Baroque Holiday Concert

The New York Flute Club N E W S L E T T E R December 2005 BOLD PIONEERS OF BAROQUE FLUTE: Sandra Miller and Andrew Bolotowsky Interviews by Don Hulbert andra Miller and Andrew Bolotowsky are among the American pioneers of the early-music movement, or as many like to call it, “historically informed Sperformance” (with that great acronym, “HIP”). (Full disclosure—I studied both modern and baroque flute with Sandra Miller intensively in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and think that she walks on water.) Sunday, DECEMBER 18, 2005 Yamaha Piano Salon, 689 Fifth Avenue (entrance between Fifth and Madison on 54th Street) Sandra Miller and Andrew Bolotowsky LECTURE From solidly mainstream founda- BARRERE` IN PARIS tions, each forged a highly individual by Nancy Toff career path. There are some interesting 4:00 pm parallels between the two: both studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and both are largely self- IN CONCERT taught players of baroque flute. These SANDRA MILLER and interviews are based on phone conver- ANDREW BOLOTOWSKY, baroque flutes sations with Andrew and emailed 5:30 pm responses from Sandra. Echo ................................................................................. Franz Josef Haydn (Interviews begin on page 5) Concerto No. 2 in E Minor ........................... Joseph Bodin de Boismortier I N T H I S I S S U E Fantasia No. 1 in A Major for solo flute.............. Georg Philipp Telemann A Selection of Christmas Carols Bold Pioneers of Baroque Flute ... 1 from sonatas by .........................................................Chédeville and Loeillet Sandra Miller & Andrew Bolotowsky Interviews by Don Hulbert Gavotte, with variations, “Harmonius Blacksmith,” From the President ..................... 2 from Suite No. 5 (Handel) ......................................................... Michel Blavet On Style Sonata No. 4 in F Major ....................................Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Member Profile ........................... 3 Arthur Levine Orange: Modular Music ............................................ Elodie Lauten (b. 1950) Barrère in Paris ........................... 4 from the Rainbow Cycle—version for solo baroque flute (1999) A lecture by Nancy Toff Music from The Marriage of Figaro................. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Announcements Cinque, dieci/Voi, che sapete/Non più andrai/Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio Flute Happenings ............................... 3 December Refreshments .................... 3 “Aural Hotbed” Photo Footnote ........ 6 Program subject to change. Classified ............................................. 7 2 — NYFC Newsletter On Style by David Wechsler n last month’s column I mentioned in passing that when one practices improvisation, it is a given that it THE NEW YORK FLUTE CLUB INC. I is in the style in which one is performing. When I was a flute student in high school I asked my teacher if 2005–2006 something I had played was good. His reply was, “Well, Board of Directors you got all the notes, but you didn’t play it with any David Wechsler, President style.” For a very long time I had no idea what that meant. Jayn Rosenfeld, First Vice President Wasn’t playing the correct notes and rhythms enough? Ardith Bondi, Second Vice President What did he mean by style? We hear a lot about style all Jeanne Wilson, Recording Secretary the time—Mr. Manley’s hands-on, aggressive management Don Hulbert, Membership Secretary From the President style, Ms. DeLovely’s chic new hairstyle, the New York vs. James N. Blair, Treasurer Chicago hot dog style, etc. Katherine Fink Jane Rigler Webster’s Dictionary has many definitions of style, one Svjetlana Kabalin Seth Rosenthal of which states, “style: the way in which anything is made or done; manner.” Fred Marcusa Rie Schmidt The topic of style is particularly apropos this month because we have Sandra Karla Moe Stefani Starin Miller and Andrew Bolotowsky performing on baroque flutes in a historically- Nancy Toff informed performance (HIP) style. For those not familiar with the baroque style of playing, here are some basics: the pitch is generally lower, there is a lot less Advisory Board use of vibrato, the music is rarely if ever done with a piano, and the sound of a Jeanne Baxtresser Robert Langevin baroque flute is quite different than a modern flute. In the hands of great Harold Jones Gerardo Levy Marya Martin players like Sandra and Andrew, it is a wonderful thing to listen to. In the last 20 to 25 years, the HIP movement has grown, and with it the Past Presidents number of opinions on the proper way to play repertoire from certain periods. Georges Barrère .................. 1920–1944 Forty or fifty years ago, it was perfectly acceptable to perform baroque and John Wummer ...................... 1944–1947 classical pieces on modern instruments with little thought given to lower pitch, Milton Wittgenstein ............ 1947–1952 Mildred Hunt Wummer ...... 1952–1955 vibrato, proper ornamentation, interpretation in a historic perspective, etc. Frederick Wilkins ................. 1955–1957 Nowadays, when we study a sonata by Bach, Telemann, or Handel, these are Harry H. Moskovitz ............. 1957–1960 further details in our playing that must be considered. But what about all the Paige Brook ........................... 1960–1963 music written during the late 18th and 19th centuries, when the flute was Mildred Hunt Wummer ...... 1963–1964 undergoing what amounts to technological improvements to play louder, and Maurice S. Rosen................ 1964–1967 Harry H. Moskovitz ............. 1967–1970 play a chromatic scale with a tube with more holes in it than we have fingers? Paige Brook ........................... 1970–1973 Here again the HIP movement has taken up the style issue. The flutes used in Eleanor Lawrence ............... 1973–1976 Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and other classical and early romantic music are Harold Jones ........................ 1976–1979 generally six-hole, six-key flutes. These are, incidentally, the flutes that are used Eleanor Lawrence ............... 1979–1982 in the authentic performance of Irish music by bands such as the Chieftans, and Paige Brook ........................... 1982–1983 John Solum ........................... 1983–1986 the Charanga flutes used in Cuban and Puerto Rican music. Eleanor Lawrence ............... 1986–1989 What is one to do? You need only visit Rick Wilson’s Historical Flutes web Sue Ann Kahn ...................... 1989–1992 site [www.oldflutes.com] to realize that there were many different versions of Nancy Toff ............................. 1992–1995 flutes throughout the 19th century that one can use to perform music authenti- Rie Schmidt ........................... 1995–1998 cally. Is it necessary for a flutist to own one flute from every period of music? Patricia Spencer................... 1998–2001 Jan Vinci ................................. 2001–2002 This is where the question of style enters the picture. Style is one of the most Jayn Rosenfeld ..................... 2002–2005 complicated, elusive things to define in music. It really operates on many levels, the most basic in this column being equipment. The choices: baroque, modern Newsletter wood or modern metal flute? Harpsichord or fortepiano? Tuning fork at A=415 Katherine Saenger, Editor 115 Underhill Road or 440?. Next, and more complicated, is the interpretation or execution of the Ossining, NY 10562 music. Do you use vibrato? If so, how much? Is tone color an important factor? (914) 762-8582 Are ornaments appropriate at certain cadences? Is a penetrating, strident sound [email protected] appropriate, as opposed to a more subdued, lighter sound? These are questions Alice Barmore, Layout/Production that are best answered by consulting the many treatises, books and articles, old 125 Christopher St., #4H and new, on this subject. And of course we are lucky to live in an age where New York, NY 10014 recordings exist of performers playing on different types of instruments in (212) 675-9706 (phone and fax) different styles. Ultimately, after reading, listening and studying, it is knowledge [email protected] balanced with good musicianship and taste (another difficult-to-define criterion) www.nyfluteclub.org that will determine whether any given performance is artistically convincing. ❑ Copyright © 2005 by The New York Flute Club Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. December 2005 — 3 FLUTE HAPPENINGS FREE to current NYFC members, this section lists upcoming Degrees: BA and MA in political science performances by members; flute-related contests, auditions, and Member Profile masterclasses organized/sponsored by members; and brief (1950 and 1952, Western Reserve Univer- descriptions of members’ new recordings, sheet music, and books. Arthur L. Levine sity, now Case Western Reserve), PhD Send submissions to the Newsletter Editor. NYFC member in public law and government (1963, since 1983 O CDECEMBER T O B E R 2’05 0 0 2 Columbia University). Employment: Retired Tuesday 7:00 pm Most notable and/or personally satisfying DEC college professor 6 MICHAEL LADERMAN, flute, and with a continuing interest in research accomplishment(s): His 1975 book, The Arielle Levioff, piano, in a recital of and writing. Future of the U.S. Space Program, in which French music by Roussel, Leroux, Debussy, he presciently argued (to quote from a and Casadesus as part of the Classical Café A recent recital/performance: None recently, 1976 review in Foreign Affairs), “that the series at Makor. but he and a

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