Author: jamesoboe
Date: 2008-06-11 05:45
Hi kdrew922
your thread made me smile because it suggested several things about us as oboists which I think are generally true. Holliger excites lots of debate about what is truly great playing, and what we choose to recognise as a beautiful tone.
One thing is for sure - we ARE conditioned to prefer approaches to oboe playing that most closely match localised ideals with which we have become familiar. This can result in illogical condemnations of great players the world over merely because they do not fit into our bubble of preconceptions! Even here in Europe Holliger's playing can cause division. Generally, however, we admit that his career, taken as a whole, has shown us what the oboe is capable of and how very few players can reach him on an average day. It's very telling that non-oboists found his playing the more profoundly pleasing than the players the oboe mafia would prefer us to admire. When I first heard Holliger's, or Bourgue's playing, around the age of 15, I thought it was very strange, indeed. Now, 25 years later, the shock of the other-ness of their playing, is no longer felt. Instead, I hear the mastery of the instrument, coupled with the majesty of their artistry. I think a simple truism is - when our reeds get heavier to create some sort of limited ideal of a 'dark tone' our expression tends to suffer. Basically, we sound more boring. Take, for example, the Berlin oboe sound of the 70's, which was raved about back then - when taken out of its orchestral context it became a heavy sound with a bleating vibrato and almost no dynamic range. Consequently, it would quickly tire on the ears when playing standard repertoire.
I've lost count the number of times in my job when non-oboists in my band could not tell that my reed was noticably better or worse from one moment to the next. All they seemed to notice was the expression. Did I make good use of vibrato, dynamics, nuance ect. and did it seem effortless to produce the sound. Usually, my heavier, warmer? reeds don't excite as much interest as my freer ones. A simple truth! That said, I am still happiest when my reeds are, perhaps, a little too heavy and dark, and remain within my tonal comfort zone. But I'm no Holliger, and demand far less of myself than he does. There is a wonderful clip of him on YouTube demonstrating facets of oboe playing that most of us would struggle with - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fWTdi3iO5z0 - In general, his free expression comes with certain sacrifices to tonal vanity, but the musicianship more than makes up for it. These days I try to steer clear of the 'preferred school of oboe playing' argument, and ask myself "Does each oboist I listen to excite my attention with their control of the instrument, and, above all, does their artistry really speak to me?" Isn't that the acid test? I think we will universally fail to agree what makes a great oboe sound - what is dark, what is thin ect., but take a step back from the oboe and let the music take command, then we are surely going in the right direction. James
Post Edited (2008-06-11 16:29)
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