Oboist Cristina Gómez Godoy: brilliant technique and great sensitivity | Music Documentary

Cristina Gómez Godoy has achieved what few others have: a solo career as an oboist What sets her style apart? I'm always trying to find a warm sound – though that's basically in opposition to the oboe's nature. By 'a warm sound' I don't just mean sounding nice, or sounding warm, though; I'm aiming to simultaneously provide lots of flexibility, and timbre too . With her brilliant technique and great sensitivity Cristina Gómez Godoy has shot to the top of the music scene She completed her musical

education in Spain and German y Originally, she wanted to learn to play the clarinet, but her music school teacher talked her into the oboe She showed me a picture and said 'Look, it almost looks like the clarinet, but with a small mouthpiece.' If I had known at that time the amount of work it would entail, I don't know that I would have chosen it, but I liked the look of the instrument. Without knowing what it sounded like, I chose the oboe – that's how I came to the instrument. The oboe is con

sidered a difficult instrument, especially when it comes to the breathing technique Musicians have to blow hard on the mouthpiece It's a small mouthpiece that you have to blow through very quickly. It's a bit alarming at first, although the reeds for beginners are much simpler – so you can somehow get started. To play longer passages, they rely on circular breathing It doesn't look good. You really have to love the oboe and its sound simply to stick with it – but that is how it was for me – and

yes; so far it's made me very happy. Not only does Cristina Gómez Godoy need perfect technique the oboe itself also requires special craftmanship A new mouthpiece is created each time You first have to buy the reeds, cut them, measure them, cut them again, measure them again, measure the density, measure the hardness, and then you also have to scrape them yourself, with extremenly sharp knives, like this one. You have to work with really tiny pieces of wood. It's a complicated process, and at th

e end you still don't know if they're going to work out or not. Depending on the location, too, they're either going to work well, or poorly. That's why you always have to have different reeds. It's always an adventure, you're never bored playing the oboe. Cristina Gómez Godoy is constantly on tour or rehearsing In 2013, she was designated the solo oboist of the Staatskapelle Berlin – at just 23 years old Already then, she hat experience playing under the direction of Daniel Barenboim Their co

llaboration was intense That was really formative for me. I've had the truly great fortune to work with him often, and in very different ways – not only in the orchestra but as a soloist, in chamber music, in opera ... everything That really made a huge impression on me: His understanding of the music, how he works, how precisely he goes into the details. That generation of legends is slowly disappearing, sadly. This piece by the British composer was inspired by the turbulent times of Brexit was

inspired by the turbulent times of Brexit I consider myself a very open person, and I think it's already important – crucial, even to incorporate contemporary music into the repertoire. It's important and it's our responsibility as artists to perform new music, so that it can be heard in the first place. Then time, society, and the listeners decide whether the pieces are played in perpetuity or not, but they first have to have been heard. For eight years, Cristina Gómez Godoy has been instructi

ng at the Berlin University of Arts What does she want to teach students? It's important for me to foster the new generation. If I can convey part of what I feel through the music, what I feel with the music, I'm already perfectly happy. Of course, when you have an instrument that's so difficult to master like this in your hands, it can at times be a bit frustrating. I try to instill principles like dedication and perseverance in my students as well – and above all to nurture a love the oboe and

music, because without love, nothing in this profession really works. You really do have to work a lot. Cristina Gómez Godoy has achieved everything she dreamt of What challenges is she still seeking? I intend to move into what the future will bring – the new conductors, and the new orchestras that are being founded. That would be my main interest now. I would say I've played now with really almost all the conductors that I could have dreamed of playing with, as well as the orchestras that I wo

uld most have liked to perform with. Cristina Gómez Godoy is well past her days of being some up-and-coming musician She’s made a name for herself with her own style in the world of classical music It’ll be exciting to see what she does next!