The oboe, including its earlier forms the shawm and the hautboy, is an instrument with a long and rich history. In this book two distinguished oboist-musicologists trace that history from its beginnings to the 21st century, discussing how and why the oboe evolved, what music was written for it, and which players were prominent. Geoffrey Burgess and Bruce Haynes begin by describing the oboe's prehistory and subsequent development out of the shawm in the mid-17th century. They then examine later stages of the instrument, from the classical hautboy to the transition to a keyed oboe and eventually the Conservatoire-system oboe. The authors consider the instrument's place in Romantic and Modernist music and analyse traditional and avant-garde developments after World War II. Noting the oboe's appearance in paintings and other iconography, as well as in distinctive musical contexts, they examine what this reveals about the instrument's social function in different eras. Throughout the text they discuss the great performers, from the pioneers of the 17th century to the travelling virtuosi of the 18th, the masters of the Romantic period and the legends of the 20th century such as Gillet, Goossens, Tabuteau and Holliger. With illustrations, technical appendices, and a discography, this comprehensive volume should be of use to woodwind students and performers.