Marcel Tabuteau (2 July 18874 January 1966) was a French-American oboist who is considered the founder of the American school of
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
playing.
Life
Tabuteau was born in
Compiègne
Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''.
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:
* Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...
,
Oise
Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...
, France, and given a post in the city's municipal wind band at age eleven. He then studied at the
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
with the legendary oboist
Georges Gillet
Georges-Vital-Victor Gillet (May 17, 1854 – February 8, 1920) was a French oboist, teacher and composer. In addition to premiering oboe works by prominent French composers of the 19th century, including Émile Paladilhe, Charles-Édouard Lefeb ...
.
Walter Damrosch
Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Ge ...
brought Tabuteau, together with French musicians flutist
Georges Barrère
Georges Barrère (Bordeaux, October 31, 1876 - New York, June 14, 1944) was a French flutist.Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001)
Early life
Georges Barrère was the son of a cabinetmaker, Gabriel Barrère, and Marie Périne Courtet, ...
, bassoonist Auguste Mesnard, clarinetist Leon Leroy, and Belgian trumpeter Adolphe Dubois to New York in 1905 to play in his
New York Symphony Orchestra
The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, ...
. Damrosch was fined by the musicians' union for not advertising for musicians from New York, but the emigrating musicians were allowed to stay.
[ Shilkret, Nathaniel, ed. Shell, Niel and Barbara Shilkret, ''Nathaniel Shilkret: Sixty Years in the Music Business'', Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, 2005, p. 27; see also caption to centerfold picture of Henri Leon Leroy. ] In 1906 Tabuteau returned to France to complete his three years of compulsory military service as a French citizen, and served as a military musician in the regimental band of the 45th Infantry Regiment in Compiègne. A French law that had been enacted on July 11, 1892 gave special consideration to graduates of the Conservatoire, allowing him to be demobilized after just one year of service. He returned to the United States in 1907 and the union again tried to have him expelled, on the grounds that there had been a break in his US residence since filing his first citizenship papers. The union was unsuccessful and Tabuteau became a US citizen in 1912.
Tabuteau served as principal oboist of the
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
from 1915 to 1954 under
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...
and
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association wit ...
, and just as importantly, taught in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
at the
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship.
Hi ...
. There his classes included Oboe,
Woodwind
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...
and String Ensembles, Orchestral Winds/Percussion Class, and combined ensembles. He taught at Curtis from 1925 until his retirement in 1954.
Legacy
During the thirty years during which Tabuteau taught at the Curtis Institute of Music, he came to exercise a decisive influence on the standards of oboe playing in the whole United States, as well as raising the level of woodwind achievement in general. Nor was the impact of his teaching confined to wind instruments alone, as is evidenced by the many string players and pianists who attended his classes.
[Marcel Tabuteau, profile written by Laila Storch and published by ''To the World's Oboists'' by the International Double Reed Society, Boulder, Colorado]
References
Further reading
*Storch, Laila. 2008.
Marcel Tabuteau: How Do You Expect to Play the Oboe if You Can't Peel a Mushroom?'. Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press. (cloth). Reprinted 2017 (pbk). Reprinted as ebook, 2018 .
External links
profile written by Laila Storch and published in ''To the World's Oboists'' by the International Double Reed Society
Marcel Tabuteau First Hand a comprehensive website containing first-hand documentation of the teachings, performances, career and daily life of Marcel Tabuteau.
an article about Marcel Tabuteau in
''Time'' magazine, Nov. 20, 1939.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabuteau, Marcel
1887 births
1966 deaths
People from Compiègne
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
French classical oboists
American classical oboists
Male oboists
Curtis Institute of Music faculty
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
Musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra
20th-century French musicians
20th-century American musicians
20th-century French male musicians
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century classical musicians
French emigrants to the United States