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Varese, Wolpe and the OboeAuthor(s): Nora PostSource: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 20, No. 1/2 (Autumn, 1981 - Summer, 1982), pp. 134-148Published by: Perspectives of New Music
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/942409 .
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VARESE,
WOLPEAND
THE
OBOE
NORA
POST
For
reasons of interest
primarily
o the
specialist,
he oboe
was,
for
the
mostpart,overlookedasa solo instrument uring he nineteenthcentury.In
contrast,
he
twentieth
century
has witnessed
the
development
of a
sizable
solo and
chamber
repertoire.
While the technical
demands made
by many
early
twentieth-century omposers
were
fairly
conventional,
others
sought
deliberately
o
transgress
he
boundariesof the idiomatic: n the
vanguard
were
Edgard
Varese
(1883-1965)
and Stefan
Wolpe
(1902-1972).
Their
requirements
with
regard
to
articulation,
dynamics, range,
and
sheer
stamina
were
unprecedented.Furthermore,
t was
largely
because of Var-
ese and
Wolpe
that he
subsequent
oboe
repertoire, specially
n the United
States,
developed
as it
did. Their
writing
reflected a
common interest
both
in
radically
new
musical
ideas and
dramatically
new instrumental
sage.
That the
two men were
mavericks
becomes
readily
apparent
when their
ideas,
as
well
as their
compositions,
re
studied.
Varese
was an
extraordinary
musical
hinker,
one
whose theorieswere
far
ahead of his time.
As
early
as
1924
he
insisted
hat:
The
development
of the
art has
been
hampered
by
certain
mechanical
restrictions
which no
longer
need
prevail...
Just as the
painter
can
obtain
different
intensity
nd
gradation
f
colour,
musicians an obtain
different
vibrations
f
sound,
not
necessarily
conforming
o the tradi-
tional
half-tone and
full
tone,
but
varying,
ultimately
rom
vibration o
vibration...
Varese's
artistic
oals,perhapsmorevisionaryhanrealistic,were probably
closely
tied to his
unorthodox
approach
to
instrumentshemselves.As
Mil-
ton
Babbitthas
perceptively
observed:
Varese
regarded
nstruments ot as
things
n
themselves,
not as discrete
units,
but as
part
of
what
was for him
this acoustical
continuum.
And,
therefore,
he
really
didn't
discriminate
mong
instruments.He
consid-
ered
them
all
as
contributors
o
this
particular
indof
continuum.2
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obb.
-
domeop
I
.
-1%
wm.
"I
"114
lb
:h
0
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136
Varese's wo
workswhich use the
oboe
prominently
re
Octandre
1924)
and Integrales1926). Both testify to his obsession with extraordinary
dynamics
and
articulations.
or
example,
the
opening
oboe solo
in Octandre
concludes
with a
totallyunprecedented
crescendo from
ff to ffff
(Ex. 1).
The
oboe
part
for
Integrales
s
similar
o
Octandre
n its demands.
The
oboe's
firstentrance
includes
a crescendo
which
progresses
rom
p
to ffff
within
three
beats
(Ex. 2).
Later,as manyas five dynamicshadingsare requiredwithintwo beats(Ex.
3).
This
remarkable
writing
can
best-or
perhaps
can
only-be
understood
in
terms
of
Varese's
diosyncratic
pproach
o
dynamics.
As
Babbitt
ecalls:
I
discussed
dynamics
very
often
with
Varese,
although
wasnever
quite
sure
that
when he
agreed
with
me,
he
really
agreed
with
me. But
the
fact
of the
matter
is that
we
very
often
talked
about
this
problem
of
dynamics;
of
course,
my
music
has
many
of
the
same
problems.
We
had
agreed
that
when
we write
for
an
ensemble,
that
we are
not
writing
relative
dynamics.
We
are
writing
resultant
dynamics,
dynamics
which
indicate
the
contributory
characteristics
of
each of
the
constituent
instruments.
And
therefore,
it was
the conductor's
ob-or
whoever
is
inchargeof the ensemble-to see thattheybalanced.When he writes
four
fs
for
the
oboe
and
four fs
for the
trumpet,
hat
means
the
same
loudnesses,
it
is not
relative
to
the
scale
of the instrument
which,
we
agreed,
was
so
dependent
upon
the
individual
performer
that
you
couldn't
possibly
determine
t.
Those
are
resultant
dynamics,
and
Var-
ese
should
have
written
hat
in
his scores.
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Ex. 3
Intigrales,
m.
2-3.
p.
18,
score.
P
I
1a &y.
Ex.
4Octanidre,
m.
4-5,
p.
14,
score.
;,.IP
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139
Composer
and
Varese
scholarChou
Wen-Chung
concurs
with
Babbitt, s
can be seen inthe
following
exchange:
The
difficulty
with Varese'smusic now is
not
rhythmic
or
conceptual.
The
dynamics
are
impossible.
Babbitt
ays
that he and Varese
often
spoke
about
this,
and that the
dynamics
on
the
page
were not
the
dynamics
intended to
be
played.
If,
for
instance,
everyone
had
fff,
what Varese reallymeant was that it had to be balancedout. Isthat
correct?
Yes,
that's
absolutely
rue.
Varese
always
said
that here were
two
ways
of
notatingdynamics-one
is to
notate
dynamics
or each instrument
according
o the instrumental
apacity
n
dynamics,
n
order
to
predict
the kind
of
balance
you
will
get.
The other is to notate them
in
an
absolute
way,
so thatthe
dynamic
evels
indicated n the
score
are
what
he
expects
to hear out of the balance of
the
performance.
Now
that,
of
course, is not alwaysso in his scores. He startswith that. Then 1know
that in
certain
spots
he would make
changes
to accommodate the
instrumentsn
question...In
other
words,
if
you
have
a
fortissimo
pas-
sage,
with
oboe
and
trombone,
et's
say,
he
expects
the
conductorto
balance the two
instruments.
How
do
you
explain
he
beginning
of
the
second
movement
of
Octandre,
with
the solo
piccolo playing
ff?
He
wants
that
instrument o
play
as
loudly
as
possible.
I
think here is
here
the
question
of
a
conflict in
notational
philosophy.
Conflict
or
not,
Varese's
dynamics
pose
staggering problems
for
the
oboist,
who
must
play
as
loudly
as
possible
almostall
the time
simply
o be
heard.
This is
especially
true
of
Integrales
here,
in
most
performances,
he
brassoverwhelm the oboe. If the conductorattemptsto apply Babbitt's
concept
of
"resultant
ynamics",
he
interpretation
will lose
energy,
since
the
brass will
be
underplaying.
To
maintainthe real
character
of
both
Integrales
nd
Octandre,
he
only
solution s for
the oboe
to
"blast" t
maximum
volume.
Even
then,
there
will
probably
be
passages
when
the
instrument
will
not
be
audible.
Varese's
articulations
re also
remarkable.
Octandre
ontainsone
of
the
earliestuses of
fluttertongue
or
the oboe
(Ex.
4).
The work
also
abounds
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140
with accent
marks,
most
frequently
in the context
of forte
dynamic
mark-
ings. Chou Wen-Chung comments on this interrelationship of dynamics
and articulation:
Do
you
think his articulations
are
of
the same
philosophy
as
his
dynamics?
I
would
say,
in
general, yes.
Now there are
always
exceptions.
You
have also to realize that
these scores
were written
in the
early
1920s
and,
at
that
time,
notation for
dynamics
was
hardly
standardized.
And
certain things that composers would often do are not really done any-
more.
Sf,
for
example.
He was
really
carrying
over a
certain
traditional
approach
towards
dynamics
into what he
was then
projecting
in his
music
with
respect
to
dynamics...He
certainly
had
a
very
strong
desire
to
use
instruments
differently.
Surprisingly,
Varese
is
not
particularly
inventive
in
his choice
of
range
for
the oboe. Neither Octandre
nor
Integrales
scend
higher
than
G5,
the
tradi-
tional
limit of the instrument
a rather curious
restraint
for
someone
who is
so
original
and
demanding
in his
usage
of
dynamics
and
articulations.
Given the difficulties
of
performing
Varese's
music
even
today,
one
cannot
help
but
wonder how
earlier
players
managed
to
cope
with his
scores.
Professor
Chou
recalls:
Do
you
remember
how
people
felt
about
playing
it,
do
you
remember
those times
yourself?
1 was
involved
in the
rehearsals
and
recording
sessions
when
the
so-
called
EMS
recording
of
Varese
was made.
At
that
time,
Frederic
Waldman
was the
conductor,
and
he
hired some of
the best
young
performers,
who have
since become
very
important
and so
on-very
much
recognized.
But
I realized
that
they
struggled
through
these
pieces
enormously.
What made it so hard for them?
Demands
on
the
instrumental
technique
and
rhythm.
And
also
the
understanding
of
what
really goes
on. I
was
at
the
rehearsals-
Waldman
called
numerous
hours
of
rehearsal,
and it was
amazing
how
difficult
it was
for all
those
very
capable
people.
It
was
equally
amazing
that
they
finally
got
something
reasonable
recorded.
In
fact,
in
some
respects
that
recording
is
still
the best.
It's
not
precise,
but it had
certain
qualities
because
Varese
was
always
there.
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141
The
extreme
difficulty
of
Varese's
works
raises
the
question
of
whether
he actuallyunderstoodwhat itwas that he was requiring romthe players.
His
colleagues agree
that he
knew
exactly
what he was
asking
or.
Accord-
ing
to
Henry
Brant,
Varese,
a masterof
orchestration,
eliberately
ried
to
push
instruments
eyond
their
recognized
limits.ProfessorChou
provides
an
insightful
omment:
Why
does
Varese
totallydisregard
he
idiomatic?
Ican onlyprovideguesses,really.He was certainlya wizardatorches-
tration in
the
conventional
sense. He
wrote
numerous
large-scale
works-of
course,
many
of
them have
perished.
So there
is no
question
but thathe knew
these
instruments
ell-having
also
been a
conductor
himself. I thinkhe was
preoccupied
with
developing
his own
ideas,
his
own
concepts.
And,
of
course,
you
should
also know
that
he
was
also
always
interested n
finding
some kindof electronic means
(the
word
"electronics"
idn'texist
yet-he
called it "electrical
means")
o realize
and
project
his ideas.
So
I
would
say
he
was
consciously
pushing
all
the
instrumentso theirextremes,and in doingthatperhapsdidnot really
care
that much
about
certain
practicalities.
But it doesn't mean that
Varese
was
not
aware
of
whether
it
could
be
achieved
or not.
I
think
he
was.
He
always
felt
that if
he
pushed
people
hard
enough, they
could
get
it.
I
would
say
at
that ime t wasn't he
case
Very
few
people
"got"
t,
they
probably
approximated
t.
Although
the
music of
Stefan
Wolpe
is
quite
different
from
that of
Varese,the two men, Chourecalls,were alike:
...in
treating
nstruments s
purely
a
source of
sound. In that
respect,
yes,
they
have
certain
viewpoints
that
are
similar.And I
would
say
in
certain
aspects
of
their
music,
yes, you
would find similarities.
And,
after
all,
Wolpe
and
Varese were
friends,
knew each
other
very
well,
and so
on.
But
Wolpe's
works are
even
more
difficult to
perform.
Babbittrecalls a
revealingstory
whichconcernsthis
problem:
I
think
there is no
question
about it-that he
wanted
his
music
to be
more
intricate
han
anybody
else's,
he
wanted
his
music to be more
difficult
than
anybody
else's,
he
wanted his music to be
longer
than
anybody
else's.
There was
that
famous
question
asked at his
Compos-
er's
Forum,
after his
Battle
iece
ad
been
played;you
know
that'sa
huge
piano
piece-25
minutesof
murder
At the
question
period,
someone
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142
asked him whether
this
piece
was intended for actual
use at battle. He
didn't answer-he regardedit as a nastycomment-but the answer
obviously
was
yes.
I
mean
he was
constantly
mbattled
at
battling.
t
was
to be used in his
battle.
Wolpe's
"battle"was reflected in almost
everything
he wrote.
The
piano
works
are
especially
illustrative,
ince
Wolpe,
a
pianist
himself,
was
cer-
tainly
aware
of
the instrument's
imitations.3
rma
Wolpe,
for whom
many
of the
piano
pieces
were
written,
has
also triedto account
for
performance
difficulties:
...He
always
tried to write
simple
music,
but
he never could
achieve
it
because
he was
always
driven
by
his own
demon,
and
the demon
was
complexity.
And
the
complexity
was
part
of
his
way
of
thinking.
He said
that when he had
an
idea,
then
instantly
eventeen
different
activities
entered into
play-so
he couldn't
help
but
being
tremendously omplex
in his
writing
for instruments.
But
on the other
hand,
since
he
had
a
genius
for the
piano,
it was in
some
ways playable,
but
you
had
to be
a
superlative
pianist.Itwas tantalizing;t was there as a challengeand in
order
to be
done,
you
had
to stretch
yourself beyond any
limit.
Wolpe's
first
work
for the
oboe,
the
Suite
m
Hexachord,
alls
for
dynamics
which extend
from
ppp
to ff. Articulations
nclude
three different
types
of
accents
(O A
and
).
In
addition,
Wolpe
makes
one
of the
first
requests
or
harmonic
ingerings
ound
in the oboe
literature
Ex. 5).4
But
most
extraor-
dinaryof all is his choice of range. With a total disregardfor existing
convention,
the
piece
sweeps
from
the
oboe's
lowest
note
to
the
first
A6 in
the oboe
literature.
The
A6 is no casual
gesture
but,
rather,
the
final,
sustained
pitch
of the
Fugue
(Ex.
6).
Such
exorbitant
writing
did
not
recur
untilother
composers
began
tentatively
o
explore
this
register
almost
two
decades later.
The
Suite
mHexachord:
...is
most
extraordinary
n its use
of the
two woodwind
instruments.
Wolpe's music demands a technique which contradictsall previous
ideas
of the
idiomatic.
For
Wolpe,
instruments
id
not
have
limits;
hey
were
like unrestricted
musical
ools
of his
imagination.
Perhaps
such
a
radical
idea
of
composition
explains
why
Wolpe's
music
is
so
rarely
performed.
Itwas not
untilJack
Kreiselman
nd Josef
Marx
played
the
Suite
mHexachord
n the
early
'50s
that
it received
its
premiere.
As
the
second
oboist
o
play
the
work,
I
first
performed
t
thirty-six
ears
after
it
was
written.
Aside from
the
problem
of
technique,
the
relentless
nten-
sity
of
Wolpe's
music
demandsconsiderable
tamina
and
concentration
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'
l--te
m -;wbr
-
-
I
f
Ex.
5
Suite
mHexachord
for
oboe
and
clarinet),
"Sostenuto-Allegro",
g.
4,
score.
oh0O
cidrinet
b
6
l
F
-
q+
I
r.)
01
:L
4~
-
Ex.
6
Suite
m
Hexachord,
Fugue",
.
14,
score.
q-
-A
O 0
I-
--I
-t f r
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Ex.
7
Sonata
or
Oboe nd
Piano,
p.
2,
oboe
part.
p
poco
ril.
A
#
i .
v
=
s
-
.
t_'y
c
r&j
Ex.
8 Sonata
or
Oboe
nd
Piano,
m.
78,
p.
4,
oboe
part.
-p0^
_%
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145
fromthe performer.Perhaps histoo mayaccountfor the infrequency
of
performance.5
The
technical
innovations
ound in
Wolpe's
Sonata
or
Oboeand
Piano
(
1939-41)
are
quite
different
from
those of the
Suite
m
Hexachord.
hile
the
range
of
the
Sonata,
for
instance,
ascends
only
to
F6,
its
dynamic
and
articulative
demands are
more
complex
than the earlier
composition.
For
the
first time
in
his oboe
works,
Wolpe
employs
the
marking
ff,
and
his
accentnotation
expands
to includefour
types
(A/,
A,
and
'),
all of which
are
frequently
used
in
all
registers.
Sf and
sp
markings
re
also
common.
Of
particular
nterest s
the
need for
rapid
onguings.
nthe first
movement
(J=
92),
double
tonguing
s
implied
n
several
passages
(see
Ex.
7).
At a
time
when
double
tonguing
was not
considered
possible
for the
oboe,
Wolpe's
requirements
must
have
seemed even
more
unreasonable than
they
do
today.
Finally,
Wolpe's disregard
or
the
idiomatic s
further
illustrated
by
his
choice of a
trill
which does
not
exist
on
the
oboe,
a B
b
to
B
3
trill,6
ccurring
at a
critical
ransitional
oint
in the
first
movement
(Ex.
8).
Given
its
struc-
tural
mportance,
he
trill
mustbe
played.
These
elements,
the
demands for
extremes n
range, dynamics,
rhythm,
.and
articulation,7
make
Wolpe's
music
extraordinarily
ifficult
for
any
instrumentalist,ndtheoboist nparticular. osef Marx forwhomWolpe's
oboe
works
were
written)
spent
years
mastering
hese
compositions.
The
result,
according
o
Babbitt,
was
that:
Joe
Marx
and
Wolpe
used
to have
screaming
fits
at each other. Joe
insisted
that
Wolpe
was not
taking
the
instrument
nto account. And
Wolpe
answered
violently
that,
after
all,
the
composers imagine
the
new
legions
and
resourcesof
instrumental
laying,
and the
instrumen-
talistmustrealize them.
Any
discussion f
Wolpe
and
Varese
would be
incomplete
withoutmen-
tion of
their
influence on
other
composers
generally,
and the
American
oboe
repertoire
n
particular.
n
Babbitt's
udgment:
Wolpe
had a
tremendous
mpact
on a
lot of
people.
The
most
obvious
one
was
Ralph
Shapey,
and
there
was
always
a
clusterof
students.And
thentherewas the indirect nfluence.Iwouldcertainly uspectthat he
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146
had an influence on Elliott
Carter.
I
don't
know if Elliott
would think
o
or
not,
but
I
certainly
would.
I
thinkhe had an enormous
nfluence-
firstof all--on a lot
of
composers, ncluding
DavidTudor.
By
the
way,
he
certainly
had
his
influence on
people
likeCharles
Wuorinen,
and
on
many
of Charles's
tudents.
Wolpe's
utilization
f extreme contrasts
n both
dynamics
and
articula-
tions
is mirrored n the oboe musicof
Wuorinen,8
and
HarveySollberger,9
as
well as in Babbitt's
wn
Woodwind
uartet.
he
expanded
range
Wolpe
employed
was the model for the laterworksof Isaac
Nemiroff,
hisstudent
and
colleague.'0
The
two
major
oboe sonatas
of our
era
are
still
those
of
Wolpe
and Gunther
Schuller,
and
there
is
no
question
but
that
Wolpe's
oboe
music
directly
nfluenced
Schuller's
wn sonata."
The
evidence
strongly uggests
hat
Wolpe,
probably
more than
anyone
else,
was
responsible
or
the
development
of the
twentieth-century
Ameri-
can oboe
repertoire.
That
Wolpe's
influence did
not
assert
itself more
generallyuntil heearly 50s isunderstandable, ecausethedifficultyof his
works
precluded
their
performance
until
hat
time.
Varese's
impact
was of a somewhat
different
order.
In
Chou
Wen-
Chung'sopinion:
...The influence
is
more
subtle
than
apparent,
for
the
following
rea-
sons: Varese
is
a
composer
who
will
always
be
viewed
as
an indi-
vidualist,
rather than
being
in the mainstream.
would
say
that
right
after his death
there
was enormous influence
and interestin
young
composers.
By
now it's
sort
of taken for
granted.
For
the
past
twenty
years
one finds that the
young
composers
are interested
n one
or the
other
thing.
If
their basic outlook
s toward
a stricter
view of
music,
that
is,
music
has to
be
highly
organized
and so
on-then
they
would
find
Varese
is
not
analytically
or
theoretically
as
interesting
as
they
would
like
to
find
him
to
be
and, therefore,
they
feel
that it is not
really
somethingthey
can
use
as a
foundation
for
their
own.
On
the
other
side,you find thatpeoplewho are interested n a much
freer
approach
to
music
find him
too
organized,
even
though
Varese
made
it
possible
for
both
groups
to
really
come
into
existence-especially
the
second
group.
But I
can't
imagine any
young
composer
today
without
the
Varese
sound,
a certain
concept
of his
in mind.
I think
hat we
touched
on
a
very important
oint.
In
the 20s
and
30s--as
early
as then-he
was
alreadydoing
all
sortsof
things
hat
people
only began
to do
in
the '50s.
I
thinkVarese's
music is
well
known
even
though
it is not
played
that
much.
I
just
don't
believe
that there
is
not
a
very
subtle
and
continuing
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147
influenceon hispart.When the
dust is
settled,
I thinkhis influence
will
become
more
apparent.
Like
Wolpe,
but
in another
way,
Varese
performed
a critical
ervice
for
the oboe.
He was the
first
twentieth-century
omposer
to
give
the
oboe
pre-eminence
in
the chamber
ensemble.
If Varese
introduced
he
oboe
to
the
twentieth,century
hamber
ensemble
as
"personality",
Wolpe
gave
it
a
contemporary
solo
repertoire.
Ironically
enough,
the
sheer
difficulty
of
their works,which for a time made performancesextraordinarily are,
helped
immeasurably
o
prepare
contemporary
oboists
for the
demands
soon to be
made
upon
them
by
other
composers.
NOTES
1. From Chou
Wen-Chung,
"Open
Rather
Than
Bounded",
Perspectives
f
New
Music
5/1
(Fall-Winter1966):
1.
2. Interviewwith MiltonBabbitt,Princeton,
New
Jersey,
10
March 1978.
Subsequent
statements
by
Milton
Babbitt
are also
from this
interview.
Additional
interviewmaterial
s from
the
following
sources:
nterviewwith
Henry
Brant,Buffalo,
New
York,
6 June
1978;
interview
with
Chou
Wen-Chung,
New
York,
New
York,
17
March
1978;
and interview
with Irma
Wolpe,
New
York,
New
York,
26 December
1977.
3. Babbitt
agrees
"...that
he did
probably
maintain
hat innate
call-it,what-you-will
nter-
nalizedsense
of
what
you
can do
at a
piano".
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148
4. The
traditionalorder of the
movements,
which
Wolpe
himself
preferred,
was:
IV.
(Adagio),
i.
(Allegro),
II.
(Pastorale),
111.
Fugue).
Because
this is not the order
of
the
movements
ndicated n the
score,
all
examples
will
be identified
by
movementname.
5.
Nora
Post,
Program
note
to
Stefan
Wolpe,
Suite
m
Hexachord
June
n
Buffalo
X,
"In
Memory:
The
Musicof
Stefan
Wolpe
and Isaac
Nemiroff',
15
June
1977).
6.
Only
the Prestini
system
oboe is
capable
of
playing
this trill.
This
rare instrument
possesses
a
left hand
thumb
key,
below the normal
left
hand
thumb
position,
which
yields
a
Bb3
o
Bh3 rill.
7.
Edward
Levy
puts
it somewhat
differently, observing
that
"The use
of
contiguous
contrast
ypifies
all of
Wolpe's
music".
Levy,
"Stefan
Wolpe",Dictionary
f
Contemporary
Music,
p.
822.)
8. Charles
Wuorinen,
Bicinium,
or
two
oboes,
1966,
Chamber
oncertofor
boe
nd o
Players,
1965,
and
Speculumpeculi,
or six
players,
1972
(all
from
New York:
C. F. Peters
Corp.).
9.
HarveySollberger,
TwoOboes
Troping,
962
(New
York:
Composer's
Facsimile
Edition,
n.d.).
10.
Isaac
Nemiroff,
Atomyriades,
or
solo
oboe, 1972,
Duo
or
oboe
nd
bass
larinet,
973,
and
Triofor boe/English
orn,
larinet/bass
larinet,
nd
piano,
1976
(copies
of
composer's
ms.).
11.
Schuller's
onversation
with
the
author,Boston,
Mass.,
12 March
1973.