Omar Zoboli

Omar Zoboli

One of my hobbies has been collecting oboe discs. Now it’s white easy, but in the Barcelona of the seventies finding one was a treasure. Everything started with the need to learn, compare and break with the stereotype produced by ignorance: “he plays well, he plays horribly” (black or white).

When I was 30 years old I listened to Omar Zoboli for the first time. He was a “different” oboist. I contacted with him and we met in Paris (he had a concert there). From the first moment I met him I had the feeling that, not only was I in front of a great oboist (his disc with works of Pasculli gave him the nickname of “the Paganini of the oboe”) but also in front of one of the best pedagogues of this instrument.

I took classes with him in the Basilea Conservatory and since 1992, when I invited him to give some Master Classes at the Conservatory, many “colleague” oboists, and some of my students, have worked with Omar.