A survey of Paris Conservatoire contest solos for oboe from 1942-1957: A performer's guide

Wilbert, Aaron

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/106971 Copy

Description

Title

A survey of Paris Conservatoire contest solos for oboe from 1942-1957: A performer's guide

Author(s)

Wilbert, Aaron

Issue Date

2020

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Peterson, Elizabeth

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Dee, John

Committee Member(s)

• McGovern, Timothy
• Mattax Moersch, Charlotte

Department of Study

School of Music

Discipline

Music

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

A.Mus.D. (doctoral)

Keyword(s)

• Paris Conservatoire
• Concours
• oboe
• Henri Büsser
• Henri Dutilleux
• Jean-Michel Damase
• Pierre Sancan
• Pierre Bajeux

Language

en

Abstract

The Paris Conservatoire (est. 1795) is the oldest music school in the world that is still in existence, and throughout its history has provided a government-subsidized education for musicians intended for professional careers in France and the rest of Europe. The ideals set by its founders have remained in effect to the present day, and conservatories around the world have looked to the Paris Conservatoire model. The year 1797 marked the beginning of the annual concours (contest) for students at the Conservatoire. Students performed a piece of music written solely for the concours and competed for the right to graduate. There are no records listing the solos de concours from the early years of the concours; a documented account of solos began in 1824. In those early years of the concours, works were usually written by the applied instrument professors. During the turn of the century, specifically 1898, a program began at the Conservatoire to commission French composers to write solo works for the examinations. The many works commissioned for the wind instrument concours through this program have greatly expanded the contemporary repertoire for each instrument. This study focuses on a survey of four works presented for the solos de concours during the tenure of oboe professor Pierre Bajeux (1942-1959). These works are: Pièce en si bémol, Op. 22 (1901) by Henri Büsser, Sonate pour hautbois et piano (1947) by Henri Dutilleux, Rhapsodie pour hautbois et piano, Op. 6 (1948) by Jean-Michel Damase, and Sonatine pour hautbois et piano (1957) by Pierre Sancan. This paper contains two main sections: 1) a brief history of the Paris Conservatoire and the concours, and 2) biographical information about the composers, a performance guide to their pieces, and an appendix of the collection of solos de concours from 1824- 2000.

Type of Resource

• text
• still image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/106971

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2020 Aaron Wilbert

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