Update: Problem resolved Oct. 24th, 2024 yay!! :>)
If anyone was trying to order Christmas Carols, Wedding Duets, Roger Mather's "Art of Playing the Flute" orCeltic Flute Trios, for a few days the payment company Paypal were holding my Donationbutton hostage while waiting for me to realize they were doing so. I finally spoke to them in order to get the problem cleared up.
If ever you want to order sheetmusic or books, at anytime, just send a paypal for the amount in Canadian dollars to:
Way back in 1981 my then flute teacher told me that the best possible thing I could do at this point in time, was to go to the University of Toronto, not because getting a degree was that important, but to study privately, affordably, and in town with Jeanne Baxtresser. Best possible advice and to this day I love love LOVE her decisive, informed and incredibly musical playing.
(Unfortunately I didn't get to attend more than a masterclass before she whisked off to the Montreal Symphony and was no longer at U. of T.).
Nevertheless I learn tons and tons from listening to her playing every time I hear it, even today, even now, every time.
The other day I was sweating away, renovating the house, painting the walls with the classical radio on, and I heard the most exquisite music and didn't know what it was. Some most delightful chamber playing. Remarkable! In the distance, at first the flutist sounded for about four bars almost like a piccolo, it was so simple and lovely, and such a supportive bassoonist, so subtle! I rushed to the radio to hear the announcer say: "That was Jeanne Baxtresser and partner, bassoonist David Carrol playing Kuhlau opus 119."
But of course!!!
Here is the Kuhlau Rondo below so you can hear (hope I can find mvmts. I and II also, but not yet) and also a lovely Madeline Dring movement from her Trio. Enjoy!!
Jeanne Baxtesser and husband David Carrol play Kuhlau Trio op. 119 Rondo (III) (video)
Jeanne Baxtresser plays "Simplice", the 2nd mvmt. of Dring's Trio for flute, oboe and piano (video)
Best, Jen
who's renovating and working on other projects, that's why you haven't heard from me....do comment though if you hear what I'm talking about! Rock on Jeanne Baxtresser!
What a thrill ride on a Sunday afternoon. This is my absolutely favourite piece of music being played by the LA Phil an their entirely exciting/thrilled conductor. Wowza. Enjoy!
Dudamel rehearsing The Firebird with LA Phil (video)
Over on the FLUTElist Jon Raybould has announced an opportunity to play a duet of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream with a famous historical flutist from France! I say go for it! So fun. Here's what Jon says about his playalong creation:
Jon wrote: "I've made a YouTube video of the "Scherzo" from Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", arranged for flute duet. It's from "Méthode de flûte" by Joseph-Henri Altès, and essentially, it's the same as the duet featured at the end of "Album of Flute Duets" (Louis Moyse).
However, on this video you hear a recording of just the FLUTE 2 part, played by the late Fernand Caratgé (1902–1991), a prominent French flutist of the 20th century.
The idea is that you follow the score appearing on the YouTube screen and play along with the Flute 1 part!! All for free!
This is a collaboration between myself and Chris Steward, collector of, and expert on,classic flute recordings.
I've been working on it for a few months. Here's what happened:
1. Chris posted on the Flute List about the "Méthode de flûte" by Joseph-Henri Altès. He was editing some pages of Part 3, and gave the link to it on IMSLP.
2. I noticed that in this Method, there was the Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo flute duet that appeared to be the same as the one in the Louis Moyse Duet book. In my teaching days, I played it zillions of times with my advanced students.
3. Chris then emailed me, out of interest, an old recording that Fernand Caratgé had made, to illustrate the Altès Methode. (Caratgé had spent time revising and editing the Altès Methode for publication...)...
4. So an idea came to me - to use my video editing skills and produce this play-along video for advanced players to play along to. I've made it, so the lines of the music appear magically on the screen (no need for page turns!) .. Plus, I've added yellow blocks on the screen which flash in time with the beat, to help players keep in time. (Best viewed on a large screen via a desktop computer).
I've added some background information at the end of the video, including information about Chris Steward's "Early Flute Recordings" pages on the Robert Bigio site.
If you have the duet in printed form, of course you can use that if you can't play along to the YouTube screen.
And here's a tip - for practising, you can slow down the YouTube playback easily. Below the video, click on the "cog" icon. From there you can choose a speed from x 0.25, through to normal speed.. YouTube does a pretty good job of reducing the playback speed whilst maintaining the correct pitch.
I included an excerpt of a performance of the orchestral version of the Scherzo, played by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the end. It is stunning. For the complete performance, here's the video link (Bravo to the flute section).
I may be late to the party but I'm thrilled to discover Jacob Collier's harmonizations and how he thinks them up!
No, this isn't strictly flute-related, but it's musically fascinating. This young person plays guitar, piano and sings, and his parents are both classical musicians. Enjoy this; it's like meeting J.S. Bach and watching how he works!!
Oh holy cow batman! This is just SO much fun and well worth seeing! Here's the energy for the final piece in the concert (video), and now you can go back and watch the whole thing one piece at a time!!
The establishment of the Slovenian Flute Orchestra was a kind of logical consequence, a response to the challenges of the time during the pandemic, when we also questioned the meaning of our professional activities. The orchestra is composed of flutists, all academically trained musicians, united by a fundamental love for music and performance, forming a deeply connected community. In the flute orchestra, music is not only played, but it is lived and breathed together with it. Every note, every heartbeat of the music carries immense emotional richness, created by the flutists, many of whom are former classmates and long-time colleagues. Through rehearsals and concert preparations, they bond and connect, creating friendships and reviving memories of their shared musical journeys. The orchestra consists of piccolo flutes, concert flutes, alto flutes, bass flutes, with additional color provided by double bass, piano, and percussion. The sound of the orchestra, in the right balance, without vibrato and with a beautifully placed chord, resembles the lovely sound of an organ, which is certainly something unique. The repertoire consists of original compositions for this ensemble and arrangements of pieces from choral and orchestral literature.
At this concert, among other pieces, we premiered a new piece of which we are especially proud, entitled Circus Flautasticus, which was composed by our orchestra member, flutist Agata Gojkošek. You are welcome to listen also our other performances which are listed below.
The orchestra begins its historical journey with two concerts - in Murska Sobota and in the new premises of the Academy of Music at the University of Ljubljana, in the beautiful Kazina Palace, where most of the orchestra members also graduated, making it fitting for them to visit and experience the new spaces and thus “return home” in spirit. See: Event photos
In the description below each of the videos on youtube there is information about where to order the sheet music.
Zequinha de Abreu (1880-1935) TICO TICO NO FUBÁ (arr. Albert Arantes)
* = year of birth given
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Lots of very enjoyable listening, great music for your own ensemble to order (each youtube has a link to contact for ordering), and a terrific event all around for the flute world! Yay Slovenian Flute Orchestra! What incredible imagination and togetherness. Love it!
