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Re: Elizabeth Koch, ASO principal oboe

Author: Dutchy
Date: 2007-06-14 15:45

I have a few remarks made by previous posters that I'd like to address.

Quote:

I am a bit confused by this article however. She switched to a Loree, which is generally a bit more "ringier" than a Yamaha in my opinion. (I know making such generalizations is like taping a "kick me" sign to my butt), to sound more "mellower" Clevelandish?

Quote:

CJ, the other confusing thing is they credit Tabuteau with inventing this "bright, colorful sound"..and then contrast it with the "more austere, mellower" rival Mack Cleveland school, failing to mention that Tabuteau was Mack's primary teacher as well! Sounds like there's a bit of Loree bias down there in Atlanta, but also that they think the Loree (guessing a Royal) projects more effectively in the "acoustical mush", as they call it, of their concert hall. Yet another factor to consider when choosing an obo

Quote:

Anyways. I thought it was odd that they associated Loree with a "mellower" cleveland sound. I think Yamaha's are more "mellow" sounding myself.

Quote:

You'd think they'd be biased towards Covey as they're in Atlanta.

Before we get all cranked up about what this article did or did not say about the American sound, or suppposed Loree bias in Georgia, or why didn't they mention Mack, let us all please consider the source, eh?

It's a music critic.

Pierre Ruhe is the AJC's music critic, covering the fine arts beat in general and the ASO in particular, and while he may have hung around the music world long enough to know which end of the oboe you blow into, he is still probably not qualified to expound knowledgeably on "the Cleveland sound vs. the whatever sound".

All he knows, as a journalist interviewing someone, is what that person tells him. And if that person tells him something about the Cleveland sound, or about Lorees, or about Tabuteau, then that's what he's going to write.

I can find nothing that says that he himself is an oboist. He's a writer, and moreover, a writer writing "soft news" puff pieces for the human interest section. I'd take any and all of his pronouncements about the American sound, or Tabuteau, or Mack, or oboes, with a huge grain of salt.

The only reason you may perceive a Loree bias is because he didn't mention Coveys, and the reason he didn't mention Coveys is almost certainly because he simply doesn't know about them. Again, consider the source here: the music critic of a newspaper.

When was the last time you paid close attention to what a music critic said?

****************

On the subject of her not learning to use a gouger yet: the article says that she played clarinet, cello, and oboe all through high school, all of which are full-time instruments, so she probably just didn't have time. Normally an oboe student has time to go one-on-one with a teacher and learn to make reeds. But I'll bet that she just plain didn't have time, that she bought reeds from her teacher or someone else.

Also, my understanding is that even high school students playing only the oboe frequently start with gouged cane, because you don't expect kids to start at Square One with reedmaking. You let them start with gouged and shaped cane, because it's just easier, and they have homework to do when they get done with the oboe lesson.

So it's not a character flaw on her part, that she doesn't know how to use a gouger.

If I were her mom, I'd be upset that she had dropped out of Curtis, because oboe jobs don't last forever, and what will she have on her resume if this gig falls through? But she's old enough to make her own decisions, and I suppose that "Principal oboe of the ASO" counts for more on a resume than "Degree from Curtis". [grin]