Microjazz is a good book to get if you don't have it already. One of the pieces is Grade4 (ideal for sight reading) and some must be a bit more difficult as my daughter's teacher worked on some with her. she enjoyed playing them, I think we've also got Jazzed up too.

As I was playing the oboe today for my teacher, a car went by outside and the driver gave an accompaniment on his car horn! - I was playing rather loudly on one of my new reeds, but what a cheek! It gave both of us a good laugh though! PS: Does anyone know of good music for oboe and car?

Damn!

Just ordered 'three old french dances' and 'Gabriel's oboe', but now I want 'Time pieces for oboe 2' and 'Jazzed up too for oboe' as well... Oh, well, maybe after the hols





Also, WHY ISN'T THERE AN OBOE ARRANGEMENT FOR HARRY POTTER/PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN/HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL(2nd movie out soon!!!), WHEN THE OTHER INSTRUMENTS HAVE IT??? I'm sad now lol

Maybe there aren't enough Oboists willing to buy it!

ARG!!



I ordered 'Ornamental oboes' from sheetmusicuk.co.uk 3 or 4 weeks ago, and it still hasn't arrived

It should've arrived 1 or 2 weeks ago!

Can anyone think of stamina re-building tips for after getting back from a 2 week holiday?



I'm going to Germany in August for 2 weeks, and I've got 3 weeks to Rebuild my stamina and make it better.

Hi Liz

We're going to Germany next week too. Hope we get some decent weather.

If you want the movie soundtracks, then you could get them for Descant recorder and play them on the oboe.

I know what you mean about getting the stamina back after a holiday...

Have a nice break anyway.

Sara

The only thing I can think of is playing the dreaded long notes and slow scales ...yeah, I know it's tedious.
Liz, have a good time in Germany, it's a great country and I hope you have a relaxing holiday

As for me, I'm struggling with Ferling studies 21 and 22, I was getting to desperation point with them, but at last I think I'm beginning to make progress. At last. But I think 21 will still be a dog's dinner at my next lesson in 10 days time. For light relief, a Telemann sonata in A minor, the slow movement and the fast movement at the end.

This could be a hideously stupid suggestion and I might get shot for suggesting it...

...but could you just take your reeds with you...



oh, and as an oboist in the London Mozart Players once told me: long tones!

Hello Liz,

A lovely holiday is probably just what is needed right now, you have not long completed an exam and have worked very hard. You don't mention that you have another exam or concert coming up shortly after your trip to Germany so my advise would be to take the holiday, forget about your Oboe for the time you are away and have a total rest. The change of scenery and a break from practice wont do any harm, you will return refreshed and full of fresh ideas your mind will have had a break and you can start again when you get back. Your lip will come back very quickly in fact the muscles will probably respond far better than you expect, yes it may take a few days but you will be back in the swing of things faster than you think...

As a thought whilst you are away it might be a good time to get your Oboe serviced so it's all set to go when you get home.

Have a wonderful holiday

Kindest regards

Andrew

Thanks



Yes, I think a rest would be good, amd no, I don't have anything too importaint soon after.

That is also a very good point! Have a nice time in Germany, whereabouts are you going?

Thanks!



I'm going to Hamburg.

Never been there! Hope you get good weather!

The new books (three old french dances and gabriel's oboe) came today


I was too impatient to wait for a while, so plyed all 3 of the 'dances' only a few minutes after eating(even if I know I can't), and well..... you can't play the oboe on a full stomach. If you did, you can't play for more than a few lines at a time, because the diaphragm feels strange.


Well, I'm off for 2 weks now

Hello Fellow Oboists

I was at a music convention-type-thing the other day and I saw Howarths new toy! It is called the mini-oboe and it is SOOOO sweet.

Its got the same body as an S20 but with much less key work so it makes playing the oboe much more accessible to a primary school ages child.

Has anyone else seen this? What do you think?

Not seen it but it already sounds like a fantastic idea. All the keys are often very intimidating at first. Well, they were for me.

I know - but these can play chromatically from a low C to a high E and dont have any of the feather keys or any bridge mechanisms. It is also all in the same system as a normal oboe so a child would not have to use alternative fingerings.

Its just clever isnt it?!

Hi from Germany!



I wish I cstarted the Oboe earier.

The new book(which one?) arrived, so I can't wait to see it when I get back!

Anyone going to the BBC Proms concert tonight (Sunday 5th August)? I managed to get a ticket once the returns started going back, but otherwise, all seats are sold out.

Strauss oboe concerto in the second half

If you aren't going, then tune in to BBC4 at 7.30pm

Do you happen to know who is playing the strauss...?

Alexei Ogrintchouk played the oboe. It was a fantastic performance.

I've just signed-up for the BBC's iPlayer - with that you can download quite a few of the televised proms, although you need a broadband connection.

Well I watched the Strauss Concerto performance...

Can't say it did it for me but to be honest its not a concerto I particularly enjoy, thats just a personal thing but its not top of my "FAV" list. To be completely honest I felt the Oboe was rather lost in that huge space and that the performance was a bit of a "Ham"..it really didn't come over as sincere for me but I am in the camp of wondering what this concerto is all about...it just rambles on and on...

All that aside I hope that AmandaL had a fun evening at the Albert Hall and enjoyed the performance in the flesh.

Regards

Andrew

Actually I gave the Prom another run (thanks to SKY+) and it did grow on me a little more. He did play it very well, so its not the performance that was lacking but possibly the Concerto itself...I must give it more hearings and see if I can get to grips with it...Richard Strauss just can't be wrong..I love his music...no really I do..

Yes I did, thank you!

I love the Strauss concerto, such a refreshing change from Mozart et al. In general, concertos are generally best experienced live, at the venue in person - you never quite get the atmosphere watching the TV at home, which probably detracts from the work in itself and often leaves people wondering what it was all about. Probably the most animated solo oboist I've seen, but good for him to be original and really getting the audience engrossed in the performance too.

I'm so glad you enjoyed your evening Amanda, yes he was very animated which made me a tad uncomfortable like it was a bit over done...but I am sure the audience was engrossed and he did play beautifully. I agree it was a refreshing change from the Mozart which I adore especially when Nicholas Daniels plays it (I'm a huge fan) but lets not forget the Horovitz Oboe Concerto, that too is breathtaking and I adore hearing it. I have tried to introduce it to the Americans who, can you believe it, have never heard it...What a crime! Now that really should be given an airing at the Proms, its new, fresh and not over performed so I would vote for that...

Oh well maybe next year,

Glad you had fun, if you fancy a peek at the soloists career and biog here you go.....

http://www.ogrintchouk.com/

Happy reading

Regards

Andrew

AmandaL or A.U.K. or any other knowledgeable oboist

Can anyone identify the make of oboe used by Alexei Ogrintchouk? It looked as though it had a lot of keys to me. Incidentally, following Amanda's recent remarks on Gordon Hunt playing, I've just bought his CD - "Elevazione - The Magic of the Oboe" and am delighted with it. Also Oboe Classics for the Beginner (scores & CD), but its a little beyond my skills at the moment!

A very good question,

From what I could see he was playing a full gillet conservatoire system, I didn't see a thumbplate or evidence of him using one. The keywork was quite standard for a full professional system.

As for the make..thats slightly tricky..I would hazzard a guess that it wasn't a Loree though initially I thought it could have been a Loree Royal....but no I don't think it was.Maybe then Mariguax or Howarth but the bell was not right for them. There is a possibility given that he has trained in Paris that he is using a Rigoutat (the french are big Rigoutat players) however what I suspect is that it could be a Hiniker or even a Laubin (both American). The Laubin has become almost legendary in the USA the maker has closed his waiting lists for now. Hiniker who is considered a master in tone also has a huge waiting list, his Cor Anglais are particularly noted and his Bocals are highly sort after and I feel that we are in that sort of territory and vote for either Rigoutat, Laubin or Hiniker, not overly common here but very nice instruments.

Maybe AmandaL can shed some more light as she was there and may have been close enough to have a look, or was she simply gazing into his deep blue eyes???

To join in Amanda and Andrew's Ogrintchouk discussion:

I listened to it on Radio 3 and was actually pretty disappointed. (I'd not heard him before.) Firstly, I didn't like his tone *at all*. Personal taste issue, I know, but there are any number of other oboists who I prefer, and I particularly thought he was much too weedy and French (!) for Strauss of all composers.... Secondly, his ensemble with the orchestra was really quite bad in places (not necessarily his fault, but I would expect better from a pro). Thirdly, I didn't like where he breathed. Of course, ideally he would be circular breathing, but given that that's phenomenally difficult, I'm prepared to allow him to breathe occasionally!!! But it's a question of where: the places he broke phrases are not the places I would have broken them, and I found it a bit unmusical sometimes. (Yes of course you have to break the phrases, but there are greater and lesser degrees of 'breakability'.)

It's interesting to hear that he was very animated, which of course I didn't pick up on the radio - it obviously counts a lot for the reception a performer gets. (Which personally I find quite depressing.)

Incidentally, there was a fantastic little documentary in the interval on R3 about oboists and their reeds - how we're all so dependent on them. It made me feel a lot better!

Claire raises some very valid points, phrasing is so important and some of the breaks were ill timed and you are quite right he didn't circular breathe which would be considered quite standared in the Strauss (but don't expect much support for circular breathing here...I mentioned it once and almost had to run for the hills). The phrases in the strauss are very long and breaking them as he did seemed to disjoint it but hey he was at the Albert Hall and I wasn't so who am I to criticise but more than anything I found his very animated performance slightly off putting, almost contrived and I half expected a King Cobra to weave its way upwards out of a basket...I know that sounds harsh but it did remind me of that.

Tonally, did it work, well thats very subjective, every oboist is unique, yes it was quite reedy I agree but that maybe his sound, it could certainly not be called dark or woody which would suggest either a Marigaux or Loree Royal nor slivery and light which would suggest a Loree AK or DM bore hence I feel we are in Rigoutat/Laubin/Hiniker territory. Not my kind of sound but still very worthy of the attention. The tuning was in general excellent, a couple of wanders here and there but I suspect that the temperature in the Albert Hall was staggering and that would have affected him quite dramatically. I also feel that the reed was definitely very hard to stabalise the top register but the tone suffered because of it, its a no win situation really, reeds are the bane of every oboists life. I do have to say the very last bar was dreadful but I suspect he was "All In " and wanted to get done

All thats said an done I think he did a fine job, the notes were all there, sure there were a few slips but who notices really, I only wish I could play half so well. So congrats to Mr. Ogrintchouk, I couldn't have done it and he did, so there "yah boo suks to me"

Kindest regards

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Yes, I agree with pretty much everything you say there. Heck, I'm glad it wasn't me playing in that heat on sunday! Don't envy him that at all. I guess I was just disappointed as I expected to have my socks knocked off, and they remained firmly on my feet.

Glad you thought the last bar was bad too, I wondered if I'd imagined that. He also fluffed quite a few of the runs in the cadenzas.

I'll try and watch the BBC4 clip at some point when my internet connection is cooperative again. Anyone know how long they keep them on the site for?

Anyone going to Nick Daniel / Evelyn Glennie playing Thea Musgrave on the 31st? That's actually much more my cup of tea! Unfortunately I can't (or don't want to) to go the gig as I'm leaving on holiday at the crack of dawn the next day, but I will try and hear it on the radio.

Funny you should mention Nick Daniel, he is one of my favourite players, I always enjoy hearing him play with Julius Drake...both wonderful and talented musicians. I actually attended the Goossens 90th birthday at Wigmore hall they were excellent. I also saw Thomas Indermuhler and Ingo Goritzski in Paris who were breathtaking, I also enjoy Vogel and Stephenson who are very lyrical, am not a huge Holliger fan but what a technique...

As for the Strauss, well I still feel that it was a fair performance, yes the cadenzas were rushed and fluffed but I couldnt play it so who am I to raise an eyebrow...This particular concerto is not a favourite of mine, that would have to be the Horovitz which I adore (recorded by you know who!)

I am not always convinced that the Oboe is really a concerto instrument in the modern sense if I am completely honest. Yes the Baroque concertos, Bach, Correlli et al are fine and the classical concertos by which I mean the Mozart and Hayden are wonderful, the oboe is not over powered by the Orchestra, I do question the sheer size of the modern Orchestra when accompanying the Oboe or Flute which does not to my mind have the same dynamic range as say the Clarinet which has a range of colour and tone not equalled by many. This was in my opinion half the trouble with the Strauss, the Oboe seemed lost in amongst it all and only came into focus now and again. Now this may have been a microphone problem and the sound engineers got it wrong for the TV but it did not come over well in that medium and it would seem that the same problems were apparant on the radio.

I did enjoy the Prom concert if nothing else because it was an Oboist for a change and that was in itself very refreshing...I aspire to be able to play like that and to hold an audience of thousands with my Oboistic skills, it'll never happen but I can dream. I did knock out some stomping baroque stuff a few years ago and had a fair crack at the Hayden which was none too shakey but the big romantic concertos I have yet to play and will leave them awhile, but you may rest assured it is very unlikely that I will ever be invited to play profesionally and you can bet your last pound I won't be in the Albert Hall, the local church hall is far more likely, Tea, Buns and scones to follow my devastating performance for the twin set and pearls brigade is about my lot, so I applaud anyone who makes it all the way to the RAH with or without fluffed cadenzas..

Anyhoo where's me Gillet, I'd better get practising, the W.I. is waiting with baited breath..

Kindest regards

Andrew

Sadly I missed the Strauss when it was performed at the Proms but you've all whetted my apetite to catch up with it on the Internet, but I don't know how it will sound, I don't think my computer's speakers are the best.

On a different tack, my teacher has asked me to get some new music...a Loeillet sonata in C, "Elegiac Dance" by Head (I don't know the first name) and Difficult Passages from the works of JS Bach edited by Evelyn Rothwell.
Does anyone know these pieces? I really enjoy Bach's oboe music so I'm looking forward to that! All my teacher would say is that he thought I would enjoy them and that "Elegiac Dance" was rhythmically challenging...Hmmmmm

The Loeillet sonatas one of the things i just did at the end of the year. I loved it and I'm sure you will too. I did have a copy of evelyn rothwells ornamentations but i seem to have misplaced them just now. no doubt they'll turn up though. These things alway do.

I'm looking forward to the Nick Daniel/Evelyn Glennie PROM...I've seen Evelyn Glennie, or should I say Dame Evelyn Glennie before at my school (which was very cool ) so I'm looking forward to this one...

Thanks battles I'm looking forward to having some new music to tackle, and I might get small break from the Ferling studies, though they've really helped my playing!

My sister (purplemonkeywashingmachine) is going to start the Oboe as she has to play two instruments for standard grade. I think its great! She looks like an oboist a bit actually.

hi there Malone
What does an oboist look like...I'm a little intrigued.

Erm...

when the embouchure lookes good and it suits the face?



How old is you sister Malone? I don't know about standard grades you see...

Welcome Home Lizbun,

Hope you had a lovely holiday in Germany...

Andrew

My sister is 14. Standard grades last two years - 3rd and 4th year. You sit the main SQA (scottish qualifications authority) exam at the end of 4th year when you are about 15/16 ish. She will need two instruments, her main instrument, she should be at the very least grade 3 on, she has just sat grade 3 piano, and her second instrument, which is the group instrument (or at least it was when I did them), you should be at least grade 2 I think. She was going to do xylophone, but I talked her out of that, told her I had two spare oboes and she could play one of those, or one of my flutes or clarinets. She chose Oboe.

According to my book, the oboe player has thin, tight lips. They should be physically fit, even athletic.

Reading on, it says that the oboe shouldn't be played if you have a head cold or reperitory or viral infection as the inter cranial pressure can spread the infection into the eyes and brain causing complications and even permanent disability.

Thats a bit scary. Oboes should come with a health warning!!

Well Malone thats a new one on me, I had never heard that of Oboe players and the health risks, I can't say I have ever considered it. I must confess to using "Otrivine" when I have a head cold just to keep my head clear, but have never thought I was risking my health. As for being fit and athletic and having thin lips...can't imagine where they came up with that one.....and I would hardly describe myself as athletic, though I do have the lungs of an Elephant.

Regards

Andrew

Ha ha! Maybe thats it then. I'm reading 'The right instrument for your child' which is an interesting read for someone who actually plays these instruments.

Personality of the Oboist:
The oboe is not for generous extroverts; determined, tight-lipped stubborn children do best. Oboists tend not to mix well but do have one or two close freinds. Even in orchestras, the oboes make a little clan and keep to themselves.

Tight thin lips, athletic build?...hmm.

From a personal perspective, tight thin lips would prove quite uncomfortable wrapped over the teeth. Rounded cushioned lips are preferable if you intend to play for any length of time. The lips should not bite the reed anyway, but simply seal gently around it. It's more about development of strength and stamina in the facial muscles than anything else - that's what tires the most in the early stages of oboe playing. Protuding or very large front teeth are very probably a no-no for most woodwind though.

Athletic build? The oboe does develop lung capacity and good stamina and like most other woodwind instruments is therefore recommended for those who are asthmatic (and need to learn to control their breathing), or those who may want to expand their lung capacity by a method that doesn't involve a tread mill at the gym. Beyond that, I don't think being a fitness freak is necessary.


In this context I think tight-lipped means they are determined. They are also not the type to be involved in gossip or spend time in idle chit-chat.

I'm sure the latter would apply to all oboists though

Oh Lord, thats a rather damning description of an Oboist...how extraordinary that a book should make such sweeping statements...some poor kiddy might be desperate to play the Oboe and the parents get hold of this and think "NOOOO...Little Johnny isnt like that at all" and the poor child gets landed with something they don't want to learn...Personalities develop and are not set in stone as an 8 year old for example and the physicality too can alter dramatically over the years...( I'm still waiting on my thin years but I am sure they are due any day now )...

I must add that I tend to agree with the fact that Oboists tend to keep to themselves and their close collegues...I fear we maybe a little aloof if the truth be known, but when you consider that we have spent many many hours blowing down what to all intents and purposes looks like a weasel it's hardly surprising that we have a slightly askewed perspective on things

Funnily enough my parents were dead against the Oboe, they bought me flutes and clarinets which I never took to but finally capitulated and bought me an Oboe and I never looked back, progressing fairly quickly so it just goes to show if the interest and passion are there it works out far better.


Kindest regards

Andrew

Well this guy doesnt look as though he makes regular trips to the gym...

No I suspect you are right there...

I used to have to almost live in the Gym when I was in London working, I can't say the same since I left though...

now wheres my cream bun...

Hmmm...athletic, I don't think so...I don't even have the lung capacity of an elephant as I'm mildly asthmatic, although I can quite easily blow a quite a good peak flow reading when I'm not feeling well. (that one fools the asthma nurse each time!) So perhaps playing the oboe does have its benefits.

Going back to Mr Ogrintchouk, Andrew (or anyone else) - can you tell me where on earth this clip IS? I've just spent ages on the Beeb website and I'm darned if I can find it. A URL would be really helpful!!

I'm just listening to it via the listen again facility on the BBC website. I got to it through the classical music links in the music section of their website. I don't know how you can get to the TV broadcast.