Editor's Note: Charles Lehrer is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and is the English horn player of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. He received the B.A. from Trenton State College in 1962; during his undergraduate years he studied privately with Louis Rosenblatt, John deLancie, and Alfred Genovese. Dr. Lehrer received the M.M. in performance from Boston University in 1965 where his teacher was Ralph Gomberg and in 1968 he graduated from the University of Michigan with the DMA in performance. His teacher at Michigan was Florian Mueller.
Over the past 15 or so years, a great number of performers on the oboe have become part of the academic community. This has, by its very nature, caused somewhat of a revolution in the way that these oboists approach the concept of performance, mainly because they are expected to give recitals of the kind produced by their colleagues who are violinists, pianists, and singers.
Speaking from my own experience, I would report that as a student in college, I and most of my oboe-playing friends practiced our Barret and Ferling and looked forward to the day when we would play our instruments in major symphony orchestras. For me, though, a direction considered by many to be somewhat unusual was occurring: I was developing my greatest interest in playing the oboe as a soloist. The record industry was starting to produce many oboe recordings which brought to light the fact that there was an interesting solo repertory for any oboist who wished to pursue it.
Because of my attitude, I felt myself standing (or should I say practicing) alone. My friends were either going to be high school band directors or play in symphony orchestras; teaching in a university and playing recitals was not much discussed. I now can smile as I remember back that not all of my teachers were exactly overjoyed about the way I wanted to play the oboe: one used to call me the "concerto player" because here I was, practically a beginner on my instrument but wanting to spend all my time practicing the Bach Double. I remember well another of my teachers who was worried that I moved my body too much as I played into the Mozart and Vaughan Williams Concerti. But, I understood his reasons: he was preparing me for the symphony world where by tradition the wind players sit calmly while they are playing. I used to think to myself that I wanted to play the oboe like Menuhin and Stern played their violins!
Of course with the coming of such players as Mr. Heinz Holliger, things have greatly improved for the young student who looks forward to playing primarily the soloistic music for our instrument. As a result of the work of Holliger and before that, Leon Goossens, our young students have finally acquired the right to concentrate on the concerti and sonatas rather than the orchestral literature, the right to develop their own personal style, and above all, the right to move like Menuhin and Stern!
This brings me to the basic idea of this essay, which is the preparation and production of solo recitals that the "new type of oboist" will play, in particular the recitals expected of oboists teaching in institutions of higher learning. I find the production of such recitals to be most gratifying, with the selection of appropriate literature from the repertory to be a challenge exceeded only by the creation of the reeds needed to play such programs.
I must first stress that recitals of this kind are usually prepared long in advance of the concert date with at least a preceding summer needed for reed-making of a most serious nature: no less than twelve exceptional reeds must be made (which of course means making about 50 total) and kept in reserve for the last few days of practice before the recital, the best of these then used for the actual performance.
I feel strongly about the importance of owning first-rate tools for the production of the reeds, such as the gouging machines and shapers made by Friedrich Sassenberg of Berlin. Reeds must be devised in such a manner that they will hold themselves up throughout an hour or so of strenuous playing without overly tiring the embouchure: for this very reason I gouge 11 mm. tubes at .54 mm. (center) and use a shaper with a maximum tip width of 6.80 mm. The overall length of my finished reeds when placed on a staple of 47 mm. is 69 mm.
Also, I own two Loree oboes which are very closely matched in most playing qualities in order that I might change quickly during a recital should there be any mechanical problems which cannot be easily corrected on the spot. As for the English Horn and oboe d'amore, I own only one of each (Lorees) and am therefore confronted with a greater risk during a recital.
The reader will note that many of my programs introduce works which were not originally meant to be played on the oboe for example, the Bach and Buxtehude Sonatas. I play these because I find them interesting to study and work out. The problems of adaptation are unique to each work and require a familiarity with music history and therefore performance practices of all periods. The wonderful recordings now being produced by the Concentus Musicus, the Early Music Quartet, the Capella Antiqua Munich, and Musica Reservata help lighten this work because one can now hear excellent performances of music written in all the historical periods of Western Culture from the 12th Century to the present. Also our great universities help the performer by offering courses in performance practices in order to prepare us for such tasks as adding ornamentation, articulation and cadenzas to a Baroque sonata.
In the following paragraphs I will discuss in some detail the yearly recitals given by me since September of 1968 at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Given in September 1968, this included the following music:
This was my debut recital at U Mass and I was offered only a pianist as accompanist. It was my thought that this program would serve as a modest introduction to the Baroque and 20th-Century literature of my instrument and would give me ample opportunity to demonstrate my familiarity with French and Italian ornamentation in the Baroque works. For the 20th-Century music, I was, of course, unsure of my audience; hence I played no "New Music." The encore was the first movement of the Francaix L'horloge de Flore.
As it turned out, the audience mostly did not care for the Poulenc and felt that the Telemann was the best of the repertoire displayed. Perhaps this was because of the last-minute services of cellist, Joel Krosnick provided together with a new harpsichord bought especially for the occasion. In any case, the interplay of three performers really excited the audience.
The following recital of March 1969 was a result of my belief, as confirmed in the previous September, that an oboist appears to better advantage when he or she walks onto the stage with more than just a pianist. For this recital, I gathered together many of my new colleagues for chamber music works, each of which included the oboe as a major component:
I can report that the Mozart was the work I was most asked about, for very few persons attending had ever heard it. The Hekster was a bit much for many of the non-Music Faculty who were not interested in or acquainted with the "New Music."
For me, it was the Schumann that was the greatest challenge, for this music was originally composed to be performed by vocal quartet and piano. In my version, I substituted cello for the tenor role, and the oboe or English Horn became the alto (unless there was a tenor part I coveted, in which case I took this also).
The previous experiment with the Schumann Spanisches Liederspiel, that is, of arranging works that I wanted to play for the ensemble that was available rather than that for which it was originally conceived, led to further experiments. The recital of March 1970 included Heinrich Schutz, Anima mea liquefacta est.; J. S. Bach, Sonata BWV 528; Donizetti, Sonata; Loeffler L'etang; Karen Tarlow, Games for Three; and Monteverdi, Five Scherzi Musicali.
The Schutz, Bach, and Monteverdi each are arrangements of extremely beautiful works. The placement of the Donizetti was just right: it gave the audience something to talk about during the intermission and had served perfectly to relieve the gravity of the preceding Schutz and Bach compositions. The Tarlow, a student composition for oboe, viola, and piano, relieved the gloomy Loeffler, with the Monteverdi serving as the grand piece de resistance by pulling together the whole cast, as it were, for an opera finale.
My lapses into an operatic frame of mind have served me well over the years, and the next recital, perhaps the most successful I have ever given, is a good example of this kind of procedure: Henry Purcell, music for the Gordian Knot Unty'd; Robert Schumann, Drei Romanzen (a change in pianists just one week before the recital made it impossible to schedule the Schuller Sonata, after all that work!); Bellini, Concerto; Philip Bezanson, Concertino; and J. S. Bach, Concerto for Oboe and Violin.
This recital, given in March of 1971, opened with another one of my adaptations; and to make this opening super-festive, I included the piccolo trumpet. I was worried that the Purcell might overshadow the Bach Double, fortunately, it was the Bach propelled by the Bellini which brought the audience to an incredible high at the end. I heard comments like, "That Bellini is a riot, but the Bach . . . it's another Brandenburg!" The truth I learned here is that the whole cast does not necessarily have to be on-stage for the finale. What seems to be required is just more than you and a pianist: but, that final work must be in some way spectacular!
I would like to interject at this point that I do spend much time considering the historical periods that I would like to project to my audience on a particular recital. One could give a recital of oboe music featuring each of the eras in which this instrument was or is in use. But as the oboist's solo 19th-Century Romantic repertory is slim, adjustments have to be made in most recitals to disguise what is lacking, but what an audience has come to expect in recitals of other orchestral instruments and especially in piano and voice recitals.
The following recital is an example of how I handled the problem of the missing Romantic repertoire: I wanted to play two particular Bach Cantatas very much, but in order not to bore the audience with too much of the same quality of sound, a work of another century was needed. The Schubert Octet of the Romantic Era would have been perfect, unfortunately it contains no oboe part. Instead, the Stravinsky Cantata being of the same genre as the Bach compositions, was chosen to bind the recital together.
The recital of September 1971 included the Bach Cantatas Ich habe genug and Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen, and were separated as I mentioned above by the Stravinsky Cantata. All of the arias in the Bach Cantatas were played on either oboe or English Horn with the organ taking accompanying string and continuo roles. Needless to say, this recital was a joy to put together. The chorales ending each Bach cantata do not occur in the originals, but seem appropriate: the effect of an oboist conducting a small chorus while playing is, I am told, overwhelming!
After several of the tour de force type recitals which culminated in the cantata-fest, I turned toward the joint recital plan; first with flautist, Joanne Tanner in October of 1972.
Our plan was to play two works together after we had each played a solo work. The order finally became: Telemann, Quartet in D minor; J. S. Bach, Oboe Concerto in G minor; Telemann, Sonata for Flute and Continuo in G major; and J. S. Bach, Musical Offering Trio Sonata.
The Bach Trio was well received and we encored with one of the many canons from the Musical Offering. The Bach Concerto had been adapted by me for oboe and organ from the version given in the Neue Bach Ausgabe of the F minor Harpsichord Concerto transposed to G minor for violin.
The second of my duo recitals followed in September 1973 with Walter Chesnut playing trumpet. At the time of the preparation of what was to be advertised as an all Baroque recital composer Alvin Etler, who taught at nearby Smith College, died. As he was an oboist, I thought it only fitting that his oboe sonata called Introduction and Allegro be performed. This led to the addition of another 20th-Century work, namely Donald Erb's Diversion for Two, the "two" being trumpet and percussion.
My interest in the music of Bach and Purcell brought forth yet two more adaptations: Purcell's music for the Virtuous Wife and the Bach Sonata BWV 529. The order became: Purcell; Bach; Krebs, Chorale Preludes (trumpet and organ); Etler; Purcell, Trumpet Sonata; and Erb. Working with organist Bill McCorkle, who is an expert in Baroque ornamentation and variation, forced me to compose variations for all the repeats in Purcell's Virtuous Wife dance suite. Since Bill had simply improvised his variations perfectly without writing a thing down, I felt that in the future I would need to explore the area of variation in more depth.
The order of the recital for September 1974 was: John Dowland, two dances from Lachrimae of 1604; J. S. Bach, Sonata BWV 525; J. D. Zelenka, Trio Sonata IV; Hindemith, Oboe Sonata; and Poulenc, Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano.
The Dowland dances were in need of florid ornamentation for the repeats. Therefore, this time around I turned to the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, at first only for ideas, but by good fortune came upon variations of the very dances I wanted to ornament: what a time-saver, particularly since I needed much time to work out the articulation in the Bach and to get the Zelenka practically memorized. (With the six Zelenka sonatas, take no chances. If one player gets off in those fugues, it's all over!). The Hindemith and Poulenc compositions were played especially for students who were engaged in learning these staples of the repertory. I couldn't help but ornament the ostinato passage which appears at the end of the Hindemith Sonata: only my oboe students got the joke!
The famous Hindemith and Poulenc compositions had not made the biggest hit on the recital of 1974. Many of my colleagues found these works either distasteful or boring (or both!) despite all the efforts we as performers made to really give a careful and clear rendition of each. Therefore, I knew that in order to offset this past lapse in programming, a super-work would be in order for the upcoming recital for 1975: although I wanted to play the Martinu Concerto, I eventually settled on the Vaughan Williams Concerto as the piano reduction is the more practical of the two.
The recital of September 1975 opened with Buxtehude's Sonata II, Op. 2 and was followed by the Vaughan Williams Concerto, three Bach arias for Oboe, Bass, and Continuo, and Telemann's Concerto for Two Oboes, Trumpet, and Continuo.
The Buxtehude trio sonata, originally for violin, gamba, and continuo was played in my version for oboe, horn, and continuo. The horn on the gamba line sounds most impressive. I must report that the Vaughan Williams was much liked by everyone, the cadenzas receiving much comment. The Telemann Concerto with the high clarino trumpet part was the perfect finale.
The main problem I have encountered in producing recitals of the type demanded by my audience, is that I constantly feel the pressure to top the previous year's concert. Also, what is reality for me, namely the struggle to produce reeds to play these concerts and the fear of water in a key during a difficult passage, is of little interest to those who come to hear me. Because I am so aware of what this audience demands, namely, to be moved or entertained through the works I play and the way in which I play them, I am willing to spend the great amount of time deciding the choice of repertoire and its order in the recital in the hope that these yearly events might be satisfying experiences for all.
I would hope that my commentary above might be of value to those of my colleagues who work in Academia performing such concerts as I have described. As those of us in this profession are all aware, both tenure and promotion decisions often rest upon these very recitals. Therefore, extreme care must be taken in their preparation.
Now I must turn to thinking of next year's offering: perhaps several Dufay Chansons, followed by the Hekster Concerto, then something very calm and very easy. . .
Faculty Recital Series
Wednesday, September 25, 1968, 8:00 P.M.
Bowker Auditorium
CHARLES LEHRER oboe
MIRIAM WHAPLES piano
Francois Couperin -- Troisième Concert Royal (c. 1715)
G.P.Telemann -- Sonata in G minor (1732)
Intermission
Francis Poulenc -- Sonata (1962)
Arnold Cooke -- Sonata (1957)
Faculty Recital Series
Wednesday, March 19, 1969, 8:00 P.M.
Bowker Auditorium
In order of appearance
DOROTHY ORNEST, soprano
CHARLES
LEHRER, oboe and English horn
JOEL KROSNICK, cello
MIRIAM WHAPLES,
harpsichord
PHILIPP NAEGELE*, violin
ERNST WALLFISCH*, viola and viola
da gamba
WILLIAM WITTIG*, flute
ROBERT STERN, harpsichord
JOHN
D'ARMAND, bass
CHARLES FUSSELL, piano
*Smith College faculty
Faculty Recital Series
Wednesday, March 18, 1970, 8:00 P.M.
Bowker Auditorium
assisting artists:
Dorothy Ornest, soprano
Donna
Harler, soprano
Mildred Johnson*, viola
Joel Krosnick,
cello
Margaret Rice, '71, cello
Jon Humphrey, tenor
John D'Armand, bass
Miriam Whaples, piano and harpsichord
Peter Tanner, percusssion
*Bennett College Faculty
Heinrich Schütz -- Anima mea liquefacta est, SWV 263-64 (from Symphoniae sacrae I, 1629)
Johann Sebastian Bach -- Sonata a tre, after BWV 76 and 528 (1723)
Gaetano Donizetti -- Sonata for Oboe and Piano
Charles Martin Loeffler -- L'Etang (from Deux Rhapsodies, 1905)
Karen Tarlow, '70 -- Games for Three (1970)
Claudio Monteverdi -- Scherzi musicali (1607)
Faculty Recital Series
Sunday, April 4, 1971, 8:00 P.M.
Bowker Auditorium
assisting artists:
Walter Chesnut, piccolo trumpet
Joseph Contino, alto recorder
Laurie Appleby, English horn
Margaret Rice, cello
Julian Olvesky, violin
Estela Olevsky, piano
Dwight Peltzer, piano
Miriam Whaples, piano
John King, organ
Henry Purcell -- The Gordian Knot Unty'd, Z 597 (1691)
Gunther Schuller -- Sonata for Oboe and Piano (1948-51)
Vincenzo Bellini -- Concerto per Oboe
Philip Bezanson -- Concertino for Oboe (1969)
Johann Sebastian Bach -- Concerto per Hautbois e Violino, BWV 1060
Faculty Recital Series
Wednesday, September 22, 1971, 8:00 P.M.
Bowker Auditorium
CHARLES LEHRER Oboe
DONNA HARLER Soprano
JOHN D'ARMAND Bass
JOHN KING Organ
THE MADRIGAL SINGERS
DONNA HARLER Soprano
JON HUMPHREY Tenor
JOANNE TANNER Flute I
BARBARA ROHNERT Flute II
CHARLES LEHRER Oboe
LAURIE APPLEBY English Horn
JOHN SESSIONS Cello
THE WOMEN'S CHOIR
ALAN HARLER Conductor
Faculty Recital Series
Tuesday, October 3, 1972, 8:00 P.M.
Bowker Auditorium
Assisting artists:
Leopold Teraspulsky cello
John King organ
Miriam Whaples harpsichord
Goerg Phillip Telemann -- Quartet No. 1 in d minor (1733)
Johann Sebastian Bach -- Concerto for Oboe in g minor BWV 1`056 (c. 1729)
Georg Philipp Telemann -- Sonata for Flute in G Major
Johann Sebastian Bach -- Trio Sonata in c minor from Musikalishes Opfer BWV 1079 (1747)
Faculty Recital Series
Sunday, September 16, 1973, 8:00 P.M.
Bowker Auditorium
assisting artists:
WILLIAM MCCORKLE organ
PETER TANNER percussion
MIRIAM WHAPLES piano and harpsichord
Henry Purcell -- Music for the Virtuous Wife, Z. 611 (c. 1694)
Johann Sebastian Bach -- Sonata à tre BWV 529 (c. 1730)
Johann Ludwig Krebs -- Chorale Preludes
Alvin Etler -- Introduction and Allegro (1952)
Henry Purcell -- Sonata for Trumpet in D, Z. 850 (c. 1694)
Donald Erb -- Diversion for Two (other than sex) (1966)
Faculty Recital Series
Sunday, September 13, 1974, 8:00 P.M.
Bowker Auditorium
assisted by:
Paula Pardee, piano and organ
Joanne Tanner, flute
Linda Smith, bassoon
Janet Lyford, bassoon
John Dowland -- Lachrimae (1604)
Johann Sebastian Bach -- Sontat I BWV 525 (C. 1730)
Johann Dismas Zelenka -- Sonata IV (1723)
Paul Hindemith -- Sonata for Oboe and Piano (1938)
Francis Poulenc -- Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano (1926)
Faculty Recital Series
Wednesday, September 17, 1975, 8:00 P.M.
Bowker Auditorium
assisting artists:
Paula Pardee, piano and organ
Laura Klock, horn
Rodney Gisick, bass
Walter Chesnut, trumpet
Joanne Tanner, flute
Dietrich Buxethude -- Sonata II, Opus 2
Ralph Vaughan Williams -- Oboe Concerto
Johann Sebastian Bach -- Arias for Oboe, Bass, and Continuo
Georg Philipp Telemann -- Concerto a Quattro