Leon Goossens
Jerold A. Sundet is professor of music at Minot State College and conductor of the Minot Symphony Orchestra, Minot, North Dakota. He has studied the oboe with both Leon Goossens and Evelyn Barbirolli This article is reprinted from the November, 1973 issue of the SCHOOL MUSICIAN DIRECTOR and TEACHER Magazine (Joliet, Illinois) with the kind permission of the publisher.
Various styles of woodwind playing have greatly influenced performers and teachers during the past two hundred years. Some of these styles derived from national characteristics and some have stemmed from the impact of individuals whose artistry is so outstanding that it has transcended national characteristics. The French concept of sound is still different from the German, although these national differences are amalgamating due to the profusion and influence of good recording equipment and ease of travel, making world music centers more accessible to musicians.
The oboe and the bassoon seem to have resisted amalgamation of style and the differences appear to be more polarized than in the other woodwind instruments. Reed preferences, individual concepts of sound, and national characteristics are some of the reasons for this polarization. With the oboe particularly, the influence of prestigious artists has had the effect of resisting eclecticism and two "schools" of playing have been in vogue during the past twenty-five years.
The leaders of these "schools" (perhaps the word styles would be more appropriate) have been Leon Goossens, the renowned and venerable oboist from England, and Marcel Tabuteau, influential principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra in the U.S.A. The Goossens stamp is still apparent in leading orchestras in England, and the Tabuteau influence, which had such a great impact on the East coast, has reached into all parts of the U. S. due to the intense dedication of Tabuteau's many pupils. Superficially, the two schools can be defined as the "bright" sound of the Goossens style and the "dark" sound of the Tabuteau. These two men have had their disciples, each earning respect from his colleagues. But most important has been the powerful impact each has made on oboe styles in various parts of the world.
Leon Goossens, through his recordings, was my initial introduction to oboe playing. I was a clarinetist but interested in becoming proficient on the oboe. This was in 1949. However, between the years 1949-1960 I became acquainted with the Tabuteau style through teachers who were Tabuteau students. Lingering in my mind during this period was a curiosity and respect for the sound of Leon Goossens. I never could completely lose my preference for the light, limpid, and seemingly breathless style of Goossens' playing and I found an affinity for points of his sound which other students, involved with the Tabuteau style, found less desirable. Whenever I heard a recording of Goossens' playing I always asked myself how he arrived at such a sound? How did one play with such a flexible line in all styles of music? Why did the sound have such a "spun out" and breathless quality?
Obviously, the best way these questions could be answered would be through private study with the man, but for twenty years this opportunity did not present itself. In the fall of 1971 however, while on a year's leave from Minot State College, I had the fortunate opportunity of meeting and working with him. This was a delay of some twenty-two years after first hearing Leon Goossens play via the old Columbia recording of the Mozart Oboe Quartet with members of the Lener Quartet.
Leon Goossens at seventy-five looks no more than fifty-five. Erect, genial, with firm features, holder of Commander of the Order of the British Empire, he looks the part of a successful business executive. He lives with his wife Leslie, a former professional dancer, in the west section of London where at the present time he teaches three students, gives a number of lecture recitals a month and performs considerable chamber music. All of his teaching is done in his studio which is separate from his house. The studio is equipped with a Bechstein grand piano, record and tape player and recordings. It is tastefully furnished with pieces that the couple have gathered over the years. Perhaps the most important single item in the studio is his oboe, an F. Loree, serial AA89, simple (thumbplate) system which was made especially for him when he was ten years of age. He has not used another instrument and the wood has been so worn away by the right thumb that a "patch" had to be applied to that section of the oboe.
Armed with this instrument and the Salviani Oboe Method (still available from Ricordi), he began his lessons with Charles Reynolds, oboist of Manchester's Halle Orchestra. As he showed me his oboe he commented on the fact that it had no double action and was "stripped down." It has no plateaus, but rings instead, and the only added keywork is an alternate C sharp for the left hand. My reed would not fit into the top of the instrument. The lining of the finial had been worn through by sixty-four years of inserting oboe staples in the top. By wrapping around the cork of the staple it was possible to get my reed to fit and I had the opportunity to play the instrument. The thumbplate gave me some trouble but I was struck by the ease of response and the brightness of sound. He eyed me carefully as I ran a scale and remarked, "Yes, scales are most important. After awhile you actually get to love them. I work everyday on scales; they are gradually improving." I thought of the students who believe they are finished with scales after the age of fourteen or when they have "memorized" them; and then considered this statement by this man considered among the greatest living oboists.
Sometimes Mr. Goossens and I would prelude a lesson with duets and it was a pleasure to follow his meticulous phrasing. During one of these sessions he mentioned the tragic auto accident which nearly cost him his life, doing great damage to his mouth, teeth, and lips, fracturing ribs and doing other tissue damage. For most oboists, even those less than half his age, this could have meant the end of a career. A tribute to courage and determination, it was a slow road back to performance for Leon Goossens at the age of sixty-five, but three years after the accident he played a recital in New York's Town Hall. Barry Wynne has written a sensitive account of Goossens' triumph over this accident in his book Music in the Wind (London; Souvenir Press, 1967 - and Toronto, Canada Ryerson Press, 1967).
"Reeds? Really, I haven't made one since 1926." He gets semi-finished ones, blanks on tubes and finished reeds from admirers all over the world, and his reeds last an incredibly long time. He uses a reed with a short U scrape which has very little resistance. He immediately found fault with my reed for its heaviness. In his mind it lacked flexibility and simply required too much effort to get the job done. "Decidedly unhealthy to play that way," he said. I wondered if he was speaking of my physical well-being or the music being performed on what now seemed to be a three-ply board! It was difficult for me to make the U scrape after years of making a modified Tabuteau scrape and it would always come out with the "hill" back of the tip and with the heavy wood in the spine and the back.
I had many questions for Mr. Goossens concerning his professional life. What was his most terrifying moment in performance? "Giving the A in the orchestra." Did he ever feel that he had become jaded in his work as an orchestra oboist? "Never. A person should never look sideways at orchestral playing. It is the basis for ensemble work and very important to the development of musicianship." Did he do much ensemble work in his earlier years? He told me that, as a young man in his teens, he performed in informal sessions in the Chelsea area of London with such musical giants as Rubenstein and Casals. These were chamber music sessions that went on, as he put it, "all night." An interesting comment considering the New York Times, in reviewing his recital in Town Hall after his accident stated: "He has been venerated as the Heifetz, Rubenstein, and Casals of the oboe." The New York Herald Tribune has said that, " . . . he is clearly a master of his instrument," and that he " . . . is musical in his instincts - an artist as well as a virtuoso." The London Daily Telegraph called him " . . . the incomparable oboist of our time," and the Berliner Zeitung stated that, "He is incomparable."
Because it was believed that oboists would be interested in a discography of Leon Goossens' recordings, a list was compiled from his private library. Unfortunately, many of the older discs were lost because of a theft some years ago, but he did have a complete listing of all recording work he had done; solo and ensemble. In this discography only solo titles were used. There were three main considerations which had to be taken into account: (1) the titles currently in catalogues and generally available, (2) titles which were out of print but which could likely be found by record hunting specialists, and (3) labels which were British but could be found cut by companies in the U. S. The record conglomerate in England today is called the Electric and Musical Industries Limited of Hayes, Middlesex (E.M.I.), and the majority of labels such as H.M.V. or Angel are handled by this company.
Anyone desiring this list or information of its contents should write to: Dr. Jerold A. Sundet, Professor of Music Minot State College, Minot, S. D. 58701.