Oboe vs. English Horn with RPO musicians

Rochester Philharmonic musicians Erik Behr (principal oboe) and Anna Steltenpohl (oboe and English horn) give a mini-lesson on the similarities and differences between and oboe and English horn. The video concludes with a short duet!

[TenTonNuke]

1:14 "The oboe is traditionally seen as the leader of the woodwind section." (English Horn player sad face)

[zebrastripes]

Wow, they made it an entire 48 seconds before telling us how hard it is to make reeds. World record!

[monellerichmond]

Famous anecdocte: At a rehearsal, Sir Thomas Beecham once asked the oboist to give an "A" so the orchestra could tune up. This particular oboist had a very wide vibrato. Beecham looked around at the orchestra and said, "Take your pick."

[ChucksterJax]

I see a lot of comments about how red the oboist's face turns red. I think it's just this oboist style. It doesn't take a lot of air blown into the instrument to make a sound. The tube the reeds are strapped to is about the diameter of a knitting needle. So it's more like you're holding your breath when you play it.

[joshdobbs]

We used to always make fun of our oboe players face in high school, but he was a damn good player

[pukalo]

I love the oboe but the people playing it look like their heads are about to explode.

[apollo]

I would have liked to know about difference in tone, range, typical roles they play in an orchestra. Showing that they have reeds and come apart isn't very interesting.

[amaliajimenez]

I can confess that for some inexplicable reason now I'm obsessed with these two instruments althought I still love saxophone since I was a child. I believe that the great classiness, sweetness and tenderness of oboe's sound is incomparable (because clarinet sounds good BUT) and English horn is the perfect complement for oboe so I love them too much together. I need to listen an English horn version of the Ennio Morricone's masterpiece "Gabriel's Oboe". Thanks for sharing and greetings from Spain!!! 🌸🌸🌸💐💐💐🌸🌸🌸

[naturetubeUK]

I didn't think anybody could get that red

[Ayearetee]

the oboe should give the tuning A without vibrato though 😂😂😂

[kevinkim]

I saw the oboe guy go purple for a second I mean look at him he looks like the red hulk

[sflehner]

Lovely demonstration! Thank you - an excellent way to feature two beautiful instruments.

[maxcohen]

Ah, the oboe. Played by tomatoes all over the world.

[TurbFlo]

That duet is beautiful. Both players have such a beautiful sound, I strive to have just as clean and smooth a sound!

[splodinatekabloominate]

Oboist had a bad reed and went full tomato

[deansyverson]

Best video yet, highlighting the differences between the Oboe and the English Horn. Thanks!

[RochesterPhilharmonicOrchestra]

That's a great idea for bass trombone and tuba!

[DaHoagie]

I take apart and clean woodwind instruments at my job and its a good thing these instruments sounds so great because they are the biggest pain to work on xD

[fa_engineer]

Very informative! I was wondering about the differences between the two. You both play beautifully!

[carolheverin]

So glad I came upon this video! It was so enjoyable to listen to! Thank you!