beyond the existing music. It took another 40 years for composers to begin using the oboe to its full potential and discover expanded ranges and new ideas directly influenced by the oboe's capabilities.

Baroque Era

Looking back, it is interesting to note that music written for the oboe played a very significant role during the Baroque Era. The Cantatas of J. S. Bach treat the oboe and English horn in particularly special ways with chromatic lines and long melodies unmatched by other composers. These cantatas, difficult as they are to play on the modern oboe, pushed the chromatic abilities of the two-keyed baroque oboe to their limits.

The six Trio Sonatas for two oboes and bassoon by Jan Dismas Zelenka written between 1716 and 1719 treat both the oboe and bassoon in a manner which nearly exceed the boundaries of their technical potentials. Zelenka, born in Bohemia, was appointed to the Dresden court in 1710 and remained there until his death in 1745. Between the years 1715 and 1719 he was given leave to study with Fux in Vienna. During this period he wrote these six Trio Sonatas.

Five of the six Trio Sonatas are composed in the four movement sonata da chiesa form standardized by Corelli. The additional Sonata, number V, is composed in the three movement Italian Concerto Grosso style similar to Vivaldi's concertos. Although Zelenka complied with standard forms, the individual movements are exceedingly long.

In the standard trio sonata, the bassoon (or cello) acts merely as a member of the basso continuo, playing the bass line which lays out a firm harmonic progression. In Zelenka's sonatas the bassoon line is often freed of its basso continuo duties and assumes a soloist role. In Sonata V the bassoon part is particularly soloistic.

Zelenka stays within the standard well-tempered key signatures of the time, F-major, Bb major, G-minor, and C-minor, but the solo parts push the technical demands to their limits. Many times in the quick fugues, pointillistic lines are given to the oboes and bassoon, not a standard practice.

Classic Era

In the Classic Era most works written for the oboe as a solo instrument break no new ground. The oboe is still only equipped with two keys but with an expanded range to F'''. Both W. A. Mozart and C. P. E. Bach wrote functional concertos for the oboe and the Quartet for Oboe and Strings by Mozart is generally considered finer than those he wrote for flute in that genre. Mozart's Quartet does use high F several times and has an interesting section in polymeter, but in comparison to his piano and violin music, this work of lesser significance. Beethoven also wrote an oboe concerto around 1792, but unfortunately all that remains today is piano sketches of the second movement in a miscellaneous volume now owned by the British Museum. Judging from the realization of these sketches by Charles Lehrer, this concerto probably would have been the masterpiece worth talking about in this period of history.

Romantic Era

The importance of the oboe throughout the Classic and Romantic periods appears to lie within the orchestra literature. In the Romantic Era especially, there is a dreaded lack of important solo music written by major composers. This is perhaps due to the many changes and advancements in the oboe's tone and mechanization during the 1800's.

By the year 1840 the French oboe was sufficiently mechanized to accommodate all key signatures with a fair degree of intonation between the equal-tempered half steps. The flurry of interest in the mechanized oboe can most clearly be seen in the tutors written by the great oboists of the 19th century. Many of these tutors are still used today as primary study by the most advanced players and professionals. These tutors include: Henri Brod, Etudes et Sonates, Volume I, c. 1835, Volume II, c. 1839; Apollon Marie Barret, A Complete Oboe Method c. 1850, revised for the Triebert/Barret System 4 oboe in 1862; Franz Wilhelm Ferling, 48 Studies (in all keys), no date is found for these studies, Ferling lived between 1796 and 1874; and finally Georges Gillet, Studies for the Advanced Teaching of the Oboe c. 1909, written for the Triebert Oboe System 6 bis (with plateaux). The fingering chart in Gillet's method is still the source used today, encompassing the range from Bb to A'''. This chart includes special fingering for trills and also second harmonics. These harmonics obtained for the notes F'' through C''' by overblowing a twelfth above the fundamental.

The purpose of these studies is for complete technical mastery in all keys including a variety of trills and shakes with special emphasis on new mechanization. A Note Bene was added to Gillet's preface and reads:

"Composers who see my studies will realize that besides the difficulties and passages obtained on the oboe, new fingerings enable one to perform perfectly certain trills which it was heretofore considered impossible to perform."

With this knowledge one wonders why many significant technical pieces were not written for the oboe between 1840 and 1920.

The most significant piece for oboe in the 19th century which requires a high degree of technical mastery was actually written before the advanced stages of oboe's mechanization; the Concertino in G-minor by Bernard Molique in 1829. Molique, born in Nuremberg in 1802, led the orchestra of the Hofkapelle in Stuttgart between the years 1826 and 1849. It was in Stuttgart in 1829 that the oboist Friedrich Ruthardt gave the first performance of this concertino. The Concertino is much in the style of Molique's idol, Spohr. Its most notable feature is its disregard for the technical limits of the oboe c. 1829 not only by using a high G (G' ' ') three times within the piece, but also with passages written in many difficult keys and with rising chromatic lines trilling on each note. If written during this period for the violin (Molique's main instrument) the Concertino would probably be of no unusual importance. One can only guess at the type of oboe played by Ruthardt, and although there were several experimental models made in these years, it was probably the 1825, 13-key Sellner oboe.

Early 20th Century

By 1920 the quantity of published oboe works increases dramatically. These works can be divided into two basic categories; those which follow the old Romantic school of composition and those which delve into new materials beginning with 12-tone composition and moving into greatly expanded forms, indeterminacy, aleatory and new sonic techniques.

The Richard Strauss Oboe Concerto c.1947 is considered to be one of the most difficult and substantial works written for the oboe as a solo instrument in the Romantic style. The concerto makes full use of the high technical standards possible on the oboe since 1906.

The difficulties in the Strauss Concerto lies in its long lines and fast passages filled with chromatic non-harmonic tones. In the first movement the first theme consists of long lines with sixteenth note, non-scalar embellishments between the longer notes of the melody, and the closing theme includes downward scales followed by eighth note leaps of a sixth or larger up to the highest notes in the oboe's range. The second movement contains lines too long for even the oboe to play comfortably on one breath, and the third movement and coda continue in the same virtuosic style as the first.

Compositional techniques in the 20th century also take a leap into new territory. There are certainly quite a few composers living in the 20th Century such as Camille Saint-Saëns and Richard Strauss that never chose to give up the ground gained by the Romantic movement. And there are those who planted their feet firmly in the Neo-Classic movement, Paul Hindemith, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Francis Poulenc, each of whom has written outstanding masterpieces for the oboe and chamber music for combinations involving the oboe. It is however the new ground breaking by the avant garde composers like Luciano Berio, Niccolo Castiglioni, and Charles Wuorinen that brings the literature written for the oboe up to the level of historic importance that is placed on music for the piano and violin from the Classic and Romantic Eras.

Why, after several years of neglect during the 19th Century by major composers and a history of older styled music in the 20th Century, did the oboe become an important instrument for avant-garde composers? Or perhaps one should ask, why was the oboe neglected for so long?

The main influence on oboe playing between 1800-1960 were teachers and students at the Paris Conservatoire. Until the final stage of mechanization and the 1909 Method by George Gillet, the French oboists, as pointed out earlier, were immersed in work improving the oboe's technique to the level of mastery required by the equal-temperament system. In the early 1900's, the orchestral music being written by Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Mahler and Richard Strauss kept the Paris Conservatoire players busy learning orchestra works more demanding than the solo literature of the time. But by the end of World War II the trend for large orchestral works gave way to chamber music. New arteries of communication between composers and performers of all countries also helped to encourage important solo literature.

Leon Goossens

Moreover, the soloist role of the oboe in the first half of this century was the responsibility of one major English oboist, Leon Goossens. Born in Liverpool in 1897, Goossens became the principal oboist of the Queens Hall Orchestra in 1913 and remained there only 11 years until 1924. After this time he was appointed Professor of Oboe at the Academy of Music and at the Royal College of Music and left his post in the orchestra to devote himself entirely to solo and chamber work on the oboe. Goossens commissioned and premiered many of the major works written for the oboe before 1960.

The first work written and dedicated to Leon Goossens appears in 1921, a Quintet for Oboe and Strings by Arnold Bax. In 1927, his brother Eugene Goossens wrote a short Oboe Concerto. Sir Edward Elgar began a Suite for Oboe in 1931 "for (his friend) Leon Goossens;" unfortunately Elgar died before its completion and only the slow movement was composed. In 1933 Gordon Jacob wrote his Concerto No. 1 for Oboe originally commissioned by Evelyn Rothwell, another prominent English oboist, but by the completion of the work, both the commission and dedication had been changed to Leon Goossens. Gordon Jacob wrote two more works for Goossens in years to come, the Oboe Quartet for oboe and strings in 1938, and the Oboe Concerto No. 2 in 1956. Other works written for Goossens include Benjamin Britten, Phantasy Quartet for oboe and strings, 1935; York Bowen Sonata Op. 85 and Ralph Vaughan Williams, Concerto for Oboe and Strings, 1944; Cyril Scott, Concerto, 1948; and Arnold Cooke, Sonata for Oboe and Piano and Malcolm Arnold, Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, 1957.

It is interesting to note that although Goossens could have easily obtained a Lorée Conservatoire model oboe with the latest improvements standardized by Georges Gillet in 1906, he did not. Goossens' professional oboe used throughout his entire career was indeed made by Lorée in 1907, but was of an earlier model, thumb plate system, much akin to the oboe used and developed by Apollon Barret and the Triebert family, predecessors of the Lorée Company, the System 5 model of 1849.

Towards the 1960's

Certainly the appearance of an influential solo oboist helped the growth of the oboe repertoire, but the expanded interest in timbre by 20th Century composers and the wide range of colors available on the "melancholy" oboe made it a good subject for new sounds and compositions.

There were two ways in which early 20th-Century composers dealt with their new ideas; to use conventional instruments in conventional ways in unconventional music genres, or to expand the capabilities of conventional instruments in conventional or unconventional genres. Arnold Schoenberg's Quintet, Op. 26, 1924, exemplifies the first. This work is praised as Schoenberg's first really large scale twelve-tone piece. Schoenberg (1837-1951) produced his first work which totally suspended the tonal system in 1908, notably his Piano Pieces, Op. 11, and by 1912 he was internationally known with the first performances of Pierrot Lunaire for five instrumentalists and declamation. Even in early works Schoenberg carried tonality to its extreme by the use of chromatic alteration and "schwebende" (wandering) chords like the augmented triad which can easily lead into any key. Schoenberg wished to find a "method" which would allow him to write atonal music: a method to "justify the dissonant character of these harmonies and determine their succession." [1] After numerous attempts, he evolved a procedure of "composition with twelve notes related only to each other." [2]

In his Quintet, Op. 26, 1924, Schoenberg's 12-tone ideas become subject for development and interrelate over wide time spans. The row does not function as a theme nor scale or mode, but rather a set of materials to be systematically used at Schoenberg's imaginative discretion. Formally, the Quintet uses classical equivalents with large scale statements, development, and return and resolution.

Boulez first heard this work in a performance directed by Rene Leibowitz in 1945 with strong reaction: "It was a revelation to me. It obeyed no tonal laws and I found in it a harmonic and contrapuntal richness, and a consequent ability to develop, extend, and vary ideas, that I had not found anywhere else. l wanted above all to know how it was written." [3] Boulez, however, later came to criticize the quintet for its adherence to classical models.

Unlike Schoenberg, Edgar Varese (1883-1964) sought to expand the capabilities of conventional instruments. It was his need for new sounds, new notations and a digression from systems in music (including diatonic and dodecaphonic systems) that eventually pushed him into the electronic idiom.

In a lecture given in Santa Fe in 1936, Varese states:

"When new instruments allow me to write music as I conceive it, the movement of sound-masses, of shifting planes, will be clearly perceived in my work, taking the place of linear counterpoint. When these sound-masses collide, the phenomena of penetration or repulsion will seem to occur. Certain transmutations taking place on certain planes will seem to be projected onto other planes, moving at different speeds at different angles. There will no longer be the old conception of melody or interplay of melodies. The entire work will be a melodic totality. The entire work will flow as rivers flow." [4]

One example of Varese's ideal to push traditional instruments to their limit is Octandre written in 1924 (same year as the Schoenberg Quintet ), scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone and double bass. It opens with an oboe solo moving from the low register up to a G' ' ' with a crescendo marking from ff to ffff. It must be noted that Varese intentionally worked with resultant dynamics, but the wanted sound is "as-loud-as-possible." Although the range of the instruments are not particularly expanded, the score contains unprecedented rhythmic complexities and virtuosic techniques including flutter tonguing.

Another composer interested in treating instruments purely as a source of sound, and not merely idiomatically, is Stefan Wolpe (1902-1972). In his Sonata for Oboe and Piano (1933-1941), Wolpe calls for dynamics ranging from ppp to fff and frequently uses four different types of accents (). Also common are the dynamic markings sf and sp. This is a work of extreme contrast: the first movement furiously loud and percussive; the second, slow and legato but with many pointillistic lines created by octave displacement; the third movement is best described by its tempo marking, "embittered, violent and quick"; and finally the last movement, a march-like tune with relentless dotted eighth and sixteenth note figures. At no time during the sonata does Wolpe resist the temptation of rhythmic complexity using meters as complicated as 3/4 & 3/16 1/4 & 5/16 and 2/4 & 3/16 . Wolpe's use of extreme contrasts, idiomatic disregard and rhythmic complexities certainly makes this piece difficult to master.

In 1952, Bernd Alois Zimmermann wrote his Konzert für Oboe und Kleine Orchester. For 1952 this is a remarkable piece and one of great difficulty. Zimmermann (1918-1970), a German composer, remained independent from the compositional trends of the 1950's and 1960's, instead he developed an individualistic style in which subtle quotation played a major role. Zimmermann did not intend his quotations to be recognizable; he sought to integrate them so completely in the music as to become simply a motivic structure. During the second World War he met both Stravinsky and Milhaud, both of whom became important influences on his music. In the Konzert,Stravinsky is clearly the motivator and quotation initiator, the first movement entitled Hommage a Stravinsky. Aside from rhythmic complexity due to odd meters, the use of quintuplets followed by sextuplets or sixteenth notes is common. Quick crescendos and diminuendos are not common and trills are used freely often in consequentive notes of a melody. Zimmermann uses the altissimo register at will, many times rising to G''', Ab''' and A'''.

Continuing chronologically, the next important work is a quintet, Nr. 5 Zeitmass for Five Woodwinds (1956) by Karlheinz Stockhausen (b. 1928). The interest in this piece lies with an early form of aleatory, in this case affecting rhythm and tempo. Stockhausen's imagination was jolted in the 50's by the writings of Iannis Xenakis in an article entitled "La crise de la musique serielle" (The Crisis of Serial Music). "Linear polyphony," he wrote, "destroys itself by its very complexity; what one hears is in reality nothing but a mass of notes in various registers." [5]

This outcry refers to the total serialism of Boulez, especially in his Structures for two pianos in which every aspect of the music -- pitch, duration, dynamic, timbre and register -- is controlled by the use of a serial technique and complex grids to determine its sequences. The answer to Xenakis' outcry was to find a way to incorporate statistical randomness in a piece through the use of notational probability, or in other words, chance.

Stockhausen came to writing Zeitmass after an intensive work period within the electronic medium, because of this he was determined to take full advantage of live performance phenomena. In the case of Zeitmass, this meant freedom of rhythmic interpretation. Zeitmass integrates metronomic fixed meter with ametrical scatterings of notes. Directions include "as fast as possible" or "as slow as possible" for one player while another plays a passage in a fixed meter. At other times individual players are directed to begin a phrase when cued by the completion of a phrase by a different member of the group.

1960--New Sounds

In 1960 the search for and use of new sounds and new forms became the overwhelming trend in composition. The intensive work in the electronic studio and the desire for live performances came together to initiate these kinds of ideas. The oboe's ability to create a wide range of tone colors using traditional means and its novelty as a solo instrument helped it gain ground in post-1960 composition. Since 1960 a wide variety of harmonics, multiphonics, microtones, and new tonguing techniques have been developed and written for the solo oboe. For discussion purposes I've divided these techniques into four categories, those techniques involving Tone Color, Melody, Breath Control, and Percussive and Tonguing Techniques.

Tone Color: Harmonics, Bisbigliando, Multiphonics

Throughout the 20th Century, oboists have used certain harmonics at their own discretion to facilitate achieving different tone colors and for ease in soft passages. The harmonics used are second harmonics, notes produced by overblowing the fundamental by a 12th (an octave and a fifth). These harmonics can be produced from the fundamentals Bb through F' in the lowest register on the oboe to result in the notes F'' through C''' respectively by the mere addition of the proper octave key. In recent years composers have specifically asked for these harmonics for special effects. The natural harmonics are notated as the resultant sound with a circle above the note.

The catalogue of harmonics becomes highly expanded with the discovery of alternate fingerings for notes within the chromatic scale. The natural harmonics previously mentioned are products of fundamentals on the oboe, but what happens when one overblows a note already within a harmonic series or fingered in an alternate way? The fingered note becomes an apparent fundamental and several different harmonics can be produced by varying air speeds and reed placement. The practical application is that of the possibility of many different timbres for a single note.

Beginning with research by Bruno Bartolozzi: New Sounds for Woodwind, 1967, and then Lawrence Singer: Method for Oboe, 1969, a vast quantity of alternate fingerings encompassing the entire chromatic scale have been catalogued. Notes with lesser amounts of resistance, produced by a shorter tube length, seem to have a wider variety of usable fingerings. For instance the note B', fingered traditionally with the first finger of the right hand only, has been categorized by Singer as having 98 different possible fingerings. The alternate fingerings for these same notes have also proved to be the most fruitful apparent fundamentals for artificial harmonics.

Timbral changes created by the use of harmonics and alternate fingerings are basically used in two ways: for bisbigliando and for timbral changes within a melody.

Bisbigliando was originally a technique used on the pedal harp directing the harpist to quickly alternate between two strings tuned to the same pitch. Bisbigliando on the oboe, or any wind instrument, requires that the instrumentalist find a fingering close in color, but different, to the traditional fingering, and that he alternate quickly between the two. Often the performer is asked to regulate the speed of the alternation, beginning slowly, speeding up, and slowing down again. Bisbigliando is most often done alternating the traditional fingering for the written note with the harmonic fingering. This obviously poses limitations to the number of notes possible with bisbigliando. First harmonics (an octave above the fundamental) are also possible (Bb to C#''). Enlarging the possibilities, trill fingerings involving special trill keys work as well. When using bisbigliando, it is important to match perfectly the pitch of the alternate fingering with the traditional one. If the pitch is changed, no longer is bisbigliando being used, but rather a microtone trill which I will discuss later. Bisbigliando is usually notated by repeated notes, alternate notes marked with a 'o'. Speed changes are notated as follows:

Another use of alternate fingerings involves timbral changes within a melody. Composers often write klangfarben melodie skipping octaves between each note, but it is also possible to use alternate fingerings to create a large difference in timbre between each note within the same octave. It is even possible to create a single melody (in a 20th Century sense of the word) with only different timbres of the same note as can be seen in Berio's Sequenza VII. When these timbral effects are used the composer or editor will usually include a fingering for the desired note.

Along with the availability of producing several different timbres for individual notes, the oboe contains many possibilities for multiple sounds, or multiphonics. These sounds include double harmonics, rolling tones, a variety of homogeneous chords, and beating chords. Of all of these possibilities, double harmonics is perhaps the hardest to produce and the softest. In theory, producing a double harmonic requires first the production of one of the available 2nd harmonics. Then by adding another venting device (opening the half hole or sliding the second finger of the left hand to open only the hole in the center of the key) and blowing just the right amount of air, a very soft perfect fifth will be heard. These sounds can only be produced very softly, and require some degree of practice but are quite effective. They are notated as the resulting sound with two circles on top, and are often used trilling from one double harmonic to the next chromatic double harmonic.

Rolling tones are the production of a fundamental with sufficient air and lip pressure to create both the fundamental and its octave at the same time. This effect can be easily produced from low Bb to E' and is not useful on higher pitches. It is notated by the use of the word "rolled", "roullez" or some other equivalent.

Chords, homogeneous or beating, occur when a fingering is employed which produces two or more lengths of tube. Several consecutive tone-holes are covered while a single hole, above the closed holes, remains open. Most often the open hole involves the first finger of either or both hands. Using different combinations of these two fingers will produce several different chords while the remaining fingers are constant, thus facilitating an effective technique of changing quickly from one multiphonic to another. As with timbral notes, Lawrence Singer has categorized a most exhaustive list of homogeneous and beating chords in his Method for Oboe.

Homogeneous chords are created by the use of tube lengths which create only one apparent fundamental and its overtones. They are easily produced with only slight changes in one's embouchure and air pressure, but usually involving a "rounding" technique for the embouchure to help obtain the lower partials in the sound. When working with homogeneous chords, often more than one chord is obtainable on the same fingering by the use of varying lip pressure.

Beating chords are distinguished by the presence of two apparent fundamentals within a major second of each other, thus causing beats between notes, some so strong as to become merely a pulsating noise. These chords usually require more reed in the mouth, higher air pressure, and more pressure placed against the lower lip. Symbols for the various changes in embouchure, air pressure and pressure against the lower lip were developed by Bartolozzi and used in his book and Singer's Method. They are seen from time to time in the actual musical scores but more often than not, the performer is expected to rely on his or her personal experience and experimentation.

All chords are used and notated in a variety of ways. Often a performer is asked to start on a given note and break into a chord from the fundamental just established. Many different notes in a single chord can be singled out and made more important than the other notes sounding, most effective the highest and lowest note. Chords are difficult to notate because of the varied possibility of actual sound each fingering can produce dependent upon the performer's reed, embouchure, and oboe. Most often chords are notated by both fingering and sound. Performer discretion plays an important role in the final outcome.

Melody

I have already discussed in some detail the development of the oboe which was needed in order to play 12-tone and atonal works with good intonation. The instrument itself, however, did not go through any significant changes in order to expand its range. Some time in the late 1800's low Bb was added to the oboe, and this has not changed, but the upper limits of the range has been asked for repeatedly in recent years. Remembering that any note above the one octave scale of the oboe's fundamentals is a harmonic, the higher one plays the closer the partials and the more variable their pitch. The upper range is limited only by how close together the oboist can get the two blades of the reed and still force air through it. This is often done with the help of the teeth on the reed and with this technique notes can be acceptably produced up to a high C'''', however only within the softest dynamic range. Some high notes must be tongued but others will only speak when slurred from a half step below; the individual oboe, oboist, and reed each make their own demand on what must be done to produce these notes.

The use of quartertones and microtones began with composer's frustration with the western 12-toned scale. Quartertones can be produced in two ways, with special fingerings or with embouchure changes. Since these notes are not physically within the harmonic system of the oboe, they tend to have somewhat varying timbres. The difficulty with quartertones lies in their tuning, the western ear conditioned to hear any interval not within a half step scale as merely out of tune.

Fingered quartertones are most successful when used against a reference note a quartertone away. Bending a note as much as half step is easily done and can be used especially well with certain multiphonics. Sliding into or out of a note is often used. Accidentals for quartertones include: . Fingerings are sometimes provided.

Specific techniques of embellishing a melody in 20th-Century composition include the use of klangfarbenmelodie, multiple grace notes, glissandi, and several types of trills and tremolos. Klangfarbenmelodie literally means a melody of different timbres. Using only one instrument this can be accomplished by: displacing consecutive notes of a melody by an octave or more, the use of artificial harmonics causing a timbral choice, or interjecting a pedal tone within the melody. Klangfarbenmelodie can also be accomplished by distributing the melodic line, or fragments, among the ensemble with the solo instrument predominant, simply between the solo instrument and the piano. Furthermore, many different techniques can be combined.

Multiple grace notes can be found in nearly all of the new music. Most often, these grace notes are non-diatonic, non-arpeggiated, and create a rather random atonal feeling. They can lead into a melodic line, be interjected between notes of a line, or become the line itself. They are few many, tongued, or slurred and most often include wide dissonant intervals. They are usually played as fast as possible but can be notated fast to slow or vice versa. It is also possible to be notated as random notes.

Glissandi of both small and wide intervals have been used in new music. A glissando of a small interval takes some practice, but is not extremely difficult to produce. A combination of sliding lip pressure and sliding finger action is used. For wider intervals it is necessary to discover which tone holes are more influential on the pitch, and using these holes it is not necessary to slide all the fingers in motion but rather just the most influential. Some older instruments and some European models have open tone holes rather than the plateau system (covered tone holes) used by American oboists. Glissandi are much easier on these instruments. As can be heard in the opening phrase of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, the glissando is played by the clarinet, an open holed instrument.

With the expansion of sonic devices on the oboe, trills and tremolos between these sounds have become expanded as well. Microtrills on a series of notes can be used as a timbral change for klangfarbenmelodie and indeed make the oboe sound like a mandolin. Another use for trills within klangfarbenmelodie is the pedal trill. Notated on two staves, a trilled note is alternated with a series of notes in a contrasting register. This creates the sound of two lines at the same time: (a) the melody and (b) the trill as harmonic backup. Double trilling (trilling between a note and two different fingerings of the note above) creates quite a vivacious trill. Of course this technique is limited to notes with two possible levers for the same trill. Sometimes a change in hand position can facilitate using alternately a key and some extension of that key. Trills between multiphonics are also possible. A true multiphonic trill requires that all the notes sounding move in the same direction by the same interval of a semitone, half step, or whole step. Many notated multiphonic trills are not truly trills, but rather tremolos. Trilling between harmonics, and double harmonics are of course valid and used in many compositions.

The concept of using tremolos expanded rapidly with the advent of multiphonics. Performing a tremolo between two multiphonics or a note and a multiphonic is common and quite effective. Monophonic tremolos involving wide intervals are also common. Some of these are rather tricky and require similar consideration as glissandi involving wide intervals.

Breath Control

The influence of Varese in the 1920's and of serial techniques involving volume have caused an expanded array of dynamics to be written into New Music. Oboists are often posed with the problem of the instrument's small dynamic range and this expanded use is no blessing. The basics of dynamics on the oboe involve opening and closing the mouth, the more hampered the reed's vibrations (the more closed one's mouth) the softer the sound. In order for the reed to have the capability of producing a soft then loud sound its aperture must be sufficiently springy to open up with the embouchure. While playing soft the oboist is continually applying pressure to the springy aperture of the reed. With this brief explanation one can easily see how tiring an extended passage of pianissimo, or gradual crescendo and decrescendo can become. Many new works tax oboists in the area of dynamics to their physical limits.

Accents of all kinds are seen in the new scores: continuous breath accents (sforzando), short accents, long tenuto accents and even legato accents. Sometimes a composer will clarify what all of his symbols mean at the beginning of the piece, but many times he does not.

Vibrato is no longer thought of as merely a method of beautifying one's tone. Near the beginning of this century passages in solo music began to show up with the marking "senza vibrato" which is an easy task. In music written after 1960 composers begin specifying speed and width vibrato. This control of vibrato is notated by the use of a undulating line.

Another technique asked for by composers is that of circular breathing. This requires the player to push out the air in the mouth with the cheeks while breathing in through the nose in order to play for very long periods of time without a break. Globokar's Atemstudie (Breath Study) was written for the oboist to apparently breathe only once, before the first note. The oboist must then continue to play, circular breathe and play, circular breathe and sing and decide on aleatoric passages for the entire duration of the piece. This type of playing makes very peculiar demands on the oboist's reed; it must be free enough to produce the same sound with and without the support of the entire respiratory system. In essence the oboist must become a human bagpipe.

Tonguing, Percussive, and Noise Techniques

In expanding the use of the oboe many experimental techniques have been used which require non-traditional use of the instrument. Some involve percussive techniques such as key clicks and tonguing without producing a tone. One can play a tune on the reed itself, or play without the reed by buzzing the lips into the end of the instrument, and of course the reed is capable of creating many nonsensical squeaks and squawks. Puckering sounds with and without the reed or oboe are possible, in fact the gambit of noises possible are entirely up to the composer's and performer's imagination. Tonguing effects have become quite virtuosic with the use of flutter tonguing and double tonguing.

With the 1960's, John Cage, and the continuing denial of 12-tone technique, came not only new sounds, but new compositional techniques. Aleatory, or random or chance compositions, free 12-tone, music written for specific virtuosic players, and dramatic effects all became free territory limited only by the composer's imagination.

Heinz Holliger

Just as Leon Goossens was the major initiative for early 20th-Century composers to write for the solo oboe, Heinz Holliger has been in that role for many of the post-1960 compositions which use new techniques. Heinz Holliger was born in Berne, Switzerland in 1939. He began the study of piano at the age of six and the oboe at eleven. After four years at the Berne Conservatory studying oboe, piano and composition and after one year at the Paris Conservatoire he won first prize for oboe in Geneva (1959), and subsequently in Munich (1961). In 1964 Holliger recorded the Mozart Oboe Concerto for Deutsche Gramophone Gesellschaft, and in 1966 began a long connection with Philips recording works of Baroque, Classic and Romantic composers including the entire output for oboe of Vivaldi, Zelenka and Schumann.

Not only is Holliger internationally known for his virtuosic and stylized performances of the standard oboe repertoire but has been highly instrumental in the advancement of 20th-Century compositions for the oboe. Several composers have written works expressly for Holliger: Penderecki, Lutoslawski, Globokar, Castiglione, Wyttenbach and Berio. Also known for his compositional talents, Holliger writes largely in a post-1960 style which is abundant in new sounds.

THREE REPRESENTATIVE WORKS--POST-1960

Descriptions or labels of the new music defies words; instead I will explore three different pieces by prominent 20th-Century composers which incorporate high levels of both new compositional techniques and sonic devices. With each piece I shall explain the composer's general background, his compositional style, and specific notational and performance problems encountered.

Jurg Wyttenbach, Sonata for Oboe Solo
(1962, rev. 1972)

Jurg Wyttenbach (b. 1935), Swiss composer and pianist studied at the Berne Conservatory and then at the Paris Conservatory. He taught piano at the conservatories of Biel (1959-67) and Berne (1962-6) and appeared as a performer mostly of new music. In 1967 he joined the Basle Academy and taught piano and interpretation of new music. At present Wyttenbach and his wife along with the Holligers and others form the Basle Ensemble of the International Society of Contemporary Music. Wyttenbach appears as pianist in Holliger's recording "The Spectacular Heinz Holliger" which consists of post-1960 works by Klaus Huber, Luciano Berio, Hans-Ulrich Lehmann, Heinz Holliger, Niccolo Castiglioni and Ernst Krenek.

Although the Sonata for Oboe by Jurg Wyttenbach uses few new sonic devices, it abounds in new compositional techniques. Labeled "Sonata", the piece follows a 3-movement form, the first moving gradually from slow to frantic, the second very slow, and the third a quasi scherzo with trio.

The first movement is in a free rhythmic meter quarter note = M60. The tempo marking reads "Molto tranquillo, poco a poco accelerando, senza misura". Opening the movement is a long slow 12-tone melody marked "senza espressivo (senza vibrato), pianissimo possible". Subtle accelerandi and ritardandi marked with arrows, - > and < - respectively, and poco < > form the first phrase. After a three second pause the movement moves forward growing in speed and intensity and rises in range to the altissimo register. The last minute of the movement is ad lib on G#''', A''' and Bb''', tongued and slurred fff to ppp ending the movement in this fashion on the reed only. Glissandi, accelerandi, ritardandi, tremoli, bisbigliandi and are some of the new techniques used in this movement.

In the second movement, a time line is used to measure rhythm, one inch equals three seconds. In this movement the line is slow often senza espressivo with much use of contrasting registers. The movement climaxes about halfway through with bisbigliando moving to micro trills, pedal tones, double trills and finally a subito fff ppp on a double harmonic with a double trill. Toward the cadence, the rhythm slows to the final note held for twelve seconds.

The final movement in a quasi scherzo trio form, opens with a murmuring microtrill. The A section consists of quasi trills, ''sempre legatissimo e pianissimo", with splashes of louder notes and patterns. The quasi trills consists of microtrills, bisbigliando, tremolo, and repeated note patterns. The trio consists of five tempi with five correlating dynamics: Tempo I Massig (Moderato) mf; Tempo II Langsamer (Slower) p; Tempo III Lebhafter (Livelier) f; Tempo IV Schnell (Fast) piu f; and Tempo V Sehr rasch (Very Quick) ff. These five tempi with related dynamics alternate; the measure groupings are written mostly in groups of three-sixteenths although sometimes in two, four or five-sixteenth note groupings appear. Although the measures group in this manner, often the notes do not quite follow the same grouping. When the abridged A section returns, the quasi trills begin again ppp but soon become fff with many repeated notes and tremoli of large intervals. A pause followed by a pianissimo leggiero eighth note staccato array of notes ends the piece.

Niccolo Castiglioni, Alef
(1965)

Niccolo Castiglioni (b. 1932) studied piano and composition at the Milan Conservatory followed by graduate courses at the Salzburg Mozarteum (1952-53) and attended summer courses at Darmstadt. Castiglioni also became interested in music history; it is, therefore, not surprising that the influence of late Romanticism combining with the style of the second Venetian School (Vivaldi, Albinoni) can be heard in his early works. Continually skirting the issues of post-Webern Serialism, Castiglioni arrived at compositional techniques involving free 12-tone writing, organized by juxtaposition of timbral effects. Alef (1965) continued one step farther concentrating on variation technique of the opening 1 2-note melodic cell and the use of formal indeterminacy. Later Castiglioni turned back to his interests in early music with Baroque monody in his Symphony in C (1968), abandoning advanced 20th-Century ideas with a return to collage-like writing.

Alef consists of six sections which can be played in six different versions. Each section is labeled with three different numeric symbols: 1AI, 2CV, 3EIV, 4BII, 5DIII (Trope a, b, & c,), 6FVI and may be played 1-2-3-45-6; A-B-C-D-EF, I-II-III-IV-V-VI, 1-2-3-4-a-6, A-C-C-b-E-F, or I-II-c-IV-V-VI. The notation throughout is special but often divided strictly. It is sometimes difficult to perform due to odd groupings (for example within a three beat grouping). 1AI consists of a twelve-tone melody marked f nicht legato, changing registers with each note. It appears to be written in 3/8 8th note = 100 but at closer examination the divisions fluctuate between three-eights to a pulse and two-eights to a pulse. The confusion lies in the composer's groupings with partial bar lines in three. 1AI consists of four phrases each punctuated by a low staccato C# set off by rests. The C#'s actually count the phrases (i.e. phrase 1--one C#, phrase 2--two C#'s, etc.). If the first phrase becomes Prime-0 of the 12-tone row, phrase three is 1-2, or merely the row inversion one whole step above the prime. Phrase three is also written twice as fast as phrase one. Phrase two and four are complicated manipulations of the row.

This section as a whole can be seen as the theme in a theme and variations whose variation techniques extend well beyond a mere manipulation of motivic cells, traditionally the major object of the serial technique.

In contrast, 2CV is made up of eight phrases of very quick notes. Each phrase is a somewhat random array of 32nd notes = 144 (although following the row, often two rows are superimposed). The phrases alternate in style between piano and forte, and staccato and legato. The final phrase is interspersed with silence: five notes, then four etc. ending on one single pianissimo A#' ' harmonic. Each phrase in this section might be thought of as multiple grace notes leading to a silence. In the staccato phrases the only possible means of execution is double tonguing. Another outstanding feature of this section is the constant use of high D''' through F'''.

3EIV is a variation of 1AI and begins with the exact inversion of the opening phrase of 1AI, the punctuation now on a D#'''. The second phrase is similar to the inversion of the second phrase 1AI, but multiple grace notes and trills are added. In the third phrase the original melody (in diminution in 1AI) is embellished by turning the melody into a series of 32nd notes, the melodic notes accentuated by the use of slurs and staccato. Bisbigliando is also used in this phrase. The fourth phrase gradually diminuendos, and the embellishments are similar to that of the third, but parts of the phrase are separated by rests as the movement gradually dies away using the same technique as the last phrase of 2CV. Four sforzando D#''' s are heard.

4BII uses the most advanced devices in the piece. It consists of a number of short sections, these sections being fragmentized by either exact rests or by breaks in the staves. The opening section is a phrase of seven staccato notes isolated from one another by exact rests, ending with a held harmonic F. A small break in the stave indicates a short pause before beginning a quick bisbigliando (with slight tempo changes) followed by a short succession of trilled harmonics, ending with a trilled double harmonic for the second section. The twelve-tone melody again shows up in diminution, highly embellished with grace notes. A held G''' punctuates the section's end. The third part consists of grace notes only, the fourth of tremoli and multiple grace notes. In the fifth section, four sforzandi G''' s separated by multiple grace notes form a deceptive cadence. Instead of ending on the last G Castiglioni continues by moving upward to a long A'''. Then, more multiple grace notes followed by long G#''', A#''' and B''' end the section. Double trills are next employed in the lowest register followed by a succession of short notes each with a mordent. Staccato flutter tongued A# harmonics followed by high fluttertongued multiple grace notes end the movement.

5DIII consists of three phrases of double harmonics: a, b and c. These are held in a strictly implied rhythm. This movement can be played in its entirety or inserted at specified spots (for instance, in 4BII, a and c may be inserted at specified points).

6FVI is Castiglioni's signature: a series of durations on the minor third D to F. in this movement a pedal C# (just above middle C) is implied, sforzando, interrupting the line at specified points. This ending sequence is repeated in Gymel and Consonate.

It is noteworthy that this work is Castiglioni's only attempt at aleatoric music.

Lukas Foss, The Cave of the Winds for Woodwind Quintet, 1972

As with most aleatoric music The Cave of the Winds is read from full score to facilitate ensemble playing. Only one section requires special instructions for each instrument.

There are four main sections in this piece with the first section returning at the end.

FORM: A, transition, B, transition, C, D, A

A--Slow

The first half of the A section consists of a series of somewhat slow moving multiple sounds (multiphonics) set in precise rhythmic notation. Although some measures are more complicated than a standard 4 pattern, none of the rhythms are unrealistically impossible to perform accurately. The fingerings for each instrument's multiphonics are given; and although there will be some variation in the sound of these multiphonics from one performer to the next, the basic density and chordal sound will remain constant. Foss has used only the easiest, most successful fingerings.

In the second half of the A section (transition) the multiphonics continue in a thinner texture, each player cues another to begin and end as the multiphonics are passed throughout the group. The score clearly indicates when each player is to play and with whom, by the use of vertical arrows and the directions stop.

B--Trio

The second section is an oboe, clarinet and bassoon trio above a horn ostinato. The horn has been asked to remove one or two slides to create a fuzz tone. After each of the five, 10-15 second phrases, the horn player is instructed to replace one slide and take out another and begin on a new pitch. Which slide or slides are removed and what note is played is not specified, only the changing and beginning again.

The upper instruments are given fingerings for four different multiple sounds. The players are instructed to play random grace notes, in different lengths and patterns avoiding scale and triad fragments, leading into the multiphonics, vary their succession and duration and to play the grace notes as fast as possible. The only fixed specification is of texture. First a trio is heard; oboe, clarinet and bassoon; next the duet oboe, bassoon, third a duet oboe, clarinet, fourth the duet clarinet, bassoon; and then back to the trio texture.

A short transition of rolling tones follow, one instrument beginning as the previous runs out of air. This section is highly controlled in all factors but duration.

C--Agitato

This section gives the basic direction "Repeat ala Morse Code". Again multiphonics are used, and rhythmic designs are given to each player (the horn holds given pitches). Although a time line is given, the ensemble holds together by way of entrances or changes of texture in individual instruments, different players being responsible for signaling different points on the time line. This is all carefully mapped out, but the final effect is somewhat random.

D--Structure

This is the largest section of the piece and in effect dwarfs Sections B and C making them appear as mere transitions. Also, this section is highly aleatoric but with a constant, steady eighth note pulse with the directions "The eighth note is to be maintained with machine-like precision. Quarter note = 120. Everyone should play as if his or her performance is the only thing which keeps the five players together."

Each player is given a separate page of individual instructions for musical materials containing directions for the six different `'structures" asked for: A, B1, B2, C, D, and E. Each players' instructions are similar; differences pertain to clef, range, and flexibility of the individual instrument. A time line is given for each instrument (in score form) telling each player when to change from one kind of motivic material to the next. Although Foss has given specific times to change patterns he also includes the instructions "do not be exact (by the clock) in changing from one letter to the next. Be a little early or late."

The ultimate result of this section is stated as follows: "This section must feel exhausting for player and listener alike; on and on mercilessly. Duration 8 1/2 minutes."

Each of the different structures is carefully explained on the separate page of instructions. Some are composed by the player, others given. Each texture has no metric regularity except the strict eighth note rhythmic pulse.

A - Material--Pitches are not specified. Seven different types of rhythmic cells are given, each with specific instructions about tone color and attack. These seven different cells are to be strung together in a random order.

B3 Material--Four specific pitches (forming a D minor 7th cord) are given. Specific, but not restrictive, instructions are given to create a seven note pattern by the player. This pattern is repeated many times, then another seven note pattern is repeated many times, etc.

B2 Material--This is specified by Foss: a short asymetric phrase to be repeated many times.

C Material--is again a short precomposed four note melodic fragment. Repetitions are left to the player. The texture of this material is in longer values and legato, whereas the previous materials are highly articulated.

D Material--Multiple sounds are to be used in two different rhythms or (or in reverse). Repetition of a rhythmic cell is to be at will with the use of short rests.

E Material--This is a study in microtones. Any note with microtone or quarter-tone variations is usable. A legato pattern is composed using an eighth note division (, or ).

The most specific material is B and C but each different structure leaves some room for the performer to improvise. The texture is however specifically designated. The A section returns to round out the form and create unity.

FOOTNOTE

[1] Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th edition, p. 518, VI. VII. [return]

[2] Ibid. [return]

[3] Paul Griffiths, Modern Music: The Avant Garde Since 1945, (New York: George Braziller Inc. 1981), p. 20. [return]

[4] Barney Childs and Elliot Schwartz, Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music, (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967), p. 197. [return]

[5] Griffiths, Modern Music, p. 110. [return]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Journals and Encyclopedias

International Double Reed Society Publications: To the World's Oboists; The Double Reed; Journal. Editors Daniel Stolper and Gerald Corey, selected volumes. East Lansing, Michigan.

Blom, Eric, ed. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, fifth ed. New York: St. Martin's Press Inc., 1954.

Sadie, Stanley, ed. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, sixth ed. New York: Macmillian Lt., 1980.

Books

Baines, Anthony. Woodwind Instruments and their History. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1962.

Bartolozzi, Bruno. New Sounds for Woodwind. London: Oxford University Press. 1967.

Bate, Philip. The Oboe, An Outline of its History, Development and Construction, third ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1975.

Battcock, Gregory, ed. Breaking the Sound Barrier, A Critical Anthology of the New Music. New York: E. P. Dutton Co., Inc. 1981.

Boretz; Benjamin and Cone, Edward T., ed. Perspectives on Notation and Performance. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967.

Childs, Barney and Schwartz, Elliot, ed. Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967.

Cope, David. New Music Composition. New York: Schirmer Books, A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1977.

Ewen, David. Composers of Tomorrow's Music, A non-technical introduction to the musical Avant-Garde movement. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1971.

Goossens, Leon and Roxburgh, Edwin. Oboe, Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides. New York: Schirmer Books, A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1977.

Griffiths, Paul. Modern Music, The Avant Garde since 1945. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1981.

Holliger, Heinz, ed. Pro Musica Nova, Studies for Playing Avant-garde Music. Wiesbaden: Breitkopf and Hartel, 1972.

Hosek, Miroslav. Oboen Bibliographie I. Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen, 1975.

Nyman, Michael. Experimental Music, Cage and Beyond. New York: Schirmer Books, A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1974.

Read, Gardner. Contemporary Instrumental Techniques. New York: Schirmer Books, A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1976.

Reynolds, Roger. Mind Models, New Forms of Musical Experience. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975.

Risatti, Howard. New Music Vocabulary, A guide to notational signs for Contemporary music. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1975.

Salzman, Eric. Twentieth Century Music: An Introduction, second ed. Prentice Hall History of Music Series. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1967.

Singer, Lawrence. Metodo Per Oboe. Milano: Zerboni, 1969.

Smith Brindle, Reginal. The New Music, the Avant-garde since 1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1975.

APPENDIX

A Chronology of the Oboe Repertoire from 1900 to the Present

This list is certainly not meant to be an exhaustive list of works written for the oboe during the twentieth century. It was, however, formulated to facilitate at-a-glance type conclusions about this repertoire. Quickly one can see the importance of Romantic and Neo-Classic composers throughout the first half of this century. Dedications to Leon Goossens abound until 1960 when Heinz Holliger takes over. And one can see the abundance of compositions from the 60's and 70's.

1905

Loeffler, Charles -- Deux Rhapsodies; ob, via, pf

1921

Bax, Arnold -- Quintet for oboe and strings; Leon Goossens

Hue, Georges -- Petite Piece; ob, pf

Nielsen, Carl -- Kvintet; ww. quintet

Saint-Saëns, Camille -- Sonata, Op. 166, ob, pf; Louis Bas

1922

Hindemith, Paul -- Chamber Music for Five Woodwinds, op. 24, No. 2

1923

Honegger, Arthur -- Trois Contrepoints; fl, EH, vl, vnc

1924

Prokofiev, Serge -- Quintet, Op. 39; ob, cl, vl, via, db

Schoenberg, Arnold -- Quintet, Op. 26; ww. quintet

1925

de Breville, Pierre -- Sonatine; ob, pf

1926

Poulenc, Francis -- Trio; ob, bsn pf

Smith, David Stanley -- Sonata, op. 13; ob, pf

1927

Goossens, Eugene -- Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, Op. 46; Leon Goossens

Bliss Arthur -- Quintet, ob and qtr.

Villa-Lobos, Heitor -- Quintette; fl, ob, EH, cl, bsn

1929

Mueller, Florian -- Concerto; ob, orch.

1930

Crawford-Seeger, Ruth -- Diaphonic Suite 1; solo oboe

Ibert, Jacques -- Trois Pieces Breves, ww. quintet

Roussel, Albert -- Aria; ob, pf

1933

Jacob, Gordon -- Concerto #1, ob, orch.; Evelyn Rothwell/Leon Goossens

Raphael, Gunther -- Sonata in B-minor; ob, pf

Wolf-Ferrari, Ermanno -- Idillio Concertino, Op. 15; ob, pf

1934

Piston, Walter -- Suite for Oboe and Piano

1935

Britten, Benjamin -- Phantasy Quartet; ob and qtr.; Leon Goossens

Britten, Benjamin -- Two Insect Pieces; ob, pf

1936

Britten, Benjamin -- Temporal Variations; ob, pf

Finzi, Gerald -- Interlude; ob and qtr. quartet; Leon Goossens

Wolpe, Stefan -- Suite im Hexachord; ob, cl

1938

Hindemith, Paul -- Sonata; ob, pf

Jacob, Gordon -- Oboe Quartet; ob and qtr. -- Leon Goossens

Reizenstein, Franz -- Three Concert Pieces; ob, pf

1939

Bozza, Eugene -- Fantaisie Pastorale, Op. 37; ob, pf -- Louis Bleuzet

Bozza, Eugene -- Divertissement, Op. 39; Eh, pf. -- Albert Andraud

Milhaud, Darius -- La Cheminee du Roi Rene; ww. quintet

1940

Barlow, Wayne -- The Winter's Passed; ob, qtr.

Weinberger, Jaromir -- Sonatine; ob, pf

1939-1941

Wolpe, Stefan -- Sonata; ob, pf

1941

Hindemith, Paul -- Sonata; EH, pf

Martin, Frank -- Petite Complainte; ob, pf

1942

Reizenstein, Franz -- Sonatina; ob, pf

1944

Bowen, York -- Sonata, Op. 85; ob, pf -- Leon Goossens

Vaughan-Williams, Ralph -- Concerto for oboe and strings; Leon Goossens

1945

Jolivet, Andre -- Serenade; ww. quintet and solo ob

Still, William Grant -- Incantation and Dance; ob, pf; Lloyd & Betty Rathbun

Strauss, Richard -- Oboe Concerto; ob and sm. orch.

1946

Szalowski, Antoni -- Sonatine; ob, pf

1947

Coolidge, Elizabeth S. -- Sonata; ob, pf

Dutilleux, Henri -- Sonata; ob, pf

Foss, Lukas -- Concerto; ob, orch. -- Whitney Tustin

Ginastera, Alberto -- Duo for flute and oboe

Martinu, Bohuslav -- Quatuor; ob, vl, vc, pf

Wolf-Ferrari, Ermanno -- Concerti no; Op. 34; EH, orch.

1948

Carter, Eliott -- Quintet; ww. quintet -- Nadia Boulanger

Fine, Irving -- Quintet; ww. quintet

Francaix, Jean -- Quintette; ww. quintet

Jacob, Gordon -- Rhapsody; EH, qtr. orch. -- Terrence MacDonough

Schuller, Gunther -- Trio; ob, kin, vla

Scott, Cyril -- Concerto; ob, orch.; Leon Goossens

1949

Hanson, Howard -- Pastorale, Op. 38; ob, pf

Honegger, Arthur -- Concerto da Camera; fl, EH, qtr.

Ibert, Jacques -- Symphonie Concertante; ob, orch.

1950

Borris, Siegried -- Sonata, Op. 48, No. 1; ob, pf

Carter, Elliot -- Eight Etudes and a Fantasy; fl, ob, cl, bsn

Fricker, Peter Racine -- Concertante, Op. 13; EH, qtr.

Searle, Humphrey -- Gondoliera, Op. 19; EH, pf

Wilder, Alec -- English Horn Sonata; EH, pf

1951

Alwyn, William -- Oboe Concerto; ob, orch

Arnold, Malcolm -- Sonatina; ob, pf

Brinen, Benjamin -- Six Metamorphoses aher Ovid, Op. 49 -- Joy Boughton

Schuller, Gunther -- Sonata; ob, pf; Joseph Marx

1952

Castel n uovo-Tedesco, Mario -- Concerto da Camera, Op. 146; ob, orch.; Evelyn Rothwell

Etler, Alvin -- Introduction and Allegro; ob, pf

Haas, Joseph -- Ein Kranzlein Bagatellen, Op. 23; ob, pf

Zimmermann, Bernd Alois -- Konzert for oboe and orch.

1953

Piston, Walter -- Fantasy for English Horn, Harp & Strings; Louis Speyer

1954

Baur, Jurg -- Fantasie; ob, pf

Bozza, Eugene -- Lied; EH, pf

1955

Childs, Barney -- Four Involutions for Solo English Horn -- Nancy Fowler

Koetsier, Jan -- Drei Stucke; EH, Str. quartet

Milhaud, Darius -- Sonatine; ob, pf -- Lois Wann

1956

Barber, Samuel -- Summer Music for WW. Quintet, Op. 31

Jacob, Gordon -- Concerto #2; ob, orch. -- Leon Goossens

Krenek, Ernst -- Sonatina for Solo Oboe

Kubizek, Karl Maria -- Sonata; ob, pf

Stockhausen, Karlheinz -- No. 5 Zeitmass

1957

Arnold, Malcolm -- Concerto, Op. 39; ob, qtr. -- Leon Goossens

Cooke, Arnold -- Sonata for Oboe and Piano -- Leon Goossens

Martin, Frank -- Piece Breve; fl, ob, harp

Pedrollo, Arrigo -- Concertino for Oboe and String Orchestra

Seiber, Matyas -- Improvization; ob, pf

Villa-Lobos, Heitor -- Duo for Oboe and Bassoon

Wilder, Alec -- Concerto; ob, qtr. orch., perc.

1958

Milhaud, Darius -- Concerto; ob, orch.

Vaughan-Williams, Ralph -- Blake Songs; voice, ob; Janet Craxton

1959

Childs, Barney -- Five Little Soundpieces; solo oboe

Malipiero, Riccardo -- Sonata; ob, pf

Rubbra, Edmund -- Sonata in C, Op. 100; ob, pf; Evelyn Rothwell

1960

Baur, Jurg -- Concerto Romano; ob, orch.

Kelemen, Milko -- Sonata; ob, pf; Heinz Holliger

Martinu, Bohuslav -- Oboe Concerto; ob, sm. orch.; Jiri Tancibudek

Rochberg, George -- La Bocca della Verita; ob, pf; Joseph Marx

Shinohara, Makoto -- Obsession; ob, pf

1961

Bennett, Richard Rodney -- Sonata; ob, pf

Francaix, Jean -- L'Horloge de Flore; ob, orch.

Holliger, Heinz -- Mobile; ob, harp

Huber, Klaus -- Noctes Intelligibilis Lucis; ob, cembalo -- Heinz Holliger

Martino, Donald -- Cinque Frammenti; ob, DB

1962

Cooke, Arnold -- Sonata; ob, cembalo; Evelyn Rothwell

Hekster, Walter -- Hieroglyphs; solo oboe

Poulenc, Francis -- Oboe Sonata; ob, pf

Wildberger, Jacques -- Rondeau; solo oboe; Heinz Holliger

Wyttenbach, Jurg -- Sonata for oboe solo (rev. 1972); Heinz Holliger

1963

Jacob, Gordon -- Sonata; ob, cembalo; Evelyn Rothwell

Schwartz, Elliott -- Oboe Quartet; ob, qtr.

1964

Berkeley, Lennox -- Sonata; ob, pf; Janet Craxton

Penderecki, Kryszystof -- Capriccio; ob, 11 qtr.; Heinz Holliger

1965

Bartolozzi, Bruno -- Concertazioni per oboe; ob, Chitarra, via, DB, perc.; Lawrence Singer

Castiglioni, Niccolo -- Alef; solo oboe -- Heinz Holliger

Johnson, Robert -- Fantasy; ob, perc, DB

Maderna, Bruno -- Aulodia; ob d'amour, guitar; Lothar Faber

Wuorinen, Charles -- composition; ob, pf; Joseph Marx

1966

Albright, William -- Sonata; ob, cembalo

Arnold, Malcolm -- Fantasy; solo oboe

Berge, Sigurd -- Solo

Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Mario -- Eclogues; fl, EH, guitar

Fortner, Wolfgang -- Aulodie; ob, orch. -- Heinz Holliger

Krenek, Ernst -- Vier Stucke; ob, pf -- Heinz Holliger

Tansman, Alexandre -- Suite Concertante; ob, sm. orch.

1967

Bartolozzi, Bruno -- Collage; solo oboe

Debras, Louis -- Sequenza Il; solo oboe

Holliger, Heinz -- Siebengesang; ob, orch, voices, loudspeaker

Jacob, Gordon -- Sonata; ob, pf; Evelyn Rothwell

Schwartz, Elliott -- Ninas; fl, ob, tape

Sestak, Zdenek -- Music for oboe; solo oboe w/tape or 3 oboes

Zonn, Paul -- Chroma; ob, pf; Wilma Zonn

1968

Andriessen, Hendrik -- Variaties; ob, pf

Hekster, Walter -- Diptych; ob, cello

Hekster, Walter -- Double; 2 ensembles; jazz trio and ob, xyl, via, tbn

Matthus, Siegfried -- Musik fur Oboeinstrumente; ob (ob, EH, schalmei, ob d'am) and pf

Schenker, Freidrich -- Monolog; solo ob

Schickele, Peter -- Gardens; ob, pf

Schwartz, Elliott -- Aria #5; ob, bells

1969

Bero, Luciano -- Sequenza Vll, solo oboe; Heinz Holliger

Bezanson, Philip -- Concertino; ob and qtr. orch.

Fricker, Peter Racine -- Refrains; solo obe

Globokar, Vinko -- Discours III solo oboe; Heinz Holliger

Hekster, Walter -- Fluxions; fl, ob, vnc, harpsichord

Maderna, Bruno -- Concerto Il; ob, musette, ob d'am and orch.

Milhaud, Darius -- Stanford Serenade, ob and 11 instr.

Parker, Alice -- 5 Fragments; ob, baritone

Schwartz. Elliot -- Miniconcerto; fl, ob, vl, via, vnc

Spratlan, Lewis -- Quintet; ob and qtr.

Sydeman, William -- Variations: ob, harpsichord

1970

Amy. Gilbert -- Repons; solo oboe -- Heinz Holliger

Becker, Gunther -- `'Hz"; ob "/microphones, vol. pea., amp. and speakers

Bennett, Richard Rodney -- Oboe Concerto; ob and orch.; Heinz Holliger

Bozza, Eugene -- Suite Monodique; solo oboe

Hekster, Walter -- Occurence Il; ob, vl, via, vnc

Lehmann, Hans Ulrich -- Cadence. solo oboe

Lehmann, Hans Ulrich -- Monodie; solo oboe

McCabe, John -- Dance-Prelude; ob d'am, pf

Roxburgh, Edwin -- Eclissi; ob, vl, via, vnc

Shinohara, Makoto -- Reflexion; solo oboe; Heinz Holliger

Tull, Fisher -- Concertino, ob, qtr.

Yun, Isang -- Piri; solo oboe

1971

Bozza, Eugene -- Sonata; ob, pf

Denisow, Edison -- solo. solo oboe; Heinz Holliger

Francaix, Jean -- Quartet; EH, vl, via, vnc; Janet Craxton

Globokar, Vinko -- Atemstudie; solo oboe; Heinz Holliger

Jacob, Gordon -- Seven Bagatelles; solo oboe; Sara Francis

Lehmann, Hans Ulrich -- Variety for oboe solo; Heinz Holliger

Levine, Bruce -- Monologue 1; solo EH

Maderna, Bruno -- Solo; musette, ob, ob d'am, EH

Schibler, Armin -- Dithyrambus; solo oboe

Thiele, Siegfried -- Proportionen; ob, vie, pf

Wildberger, Jacques -- Pour les neuf doigts; solo oboe; Heinz Holliger

1972

Filippi, Amadeo de -- Ex Tempore; solo oboe

Foss, Lukas -- The Cave of the Winds; ww. quintet

Kohn, Karl -- Encounters IV; ob, pf

Ligeti, Gyorgy -- Doppelkonzert; fl, ob and orch

Ohana, Maurice -- Sarc; solo oboe; Jacques Vandeville

Persichetti, Vincent -- Parable III solo oboe, Op. 109

Weber, Alain -- Synecdoque; solo oboe; Jacques Vandeville

1973

Berkeley, Lennox -- Sinfonia Concertante Op. 84; ob and orch; Janet Craxton

Lewis, Robert Hall -- Monophony II; solo oboe; James Ostryniec

Luttmann, Reinhard -- Meditations I; solo oboe

Luttmann, Reinhard -- Meditations II; EH and organ

Mimaroglu, khan -- Monologue III solo EH

Thilman, Johannes Paul -- Tristan-Kontemplationen; EH and pf

Tisne, Antoine -- Dinos; ob and EH; Jacques Vandeville

1974

Cunningham, Michael -- Sonata with piano, Op. 57

Corina, John -- Sonet; ob and qtr.

Machonchy, Elizabeth -- Three Bagatelles; ob and tarps. -- Evelyn Rothwell

Pilss, Karl -- Sonata in E minor; pob, pf

Polin, Claire -- Telemannicon; ob canonic w/tape or live

Reale, Paule -- Vala; solo EH

Robb, John Donald -- Trio; ob, vl, pf

Rouse, Christopher -- Insani; ob, perc, voice

Steinke, Greg -- Four Desultory Episodes; solo oboe or oboe and tape

1975

Berio, Luciano -- Chemin IV; ob and 11 qtr. -- Heinz Holliger

Bond, Victoria -- Recitative; EH and qtr. trio

Corina, John -- Partita; ob and perc.

Hekster, Walter -- Auroras of Autumn; ob and orch

Persichetti, Vincent -- Parable XV, Op. 128; solo EH

1976

Cope, David -- Indices; solo obo(ist) -- Joseph Celli

Luening, Otto -- Nocturnes; ob, pf

Tull, Fisher -- Fantasy on L'Homme Arme; ob, pf

1977

Persichetti, Vincent -- English Horn Concerto -- Thomas Stacy

Stockhausen, Karlheinz -- Plus-Minus; experimental

1978

Charpentier, Jacques -- Concert No. 6; ob and qtr.

1979

Chenoweth, Gerald -- Oboe Quartet: Estampie; solo oboe

1980

Mueller, Florian -- 24 Etudes in the New Style; solo oboe or EH; Charles Lehrer

1981

Lutoslawski, Witold -- Double Concerto for oboe. harp and orch; Heinz Holliger

Singer, Lawrence -- Sensazione for English Horn solo; James Ostryniec

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