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Zusatztext Edward Blakeman...lucidly tells the story of this fascinating, important, and kindly man who influenced flute playing indelibly over the later decades of the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth. This makes for a good read... [An] important book. Informationen zum Autor Edward Blakeman is Editor of Live Music at BBC Radio 3 in London, in charge of broadcasting opera, orchestral concerts, and the annual summer season of the BBC Proms. As a flute player and writer on music, he has long been fascinated by all things French, and this book is the result of many happy times of work and play in Paris. Klappentext The French flute player and conductor Paul Taffanel (1844-1908) was an extraordinary virtuoso and a major figure in fin de siecle Parisian musical life. Based on a treasure trove of private documents of Taffanel's previously unpublished letters and papers, Taffanel: Genius of the Fluterecounts the rich story of his multi-faceted career as a player, conductor, composer, teacher, and leader of musical organizations. As a player, Taffanel had a rare vision of the flute as a serious, expressive instrument and is credited with re-establishing it in the mainstream of music. He was also an inspiring teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, to whom many modern flutists can trace their roots. In 1879, Taffanel founded theSociete de musique de chambre pour instruments a vent (Society of Chamber Music for Wind Instruments), reviving the wind ensemble music of Mozart and Beethoven, and breaking the dominance of piano and strings in recital and chamber music. From 1890, he served as chief conductor at the Paris Operaand the Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire (Paris Conservatory Orchestra)--the first time a flutist, rather than a string player, had been appointed to such key positions. Edward Blakeman expertly places these and many other elements of Taffanel's story in the rich political and cultural backdrop of the time, evoking Conservatoire intrigues, the Societe des concerts, and Taffanel's relationships with various musicians and major composers. Blakeman details thecircumstances surrounding landmark commissions, performances, and repertoire, and weaves the details from Taffanel's correspondence with first-person interviews and flute lore. What emerges is a portrait of anall-around musician who was also a modest and genial man.Paul Taffanel (1844 - 1908) is essentially the father of modern flute playing. Drawing on previously unavailable material from a provate archive in Paris, Blakeman describes and evaluates Taffanel's life, career, and works, with particular reference to his influence as founder of the modern French School of flute playing....
