Léon Goossens

Léon Jean Goossens ( born June 12, 1897 in Liverpool, † February 13, 1988 in Tunbridge Wells ) was an English oboist.

Léon Goossens was the son of the violinist and opera conductor Eugène Goossens, his brother was the conductor and composer Eugène Aynsley Goossens. Goossens began at the age of eight years playing the oboe and joined a few years later publicly. 1911 to 1914 he studied at London's Royal College of Music and was 17 -year-old principal oboist of the Queen's Hall Orchestra. In World War I wounded, he returned to military service back to the Queen's Hall Orchestra. In 1924 he moved to Covent Garden, conducted by Thomas Beecham, also played at the Royal Philharmonic Society 's Orchestra, and from 1932 to 1939 in the London Philharmonic Orchestra as principal oboist. He also taught himself 1924-1939 oboe at the Royal College of Music.

Later Goossens pursue a career as a solo oboist and enjoyed on both sides of the Atlantic high reputation. Several composers have dedicated works to him, such as Ralph Vaughan Williams ( Concerto for Oboe and Strings in A minor ), Arnold Bax, Benjamin Britten and Francis Poulenc. His brother Eugène wrote an oboe concerto for him. In 1950 he was appointed CBE. In 1962 he suffered in a traffic accident injuries in the jaw and lips, but he could resume his career in 1966 after changing his technique again and performed until the age of more than 80 years.

Léon Goossens, who also conducted master classes and together with Edwin Roxburgh the book Oboe (London, 1977) published, regarded as the founder of an English school of oboe playing.