Author: jamesoboe
Date: 2008-04-10 23:56
hi mel
you're right, i do, indeed, know mr. roberts, or julian as i prefer to call him. i also know his son, john. i gave him a lesson or two just before his quarter-final round of young musician of the year. i have been teaching him how to make reeds before he starts lessons down in london with chris cowie, the principal oboe of the philharmonia orchestra. julian roberts is an amazing bassoonist, and i have every reason to suspect that john, his son, will become a very fine oboist, too. the bliss oboe quintet is a very beautiful work, though i don't know how well known it is in america; there are many players from the usa who contribute to this board. the bliss is often coupled with the bax oboe quartet to provide a good representation of 20th century british composers in this niche repertoire. however, i feel mention needs to be made of finzi's interlude for oboe and string quartet, as it is stunningly beautiful and very haunting. i'd be very interested to hear about any oboe quartets/quintets by american composers which members feel are wonderful, or deserve to be better known. as an afterthought, i feel the best british oboe quartet is benjamin brittens phantasy quartet, which, i feel, could stand shoulder to shoulder with mozart's oboe quartet, if that's not going too far! james
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