Cristina Gómez Godoy has accomplished a rare feat: a solo career playing the oboe. Her brilliant technique and great sensitivity have propelled her to the forefront of the classical music elite. Originally, Cristina Gómez Godoy wanted to learn to play the clarinet, but her music teacher convinced her to play the oboe instead. She stuck with the instrument and is now performing on the world’s greatest stages. We met up with Cristina Gómez Godoy at the 2023 Rheingau Musik Festival.
As part of the “Italian Night” at the festival, Cristina performed pieces by Vincenzo Bellini and Alessandro Marcello together with the Festival Strings Lucerne directed by Daniel Dodds. In the interview, she speaks about her love for the oboe, her technique, the collaboration with Daniel Barenboim and unusual facial expressions when playing the oboe. She also lets us in on what the future holds for her and which musical challenges she wants to take one.
At a glance:
(00:00) Camille Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Oboe and Piano in D major, Op. 166, II. Ad libitum - Allegretto (1st excerpt)
(00:18) Cristina Gómez Godoy on the warm sound of her oboe
(00:43) Alessandro Marcello: Oboe Concerto in D minor, S.Z799, III. Allegro (excerpt)
(01:19) Cristina Gómez Godoy on the moment she decided to play the oboe
(01:48) Cristina Gómez Godoy practicing in the corridor of the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden (part 1)
(02:01) Cristina Gómez Godoy about the oboe mouthpiece
(02:17) Cristina Gómez Godoy practicing in the corridor of the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden (part 2)
(02:27) Cristina Gómez Godoy on the unusual facial expressions when playing the oboe
(02:44) Camille Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Oboe and Piano in D major, Op. 166, I. Andantino (2nd excerpt)
(03:12) Cristina Gómez Godoy prepares the mouthpiece of her oboe
(04:18) On the way to the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden (Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Oboe Concerto in C major, K. 314, III. Rondo - Allegretto | Cristina Gómez Godoy, Daniel Barenboim & the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Music Source: Warner Classics & Erato, Album: MOZART, STRAUSS: Oboe Concertos)
(05:15) Charlotte Bray: This Other Eden, Publisher: Birdsong Music (1st excerpt)
(05:29) Cristina Gómez Godoy on playing pieces by contemporary composers
(06:08) Charlotte Bray: This Other Eden, Publisher: Birdsong Music (2nd excerpt)
(06:24) Cristina Gómez Godoy on teaching and her passion for the oboe
(07:15) Rehearsal at the 2023 Rheingau Musik Festival
(07:40) Cristina Gómez Godoy on her future and new musical challenges
(08:12) Vincenzo Bellini: Oboe Concerto in E-flat major, III. Allegro polonese (excerpt)
Cristina Gómez was born in Linares (Spain) in 1990. She was musically trained at the conservatory in Linares, Jaén and Seville. At 14, she was accepted at the Academia de Estudios Orquestales by the Barenboim-Said Academy in Seville. In 2013, when she was just 23, Daniel Barenboim made her the Solo-Oboist in the Staatskapelle Berlin. Today, she is one of the most popular soloists and chamber musicians in the world. She won the Rising Star award by the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) twice, in 2020 and 2022. But playing concerts and winning awards is not enough for Cristina Gómez Godoy - since 2015, she also teaches oboe at the Berlin University of the Arts.
Due to its challenging breathing technique, the oboe is known to be a difficult instrument to play. The mouthpiece requires a lot of air pressure. For long musical passages, the so-called permanent breathing technique is of importance - it allows a constant airflow from the mouth, even when breathing in. Not only has Cristina Gómez Godoy mastered her instrument technically, but she also has the necessary mechanical skills. The mouthpiece, made from the stem axis of the Arundo donax cane, has to be prepared by the musicians themselves. Cristina Gómez Godoy shows us how it’s done in the video.
© 2024 Deutsche Welle
Thumbnail: © Alicia Minkwitz
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16 июн 2024
