the.com/oboe
the orchestra's tuning dictator, a reed so demanding it drives players genuinely insane
means A slender, double-reed woodwind instrument with a bright, penetrating tone, traditionally sounding the tuning note for an orchestra.
from From French 'hautbois,' literally 'high wood' (haut, 'high,' + bois, 'wood') — a fitting name for a high-pitched wooden instrument. English speakers borrowed the word but mangled the pronunciation, eventually respelling it 'oboe' to match how it sounded coming through the Italian form 'oboè.' So the modern spelling is really just the English ear giving up and writing what it heard.
- tuning boss
- Whole orchestra tunes to its A note
- reed maker
- Players hand-carve their own from cane
- madness myth
- Long-held belief the reed pressure causes insanity
- breath trap
- Players exhale stale air, not run out
- name origin
- From French hautbois, meaning high wood
albrecht mayer — german oboist who won grammy awards and is principal oboe of berlin philharmonic
francois leleux — french oboist who won the van cliburn competition and performs with major orchestras
mozart oboe concerto — composition in c major k.314 from 1777, one of the most performed oboe concertos