A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Brod, Henri

BROD, Henri, a very famous oboe player, born at Paris June 13, 1799. He was taught the oboe at the Conservatoire by Vogt and became very distinguished: 'His tone,' says Fétis, 'was weaker than that of his master, but it was softer and sweeter; his phrasing was graceful and elegant, and his execution clear and brilliant.' He shared the desk of first oboe with Vogt both at the opera and the concerts of the Conservatoire, and was extremely successful both in Paris and the provinces. He made considerable improvements in the instrument itself and in the Cor Anglais, though these have been superseded by the new system of Boehm. Brod's 'Method' is well known, but his pieces, of which Fétis gives a list of twelve, are obsolete. His death, on April 5, 1839, gave occasion to one of Cherubini's cruellest mots:—'Brod est mort, maître.' 'Qui?' ' Brod.' ' Ah! petit son' (poor tone).

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