Flutists' Family Tree : in Search of the American Flute School / by Demetra
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FLUTISTS’ FAMILY TREE: IN SEARCH OF THE AMERICAN FLUTE SCHOOL DOCUMENT Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Demetra Baferos Fair, M.M. ***** The Ohio State University 2003 Dissertation Committee: Professor Katherine Borst Jones, Adviser Approved by Professor Lois Rosow Professor Christopher Weait Adviser School of Music Copyright by Demetra Baferos Fair 2003 ABSTRACT For decades, American flutists have sought to identify specific traits that define their playing as a whole. While the “French School” has been characterized by a preoccupation with tone, a standard repertoire, and set of teaching materials written by Paris Conservatoire professors, no such definition can yet be set forth for the “American School.” This document provides a clear starting point for research into the what, where, why, and how of the “American Flute School” by first identifying who is associated with that school. By tracing the lineage of transverse flute playing from teacher to student through the past 300 years, we may identify orchestral flutist, soloist, and teacher, Georges Barrère, as a primary influence upon American flute playing. Barrère and his students – and his students’ students – have taught approximately 91% of all living flutists in the United States today. Of that vast number, approximately 87% can trace their heritage (through one or more of their teachers) to Barrère student William Kincaid, renowned flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and pedagogue at the Curtis Institute of Music. It is important to note that most modern musicians study with more than one teacher over the course of their career (usually between three and eight). By looking at the data from different perspectives, we can see a second important tradition of flute playing descend from Georges Laurent, principal flutist of the Boston Symphony ii Orchestra and instructor at the New England Conservatory of Music, including approximately 59% of American flutists. A third tradition of flute playing in America (including roughly 55% of American flutists) descends from French flutist and pedagogue, Marcel Moyse, who taught summer classes in Vermont for several decades after a lengthy career in Paris. Each of these influential pedagogues graduated from the Paris Conservatoire, having studied with the distinguished master, Paul Taffanel. A lengthy appendix of biographical information contains data for more than 8,000 flutists, obtained from a combination of primary and secondary source material, and will underpin numerous related studies as we continue to define the “American Flute School.” iii Dedicated to my family iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my adviser, Katherine Borst Jones, and committee members Lois Rosow, and Christopher Weait for insight and guidance of immeasurable quantities, as well as encouragement throughout this lengthy study. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Christina Pelletier for the hundreds of hours of work committed at the onset of this study, and for sharing wonderful anecdotes from various flute master classes. I thank Susan Nelson for her kindness and generosity in providing biographical information, accurate life dates and name spellings for numerous historical flutists at the onset of this project. I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of members of the FLUTE e-mail list group, which is administered and maintained by Larry Krantz, John Rayworth, Helen Spielman, and Nelson Pardee. List members who have been especially helpful include Ardal Powell, Robert Bigio, John Wion, Nancy Toff, Leone Buyse, Patricia George, Trevor Wye, Cate Hummel, and Claude Monteux. Extra thanks to John Wion and Larry Krantz for their wonderful web-listings of historical and current orchestral flutists performing throughout the world. I thank Rae Terpenning, George Pope, Amy Zuback, Hal Ott, Kyle Dzapo, John Bailey, and Madeline Neumann for making it possible to share this project with the v National Flute Association at conventions in Columbus, OH, Dallas, TX, and Washington D.C. I extend thanks to Barbara Suetholz for providing me with biographical information from the programs of each convention of the National Flute Association since its inception, and to all convention attendees who have graciously taken part in this survey and encouraged me at many different levels. My warmest thanks to archivists Joanne Barry of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Barbara Perkel of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for assistance with performance records and press clippings of flutists of these ensembles. Also thanks to Associate Archivist Rich Wandel of the New York Philharmonic for a roster of flutists from each of the New York Symphony Association ensembles for years 1877 to 1928. I thank the department heads, secretaries, archivists, and flute teachers of hundreds of colleges and universities for their willingness to provide names and dates of employment for past and present flute instructors at their institutions. I especially thank Jeni Dahmus, Archivist of the Lila Acheson Wallace Library of the Juilliard School, for help compiling an exhaustive list of the school’s flute alumni and instructors. Also thanks to Jean Morrow and her delightful staff at the Harriet M. Spaulding Music Library of the New England Conservatory of Music; Joanne Seiter, archivist of The Curtis Institute of Music, for assistance with faculty and student rosters and recital and commencement programs throughout the history of the institution; and archivist David Peter Coppen of the Sibley Music Library of the Eastman School of Music for providing names and dates of employment for flute instructors at the school. vi I thank the following individuals for their help compiling student listings: Nancy Toff for students of Georges Barrère, Leone Buyse for students of Joseph Mariano, Alicia DiDonato for students of John Wion, and Danielle Hundley and Katherine Borst Jones for students of Robert Willoughby. I also thank Julius and Ruth Baker for assistance with student rosters and Baker memorabilia. A project such as this would not be possible without the participation of a generous and collaborative community of musicians. We are blessed to have such camaraderie among flutists, and I extend my heartfelt appreciation to all who have participated at any level in this study. Finally, I wish to thank my husband, Keith, for his continued faith and support, and my son, Joey, for patience and unconditional love. vii VITA September 19, 1970 ...........................Born – Akron, Ohio 1992....................................................B.A. Music, West Virginia University. 1995....................................................B.M. Music performance, Capital University. 1996....................................................M.M. Musicology, Northwestern University. 1997 – 1999........................................Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University 1989 – present....................................Studio Teacher of Piano and Flute 2002 – present....................................Lecturer, Delaware Valley Community College PUBLICATIONS Research Publications D.B. Fair, “Flutists’ Family Tree.” Flutist Quarterly 26, no. 2 (Winter 2001): 48. Demi Fair, “The Flutists’ Family Tree.” Pan 21, no. 3 (September 2002). FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Music viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract.............................................................................................................................. ii Dedication......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. v Vita..................................................................................................................................viii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures.................................................................................................................. xii Chapters: 1. Introduction............................................................................................................ 1 2. Our Heritage from the Paris Conservatoire ......................................................... 12 3. Ambassadors of the French Flute School ............................................................ 24 3.1 Georges Barrère ........................................................................... 25 3.2 Georges Laurent........................................................................... 31 3.3 Marcel Moyse .............................................................................. 36 4. The Boston School............................................................................................... 43 5. William Kincaid as Father of the American Flute School................................... 51 6. Baker and Mariano Continue the Legacy ............................................................ 60 6.1 Julius Baker.................................................................................. 61 6.2 Joseph Mariano............................................................................ 67 7. Conclusions and Implications.............................................................................. 72 ix Appendix A: Flutist Biographical Information..............................................................