Author: jamesoboe
Date: 2008-05-21 20:03
Hi bobo
sorry for taking time in replying, I've been walking round like a zombie these last few months. My band only got back from a tour of holland about six weeks ago, then i had to organise my students for their end of year oboe exam (spoon-feeding like you wouldn't believe! Plus making them reeds!!!!!! Don't get me started!), and now we're rehearsing for our tour to China, flying on Monday. Added to this, I have a second study oboe student to organise for her oboe exam which takes place while I'm away on tour. Yet again, more reed making and profound spoon-feeding!!! I'm beginning to wonder whether music was the right choice for a career. Training to be an Astronaut would have been far more sensible!
As regards talking like a 'Beatle', that only happens when I'm very drunk. I left home at 16 and a quarter of a century later, away from Liverpool, the accent is mostly under wraps. The revelation about my home-town accent being only a slither under the surface came during a stint as principal oboe somewhere in Portugal almost 15 years ago. I decided to try Tequila slammers in great abundance, one evening, in the local bar, affectionately known as the Parrot, due to said bird behind the bar. Rather quickly the alcohol took hold of me and somehow I lost part control of my embouchure muscles and began slurring in the thickest scouse accent to have ever offended any sane person's ears! Absolute shock to me, as I thought it was gone for good, but no!, there it was for all to hear as they carried me back to my flat somewhere in town!
Stefan Schilli was only 19 (I was 23) when he joined my oboe class in Germany. I tell you, you have never heard such outrageously fast single tongueing from an oboist, coupled with a mostly flawless finger technique. Listen to those Vivaldi oboe concertos of his again and try to spot any poorly executed trills. You may have some difficulty. I only have a few Alex Klein cds - the Krommer cd, which I don't really like, and the Telemann Fantasias cd, which I think is very good. It's very difficult to not be swayed by ones home-grown influences, and my favourite performers mostly tend to be this side of the pond. No-one does it for me entirely, but I made a few discoveries, recently. So, putting aside the all too obvious choices of Albrecht Mayer and Francois Leleux; I have been mightily impressed by Nicholas Daniel's Strauss oboe concerto recording - http://www.theclassicalshop.net/details06MP3.asp?CNumber=CHAN%209286
and was very impressed by the sensitivity of my fellow class-mate, Dudu Carmel in his recording of Bach trio sonatas - http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6409992&style=classical&cart=722240090
Their virtuosity is taken for granted but their range of nuance, vibrato and tone colour keeps my ear tuned-in. So many players can move their fingers with amazing velocity these days that it ceases to be enough to keep the interest. Now, for me, it's the something extra that wins the day.
Click on the samplers and see if you like these players, too. Definitely some great playing there. James
ps: proof, if any were needed, that quick fingered oboists are everywhere these days can be found in this YouTube video of Paolo Grazia - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DrPjASLvnKE
Post Edited (2008-05-21 20:29)
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