Franz Wilhelm Ferling

Franz Wilhelm Ferling (20 September 1796 – 8 December 1874) was a German oboist, composer, and clarinettist. An accomplished musician, he is chiefly remembered today for his 48 études for oboe, op. 31, which are commonly studied by oboists and saxophonists. Life Ferling was born in Halberstadt on 20 September 1796. At the age of 18, Ferling began serving as a court musician for the Duke of Brunswick, a position which he would hold for most of his life. From 1814 to 1816, he was a military musician, playing the clarinet. The 48 studies consist of two études in each key—one slow and the other fast. The études are written in a variety of musical styles: there are five bel canto exercises, six romances, two offertories, four toccatas in the style of Niccolò Paganini, three slow movements, seven marches, twelve waltzes, four polkas, two polonaises, and three czardas. After the études were published, Cyrille Rose, a French clarinetist, adapted 32 of Ferling’s etudes for the clarinet, often transposing the music or changing the meter, articulation, or dynamics. In addition, Rose occasionally omitted some of Ferling’s phrases or composed new ones. After the first edition was published in 1