A number of recordings that feature Marcel Tabuteau are available, but not a single one truly does him justice. The recording technology in his day was simply not advanced to the point where it could pick up the distinctive subtleties of his playing. His true sound, coloring and nuances proved elusive to the microphones. This is verified by all those who heard him in person. Listen to three excerpts:
In the words of John Shamlian (Philadelphia Orchestra bassoonist): “In those early days when you sat in the orchestra and listened to Tabuteau, you heard the great phrasing and the way he tapered things off, but on the records, it just wasn’t there. I believe it was the lack in the recording technique of that time. It did not catch the subtlety of the oboe—a disappointing thing. You had to be on the stage listening. Posterity will just have to believe what we say.”
These words were strongly echoed by English hornist John Minsker, a Tabuteau student who performed in the oboe section with MT during the last eighteen years of the master’s career. The testimony of these witnesses, and of others present when these recordings were made, seems to us incontrovertible.
Despite valiant efforts to improve sound quality of the original recordings, there is only so much that sound engineers can achieve. Fidelity remains a constant and serious problem. After much deliberation by the Editorial Board, it was decided to post Tabuteau’s performances for the historical record, knowing full well that the recordings do a severe disservice to his playing. Yet, with some imagination, it was felt that listeners would be able to appreciate the magnitude of his genius.
Tabuteau, who began as a violinist, likely developed his subtle and imaginative concepts of phrasing by reflecting upon the fine violin playing that he would often have heard in his early days in Paris at the Conservatoire. The seamless line that the violin can readily create is something that surely motivated Tabuteau, in his oboe playing and teaching, to emphasize the shape and continuity of the musical phrase, which, for wind players, is something that requires conspicuous effort, as does the rounding off of the phrase at the end.
The fact of the matter is that this rounding off, even on the best recordings we have of Tabuteau’s art, is not properly audible: some of the phrase endings seem rather abrupt—something that Tabuteau would not at all have appreciated.
Given that the subtleties of his performance are not accurately captured on the recordings of his time, we offer here two excerpts from recordings by one of Tabuteau’s greatest admirers and finest disciples, John de Lancie, who began to play at his side in 1946 and who succeeded him as principal oboe in the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1954.
The first excerpt is the second movement of Alessandro Marcello’s oboe concerto, recorded by John de Lancie and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1962. It is in lyrical slow movements that the true artistry of a performer is perhaps best revealed (as this example would attest). The second excerpt is taken from near the beginning of Jean Françaix’ L’Horloge de Flore (The Flower Clock), commissioned by John de Lancie in 1957 and first performed by him in 1961.
In our view, these excerpts illustrate, as perhaps none of his own recordings can, the true nature of the school of oboe playing established in Philadelphia by Marcel Tabuteau.
—Written by editorial board members Michael Finkelman and Peter Bloom
Although we only have a glimpse into what was actual, we are thankful there are recordings of Tabuteau. He can, of course, be heard in the Philadelphia Orchestra as principal oboist on their earlier recordings. Other than that, recordings highlighting Tabuteau as oboist fall into four categories: 1) Solo/Soli with Orchestra; 2) Chamber Music; 3) Orchestral Excerpts; and 4) Lessons. (The Bach cantatas he recorded are listed under Chamber Music.)
In addition, there is a fifth category of Tabuteau recordings with him conducting his Curtis wind ensembles. They were recorded to be aired at a later date on Curtis produced radio broadcasts. Most of these original 78 RPM records can be found in the Curtis recordings archive.
The repertoire in the five categories indicated below was recorded by Marcel Tabuteau and heard originally on 78 RPM, 45 RPM, or LP records. Since then, a number of those recordings were reissued in other formats including Tape, CD, MP3 and Streaming. Information about the initial recording is given. Certain pieces were recorded more than once while others were recorded but never released commercially. The Bach Cantata BWV 202 was recorded in 1953 but not issued until 2007.
To access a work, click one of the categories below and make your selection. If you know of other recorded performances (released or non-released) highlighting Marcel Tabuteau playing or conducting, please click Submissions.
Sound enhancement provided by Joe Hannigan at Weston Sound www.westonsound.com