Heinz Holliger

Praising Heinz Holliger rarely meets with skepticism, let alone resistance. Even those who might find Holliger, the composer, at all questionable may excuse this by pointing to Holliger, the oboist, whose achievements are beyond all doubt.

Of course, there have always been good wind players before Holliger, but they were exceptions. Moreover, they were usually orchestral musicians who remained rooted in the orchestra even when they achieved soloist recognition. Heinz Holliger’s emergence abruptly ended this tradition. The oboe virtuoso began to attract societal attention in the same way as previously established virtuosos—the violinists, cellists, or pianists. That this soloist emancipation extended even to the oboe was all the more remarkable considering that the oboe ranked quite low on the audience’s prestige scale. Many concertgoers still associated the oboe with a reedy, rustic sound, leading to the prejudice that this instrument was not worthy of higher honors. But then they heard Holliger, who—and this is the remarkable part—could have become just as brilliant a pianist or flutist had he wished. That he devoted himself to the oboe seemed almost irrational… Yet he has shown us all what this nasally, somewhat lackluster instrument is capable of when played with such breath, agility, and above all, imagination.