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Ray Still (March 12, 1920 – March 12, 2014) was an American classical
oboist
An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette.
The following is a list of notable past and pres ...
. He was the principal oboe of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...
for 40 years, from 1953–1993.
Early life
He was born March 12, 1920 in
Elwood, Indiana
Elwood is a city in Madison and Tipton counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The Madison County portion, which includes most of the city, is part of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion in Tipton County is p ...
, and moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
as a teenager. He started studying the clarinet at 14, and volunteered as an usher at
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
concerts, where he heard the Belgian oboist Henri de Busscher, whose “singing” style inspired him to switch to the oboe at 16. His first oboe teacher was Philip Memoli, who played second oboe to de Busscher in the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
[Gould, Gordon. 1986. Ray Still. Chicago Magazine, September, pp. 204-207 & 256-259. http://www.chicagomag.com/core/pagetools.php?url=%2FChicago-Magazine%2F1982-2000-1982%2FSeptember-1986-Table-of-Contents%2F&mode=print]
From 1941-1943, Still was a member of the
US Army Signal Corps
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Reserves and studied electrical engineering at
Pacific States University.
[Who’s Who in America with world notables, 1970, Volume 36] He was in the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
from 1943–1946, and worked mainly in radar. Still enrolled in the
Juilliard School of Music
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
in New York in the summer of 1946 and attended for almost two years. He studied oboe at first with Bruno Labate,
[IDRS, 2011. Video interviews about his early career, also with Leonard Sharrow. http://idrs.org/multimedia/Interviews/Still-Sharrow/Still-Sharrow.html] and later with
Robert Bloom, the principal oboist for
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
’s
NBC Symphony
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ar ...
, even though Bloom did not teach at Juilliard.
Performing career
Still’s style of oboe playing had elements of both the more relaxed European style and the more controlled American style, with the singing tone he admired in de Busscher, Labate, and Bloom. For example, one of his students, Michael Rosenberg, has played in German orchestras, where the American style is not popular. The American style came primarily from
Marcel Tabuteau
Marcel Tabuteau (2 July 18874 January 1966) was a French-American oboist who is considered the founder of the American school of oboe playing.
Life
Tabuteau was born in Compiègne, Oise, France, and given a post in the city's municipal wind band ...
, who had taught Robert Bloom at the
Curtis Institute
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 ...
; Still said that up to the early 1970s, he was the only principal oboist in a major US orchestra who had not studied with Tabuteau. He was most flattered when reviewers compared him to great singers, as a reviewer in London did when he played oboe concerti with the Academy of London in 1985, or to great jazz musicians, as a reviewer did in a review of his recording of the Bach Wedding Cantata.
[Youngren, W. 1979. Review of Bach Wedding Cantata recording by Still & Battle. The New Republic, May 12, 1979.]
His oboe positions with professional orchestras were:
*Second oboe with the Kansas City Philharmonic from 1939-1941.
*Principal oboe in the
Buffalo Philharmonic
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Faletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it ...
under
William Steinberg
William Steinberg (Cologne, August 1, 1899New York City, May 16, 1978) was a German-American conductor.
Biography
Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, ...
, 1947-1949.
* Principal oboe with the
Baltimore Symphony
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...
under Reginald Stewart and
Massimo Freccia
Massimo Filippo Antongiulio Maria Freccia (19 September 1906 – 16 November 2004) was an Italian American Conducting, conductor. He had an international reputation but never held a post as music director of a major orchestra or opera house. Unus ...
, 1949-1953.
*In 1953 he was hired by
Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin "Fritz" Reiner (December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose t ...
, the recently appointed music director of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...
. The position was assistant first oboe, but he moved up to principal oboe in 1954. He stayed in that position until 1993, later playing under music directors
Jean Martinon
Jean Francisque-Étienne Martinon (usually known simply as Jean Martinon (); 10 January 19101 March 1976) was a French conductor and composer.
Biography
Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire ...
from 1963–1968,
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...
from 1969–1991, and
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
from 1991-1993.
**The only gap in 40 years with the Chicago Symphony came when he was fired by Martinon in May 1967. Still fought the firing, the case went to arbitration, and he was rehired seven months later.
Still also had an extensive career performing and recording chamber music, including at the
Aspen Music Festival
The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado.
It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...
in Colorado, the
Marlboro Festival
The Marlboro Music School and Festival is a retreat for advanced classical training and musicianship held for seven weeks each summer in Marlboro, Vermont, in the United States. Public performances are held each weekend while the school is in ses ...
in Vermont, and the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival
The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson (theatre producer), Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was fo ...
in Ontario, Canada, which used to include a music festival. He performed and coached students at numerous other music festivals in Europe, Japan, China, Korea, and Mexico.
His oboe teaching positions included:
*
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...
in Baltimore from 1949–1953
*
Roosevelt University
Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
The unive ...
in Chicago from 1954–1957
*
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in Evanston, Illinois; Professor of music from 1960–2003
Northwestern invited him to present a series of master classes in 2010 in honor of his 90th birthday, an event that was also observed the week of his birthday on the Chicago classical music radio station
WFMT
WFMT is an FM broadcasting, FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a format of fine arts, classical music programming, and shows exploring such genres as folk music, folk. The station is managed by Window to the World Communications, In ...
. WFMT played many of his recordings and a two-hour audio documentary about his career that week.
[Articles in Double Reed about 90th birthday celebration https://www.scribd.com/doc/91670203/7/Featured-Articles]
He had many private students as well. Many of his students went on to play in major orchestras and teach at major universities around the world. His former students include Sherie Aguirre, Stephen Caplan, Ricardo Castaneda, Mark Christianson, Peter Cooper, John Dee, Marc Gordon,
Michael Henoch, Yoko Kojima, Humbert Lucarelli,
Patrick McFarland, Jane Marvine, Robert Morgan, Nora Post, Christopher Raphael,
Michael Rosenberg,
Grover Schiltz, Mark Seerup, Ian Shafer, Robert Sheena, Carl Sonik,
Linda Strommen, Rudy Vrbsky, and Keisuke Wakao.
Retirement
Following his retirement from Northwestern in 2003, he moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with his beloved wife Mary and son James to live near family. He continued to give master classes and lessons there. Mary and James died in 2012. In 2013, he moved to Saxtons River and later Woodstock, Vermont, to live near family. He died in Woodstock, Vermont, on his 94th birthday (March 12, 2014), surrounded by family and listening to Bach's St. Matthew Passion.
Selected discography
*
Strauss Oboe Concerto,
Bach Oboe d’amore Concerto BWV 1055,
Marcello Oboe Concerto, and three Bach Sinfonias; Academy of London, conducted by Richard Stamp. Virgin Classics/Virgo.
*
Mozart Oboe Concerto, K 314, Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...
,
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
. Cadenzas by Thomas Still (his son).
*
Bach “Double” Concerto for Violin & Oboe in D minor, BWV 1060R, with
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...
and the
Israel Philharmonic
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...
. Angel.
*Bach:
Brandenburg Concerto
The ''Brandenburg Concertos'' by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1046–1051), are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, MacDonogh, Giles. ''Frederick the Great: A Life in Dee ...
No. 2, BWV 1047; Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050 (no oboe); Cantata No. 202 "Wedding Cantata" (latter with
Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Deanna Battle (born August 13, 1948) is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances ...
, soprano); Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival,
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...
, conductor, & harpsichord solo in No. 5. RCA.
*RAY STILL: A Chicago Legend. Baroque Oboe Sonatas by J. S. Bach, Handel, Telemann and Vivaldi. Ray Still, oboe;
Leonard Sharrow
Leonard Sharrow (August 4, 1915 – August 9, 2004) was one of the foremost American bassoonists of the 20th Century. Born in New York City, he joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra when it was first organized, eventually becoming principal bassoonist ...
(bassoon, in Handel, Telemann & Vivaldi); Robert Conant (harpsichord, in Telemann & Vivaldi); Thomas Still (harpsichord, in Bach). Nimbus.
*
Mozart Serenade No. 11, K 375 for Wind Octet, and four of Grieg’s
Lyric Pieces
''Lyric Pieces'' ( no, Lyriske stykker) is a collection of 66 short pieces for solo piano written by Edvard Grieg. They were published in 10 volumes, from 1867 ( Op. 12) to 1901 (Op. 71). The collection includes several of his best known pieces, ...
arranged for wind octet. Chicago Symphony Winds (organized and led by Still), LP only, Sheffield Lab, recorded direct to disk, 1983.
*
Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds, K 452, with James Levine piano, Clark Brody clarinet,
Dale Clevenger
Dale Clevenger (July 2, 1940 – January 5, 2022) was an American musician who was the Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1966 until his retirement in June, 2013. horn, and
Willard Elliot bassoon. Music from Ravinia Vol. 3 (members of Chicago Symphony); LP only. (with Mozart Piano Quartet K. 478)
*
Oboe quartet
An Oboe quartet is a composition scored for oboe, violin, viola and basso. While the genre is not very common, Mozart wrote the most well known, his Oboe Quartet, K. 370. Other composers of oboe quartets include Johann Christian Bach, Josef Fi ...
s by Mozart, Wanhal, JC Bach, and Stamitz, with
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...
violin,
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor.
Life and career
Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zuk ...
viola, and
Lynn Harrell
Lynn Harrell (January 30, 1944 – April 27, 2020) was an American classical cellist. Known for the "penetrating richness" of his sound, Harrell performed internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with major orchestras o ...
cello. LP only, EMI, 1981.
[Album details http://www.discogs.com/JC-Bach-Mozart-Stamitz-Wanhal-Ray-Still-Itzhak-Perlman-Pinchas-Zukerman-Lynn-Harrell-Oboe-Quartets/release/3242361] The Mozart quartet recording has been on CD in some Perlman box sets.
*
Mozart Oboe Quartet, K 370, with members of the
Fine Arts Quartet
The Fine Arts Quartet is a chamber music ensemble founded in Chicago, United States in 1946 by Leonard Sorkin and George Sopkin. The Quartet has recorded over 200 works and has toured internationally for 77 years, making it one of the longest en ...
. Concert Disc LP, 1958 (with Mozart horn quintet), and Boston Skyline CD, 1996 (with Mozart flute quartets).
*
Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...
Trio for piano, oboe, and bassoon and
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
Romances, with
Milan Turković Milan Turković may refer to:
* Milan Turković (businessperson) (1857–1937), Croatian businessman and nobleman
* Milan Turković (musician) (born 1939), Austrian-Croatian classical bassoonist and conductor
{{hndis, Turković, Milan ...
, bassoon in the Poulenc, and John Perry, piano. Telefunken, LP only.
*
Hindemith
Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...
Sonata for oboe and piano. With viola and bassoon sonatas by Hindemith. John Perry, piano. Telefunken, LP only.
He played principal oboe on almost all of the recordings by the Chicago Symphony from 1954–1993, and he played principal oboe in the opera “Samson and Delilah” recorded with the NBC Symphony under Stokowski in the early 1950s, filling in for Robert Bloom.
References
External links
*Still’s web site http://www.raystill.com
*Complete discography http://www.raystill.com/discography
*Facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ray-Still/371214449626
Ray Still obituary on ''From the Archives'' May 6, 1994
{{DEFAULTSORT:Still, Ray
1920 births
2014 deaths
American classical oboists
Male oboists
Juilliard School alumni
Northwestern University faculty
People from Elwood, Indiana
20th-century classical musicians
20th-century American male musicians