Geoffrey Browne
lives in London, England, and has been a specialist
player for more than thirty years.
At the age of just twenty-one, Geoffrey Browne was a full member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, playing in the oboe section. At that time, the orchestra was conducted by Colin Davis and Pierre Boulez. The orchestra specialized in twentieth century music, but also covered a wide range of compositions, occasionally conducted by such people as William Walton, Rudolph Kempe, and Nadia Boulanger.
Geoffrey has made solo broadcasts as an oboist, and there are many classical records that bear his name. In 1979 he recorded Autumn Legend by William Alwyn, for cor anglais and string orchestra; the London Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by the composer. In 1980 he performed Quiet City by Aaron Copland at the Royal Festival Hall, also conducted by the composer. In 1985 he recorded Alban Berg's Chamber Concerto with Peter Serkin and Isaac Stern.
It was the London Symphony Orchestra that dubbed him a cor anglais player when he recorded La Damnation de Faust by Berlioz, with Colin Davis conducting; but he also has much experience playing principal oboe, of playing the oboe d'amore, and the bass oboe. He spent many years as the principal cor anglais player of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and played co-principal oboe at Glyndebourne. Later he moved to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra where he made major solo contributions to feature films such as The Shooting Party, and The Return of the Native.
His wide experience includes giving lectures on Wagner, and he gave a broadcast talk for BBC Radio 3 on the subject of "The Cor Anglais". He is the author of the book The Art of Cor Anglais, which over the last ten years has become the industry-standard textbook worldwide.
More recently, after eight years working with English National Opera, Geoffrey Browne now concentrates on teaching and lecturing.
Lectures include Getting to Know Wagner's Ring Cycle aimed at 18-22 year olds. This is a Powerpoint lecture for those who want to get to know the operas without having to sit through 15 hours of music.
At present he is studying Humanities and Philosophy with the Open University.
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