The Oboist's Companion is a meticulously worked-out method by one of the world's leading virtuosos. Evelyn Rothwell has seemingly designed this book for the oboe student who must "go it alone." Every detail is carefully attended to; a readable text and lots of photographs insure that nothing be left to chance. The musical selections are charming and tastefully chosen and always most appropriate for the oboe playing problems at hand. Several appendices take up such practical subjects as "buying an oboe," "taking care of the oboe," "reeds for beginners." It seems that this book will be of value not only to beginners but as an example of thoroughness to those who teach them. I am eagerly awaiting the appearance of Volume 2. The Oboist's Companion is published by Oxford University Press.
Miroslav Hosek's Oboen Bibliographie I is an impressive accomplishment. It lists over 4,000 titles of oboe solo and ensemble music in a beautiful, easy-to-use format of 403 pages. Mr. Hosek introduced the volume in great detail in TTWO, Volume II No. 2. There are many omissions, especially of American music, but there are many interesting listings of works by eastern European composers. Mr. Hosek hopes to fill the gaps in the next volume of the Bibliographie. It is published by Heinrichshofen's Verlag of Wilhelmshaven. Michael Finkelman, of Philadelphia, whose list of English horn literature drew so much praise at the Miami meeting of the IDRS in 1974, recently visited with Mr. Hosek and sent along this report in a letter dated May 29 from which I quote:
"On May 25 I was in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia to visit Miroslav Hosek, our well-known colleague (and for me a fellow bibliographer). It was a most interesting and delightful day. Hosek received me most cordially (he doesn't look much like his picture in the TTWO); along with him was a woman who spoke French and who acted as an interpreter. Later when she had to leave, the language problem became a little trying. Apart from Czech, Hosek speaks German and Russian. He has very little knowledge of English, French, or Italian. My knowledge of German is poor but somehow we communicated.
For someone living in a fairly small city (100,000 people) in central Czechoslovakia, his researches are quite copious. He has a card file of some 6,000 titles plus a list of roughly 4,000 more. The bibliography is being printed by Heinrichshofen as you know, and Hosek showed me proofs from the printer. His fifteen years of work have yielded an excellent compilation, but the work does have some flaws. It is immediately apparent that the compiler has not had access to a great many of the world's most important library and publishing sources, especially those in the United States. This certainly has something to do with his comparatively isolated location.
Hosek (who is a fine player, by the way) and the other two oboists in the theater, whom I met that evening preceding a performance of Madame Butterfly, all used instruments made in East Germany (Moennings I think). They may not order Lorées from Paris. I suppose they are required to use instruments made in the socialist countries, though one of the bassoonists in the orchestra (the only person in town who could speak English at all - he is a translator for Hosek) has a Heckel, so apparently I don't understand it all.
After the opera, we came back to Hosek's house and talked as well as we could about instruments and reeds. I showed him my instruments and explained how the non-automatic octave mechanism works. He seemed impressed, if not awed, by the instruments. I have Laubin instruments - for Hosek the Lorée is something of a legend. I gave him some pieces of Glotin cane, which cannot be gotten in Czechoslovakia. It was a small gesture of thanks for so much hospitality.
I might mention before closing that Hosek has begun a nice little bibliography of English horn music. He is going to help me locate some manuscripts of Czech pieces. Where he finds the time to compile these huge bibliographies and still make reeds and practice, I do not know. He works seven days a week, morning, afternoon, and evening, with only Sunday afternoon and Monday evening free. He told me he works at night - as a joke - but I believe it!"