UNCOMMON OBOE FAMILY MEMBERS IN CURRENT USE
The Viennese or Weiner oboe
This oboe is still used in the Vienna Philharmonic today, the only major orchestra to continue to use this version of the oboe.
Guntram Wolf describes them thus: "From the concept of the bore, the Viennese oboe is the last representative of the historical oboes, adapted for the louder, larger orchestra, and fitted with an extensive mechanism. Its great advantage is the ease of speaking, even in the lowest register. It can be played very expressively and blends well with other instruments."
For more information about the Wiener oboe
Image from Wiki.
The Low A Oboe
The instrument that includes a low A is very rare. The addition of this one note allows for more repertoire possibilities.
For more information on the Low A oboe
Lupophone (modern)
The Lupophone is a modern remake of the bass oboe, extending the range lower to cover some of the bass oboe’s orchestral literature that extends beyond the normal range.
For more information about the Lupophone
To hear the Lupophone
The Sarrusaphone
The Sarrusaphone family is similar to that of the saxophone family, and was designed to replace the “soft” oboe and bassoon in wind bands. The metal bore is conical, and fingerings are similar to the saxophone. It also had some limited orchestral usage particularly in the early 20th century, and more recently, is featured in some jazz and film recordings.
There is also the related Rothophone, designed to even more closely resemble the saxophone.