How to choose? / IDRS 2013 art. 1 / Comment choisir?

I still want to digest my impressions from having tried all the oboe brands at the IDRS 2013 conference, but the experience really begs the question "How does a person choose?"… especially when there are so many excellent instruments to choose from!	Alain deGourdon of Lorée	Je veux prendre le temps de digérer mes impressions d'avoir essayé toutes les marques de hautbois à la conférence IDRS 2013, mais l'expérience mène à la question : "Comment choisit-on?"… surtout quand il y a tellement d'excellents instruments à choisir!
Asking some high profile professionals on Facebook to compare makers or models, I found it frustrating when they answered "it's a matter of individual preference"..... shouldn't one be clearly better than another? Well, I don't know about 3 years ago, but in 2013, most makers produce truly remarkable instruments. They all said this was partly the result of meeting and talking with professionals over the years at the IDRS conferences and other venues: BRAVO to IDRS for this!	Renaud Patalowski and Jean-Marc Jourquin from Marigaux	J'ai trouvé frustrant de demander, sur Facebook, aux professionnels de renommée de comparer les marques et modèles parce que leur réponse était le plus souvent : "C'est une question de goût personnel".... ne devrait-il pas y avoir une distinction nette? Et bien, je ne sais pas comment c'était il y a 3 ans, mais en 2013, la plupart des fabricants produisent des instruments vraiment remarquables. Ils ont tous dit que c'est partiellement le résultat de rencontrer des professionnels au fil des ans à la conférence IDRS et autres avenues : BRAVO à IDRS pour ceci!
Friendly Competition The makers I spoke to and corresponded with believe success should come from integrity, not commercial manipulation. This struck in me a chord of disbelief due to our capitalistic-consumerist age, but the more I talk with them, the more I'm inclined to believe them. They all said they work with professionals to build an instrument that helps musicians reach our goals. Naturally, different makers concentrate on different aspects and different musicians have different goals, which means different people will prefer different makers: they seemed completely at peace with this, not wishing anyone to buy theirs half-heartedly.... though, naturally, their business interests and pride are hoping we get theirs!	Jürgen Stork, oboe-guy at Püchner Philippe Rigoutat	Compétition amicale Les fabricants à qui j'ai parlé et correspondu croient que la réussite doit venir de l'intégrité, pas par manigances commerciales. Ceci m'a laissé incrédule dans notre génération capitaliste et consommatrice, mais le plus je leur parle, le plus j'ai tendance à les croire. Ils affirment tous travailler avec des professionnels pour développer des instruments qui aident aux musiciens à atteindre nos objectifs. Bien sûr, chaque fabricant se concentre sur des aspects choisis, ce qui implique que les buts différents de chaque musicien graviteront vers différentes marques: ils semblent à l’aise avec ceci, ne voulant pas qu’on choisisse le leur à reculons.... quqoique, bien sûr, c’est flatteur et plus profitable qu'on choisisse le leur!
Perfect fit: Choosing an oboe might very well be like choosing running shoes. My first few years in the Canadian Army Reserves, as a musician, I still had to do military training which included a lot of physical fitness. We did a lot of running and I would use the running shoes provided by the Army, but the other members with more experience kept telling me to buy expensive shoes from a sports store. A few years later, I did that and POOF: no more tight muscles and both speed and endurance just sky-rocketed! But you can select from many brands, some are great for you while actually damaging to someone else's ankles. I now think the same goes for oboe: if I dislike one maker, it might be a God-send for someone else.	Frank Meyer, businessman for Ludwig Frank and Gebrüder Mönnig Bulgheroni, father and son	Taillé sur mesure: Choisir un hautbois peut bien être comme choisir des chaussures pour la course. Mes quelques années comme musicien dans la Réserve Militaire du Canada comptaient l’entraînement militaire, incluant beaucoup de course. J'utilisais les espadrilles fournies par le militaire, mais les autres membres avec plus d'expérience me disaient d'en acheter des dispendieux dans un magasin sportif. Quelques années plus tard, je l'ai fait et POUF: plus de crampes aux mollets et un accroissement soudain de vitesse et d’endurance! Mais on peut choisir parmi un nombre de marques et tandis qu'une marque peut être formidable pour soi, elle peut carrément causer des blessures chez quelqu'un d'autre. Je crois que c'est pareil pour le hautbois: si je critique un fabricant, le même est peut-être miraculeux pour quelqu'un d'autre.
Stopping at Innoledy's booth on the last day, Tong Cui applied his inescapable logic in order to help me decide on a favourite. His killer questions were: 1. "No holds barred, which is the one you would buy if you had a million dollars but could only buy one?" The answer to this was the Dupin Imperial.... but I must confess the 'exotic/unobtainable' aspect of that instrument holds some kind of sex-appeal for me! 2. "If you HAD to buy an instrument RIGHT NOW because you have to perform tonight, which would you want to take home?" I surprized myself to answer was Fossati because I found it the perfect mid-point between what I like from Marigaux and Rigoutat.... but here too, I have to confess that my answer came too quickly, because at this point, the characteristic sounds of Marigaux and Mönnig Platinum (or L. Frank) still have tremendous appeal to me while the absolute freedom of Rigoutat and the sheer power of Püchner (with the Bulgheroni at mid-point) are terribly attractive! So honestly, right now, I cannot choose! I will enumerate my impressions in detail of these in one or two posts.	Ton Cui of Innoledy Christoph Hartmann, Christophe Dupin, Rolland Dupin Pascal Emery (Fossati)	Visitant l'étalage d'Innoledy le dernier jour, Tong Cui a appliqué sa logique inéluctable pour m'aider à choisir un favori. Ses questions-pièges étaient : 1. "Sans aucune restreinte, quel instrument achèterais-tu si t'avais un million de dollars mais ne pouvait acheter qu'un seul?" La réponse est le Dupin Impérial, mais j'avoue que son aspect 'exotique/intouchable' ajoute à son attrait! 2. "Si tu DEVAIS acheter un instrument IMMÉDIATEMENT pour un concert ce soir, quel apporterais-tu à la maison?" Je me suis surpris à répondre Fossati parce que je le considère à mi-chemin entre ce que j'aime de Marigaux et Rigoutat... mais ici aussi, je dois avouer que j'ai répondu trop vite, parce qu'à ce point, les timbres caractéristiques de Marigaux et Mönnig Platinum (ou L.Frank) me tiennent toujours captif tandis que la liberté absolue de Rigoutat et la pure puissance de Püchner (avec Bulgheroni à mi-chemin) restent irrésistibles! Donc maintenant, en toute honnêteté, je ne peux pas choisir! Je ferai l'énumération de mes impressions de ces essais dans un ou deux articles.

Oboe Innovations – Appearance and Sound

You know the old joke?

A conductor is in love with two women; one is ravishingly beautiful but hates music, the other is a wonderful coloratura that looks like a blowfish. Being a deeply artistic musician, he decides to marry the soprano. But on the morning after the wedding, he wakes up to see his new bride “in the light of day”. In a fit of panic, he shakes her violently saying : “For God’s sake, SING!”

It is very easy to say that what matters in an instrument is the sound, not the way it looks. In fact, for generations, nearly all oboes essentially looked like high-school band instruments! In a picture, an oboe by any maker could be passed off as any other maker.

NOTE: this post does not intend to compare the quality or merit of instrument brands. My purpose here is to show some of the more noteworthy innovations in the art and science of making oboes and how the manufacturers are aiming to recapture sound and qualities that might have been lost with standardization and industrialization.

[1] Dupin Imperial [2] violin [3] past Fossati

[4] Th. Orlowski (oboe) [5] Gebr. Mönning (d’Amore)

I can understand that the very complex keywork requires an even body to facilitate the mechanism, but how very bland compared to instruments from the classical or baroque eras. Even the Viennese oboe has retained a sense of woodwork. But this blog post intends to explore the opposite possibility: manufacturers who are passionate about giving their instrument a true personality might very much want to reflect that in the appearance as well as the sound.

Besides, it is very likely that the measurements of the wood in different parts of the instrument might well influence the sound: that is why great violins are not made of plywood! So “decorating” the instrument with different looking crowns or bells must certainly affect the sound.

Heinz Holliger, naturally, was my first oboe hero and he remains my standard for ornamenting Handel and dynamic expression. But when I heard Louise Pèllerin (Marigaux) my jaw dropped and my sense of sound aesthetic changed forever. Although Pèllerin remains a benchmark for me, Albrecht Mayer keeps turning my head when I hear him. At first, it was on the radio and I thought he played baroque oboe with a mediocre sound…. when I learned he played modern instruments, this was a revolution!

Top: Marigaux M2
Left to right: Gebr. Mönning Platinum (Albr. Mayer),
Ludwig Frank, Marigaux 2001 Altuglass,
Fossati 20th An. Soliste, Josef 2th An., Dupin Impérial.

A.Mayer: Mön. Plat.

Google-searching Mayer is how I discovered the work of Ludwig Frank (here ) and how his instruments look different, inside and outside. At the insistence of Albrecht Mayer, Ludwig Frank developed a conical bell for his Oboe d’Amore and English Horn (branded as Mönning Platinum).

Gregor Witt: L. Frank

Although actual Ludwig Frank oboes already had a unique looking “traditional German” bell, similar to those made by Thomas Orlowski (tan and brown bells above ) Mayer also influenced the Mönning Platinum oboe that is more French in design, but still looks and sounds most distinctly. Although Mayer made the Gebrüder Mönning (here ) Platinum better known around the world, I have heard excellent oboists playing the real Ludwig Frank with a really special sound: “full-body velvet”! That is, as warm and smooth as one can imagine, yet capable of every dynamic and articulation: a real work of art!

François Leleux: M2

Marigaux is probably the instrument played most by international soloists and orchestras of all levels in Europe. has gained much attention with their “Altuglass” oboe (here ), and more recently with their M2 (here ) instrument has a particular design: the top joint has only the octave keys and the middle joint has all the finger keys! You typically buy a wooden head joint and a synthetic one to prevent cracks due to weather. The head joints also come in 3 lengths to help tuning for different orchestras.

J-L Fillon: 2001 Altuglass

The Altuglass need not fear cracking as it is fully synthetic: but the sound remains easily as beautiful as any wood instrument, ebony, rosewood or cocobolo. The M2 is becoming a favourite of soloists in Europe: the sound leaves no question as to why!

Tomoharu Yoshida: Fossati

Fossati (here ) decided to give a fully contemporary look to their instruments by removing almost all decoration. They produced a German-looking bell for a short while on special request. This bell gave a darker richer tone. It also served as the basis for their newest Soliste 20^th Anniversary line: although the bell looks very plain, it is supposed to exaggerate the warmth and fullness of the tone. Perhaps Fossati’s most noteworthy innovations are a the trill keys that use only one hole and the metal alloys they use on the keys. The single hole trills help prevent cracks whereas the metal alloy apparently resists wear and tear from sweat and rubbing much better than silver, chrome or gold.

Simon Emes: Josef

Japan is one surprize after another: you can find there a whole society devoted to the Viennese oboe, a soloist (Oboe, Ob. d’Amore and English Horn) who is a fervent expert on Dupin oboes (below) and a maker of innovative modern instrument with the vision of creating the perfect oboe with a Japanese personality. Josef (here ) is this instrument maker and one of the means to get a Japanese personality is to change the decoration of the crown and the bell. The one pictured here is only one of several very different looking models.

Christoph Hartman and Renato Bizotto, Dupin Imperial.

Did I save the best for last? A true innovator while at the same time conserving the age-honoured craft of making oboes completely by hand, Rolland Dupin (here ) and his son Christophe have a solid reputation for making the most dependable modern oboes. They also make baroque oboes, which might explain how they imagined the Imperial oboe which has not only a very stylised bell, but also a decorated head-joint: not quite Viennese, but similar to baroque.The Imperial (made famous by Christoph Hartman) is capable of a variety of tone colours from the clear and virtuosic to warm and expressive. Dupin oboes are highly prized in Northern-Europe and many other places around the world. My absolute favourite style of orchestral playing is Scandinavian: when any instrument plays a solo, you don’t need to guess – you hear the flute solo, clarinets freely sound their beauty and oboes don’t sound as if they were ashamed of their tone. The oboes have remarkable qualities, rustic yet sophisticated, bold yet sensitive: truly my favourite style of playing. Perhaps the preference for Dupin instruments there might have something to do with it.

Back to my (blog) roots!

I had lost this URL during a SNAFU with Google services – not their fault, nor even mine fully – so I started another one (having "hautboys" - with a y - in it) under the impression that I had lost this one. Luckily, I got this one back! Everything from the temporary one (and more) is here now.

The URL name is important to me because the nick-name Robin Des Hautbois has followed me since my high-school days: I considered it a sign of predestination! Robin des Bois is French for Robin Hood (Robin of the woods or Robin of Sherwood) and the spelling testifies that I remain with the modern instrument (the y was the spelling for the baroque/classical instrument).

The SNAFU is kind of funny, because I really do find the sound of the baroque instrument far superior to the modern instrument in a few ways:

1. It is usually darker, deeper and mellower.
2. Though it has less projection, it has a larger feeling to it. 
3. It has a built-in echo quality that I compare to the deep honk of the Canada Goose, but without the honk! 
4. It is best approximated by the modern oboe d’amore: I have wanted one since the age o f 15, when I first saw one in an encyclopaedia!

But at this point in life and looking forward, I don’t want to give up the ease offered by the most modern keywork and to learn a new set of fingerings (most of which are rapid forkings) could very well cause a relapse of tendonitis….. one of the reasons I had to quit so long ago. I still consider this state (non-musician) to be a purgatory. Besides, with Albrecht mayer’s recommendations to Ludwig Frank and the Dupin Imperial’s classical bore (played by Christoph Hartmann), the sound of the modern oboe is moving back to its origins while keeping its modern benefits!

Happy Holidays to all!