With The Viennese Oboe, Sebastian Breit (Principal Oboist of the Vienna Philharmonic) brings into the spotlight an instrument that today is played almost exclusively in Vienna: the Viennese oboe. It is a piece of living musical history, built differently, played with a different key system, and above all with a distinctive sound that continues to shape the “Viennese style” to this day. The album is considered the first release to place the Viennese oboe exclusively at the center as a solo instrument.

Repertoire

The release focuses on three sonatas from the “golden era” of the Viennese oboe, works written specifically for this instrument:

Karl Pilss: Sonata in E minor for oboe & piano
Hans Gál: Sonata for oboe & piano, Op. 85
Alexander Wunderer: Sonata in B minor for oboe & piano, Op. 3

The works were recorded by Sebastian Breit (Viennese oboe) and Stephanie Timoschek-Gumpinger (piano).
(As part of the project, additional pieces for oboe trio were recorded during the same sessions.)

Recording venue & schedule

The production took place in Vienna at Casino Baumgarten, across two session blocks in June 2022 and November 2022. Recording spanned three production days in the hall, performed on the Bösendorfer Imperial concert grand piano available at Casino Baumgarten.

Acoustics: ideal for chamber music – and for Dolby Atmos

The recording hall at Casino Baumgarten has been a highly sought-after recording space for decades, offering impressive natural acoustics and ample room even for larger setups. For this instrumentation (oboe & piano), the room felt ideal: present and direct enough for intimacy and detail, yet with just the right amount of “air” for sustain and color. At the same time, the room image provided a beautiful foundation for the Dolby Atmos mix.

Microphones & rigging

For the sessions, a flown microphone setup was implemented using installed steel-wire rigging, allowing the main array, spot microphones, and piano support to be positioned cleanly in the room:

Main array: 2× Schoeps MK2H (flown), suspended on one steel wire
Spots: Schoeps MK41 (flown) for the oboe and Schoeps MK4 (flown) as piano support, each on its own steel wire
In addition: Sennheiser MKH50 for immersive/Atmos microphone placement

Video production

The project was conceived not only as a pure CD production, but also with accompanying video. For the video production we used an extensive setup: our camera crane, additional lighting with large scrims, and three additional cameras.

Production & release

The technical and artistic direction of the recording was handled by marinegrau; Abby Yeakle Held supported the project as Executive Producer/project lead. The album was released by Supreme Classics on 07 November 2025 as a hybrid SACD (stereo/multichannel) and digitally – including Dolby Atmos.