FEBRUARY 2006

A Conversation with Stephen Hammer

Stephen Hammer, director of “ Mozart Soirée” on February 3 and 5 at Jordan Hall, describes this festive program and shares his favorite Handel and Haydn Mozart moment.

You are serving as director and oboist for “Mozart Soirée.” What can audiences expect?

I am pleased to bring together fellow wind players from Handel and Haydn’s Period Instrument Orchestra and the wonderful pianist John Gibbons to perform some of my favorite music. We’ll play Mozart’s darkly dramatic Serenade in C Minor, or “Nachtmusik,” and we will also offer opera arrangements from The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, and Don Giovanni, including a set of variations penned by the young Beethoven. The program also includes the beloved Quintet for Piano and Winds, K. 452, a piece that Mozart once described as “the best piece I have ever written.”

Are there any specific Mozart programs with Handel and Haydn that stand out in your mind?

I remember early in my tenure we performed the Mozart C Minor Mass with Christopher Hogwood. Arleen Auger was singing. That was an unforgettable concert and brings back some very warm memories.

Did you play modern oboe originally?

Yes, I still do.

Where did you study oboe, and with whom?

I studied at Oberlin with James Caldwell, an oboe professor there, and then I studied privately in Boston with Fernand Gillet at the end of his life. He was 92 years old and taught some wonderful things about phrasing and articulation that actually apply very well to the Baroque oboe.

Do you teach?

Yes, I teach at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, where I live. I also teach at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge.

What are some of the major differences between period instruments and the modern oboe?

The Baroque oboe has only two keys and six holes, but the instrument is fully chromatic from middle C up to D above the staff. And, the bore is bigger than that of a modern oboe, and more complex. It makes a broader sound and it’s narrower than the modern oboe, but it’s not as loud and it doesn’t project as well as the modern oboe.

Can you talk about the instruments you use most frequently in Handel and Haydn concerts?

The Bach St. Matthew Passion calls for oboe d’amore and oboe da caccia. This season we’re playing a couple of Classical programs that require me to use the two-keyed late 18 th century oboe, which has a narrower bore than the Baroque oboe. The instrument I used for Beethoven’s Fifth concerts has more keys – eight to be exact - and comes from the early 19 th century.

Are your oboes reproductions of instruments from those periods or are they original instruments?

None of them are originals. Most of the originals are in museums, and I think rightly so. They’re subject to moisture and climate changes. Every time you play them, they get worn out a little bit. The originals are generally kept as a resource, and then we all make copies to play on in concerts.

How many instruments do you own?

About 30.

Which instruments will you use for the “Mozart Soirée” concert?

I will be using a two-keyed Classical oboe. It’s a copy of a Grundmann oboe from about 1785.

What’s the historical background your "A Mozart Soirée" program?

The C Minor Serenade was written for a particular wind ensemble called the Harmoniemusik ensemble. The harmony ensemble became popular in Vienna in the 1780s. Mozart wrote several pieces for it, and also arranged at least one of his operas for it. Other operas were arranged by various composers for the Harmoniemusik ensemble, also. The Emperor of Austria established the Royal Harmonie ensemble, which comprised the Viennese virtuoso wind players. The ensemble would play the popular tunes of the day in the court and outside for whomever happened to be there to listen. These musicians were the radio and jukeboxes of those days. The C Minor Serenade is really one of the masterpieces for this ensemble.

Don Giovanni was written for the Harmonie ensemble, so people could hear the tunes without going to the opera house. Just like today, with repetition, music became popular. Someone would go to the opera house and say, “Oh, yeah! I’ve heard that piece!” And it was because they had heard it played by the Harmonie group.

The Quintet for Piano and Winds K. 452 is often called “indoor” music that might have been played in the salons of Vienna. Mozart once described the quintet in a letter as “the best piece I’ve ever written.”

What is the primary challenge of being an oboist?

Having a good reed!

What is the most rewarding part of your job as principal oboist at the Handel and Haydn Society?

There are some moments that are just really transporting, when you feel at one with the music, the audience, and the conductor. There’s nothing like it. It can be the best job in the world!

More articles from this issue