Marcel Tabuteau First-Hand

MT era oboe

Landmarks

Images of significant sites that played a part in the life of Marcel Tabuteau are pictured below. If there are others that you believe should be added, please click Submissions.

Tabuteau family, early 1890s
Marcel Tabuteau’s birthplace and family home (over his father’s clock shop) at 8 Rue Magenta in Compiègne, France (photo mid-1890s)
Tabuteau’s birthplace (recent)
Tabuteau’s birthplace as it looked a few years ago (pharmacy on the corner, now a real estate office)
Hôtel de Ville
An earlier view of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) in Compiègne, France. Built in the 16th century, it was the place of presentation and declaration of Tabuteau’s birth in 1887.
A more recent view of the Hôtel de Ville
A more recent view of the Hôtel de Ville.
École Pierre Sauvage for Boys
École Pierre Sauvage for Boys: The school Tabuteau attended as a youth. It is still in use but is now co-educational.
Catholic abbey church
The school (seen at the rear of this photo) comprises the original cloisters connected to the Catholic abbey church to the right. The monks are long gone and the church is now used for civic events.
The Paris Conservatoire
The Paris Conservatoire where Tabuteau studied from 1902 to 1904 was inaugurated in 1811.
The interior of the Paris Conservatoire concert hall
The interior of the Paris Conservatoire concert hall where Tabuteau played in two yearly concours and won his 1st Prize.
The exterior of Théâtre des Variétés in Paris
The exterior of Théâtre des Variétés in Paris where Tabuteau landed his first professional engagement following his ‘graduation’ in 1904.
The interior of Théâtre des Variétés
The interior of Théâtre des Variétés. Inaugurated in 1807, the theater was a prime venue for operetta.
La Savoie, a French steamship built in 1901
On May 6th of 1905, Tabuteau left for America on La Savoie, a French steamship built in 1901 (above). The ship ran with emigrants and other passengers between Le Havre and New York and was operated by Compagnie Général Transatlantique.
Hotel Lafayette in Greenwich Village
Upon his arrival in New York City on May 13th, 1905, Tabuteau stayed at the Hotel Lafayette in Greenwich Village (above). The café in the hotel was frequented by artists and writers, and was memorialized by artist John Sloan and photographer Bernice Abbott.
Chicago Symphony in front of the Ravinia Theater
Tabuteau’s first concerts with the New York Symphony began in the summer of 1905 at the Ravinia Theater at Ravinia Park near Chicago. He played 2nd oboe and English horn. In this photo (above), members of the Chicago Symphony are posing in front of the theater.
Willow Grove Amusement Park
Willow Grove Amusement Park near Philadelphia (above) was the next venue where the New York Symphony appeared. Opening in 1896 and continuing for 80 years, the Music Pavilion hosted other well-known groups including the Philadelphia Orchestra and John Philip Sousa’s band.
Victor Herbert’s Orchestra
Victor Herbert’s Orchestra
Music Hall of the Pittsburgh Exposition Society
The 3rd summer venue where the New York Symphony performed in 1905 was the Music Hall of the Pittsburgh Exposition Society. Completed in 1889, it was a popular venue for celebrated performers of the day.
Tabuteau took an apartment at 532 West 146th Street
Back in New York after the summer, Tabuteau took an apartment at 532 West 146th Street. This building in upper Manhattan (as it looks today), is quite a distance from Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera House.
Carnegie Hall, built in 1891, was home of Walter Damrosch’s New York Symphony Orchestra where Tabuteau played 2nd oboe and English horn during his first two years in America. Carnegie Hall had been built specifically for this orchestra.
The interior of Carnegie Hall as it looks today.
The interior of Carnegie Hall as it looks today.
Metropolitan Opera House in New York City
Built in 1883, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City was the venue where Tabuteau played 1st oboe from 1908 to 1914 under Toscanini, Mahler and others.
An interior view of the Metropolitan Opera House.
An interior view of the Metropolitan Opera House.
1600 California Street
Tabuteau was unable to play the 1914-15 Metropolitan Opera season due to his French military obligation. Following his release, Tabuteau traveled to San Francisco, California to perform at the Panama-Pacific Exposition. During that time he lived in an apartment at 1600 California Street
Festival Hall of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Festival Hall of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Tabuteau was principal oboist of the Exposition Orchestra from its initiation in February of 1915.
San Francisco Civic Auditorium of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
San Francisco Civic Auditorium of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Tabuteau played in the special orchestra organized for the Beethoven/Wagner Festival held there in August of 1915.
510 Yeudell Street
510 Yewdall Street (in west Philadelphia) was Tabuteau’s first residence in the city.
510 Yeudell Street as it looks today.
510 Yewdall Street as it looks today.
Academy of Music
An early exterior view of Philadelphia’s renowned Academy of Music built in 1855-57 on south Broad Street.
Inside the Academy of Music
Inside the Academy of Music (a current view) where Tabuteau performed as principal oboist in the Philadelphia Orchestra for 39 years (1915-1954).
Music Pavilion in Ocean City
The Music Pavilion in Ocean City, New Jersey, where Tabuteau played in the summer to supplement his income during his earliest years with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
The Drake Hotel
The Drake Hotel, built in 1928-1929, became the Tabuteaus’ Philadelphia residence soon after the building was completed. They took an apartment on the 14th floor (1405). It is located less than three blocks from the Academy of Music.
a room in Tabuteau’s apartment at the Drake Hotel
A partial view of a room in Tabuteau’s apartment at the Drake Hotel.
R.M.S. Queen Mary, the Cunard Passenger Line’s premier ship on which Marcel and Louis Tabuteau frequently booked passage during their summer trips to and from France.
La Pingouinette
Tabuteau’s summer home from the mid 1920s until 1951 (except during the war years) was located in Le Brusc on Cape Sicié (near Toulon where Tabuteau’s brother, André, lived) and was affectionately named La Pingouinette. Photo by Laila Storch.
A view of the Mediterranean
A view of the Mediterranean at Cape Sicié, the location of the Tabuteaus’ summer home.
Location of Margaree Valley
Location of Margaree Valley (inland from Margaree Harbour) in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, where Tabuteau spent his summers during the war years: 1939-1945.
View of a section of Margaree Valley
View of a section of Margaree Valley where Tabuteau went fishing for salmon.
The Reading Railroad Terminal
The Reading Railroad Terminal that houses the market where the Tabuteaus (and others assigned) shopped for Marcel’s culinary components.
The Reading Terminal Market
The Reading Terminal Market opened in 1893 on the ground floor of the train shed.
Curtis Institute of Music
The multi-structured Curtis Institute of Music where Tabuteau taught from 1925 to 1954.
Casimir Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music
Casimir Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music where Tabuteau conducted his ensemble classes. It was renamed Curtis Hall in the 1940s.
15 South 21st Street in Philadelphia
The exterior of 15 South 21st Street in Philadelphia (3rd section to the right) that housed Hans Moennig’s 3rd floor repair shop, an indispensable venue for many woodwind players during the mid 20th-century.
Hans Moennig by his workbench
An interior view showing Hans Moennig by his workbench. Tabuteau and his students were frequent visitors.
MT's studio
Tabuteau rented a room on the 4th floor of the now-demolished Ludlow Building at 15 South 16th Street where he made reeds, practiced and taught. This is his reed desk.
On July 11, 1934, Marcel Tabuteau married Louise André in Paris at the Hôtel de Ville. They were both in their 40s at the time.
4 Rue du Vert-Bois in Paris was the location of the F. Loreé shop frequented by Tabuteau in his later years.
the Lorée shop in the early 1960s.
'Time out’ at the Lorée shop in the early 1960s.
Packer Memorial Chapel
The Packer Memorial Chapel at Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA (built 1885-1887) where Tabuteau played for the Bethlehem Bach Festival.
An interior view of the chapel.
An interior view of the chapel.
In 1950, the Tabuteaus bought La Coustiéro in La Lèque on Cape Sicié with an eye towards renovating the 25-room mansion in order to make it their new home. The mansion, perched on a cliff above the Mediterranean, was not far from La Pingouinette in Le Brusc, their original summer home on Cape Sicié. The Tabuteaus moved into La Coustiéro during the summer of 1952, but sold it in 1959 when they moved to Nice.
Toulon and environs
Toulon and environs. Cape Sicié is located on the tip of the large peninsula that juts out into the Mediterranean.
church of Saint-Pierre in Prades
The 14th-century church of Saint-Pierre in Prades (France) where most of the the 1950 Bach Festival concerts were held. Eminent musicians were invited to perform with Pablo Casals to commemorate the bicentenary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. Tabuteau performed here for the 1950 and 1953 festivals.
The church interior.
The church interior.
The Catalan towns of Prades and Perpignan in Southern France (north of Spain), location of the Casals Festivals.
The Castle and Courtyard of the Kings of Majorca
The Castle and Courtyard of the Kings of Majorca in Perpignan, France, was built in 1276. The 1951 Festival was held here, but it returned to Prades the following summer. Tabuteau performed in this festival.
Hotel Negresco in Nice
Hotel Negresco in Nice, France, where the Tabuteaus moved after selling La Coustiéro in 1959.
The Miramar
The Miramar at 111 Promenade des Anglais where the Tabuteaus lived from November 1960 until Marcel’s death in 1966.
Casino Café de Paris
Of the three casinos Tabuteau frequented during his last years in Nice, his favorite was Casino Café de Paris in nearby Monte Carlo.

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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.