Robert Bloom

Robert Bloom (May 3, 1908 – February 13, 1994) was an oboist with an orchestral and solo career, a composer and arranger contributing to the oboe repertory, and a teacher of several successful oboists. Bloom is considered seminal in the development of an American school of oboe playing.

At the Curtis Institute of Music Bloom was a pupil of Marcel Tabuteau for three years. In the 1930s he played English horn in the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski and first oboe in the Rochester Philharmonic under José Iturbi. He was the principal oboe in Arturo Toscanini's NBC Symphony Orchestra from 1937 to 1943. Bloom plays on recordings by the Columbia Symphony and the RCA Symphony.

In 1946 Bloom was one of the founding members of the Bach Aria Group, with which he played until 1980. Recordings by the Bach Aria Group featuring Bloom started appearing from the late 1940s. Bloom transcribed and elaborated 18th-century masterworks for the oboe. His own compositions include a Sonatina for oboe and piano.

Bloom was a professor at Yale and Juilliard. His pupils include William Bennett, Bill Douglas, Tim Hurtz, Richard Killmer, Bert Lucarelli, Ray Still, Allan Vogel, and Richard Woodhams, In the spring of 1988, friends, colleagues, and former pupils gathered in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York for an 80th-birthday tribute.

A few years after Bloom's death in 1994, his widow, Sara Lambert Bloom, published The Robert Bloom Collection, scores and parts to his 21 editions of 18th-century masterworks, 10 transcriptions, and 10 compositions. The Art of Robert Bloom, a 7-CD set of live performances of concertos, chamber music, and Bach arias performed by Bloom over his 60-year career was released in 2001 on Boston Records label.

Bloom's daughter, Kath Bloom is a singer-songwriter and music therapist based in Litchfield, CT.

Birth and Death Data: Born (Pittsburgh (city and county seat in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States)), Died February 13, 1994

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1944 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: oboe, oboe d'amore

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 31 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor E0RC-0027 12-in. 1/12/1950 Scintille diamant (Dapertutto's aria) Robert Merrill ; Jean-Paul Morel ; RCA Victor Orchestra Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-0052 12-in. 1/17/1950 Ave Maria Arthur Fiedler ; Nathan Milstein ; RCA Victor Orchestra Violin solo, and orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-0053 12-in. 1/17/1950 Serenade Arthur Fiedler ; Nathan Milstein ; RCA Victor Orchestra Violin solo, and orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-0055 12-in. 1/17/1950 Après un rêve Arthur Fiedler ; Nathan Milstein ; RCA Victor Orchestra Violin solo, and orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-1791 10-in. 9/21/1950 Eugen Onegin : Waltz RCA Victor Orchestra ; Fritz Reiner Orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-1792 10-in. 9/21/1950 Symphony no. 5, in E minor : Waltz (Allegro moderato), part 1 RCA Victor Orchestra ; Fritz Reiner Orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-1793 10-in. 9/21/1950 Symphony no. 5, in E minor : Waltz (Allegro moderato), concluded RCA Victor Orchestra ; Fritz Reiner Orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-1794 12-in. 9/22/1950 The swan lake : Waltz RCA Victor Orchestra ; Fritz Reiner Orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-1795 12-in. 9/22/1950 The sleeping beauty : Waltz RCA Victor Orchestra ; Fritz Reiner Orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-1796 12-in. 9/22/1950 Waltz of the flowers RCA Victor Orchestra ; Fritz Reiner Orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-1970 12-in. 12/21/1950 O soave fanciulla Renato Cellini ; Giuseppe Di Stefano ; RCA Victor Orchestra Tenor vocal solo, with orchesatra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-1971 12-in. 12/21/1950 O mio babbino caro Licia Albanese ; Renato Cellini ; RCA Victor Orchestra Vocal duet (soprano and tenor), with orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RC-1972 12-in. 12/21/1950 Vissi d'arte Licia Albanese ; Renato Cellini ; RCA Victor Orchestra Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RB-4707 10-in. 5/26/1950 Rose of the world Frank Black ; RCA Victor Orchestra ; Risë Stevens Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra and vocal chorus instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RB-4708 10-in. 5/26/1950 Because you're you Frank Black ; RCA Victor Orchestra ; Risë Stevens Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra and chorus instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RB-4709 10-in. 5/26/1950 Gypsy love song Frank Black ; RCA Victor Orchestra ; Risë Stevens Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra and chorus instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor E0RB-4710 10-in. 5/26/1950 I can't do the sum Frank Black ; RCA Victor Orchestra ; Risë Stevens Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with chorus and orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor D4RB-0700 10-in. 11/15/1944 I wonder as I wander Jay Blackton ; Gladys Swarthout ; Victor Orchestra Mezzo-soprano solo, with mixed vocal chorus and orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor D4RB-0701 10-in. 11/15/1944 Beat out dat rhythm on a drum Jay Blackton ; Gladys Swarthout Mezzo-soprano solo, with mixed vocal chorus and orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor D4RB-0702 10-in. 11/15/1944 Right as the rain Jay Blackton ; Gladys Swarthout Mezzo-soprano solo, with mixed vocal chorus and orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor D5RC-0004 12-in. 1/5/1945 The trumpeter Richard Crooks ; Maximilian Pilzer ; Victor Orchestra Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor D5RC-0005 12-in. 1/5/1945 Were you there Richard Crooks ; Maximilian Pilzer ; Victor Orchestra Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor D5RB-0020 10-in. 1/5/1945 The Americans come Richard Crooks ; Maximilian Pilzer ; Victor Orchestra Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor D5RB-0021 10-in. 1/5/1945 Invictus Richard Crooks ; Maximilian Pilzer ; Victor Orchestra Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
Victor D5RB-0022 10-in. 1/5/1945 There is no death Richard Crooks ; Maximilian Pilzer ; Victor Orchestra Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra instrumentalist, oboe  
(Results 1-25 of 31 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bloom, Robert," accessed January 4, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/376727.

Bloom, Robert. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 4, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/376727.

"Bloom, Robert." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 4 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/376727

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