Why bother with Baroque?

A Master Class for oboists with Jeanine Krause and Adam Shapiro

Historical oboes are a particular passion of ours. We won’t persuade you to pick up a Baroque oboe if you don’t want to, however, as an oboist, you face Telemann’s trickery, Bach’s brilliance, Vivaldi’s virtuosity and if you are very lucky, also the gems that are Hotteterre, Couperin, Heinichen, de La Guerre (a GIRL!!!) or even Philidor and, be still my heart: Zelenka!

These masters are challenging enough on the correct instruments. There are, however, great ways to approach them with modern instruments and live to tell about it.

If you are already an addict you might enjoy arguments in favor of invoking our ancestry. But most especially if you are skeptical, unconvinced or never have any intention of playing period instruments, we invite you to think about the following questions:

  • Is reed making a rocket science?
  • Is vibrato an integral part of sound production?
  • Is the long, singing line the only valuable criteria for musicality?
  • Are trills fast and free?
  • Is “T” the only way to tongue?

The event is free and open to via an interactive Zoom call.

“Baroque: Why Bother?”

We plan to pack quite a punch into this multi-media presentation. It begins with Jeanine for ca 40 minutes, then there will be 20 more minutes for your questions and contributions plus a brief pause before Adam takes over to dive deeper yet into the instruments and styles.

We’ll share

  • how to shape a piece of cane free hand (no shaper tip!)
  • a rousing discussion of going beyond the “T” in articulation
  • rhetoric. Rhetoric, RHETORIC! (Think Plato’s Aristotle and Amanda Gorman)
  • how the written notes are just a chart: there’s stuff you’re just supposed to know
  • tips for terrific trills
  • my collection of instruments (see box below)
  • a glimpse into my reed boxes

Don’t believe a word of this. Just come and hear for yourself. We will demonstrate all of the points above by playing for you and sharing some of our favorite excerpts from recent audio and video recordings.

It is a free event and open to anyone. Find out more and register by clicking the button below.  There is a fine line-up of other events so be sure to make note of my (European-friendly) time slot:

7. September 2021 

1pm Los Angeles
3pm Chicago/Dallas
4pm New York/Boston
9pm Paris/Frankfurt

Register for the Bemidji State Oboe Master Class (It’s free!)