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Re: Taken For Granted...

Author: JRC
Date: 2011-03-11 21:39

I did not know about the history of oboe vibrato. This is the first time I hear that Leon Goossens was credited for "inventing" vibrato in oboe playing. Goossens was born in 1897 and joined Queen's Hall Orchestra in 1912 at the age of 15. So if he was the originator of vibrato, it would have been later than 1912. Reginald Kell, one of the greatest clarinetists of all time and also an Englishman, was 9 years younger than Goossens. Kell also used vibrato in clarinet. I wonder if there is a connection.

I grew up worshiping Goossens and my friend clarinetist worshiping Kell. We imitated them, copy them, collected every recording we could find and studied them note by note, and listening to them days and nights. I wanted to become the next Goossens and my friend the next Kell. Those were the dream filled wonderful years. I used to practice 8 –10 hours every night and pretended as if I did not practice at all to others. And later I found out that the others were also practicing at nights and also pretending. Competitive spirits among us were very high. More than half of us later found some other ways to make living other than music and some stayed in music.

The greatest achievement of Goossens, in my mind, is that he made himself a musician. Everything about his performance was music. Oboe happened to be the one delivering the sound. He gave soul to music notes. He made every single note came alive as an essential part of his music. He always made me listen to his music and appreciate every note the composer put down, not the particular oboe sound or reed or brand of oboe.

Later I learned that Goossens happened to have used mostly one oboe throughout his long professional life, an open hole Loree, I forgot the year but it was early 1900s. I read that he lost his Loree once and recovered it later and kept playing on it until he died. (so what happens to the oboe blowing out theory?) I also read that Goossens also bought reeds from Tom Brearley most of his career and liked them over the ones he made himself. (so what happens to the theory that serious oboist must make his/her own reeds?) I am not sure what all these means. Perhaps his Loree was so special that no other could play like it. Perhaps Tom Bearley was so special that his reeds were better than any reed any one could have made. Or the instrument and reeds were not as important in making music. I tend to believe the latter.

Unfortunately such musicians are very rare especially in woodwind in recent history. In oboe, perhaps Holliger represents a modern version of Goossens and he is the only one I can think of in that class and style of musician so far. Probably Karl Leister can be counted as the modern equivalent of Reginald Kell. The second bests do not even come close. They are simply in different class and style of musicians. Yet, Holliger and Leister are not young or upcoming stars. They are approaching 70. I hear lots of oboists describe Holliger these days as “…very good but his sound is too bright!” I recently heard a “famous” Czech oboist describing Goossens in an interview: “… wonderful musician but do not like his thin sound.” I just wanted to cry.

Perhaps the concept of music is evolving. Perhaps, I need to learn to live in the world where oboe tone is the utmost importance to an oboist and therefore making reeds and choice of instrument to project that wonderful sound are the primary importance to an oboist. So important in fact, that a large number of oboists today describe the subject with some sort of religious overtone. Am I dreaming? Did I slept through the changing of the guard?

I am not sure if all the progress in oboe instrument manufacturing, reed making, and seemingly new techniques and technologies are helping or hindering oboe players to become better musicians.

Sorry about babbling about it. Chris’ post touched something deep inside of me.

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