Gramophone – September 2019

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 11

FORTHERECORD

It allstartedwhenI receiveda callfrommyfriend

PaulMcCreesh.Hesaid,‘I havethiscrazyideatorecreate

theBritishcoronationsofthe20thcentury,’andI saidthat

I mightbeabletopersuadeJennieGoossenstoletme

borrowherfatherLéon’s 1911 Loréeoboeforit.It’sthe

instrumentheplayedforhiswholecareer– includingallbut

oneofthe20th-centurycoronations.SoI endedupplaying

it ontheGabrielis’‘AnEnglishCoronation’CD,andI’ve

playedit forsomeotherprojects,too,including

a SibeliusSecondwiththeOAE.

Léonreceivedtheoboeasa giftfromhis

fatherwhenhewasnineyearsold.Hepremiered

hundredsofworksonit,includingtheconcertos

byVaughanWilliams,Straussandhisbrother

EugeneGoossens,andworksbyBritten,

Howells,Finzi,Elgar,BlissandBax.WhenSibelius

heardhimplayina performanceofhisSecond

SymphonyconductedbyThomasBeecham,he

calledtheconductorandsaid,‘Whowasthe

oboist?Tellhimheplaystoobeautifully!’

Once,Léonwasonthewaybackfromthe

southcoasttoLondonwhenhestoppedtoget

somefuelforhiscar.Helefttheoboecaseon

thebackseatandwhenhegotback,it wasgone.

It turnedup,empty,onthebeachinBrightonandheassumedtheoboe

wasatthebottomoftheocean.Twoyearslater,hereceivedan

anonymousphonecall:‘MrGoossens,youroboeisina shopinsouth

London,andit’sbeenlabelledasa clarinet.’

I wasirstintroducedtoLéonatJennie’shouseinWestLondon,

aheadofhis90thbirthdayconcertatWigmoreHall.He’dbrokenhis

thumbandsaid,‘Couldyougivemyoboea littleblow?’

I waslike,‘Ohmygod!’,butI stucka reedinit andplayed it.

It wasthestrangestfeeling.Aftermanydecadesofbeing

playedbyhiminthatbeautiful,reinedway,theoboedidn’t

soundlikemeatall.I realisedthatI’dbeengoingdown

a pathtowardsa plummy,rich,darksound,andthislittle

oboeofLéon’smademereassessthat.It’slikefaketan–

youdon’tneedmahogany,justa bitofa glow.SoI wentto

Loréeandtheytoldmeabouttheir‘Etoile’– I

triedit andhadtohaveit.

MyEtoile’smadeofwoodthat’supto 10 years

old,butbackintheday,thewoodwouldhave

beenkeptforupto 30 yearsbeforebeingused.

SomeofthekeysontheGoossensarehollow

soyou’retouchingwoodthat’smorethan 100

yearsold– it’sa gorgeousfeeling.ThehighC is

themostbeautifulnoteI’veplayedonanyoboe,

andthebottomnotesaresoeasytoproduce

• youthinkit,andit speaks.ToplayhighE on
  a modernoboe,alltheingershavegodown,
  butonLeon’sit’sjustoneingeranda thumb –
  it’slikeslidingdowna skislope,thesoundjust
  poursout.Therearemanythingsit doesn’t
  have,ofcourse:there’snothirdoctavekey,the
  longC sharpisawkward... Butthat’swhyit’ssofascinating!
  I’vefoundthatthesoundcarriesovergutstringsparticularlywell.
  I’dlovetoplaytheVaughanWilliamsOboeConcertoonit with
  periodinstruments.Canyouimaginehowgreatthatwouldsound?
  For information on his upcoming recordings and concerts
  and ongoing charity work, visit nicholasdaniel.co.uk

ARTISTS & their INSTRUMENTS

Nicholas Daniel on the 1911 ‘Goossens’ Lorée oboe on loan to him

A

merican sound artist

Bill Fontana has created

an installation for the

Beethoven-Haus Bonn, as part of

the composer’s birthplace’s

celebrations of his 250th anniversary.

Called Harmonic Time Travel,

what Fontana describes as a ‘hovering

sound cloud possessing the quality of

a sonic spirit’ can be heard in front

of, and within, the museum.

To capture the sounds, the pianist

Dmitri Gladkov played Beethoven’s

music on a grand piano from the

composer’s era. Fontana then placed

accelerometers (vibration sensors)

on the strings of a nearby grand piano once played by Beethoven

himself, which allowed Fontana to extract sound material from

the harmonics prompted by Gladkov’s playing. These were then

combined with soundscapes captured from the city of Bonn.

The installation opened in June and runs until December 12.

C

horeographer Wayne McGregor

has curated an album featuring

music he has commissioned for

his dance productions across the past

quarter of a century. Called ‘Wayne

McGregor: Collaboration’, it will be

released on the Mercury KX label – an

imprint of Universal Music Group/Decca

Records – on September 6.

One of today’s leading fi gures in

contemporary dance, McGregor has

collaborated with composers including

Kaija Saariaho, Max Richter, Nico Muhly, and Sir John Tavener,

whose music for the ballet Amu receives its world-premiere

recording on this release. Several of the pieces have been

re-recorded and rearranged, in collaboration with McGregor

and the original composer.

‘Working in collaborative dialogue with other artists has

always fuelled my creative process,’ said McGregor. ‘I feel

privileged to have shared these endeavours with such a range

of talented and inquisitive people.’

Sound artist Bill Fontana makes

Beethoven 250 tribute for Bonn

McGregor’s music commissions

for dance will form new album

PHOTOGRAPHY:

ERIC RICHMOND, MEIKE BOESCHEMEYER, PAL HANSEN