Author: jamesoboe
Date: 2008-07-22 00:19
Hi Loree BF51
I'm not aware of Ms Girdwood having studied in the USA at anytime, I have her recording of the Canzonetta and it sounds like a standard Howarth tone to my ears. But I can understand your confusion - When I hear some of the darker American oboe sounds they seem rather like the British sounds of the 80's-90's. Back then many Brits went to study in Germany and came back with a rather dark, somewhat heavy set-up. Things have freed up a degree since then, which I feel is all to the good. I think the days of referring to the British, French, German, Dutch oboe schools are becoming obsolete. Very many now have studied all over Europe and beyond, and have, in so doing, found their own sound. Using Leon Goossens, Pierre Pierlot, Lothar Koch, Hans de Vries etc., as reference tools for today's Players is no longer valid. It's quite hard to pinpoint with any certainty these days where such and such a player might hail from. I studied in London and Karlsruhe, Germany, and, only today, was teaching a very talented girl who started learning oboe in Glasgow, then London, and is now studying in Leipzig.
Equally, I listened to the oboe and cor of the Orchestre Phiharmonique de Radio France, in today's Prom. They both sounded very beautiful, but not anything like Pierlot. And I'm pretty sure I don't sound anything like Leon Goossens! Times have certainly moved on a huge amount.
I have many recordings of American oboists in my collection, and I can hear quite a lot of variety of tones across the board. So there has definitely been movement parallel to, and at tangents to, the Tabuteau starting point. Change is inevitable, I suppose.
Regards, James.
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