Alfred Laubin – Introduction
Alfred Barre Laubin
1906 – September 6, 1976
The Winter Laubin newsletter is dedicated to Alfred Laubin, founder of A. Laubin Oboes and English horns.
Here, I quote from the Hartford Times, Monday, March 29, 1948, about Alfred Laubin:
“The word has gone around the musical world that a Laubin oboe rivals the finest French makes. To the house in Scarsdale (NY) come musicians and orders from all over the country.”
“His work is as minute as fine jewelry and as accurate as the bore of a rifle. But the music is far from deadly. That sweet but piercing note you hear when the orchestra is tuning up is the oboe giving the pitch to the other instruments. One of the most difficult to play, the oboe is an important soloist, and in the hands of a master, has a bewitching quality.”
Imagine playing your instrument and thinking to yourself, “I can make an instrument better than what I’m playing.” This is exactly what Alfred Laubin did. As an experienced instrument maker, I cannot imagine thinking this. The person with this thought is unique. Meredith Laubin described Alfred as a quiet man, almost reticent, who very rarely spoke unless spoken to. He was a true gentleman, always very polite and respectful. He spoke with a bit of a New England, Connecticut accent, and was extremely knowledgeable about Oboes and woodwind instruments and their construction.
According to the family history,
Alfred Barre Laubin was born in 1906 in Detroit Michigan to Carl Laubin and Carrie Vanette Laubin, their second child. His mother managed the home, and Karl owned a tailor shop. Karl played oboe, clarinet and flute. He was a founding member of the Detroit Symphony. At a young age, Alfred went to live with his uncle Edward Laubin in Hartford, Connecticut, where his brother Reginald was also living and going to school. Uncle Ed’s home was a musical home also, as Edward was a well-known church organist in Hartford, as well as a composer of classical music. Both boys were taught piano by their uncle. When times were hard for Alfred and his wife Lillian many years later, their son Paul was also sent to live with great-Uncle Ed and benefited from his kind guidance and tutelage as well.
Such talents as Alfred Barre Laubin are few and far between. In this day of smart phones, electric cars, and mass-produced geegaws (my mother’s term), we are proud to carry on the tradition of unsurpassed quality, legendary reliability, and beautiful sound.