Those in attendance at the Thirteenth Annual IDRS Congress in Graz, Austria on August 10-15, 1984 witnessed a marvelous and truly international event. The turnout was remarkable: 470 registered participants from 30 countries (and speaking 22 different languages)! Most of the lectures and other presentations were given in English or German, and some were given in both languages. And what a beautiful city! Graz is scenic and historically interesting, and it is overall a superb location for a meeting such as this. The importance to the International Double Reed Society of holding a successful conference on the European continent cannot be overstated, and the conference was more than just "successful." In every regard the concerts, presentations, discussions, exhibits from the music industry, and historical displays were stimulating, informative, and enjoyable.

Several facilities were used for the various events, but all were within walking distance. Nonetheless, conference attendees who walked from event to event got a considerable amount of exercise! Because some sessions occurred simultaneously, this reviewer could not attend everything; and as a bassoonist, was naturally attracted to programs featuring bassoon. Programs which this reviewer did not attend will be reported by others.

Special acknowledgement should be made to Dr. Werner Schulze, the conference organizer and the responsible "man in charge." In addition to contributing the enormous amount of time and effort required to host and coordinate a meeting such as this, Dr. Schulze performed on several programs, and he composed three works which were performed as well.

The conference began on Friday afternoon, August 10 with a large and fascinating display of approximately 150 historical double reed instruments at the Stadtmuseum. This display also included a very interesting collection of historical reeds. That evening we were treated to a lavish reception given by the government of Styria, a region of Austria, at the beautiful Eggenberg Castle. Dr. Schulze and Alexander Haas, a Styrian official, gave warm welcoming addresses, and the Catkanei Ensemble of Graz presented a musical program featuring Renaissance and Baroque instruments.

Saturday was designated as an "Oboe Festival," which began impressively with a recital by the French oboist Maurice Bourgue. His program included works by Bach, Telemann, Schumann, Dutilleux, and Britten. His playing was delicate, sensitive, and refined; and Colette Kling rendered very strong piano accompaniment. Unfortunately, a harpsichord was apparently unavailable for their performance of the Bach Sonata in G Minor, BWV 1020. In fact, in several programs during the conference the lack of a harpsichord detracted from otherwise fine performances of Baroque works.

Saturday afternoon's recital featured Abdel Fattah Ibrahim, Laszlo Hadady, and David Wilson. Ibrahim was first oboe with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra for ten years, and currently resides in Vienna. He performed the Poulenc Sonata and the Goossens Concerto in One Movement. Hadady is an outstanding young Hungarian oboist who currently performs in Paris with Pierre Boulez. His performance of the Berio Sequenza was dramatic and convincing, and he performed this difficult work with apparent ease. He also performed elegantly on oboe d'amore in a transcription of the Schumann Drei Phantasiestucke, Op. 73, originally for clarinet and piano. Sensitive and accurate piano accompaniment for both Ibrahim and Hadady was provided by Gabriele Riedel, who accompanied several performances during the conference. Wilson's performance of the Britten Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Atemstudie for solo oboe by Vinko, Globokar, and Music for Tape and Oboe Solo by Andrzej Dobrowolski was exceptional. Slides of art work by John Wilson (the performer's brother) as well as by the performer himself were projected on a screen during all works. The slides created for the Britten in particular contributed to the dramatic impact of the piece. The Globokar involves circular breathing as well as many reed and vocal special effects, in a sense "bridging the gap" between the vocal sounds and the new instrumental sounds.

That evening's program featured works for soloists and orchestra, with orchestral accompaniment capably provided by the A.I.M.S. (American Institute of Musical Studies, Graz) Orchestra directed by William Huckaby and Cornelius Eberhardt. The American oboist Laila Storch and Canadian bassoonist Gerald Corey (performing on French bassoon) began the concert with an effective performance of the Cambini Concerto for Oboe, Bassoon, and Orchestra. English oboist Malcolm Messner then performed the Vaughan Williams Concerto for Oboe and Strings in the musical, impressive manner to which his IDRS audiences have become accustomed in recent years. Following this, bassoonist Robert Wagner of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra capably performed Richard Wilson's Concerto for Bassoon and Chamber Orchestra. Wagner's projection and control were especially notable; and he is to be complimented on programming a major, serious contemporary composition such as the Wilson. This concerto is well crafted and well conceived for bassoon, but one wished for more sections in which the orchestral colors shifted less frequently. German oboist Pierre Feit ended the concert with a virtuoso performance of the Peter von Winter Concerto in F Major. Feit's sound was light and clear, and his technical proficiency was well displayed in the concerto's numerous difficult passages in the upper register.

Sunday's activities were entitled "Off the Beaten Track," and the day began with a morning presentation by Gunther Joppig of Hamburg on the construction of double reed instruments during the nineteenth century. Following this, the Ensemble for Old Music from the Saarland (Germany) Musikhochschule and others presented a concert featuring historical instruments; at noon, double reed instruments used in the folk music of Egypt, Iran, Yugoslavia, and Romania were demonstrated; and during the afternoon, various instrument makers gave presentations about some of their latest research and new ideas. In the latter program, topics of discussion included the sarrusophone, contrabassoon, and Viennese oboe; and demonstrations by Alan Fox, John Pullen, Malcolm Messiter, Hans Kreul, and Klaus Karcher on the tonal qualities of various woods were particularly interesting.

Sunday evening's program was very long - over three and a half hours! - but it was of special interest nonetheless. Paul McCandless, oboe and English horn, and Art Lande, piano, were most impressive in their program of jazz works; the audience responded warmly and enthusiastically. Following this, a program featuring French bassoonists was presented by Maurice Allard. Exceptional solo work was heard not only from Allard but also from Chantal Carry and Jean-Pierre Segin as well as from oboist Jean-Pierre Arnaud. Sylvie Terret provided sensitive and accurate accompaniment on the harp. Segin's performance of Space-Time for bassoon and tape by Francois Bouche was especially interesting. This work exploits the extreme upper register of the instrument, which is so beautiful on the French bassoon. Carry's fine performance of the first and second movements of the Saint-Saens Sonata utilized harp rather than piano accompaniment. She also combined with Francois Carry on contrabassoon to perform a difficult Rossini duet originally written for violoncello and double bass.

The use of bassoons and contrabassoon rather than strings on Allard's performance of several movements of the Francaix Divertissement created a fascinating sonority. Bassoon ensembles of various sizes performed Allard's transcriptions of works by Grieg, Milhaud, Ravel, Saint-Saens, Villa-Lobos, Rachmaninoff, and others. The full ensemble (called "Das grosse IDRS Fagottensemble") literally filled the stage with bassoons! Allard conducted the ensembles, and the effect was warm and resonant.

Monday was designated as "North American Day," and the day's program began with lectures and demonstrations on reed making and other subjects. This reviewer attended portions of masterful presentations by Lewis Hugh Cooper of the University of Michigan and Donald Hardisty of The University of New Mexico. Cooper's presentation was about bassoon maintenance, and Hardisty's concerned "triple crow" bassoon reeds. Both programs were informative and enjoyable, and both included German translations. Later that morning Anne Leek, oboe, and David Debolt, bassoon, presented a recital. Leek, an American who is a member of the Mannheim Orchestra, performed a transcription of the Mozart Sonata for Violin and Piano, K. 526 and the Holliger Studie No. 2 for Oboe Solo. The piano accompaniment in the Mozart was superbly performed by Elzibleta Zahac-Wiedner, who also accompanied the semifinals and finals of the Gillet Competition. Leek's playing was warm and musical, with careful attention paid to the shaping of each phrase. The Holliger work exploits the extreme high and low registers, and, as would be expected from Holliger, requires excellent technique. Debolt, who teaches at Kent State University in Ohio, ended the recital with a performance of Bernard Garfield's difficult (and seldom heard) Quartet for Bassoon and Strings. In addition to his fine technical facility and rich, full tone quality, Debolt demonstrated a high degree of lyricism in his playing. This reviewer was unable to attend sessions for the remainder of the day because he was involved with his own rehearsals and an evening performance.

Tuesday's programs were collectively entitled "Spectrum of the Nations." The day began with a "Fagott-Symposium," with sessions presented by Otto Oromszegi, William Waterhouse, Gunter Angerhofer, Gheorge Cucurianu, Michael Nagy, and Frantrisek Cervenka. The Cucurianu and Waterhouse sessions were especially interesting. Cucurinau described his innovative bassoon fingering system and its advantages. Waterhouse discussed the original version of the Weber Concerto, Op. 75, composed in 1811; Weber's revision of 1823; and a version dating from 1865 (thirty-nine years after Weber's death) of unknown editorship. Waterhouse pointed out that many of our current interpretations of the work are based on the 1865 version rather than on Weber's revision of 1823. Waterhouse also discussed the Weissenborn Op. 8 Vol. 2 studies, informing us that current editions contain only fifty of the sixty studies composed (the other ten have apparently been lost). Also, some studies are not presented in the order designated by Weissenborn; explanations have been omitted; and some studies have been transposed! At the end of this session, a representative of a music publisher rose and expressed an interest in publishing authentic editions of these works.

Tuesday evening's concert featuring John Mack and Milan Turkovic (assisted by Robert Vernon, viola; Marc Shapiro, piano; and Etsko Tazaki, piano) was one of the highlights of the convention. Mack performed works by Martin, Hanson, Britten, and Loeffler; Turkovic's program included the Mozart Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 292 (originally for bassoon and violoncello) with a piano accompaniment written by William Waterhouse and Turkovic's own transcription of the Brahms Sonata in F Minor, Op. 120/1. The program also included the popular Poulenc Trio. Mack and Turkovic played beautifully, reaffirming their reputations as two of the world's leading double reed artists.

Wednesday, the last day of the conference, opened with a session entitled "Oboe - Solo and Ensemble" which featured several ensembles and solo work by the versatile Alfred Hertel of Vienna. The Ensemble Aulophonia of Austria began the concert with a performance of an attractive work for oboe ensemble by Werner Schulze entitled Aulophonia. Mr. Hertel performed as a member of this ensemble, playing four different instruments: oboe, oboe d'amore, English horn, and musette. He then played three works for oboe: two Baroque pieces and a short contemporary composition by Meinhard Rudenauer. Later in the recital he performed Schulze's Heckelphonia for heckelphone solo. Hertel's performance were remarkable not only because he played various instruments, but also because of his beautiful ornamentation of the Baroque pieces.

Also on this program, the Quintette Rigodon of France gave one of the most impressive ensemble performances of the entire week. Its program included transcriptions of three canzonas by Frescobaldi and the Bitsch Suite Baroque d'apres J. S. Bach. The group was sensitive and well-rehearsed, and the members were very careful about the matching of tone quality. However, considering their proficiency, their program was not especially challenging. This reviewer would have enjoyed hearing the group I I sink its teeth" into a really difficult work. The Zephyr Quartet of Mannheim ended the concert with an exciting performance of transcriptions of Mozart and Beethoven string quartets.

The final IDRS Congress concert in Graz on Wednesday night featured large double reed ensembles in several Renaissance and Baroque pieces as well as a transcription of a symphonic work by Jeno Takacs. The concert, capably conducted by Pall Pampichler Palsson, was held in the courtyard of the historic Landhaus. A fireworks display during the playing of the Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks provided a festive end to the concert. Following the program, a delightful reception was given by the Mayor of Graz at a restaurant overlooking the beautiful city.

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