Marcel Tabuteau First-Hand

MT era oboe

Gouging/Scraping/Modifying

The gouging machine made for Tabuteau by his father, François.
The gouging machine made for Tabuteau by his father, François. Tabuteau’s sister, Charlotte, and her daughter, Thérèse, look on. Thérèse, born in 1895, appears to be about 15 years old in the photo, which would put its date at about 1910, at which time Tabuteau was playing in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
A closeup of the gauging machine above
A closeup of the gauging machine above

In Philadelphia

Tabuteau checking the alignment of the blade in his gouging machine
Tabuteau checking the alignment of the blade in his gouging machine in his studio on Ludlow Street. Photo by Adrian Siegel
Tabuteau gouging cane in his studio
Tabuteau gouging cane in his studio on Ludlow Street. Photo by Adrian Siegel
Tabuteau scraping a reed in his studio
Tabuteau scraping a reed in his studio on Ludlow Street. Photo by Zev Pressman, Philadelphia Orchestra Archives
Tabuteau posing for the camera, scraping on a reed
Tabuteau posing for the camera, scraping on a reed
Tabuteau scraping on a reed
Tabuteau scraping on a reed backstage at the Academy of Music

In France

Tabuteau working on two oboe upper joints
Tabuteau working on two oboe upper joints
Tabuteau at La Coustiéro aligning his oboe
Tabuteau at La Coustiéro aligning his oboe
Tabuteau checking the alignment of an oboe
Tabuteau checking the alignment of an oboe
On the table to the left is an interesting bell that Tabuteau is about to try on his oboe
On the table to the left is an interesting bell that Tabuteau is about to try on his oboe. Is this the bell that had been made for Tabuteau by Marigaux, and was later altered by Tabuteau who scraped on its interior to modify the tone and pitch of certain notes on the instrument?

Next: The Curtis Institute of Music

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What's New!

An audio interview with Joan Browne (Champie), a private Tabuteau student in the early 1950s.

A photograph of the music stand that was in Tabuteau’s private studio in Philadelphia.

An autographed photo of Marcel Tabuteau inscribed to Vladimir Sokoloff.

An autographed photo of Marcel Tabuteau inscribed to Joan Browne Champie.

With the passing of Wilbur Isaac Hilles in August 2023 and now Martha Scherer-Alfee in February 2024, no oboe students of Marcel Tabuteau at the Curtis Institute are still living.

A letter sent to the Curtis Institute by Laila Storch’s mother about Tabuteau not teaching at Curtis—and the reply.