Two musette players from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, 13th century

An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette.

The following is a list of notable past and present professional oboists, with indications when they were/are known better for other professions in their own time. Oboists with an asterisk (*) have biographies in the online version of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Historical oboists

Baroque period 1600–1760

Oboist – etching and print by Johann Christoph Weigel (1661–1726)

Classical period 1730–1820

Portrait of an unknown oboist by anonymous painter, 1st half 18th century

Romantic period 1815–1910

Johann Friedrich Diethe (1810–1891), oboist of the Gewandhausorchester by C. Reimers
The Oboe Player (Benjamin Sharp) by Thomas Eakins, 1903
  • Apollon Barret (1804–1879), French *
  • Christian Frederik Barth (1787–1861), Danish *
  • Richard Baumgärtel (1858–1941), German
  • Félix-Charles Berthélemy (1829–1868), French
  • Carl A.P. Braun (1788–1835), German *
  • Wilhelm Braun (1796–1867), German *
  • Henri Brod (1799–1839), French *
  • Baldassare Centroni (c. 1784 – 1860), Italian ("Rossini's oboist")
  • Charles Colin[de; es; fr; ru] (1832–1881), French
  • Franz Wilhelm Ferling (1796–1874), German
  • Willi Gerlach[de; ja] (1909–1971), German
  • Georges Gillet (1854–1920), French *
  • Joseph Gungl (1810–1889), Hungarian * (conductor)
  • Johann Peter Heuschkel (1773–1853), German *
  • Ernst Krähmer (1795–1857), German *
  • Olivo Krause (1857–1927), Danish
  • Desiré Alfred Lalande (1866–1904), French *
  • Antoine Joseph Lavigne (1816–1886), French
  • Johann Heinrich Luft (1813–1877), German
  • William Malsch (1855–1924), English *
  • Giovanni Paggi (1806–1887), Italian *
  • Antonio Pasculli (1842–1924), Italian * (the "Paganini of the oboe")
  • Charles Reynolds (1843–1916), English
  • Friedrich Ruthardt (1800–1862), German
  • Adolf Rzepko (1825–1892), Polish *
  • Joseph Sellner (1787–1843), Austrian
  • Pedro Soler (1810–1850), Spanish
  • Friedrich-Eugen Thurner (1785–1827), German
  • Charles Triébert (1810–1867), French *
  • Frédéric Triébert (1813–1878), French * (instrument maker)
  • Raoul Triébert (1845 – c.1894), French *
  • Stanislas Verroust (1814–1863), French
  • Gustave Vogt (1781–1870), French *
  • Friedrich Westenholz (1778–1840), German *
  • Carlo Yvon (1798–1854), Italian

20th-century oboists

Ralph Gomberg
Leon Goosens
Haakon Stotijn, 1961
Alexander Wunderer
Attilio Bianco, English horn, 1917

A–L

  • Albert J. Andraud (1884–1975), French-American
  • Rhadames Angelucci (1915–1991), American
  • Alfred Barthel (1871–1957), French
  • Evelyn Barbirolli (born Evelyn Rothwell), (1911–2008), English *
  • Louis Bas (1863–1944), French
  • Etienne Baudo (1903–2001), French
  • Louis Bleuzet[es; fr; ru] (1871–1941), French
  • Robert Bloom (1908–1994), American *
  • Joy Boughton (1913–1963), English
  • Maurice Bourgue (1939–2023), French
  • Leonard Brain (1915–1975), English *
  • Henri de Busscher (1880–1975), Belgian *
  • Natalie Caine (1909–2008), English
  • Jacques Chambon[fr] (1932–1984), French
  • Janet Craxton (1929–1981), English * (Sister of the painter John Craxton)
  • William Criss (1921–1984), American
  • John de Lancie (1921–2002), American *
  • Albert Debondue (1895–1984), French
  • Antonio Estévez (1916–1988), Venezuelan * (composer)
  • Alvin Etler (1913–1973), American * (composer)
  • Svend Christian Felumb (1898–1972), Danish
  • Peter Fischer (1924–2004), German
  • Fritz Flemming (born 1872 or 1873; died 1947), German
  • Réal Gagnier[de; fr] (1905–1984), Canadian
  • Bert Gassman (1911–2004), American
  • Fernand Gillet (1882–1980), French
  • Ruth Gipps (1921–1999), British (composer)
  • Albert Goltzer (1918–2007), American
  • Harold Gomberg (1916–1985), American *
  • Ralph Gomberg (1921–2006), American *
  • Leon Goossens (1897–1988), English *
  • Peter Graeme (1921–2012), English
  • Percy Grainger (1882–1961), Australian-American
  • František Hanták[cs; ru] (1910–1990), Czech *
  • Earnest Harrison (1918–2005), American
  • Hans Kamesch (1901–1975), Austrian
  • Rudolf Kempe (1910–1976), German * (conductor)
  • Bruno Labate (1883–1968), Italian
  • Roland Lamorlette (1894–1960), French
  • Alfred Läubin (1906–1976), American (instrument maker)
  • Marc Lifschey (1926–2000), American
  • Georges Longy (1868–1930), French *

M–Z

  • Terence MacDonagh (1908–1986), British
  • Arno Mariotti (1911–1993), German-born American
  • Josef Marx (1913–1978), German-American *
  • Robert Mayer (1910–1994), American
  • Karl Mayrhofer (1927–1976), Austrian
  • Mitch Miller (1911–2010), American (choir conductor, recording director)
  • Myrtile Morel (1889–1979), French
  • Florian Mueller[de; nl] (1904–1983), American
  • Pierre Pierlot (1921–2007), French
  • Giuseppe Prestini (1877–1930), Italian
  • David Reichenberg (1950–1987), American * (also listed under period instrumentalists below)
  • A. Clyde Roller (1914–2005), American
  • Marcel Saillet (1898–1983), Swiss
  • Jürg Schaeftlein (1929–1986), Austrian *
  • Riccardo Scozzi (1878–1955), Italian
  • Edgar Shann (1919–1984), Swiss
  • Harry Shulman (1916–1971), American
  • Jerry Sirucek (1922–1996), American
  • Koen van Slogteren[nl] (1922–1995), Dutch
  • Václav Smetáček (1906–1986), Czech * (conductor)
  • Robert Sprenkle (1914–1988), American
  • Warren Stannard (1923–1995), American
  • William Grant Still (1895–1978), American * (composer)
  • Haakon Stotijn[nl] (1915–1964), Dutch *
  • Jaap Stotijn (1891–1970), Dutch *
  • František Suchý (1902–1977), Czech *
  • Sidney Sutcliffe (1918–2001), Scottish
  • Seizo Suzuki[ja] (1922–2008), Japanese
  • Marcel Tabuteau (1887–1966), French/American *
  • Jiří Tancibudek (1921–2004), Czech-Australian
  • Giuseppe Tomassini (1915–1987), Italian
  • Lois Wann (1912–1999), American
  • Alexander Wunderer (1877–1955), Austrian

20th-century players of the English horn

  • Engelbert Brenner (1904–1986), Austrian- born American
  • Harry Freedman (1922–2005), Polish-born Canadian (composer)
  • Hans Hadamowsky (1906–1986), Austrian
  • Peter Henkelman (1882–1949), Dutch
  • Leo van der Lek (1908–1999), Dutch
  • John Minsker (1912–2007), American
  • Louis Speyer (1890–1980), French-born American

Contemporary classical oboists

A–B

C–E

Niels Eje, 2009

F–H

I–L

Eugene Izotov

M–Q

Albrecht Mayer making a reed

R–S

Bart Schneemann
Ray Still, 1980s

T–Z

Jennifer Paull with three Oboe d'amores

Contemporary oboists best known for playing English horn (cor anglais) or oboe d'amore

Contemporary oboists best known for playing period instruments

Marcel Ponseele

Oboists performing primarily outside classical genres

Nancy Rumbel
Andy Mackay of Roxy Music, 1974

As primary instrument

As secondary instrument

Shehnai players

Bismillah Khan

Further reading

  • David Lasocki "The French Hautboy in England, 1673–1730" Early Music 16(3) 339–357
  • Alfredo Bernardini "The Oboe in the Venetian Republic, 1692–1797" Early Music 16(3) 372–387
  • Janet K. Page "The Hautboy in London's Musical Life, 1730–1770" Early Music 16(3) 358–371
  • Bruce Haynes "Mozart and the Oboe" Early Music 20(1) 43–63
  • Burgess, Geoffrey; Haynes, Bruce (2004). The Oboe. Yale Musical Instrument Series. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-10053-2.
  • Ryoichi Narusawa (ed. Marc Fink) "A History of Oboe Playing in Japan" (The Double Reed, Vol.27 No.4, International Double Reed Society) 2004

External links