The oboe (from French hautbois — “high wood”) is the most penetrating of the woodwinds. Its sound is unmistakable: warm, slightly melancholy, with a vivid singing intonation. Composers therefore entrust the oboe with principal lyrical themes.
Famous solos: the lyric solo in Brahms's Second Symphony, the pastoral in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, the main theme of Richard Strauss's Oboe Concerto. Why does the oboe set the orchestra's A? Its pitch is the most stable, and its timbre cuts cleanly across the whole ensemble. Distinguished oboists include Heinz Holliger, Albrecht Mayer; Ukrainian oboe schools are actively developing in Kyiv and Lviv.
