Bach, Johann Sebastian (1665 - 1750)

Can you imagine living in a family that has been following the same profession for
three hundred years? This is what Johann Sebastian was born into. His family was
in the music business. He started as a choir boy at the age of ten, then became a
violinist in the orchestra of a German prince, and the organist in a number of
different churches. Finally, he became organist and composer-in-residence in St
Thomass Church in Leipzig, where he remained for almost thirty years. Some of
the greatest music of all time was composed in Leipzig by Johann Sebastian Bach. Amazingly, for the
next hundred years his music was forgotten or ignored. It was only when Felix Mendelssohn introduced
him again to the public and to the musicians of the day that some of the greatest treasures in music were
unearthed and are now amongst the most beloved pieces in our listening and performing repertoire. In
these lessons, I play two outstanding pieces: THE BADINERIE for Bachs Orchestral Suite No.2 in B
minor (LESSONS 1 and 15) and THE SICILIANO for his Flute Sonata No.2 (LESSON 6).

Beethoven, Ludwig Van (1770 - 1827)
Ludwig van Beethoven, my favorite composer, was born in Bonn, Germany.
When he was 22 he travelled to Vienna to study with Franz Joseph Haydn, who
by then was sixty. Sadly, just a few years later, Beethoven began to lose his
hearing, and in the last two decades of his life he was totally deaf. People
communicated with him through his ear trumpet or by using a slate and chalk.
The more solitary his life became, the more his work changed from the classical
style of Mozart and Haydn to his own individual expression of his innermost feelings. Some of my
favorite pieces of music are written by the great man: his Violin Concerto, the Emperor Piano
Concerto, and his piano sonatas and string quartets. He also wrote the most famous symphony of all
time, the great C minor, commonly known as Beethovens Fifth. He was probably the most loved,
admired and influential composer in Western music. In LESSON 4 I play his most famous tune of all
from his great CHORAL SYMPHONY No.9.

Bizet, Georges (1838 - 1875)
Sadly, Bizet died of a heart attack when he was only 37 years old. He had been a
student at the Conservatoire in Paris. Paul Taffanel, the recognized founder of
the famous French school of flute playing, was 31 years old when Bizet died and
could have been the inspiration for the beautiful Intermezzo Bizet composed for
his opera CARMEN, which was premiered only three months before his death.
CARMEN has now become one of the most popular operas of all time but,
unbelievably, it was not an immediate success. Audiences considered the plot
obscene and were shocked that it required smoking on stage. At the opening night, at the Opera
Comique in Paris, the audience received the performance in silence except for one item, for which
they demanded an instant encore. That was the INTERMEZZO between Act II and Act III. I play it for
you in LESSON 7.



Briccialdi , Giulio (1818 - 1881)
Giulio Briccialdi was, without doubt, the greatest Italian flute player of the 19th
century. He was a bit of a wild card as a youngster. His dad wanted him to go into
the church but he ran away to Rome where he got a job playing the flute in a theater
orchestra. Then, at the ripe old age of 17 (!), he was appointed Professor of Flute at
the famous Santa Cecilia Academy of Music. During his lifetime, he gave concerts
all over Europe, mostly playing his own compositions. For a time, he lived in
London where he got into the flute-making business. His next move was to return to
Italy, where he became Professor of Music in Florence. We owe him a great deal because he is credited
with inventing the B flat key. This great invention made many passages on the flute much easier to play.
(Grazie Giulio!) Your teacher may tell you not to use the key, but I do when the music permits. (Dont
tell anyone!) In LESSON 15 you can listen to me playing Briccialdis arrangement of variations on THE
CARNIVAL OF VENICE.

Chaminade , Cecile (1857 - 1944)
Cecile Chaminade was born in France. She was a well-loved composer and
pianist, and she had fan clubs in the United States and in England. The 1927
edition of Groves Dictionary of Music said her compositions are charming but
do not rise above drawing room music. This was, of course, the opinion of one
of the snobs employed to edit that conservative lexicon. Her most popular piece
for the flute was her CONCERTINO Opus 107. It was a test piece for the Paris
Conservatoire in 1902 when Taffanel was Professor of Flute and is extremely
demanding. CONCERTINO is romantic, passionate and a real virtuoso piece in
the writing for flute. You can hear me play this wonderful composition in LESSON 9.

Dvorak , Antonin (1841 - 1904)
Born near Prague, Dvorak was the youngest of eight children of a butcher and
innkeeper. His first language was Czech, and Bohemian music was part of his
childhood. He remained devoted to his homeland and as a composer his ambition
was to make Czech music the equal of music anywhere in the world. He succeeded
in his symphonies and in his chamber music. The most famous of his nine
symphonies was Number 9, which he subtitled FROM THE NEW WORLD. It was
inspired by a visit he made to New York in 1891. I often play the theme from the
slow movement, the LARGO, as a flute solo. Its known in the US as Going
Home. Its a challenging exercise for smooth fingering and a good tone. You will
find it in LESSON 4


Enescu, George (1881 - 1955)
Enescu was a man of rare musical genius, born in Romania in 1881. He was a
prolific composer, a great violinist, conductor and teacher. It is said that he could
conduct and play from memory everything Wagner wrote. While living in Paris, at the age of 23, he
wrote the CANTABILE AND PRESTO which was the test piece for the First Prize for the class of the
great flute teacher Paul Taffanel at the Paris Conservatoire. It contains many difficult passages ranging
from the beautiful melody in the CANTABILE to the virtuoso fast PRESTO. This is a piece every flute
player should have in their repertoire. See LESS0N 10.

Faure, Gabriel (1845 - 1924)
Faure was a remarkable French composer, teacher and organist. At the age of
nine he was enrolled in a music college in Paris and eventually he trained as an
organist and choirmaster. He played the organ at La Madeleine church in Paris for nine years, and it was
here, in 1888, that his much-loved Requiem was first performed. He became director of the Paris
Conservatoire and I am sure he became acquainted there with Taffanel, the great flute teacher. It was for
Taffanel he wrote and dedicated his beautiful FANTASIE for flute and piano. This is a piece in two
movements, both of which puts the player through all the difficulties of flute technique. It is interesting
to note that when Faure was born, in 1845, the premier of Wagners opera Tannhauser took place, and
when he died in 1924 Schoenbergs opera Die Gluckliche Hand premiered in Vienna. In other words,
Faure lived in a changing world of music and I am sure played a key role in this change. In LESSON 14
I play Faures FANTASIE.

Gluck, Christoph Willibald (1714 - 1787)
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was born in Erasbach 2 July 1714 in
Bavaria and died on November 15th 1787 in Vienna. He was mainly a composer
of operas and it was in his opera Orpheus and Euridice that we find the most
beautiful solo in the flute repertoire; "the Dance of the Blessed Spirits. His dad
was the head forester for the von Lobkowitz family who commissioned the
string quartets Op77 of Beethoven. It was in they atmosphere that young
Willibald grew up and and was educated in the art of singing. I would encourage you to get this
beautiful solo in your repertoire as soon as you can.


Godard, Benjamin (1849 - 1895)
Godard was born in Paris and was only 14 when he gained a place at the Paris
Conservatoire. He quickly became famous and popular, first as a violinist and then
as a composer of chamber music and orchestral works. Before he died at the early
age of 45, he also tried his hand at opera. But his compositions went out of fashion
and almost the only work he is remembered for now is the Berceuse (Cradle Song)
from his opera Jocelyn. In LESSON 4, I play Godards SUITE DE TROIS
MORCEAUX (Three Piece Suite!).

Gossec, Francois Joseph (1734 - 1829)
Gossec was brought up in a peasant farming family in what is now Belgium. He was
a chorister in Antwerp Cathedral and at 17 moved to Paris. He lived and worked
there for nearly eighty years and became central to its musical life. He was
Professor of Composition at the Paris Conservatoire, a conductor and concert
manager, and one of the most prolific composers in France during the 18th century.
He composed operas, ballets, chamber music, choral works and symphonies. He
was often asked to compose large works to celebrate events during the French Revolution. Gossec is
described as the founder of symphonic music in France, but is now little known. His TAMBOURIN,
however, is a great favorite of mine and a very good one to study (LESSON 14).

Handel, George Friederic (1685 - 1759)
Handel was born in Northern Germany and worked in Hamburg, then Italy. He
arrived in London when his boss, the Elector of Hanover, became King George III
of England. Handels music reflected his international career. He became best
known as a composer of oratorios, like The Messiah and Elijah. Joseph Haydn
went to a performance of The Messiah at Westminster Abbey in London and it is
said that, on hearing the famous Hallelujah Chorus, Haydn was moved to tears and
jumped out of his seat declaring He is the master of us all! I dont think you could wish for a better
recommendation than that! Many of his orchestral works such as his Water Music and his Music for
the Royal Fireworks are still very popular today, particularly for festive occasions. The flute was a very
important instrument for his Baroque, classical style. His flute sonatas form a large part of the flute
repertoire and are well worth learning as they often occur in examinations and competitions. In
LESSON 5 I play Handels SONATA IN F MAJOR.


Haydn, Franz Joseph (1736 - 1809)
Haydn was born in a little town in Austria where his father made carts and his
mother was a cook. When he was just eight he was taken to Vienna to sing in
the choir in St Stephens cathedral. When his voice broke he started to teach and
for some years he struggled to make a living in Vienna as a freelance musician.
In 1761 he entered the service of Prince Paul Esterhazy and remained in his
court for the next thirty years composing operas, chamber music and
symphonies. I would recommend that you get to know lots of his symphonies (he composed more than
one hundred!) and string quartets (more than fifty!). I have used a passage from his famous
SURPRISE SYMPHONY No.94 for an exercise in LESSON 7.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756 - 1791)
Born in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart spent his last ten years in Vienna, where he
was buried in a paupers grave. To me, the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
is a double tragedy. The first tragedy, of course, is that he died so young, at the
age of 35, probably from overwork. From the age of six, he toured Europe with
his father, who wanted to show off his child prodigy. The second tragedy is that
he wrote so little for the flute. There are lots of orchestra parts, but very little
ensemble or solo work. Thank goodness we have his Flute and Harp Concerto and his Flute
Concerto. His symphonies, piano concertos and operas are full of beautiful solo passages for the flute.
The flute is featured as PAPAGENOS THEME in his opera THE MAGIC FLUTE and youll find me
playing it in LESSON 2.

Offenbach , Jacques (1819 - 1880)
Offenbach was born in Cologne and taken to Paris in 1833 by his father, who
was cantor in a synagogue. Offenbachs specialty was operetta, thats to say
operas with spoken dialogue. As well as words, he used wit - his plots were
always simple and amusing. In his most famous work ORPHEUS IN THE
UNDERWORLD, he pokes fun at mythology and satirizes the French society of
the day. Youll enjoy THE CAN CAN, see LESSON 12. Its much easier to play
than to dance!






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Telemann, Georg Philipp (1681 - 1767)
Born in Germany, son of a clergyman, Telemann received no formal music
training. Self-taught, he became a prolific composer who could turn out all kinds
of church music on demand. He still made time to write more than fifty operas,
volumes of vocal and instrumental music and more than six hundred overtures!
His critics suggest that his output was more remarkable for its quantity than its
quality but he played a major part in the musical life in Germany in the 18th
century and left many challenging compositions for the flute. See SONATA IN
F MAJOR in LESSON 3 and SONATA IN G MAJOR in LESSON 12.