Marcel Tabuteau First-Hand

MT era oboe

Purpose of the Tabuteau System

[Introductory page for ‘A Resume of the Tabuteau System’]

  • To bring the elements of life, naturalness and good taste to music
  • To present and encourage the use of some relatively unexplored concepts in music performance
  • To provide musicians with the essential skills needed to shape the music as desired
  • To teach musicians how to think creatively and be witty with music
  • To instill knowledge enabling a musician’s interpretation to stand apart from others
  • To help take away monotony from music performance by giving direction and color to the musical phrase
  • To remove the element of mere chance or luck in music performance by approaching it with a much greater degree of thought and understanding
  • To eliminate the bar-line as a sign of division
  • To incorporate the ‘dance step’ into music performance
  • To bring out to the fullest what has always been there in great music while helping lesser music succeed by means of creative treatment
  • To raise the level of audience understanding and appreciation of classical music by performing only at the highest level
  • To show musicians how to practice and activate all of the above              —M. M.

Next Section: Marcel Tabuteau’s Teaching

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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.