Piccolo oboe
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The piccolo oboe is the smallest and highest pitched member of the oboe family. Pitched in E-flat or F above the regular oboe (which is a C instrument), the piccolo oboe is a sopranino version of the oboe, comparable to the E-flat clarinet.
[edit] Makers
Piccolo oboes are produced by the French makers F. Lorée and Marigaux (pitched in F) and the Italian firm Fratelli Patricola (pitched in E-flat). Lorée calls its instrument "piccolo oboe" and Marigaux and Patricola call their instruments oboe musette. As of 2006, a new instrument typically sells for US$6,000-7,500.
[edit] Repertoire
The instrument has found the most use in chamber music and avant-garde circles, where it is valued for its unusual tone colour. Perhaps the best-known pieces requiring piccolo oboe are Solo and Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra No. 2, both by Bruno Maderna. It is also used in film scoring.