Léon Goossens (1897-1988) was an English oboist, one of the great wind players of the twentieth century. He transformed the status of the oboe in British musical life.

In the Pristine catalogue he appears in Berlioz under Hamilton Harty and Pierre Monteux, linked to orchestral recordings from 1927 to 1935.

Goossens’s playing was renowned for beauty of tone, phrasing and expressive individuality, qualities that helped make the oboe a true solo voice rather than merely orchestral colour.

His page is essential. Goossens gives the woodwind shelf an oboe tone with human breath and silver edges.