November 2018 The Great War and Modern Flute Music by Nancy Toff ur November 11 concert in 1915. His student Hans Eisler, Ocommemorates the armistice 18, was also called up. Anton that exactly one century ago Webern, another Schönberg concluded the Great War—the war pupil, was not drafted, but that was supposed to be the war registered as a volunteer. He to end all wars, but did not. The wrote to Alban Berg, “I must go composers represented on this to war. I must. I cannot stand program are but a small selection of it anymore.” Berg worked as a those who served in and endured training officer in the Austrian the war. Appropriately, given war ministry in Vienna, not at that they wrote for the flute, an the front, and ultimately became instrument whose 20th century a pacifist. Paul Hindemith, traditions are so firmly rooted in drafted in 1917 at age 22, the French tradition, the emphasis was a drummer in a German of the concert is on the French army band. Fritz Kreisler, experience of the war. But it was serving in the Austrian army, by definition a global conflagration, was wounded in the battle of one that affected musicians of many Lemberg. nationalities on multiple fronts. The war was at first an The immediate effect on many Philippe Gaubert (top left), Claude Debussy, and Lili Boulanger. impediment to creativity, as musicians—on all sides—was a call musicians were taken away from to arms. Some served in administrative or combat positions, their musical activities, then wounded both psychically and others in military bands. Many took their pens and staff physically. But it was equally a spur to patriotism, not only paper and attempted to compose in the midst of combat; in the composition of patriotic popular songs—George M. others took along instruments—even portable pianos—or Cohan’s “Over There”; in Britain, “It’s a Long, Long Way made them in the field. to Tipperary” and “Keep the Home Fires Burning (’Till the The roster of musicians who entered the service is Boys Come Home)”—and to the elegiac strains of requiems impressive: Austrian Arnold Schönberg, age 41, was drafted and other memorials. (Cont’d on page 4) Armistice Day Concert Flute Fair 2019: Save the date! The Kincaid Connection Music of the World War I Era March 17, 2019 Jeffrey Khaner, guest artist Sunday, November 11, 2018, 5:30 pm Online proposals due Engelman Recital Hall, Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue December 1, 2018 (entrance on East 25th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues) Questions? Email Deirdre McArdle at [email protected] or visit Program nyfluteclub.org/concerts-events-and- more/flute-fair. D’un matin de printemps (1918) Lili Boulanger (1893–1918) Fantaisie (1913) Georges Hüe (1858–1948) IN THIS ISSUE Judith Mendenhall, flute • Soyeon Kim, piano The Great War and Modern Flute Music Trois Aquarelles (1915, pub. 1921) Philippe Gaubert (1879–1941) by Nancy Toff..........................................1 Soo-Kyung Park, flute • Sean Katsuyama, cello • Lora Tchekoratova, piano From the President: The Great War: A Musical Appreciation Elegiac Trio (1916, pub. 1920) Arnold Bax (1883–1953) by Nancy Toff..........................................2 Sonata for flute, viola, and harp (1915) Claude Debussy (1862–1918) Member Profile: Jenny Cline................................3 Auréole: Laura Gilbert, flute • Mary Hammann, viola • Stacey Shames, harp Announcements 2019 Flute Fair Update.........................................1 Concert curated by Nancy Toff 2019 Competition Deadlines................................2 Flute Happenings...................................................3 Program subject to change Ensemble Program Update....................................7 2 — NYFC Newsletter The Great War: A Musical Appreciation by Nancy Toff s a child of the ’60s, it is hard for me to call any war Agreat. But as a historian, I have become fascinated with THE NEW YORK FLUTE CLUB INC. the culture of what was known in its day as the Great War. Perhaps it was partly because my grandfather served in that 2018–2019 war, although the fighting ended soon after he was designat- Board of Directors ed for overseas duty, and First Lt. Alvin F. Bluthenthal never Nancy Toff, President went abroad. A distant cousin, Arthur Bluethenthal [sic], was Patricia Zuber, First Vice President a bomber pilot in the French Foreign Legion and then the Kaoru Hinata, Second Vice President Lafayette Flying Corps, the American unit that flew for the Deirdre McArdle, Recording Secretary French before the United States entered the war. He was Katherine Saenger, Membership Secretary killed in action in 1918, a fact I discovered while doing pic- Nicole Schroeder, Treasurer From the ture research for a Time-Life book on World War I aviation, Jenny Cline Diane Couzens President Knights of the Air, many years ago. For that same project, I Julietta Curenton Jeff Mitchell turned up a poster for a benefit concert in the Loire valley Fred Marcusa Judith Mendenhall with Philippe Gaubert as flute soloist. Linda Rappaport Rie Schmidt Researching the life of Georges Barrère drew my attention to the centrality of Malcolm Spector the First World War to his generation, even though Barrère himself did not serve in the war. However, many of his close friends, among them André Caplet and Advisory Board Philippe Gaubert, did serve, and he played convivial host to the French musicians Jeanne Baxtresser Stefán Höskuldsson Robert Langevin Gerardo Levy who toured the USA and ultimately emigrated here. That generation, including Marya Martin Michael Parloff Pierre Monteux and Edgard Varèse, and the one that followed, including Georges Jayn Rosenfeld Renée Siebert Laurent, longtime principal flutist of the Boston Symphony, were key figures in bringing European and particularly French modernism and woodwind style to Past Presidents America, a development from which all flutists have benefited. Georges Barrère ................. 1920– 1944 This month’s concert is also an opportunity to revive a John Wummer ..................... 1944– 1947 concert format we presented successfully during the Bar- Milton Wittgenstein ........... 1947– 1952 rère celebrations of the mid-1990s: a group concert featur- Mildred Hunt Wummer ..... 1952– 1955 ing our deep bench of New York flutists. (That may be the Frederick Wilkins ............... 1955– 1957 only sports metaphor ever to appear in this space.) The Harry H. Moskovitz ............. 1957– 1960 Debussy and Bax trios have long been core repertoire for Paige Brook .......................... 1960– 1963 Auréole, Laura Gilbert’s flute, viola, and harp trio; likewise Mildred Hunt Wummer .... 1963– 1964 World War I-era music is core to the solo and chamber Maurice S. Rosen .............. 1964– 1967 repertoire of Judy Mendenhall and Soo-Kyung Park. Mak- Harry H. Moskovitz ........... 1967– 1970 ing the choices for this program was difficult: left on the Paige Brook ......................... 1970– 1973 cutting room floor were many other works by Caplet, Sem Eleanor Lawrence .............. 1973– 1976 Dresden, Arthur Foote, Gaubert, Goossens, Griffes, Karg- Harold Jones ....................... 1976– 1979 Elert, Koechlin, John Lemmone, Pierné, Reger, Tillmetz, Eleanor Lawrence .............. 1979– 1982 Paige Brook ......................... 1982– 1983 Vaughan Williams, and more. (Note that the master list and John Solum ......................... 1983– 1986 other related material will be posted in this issue’s online Eleanor Lawrence .............. 1986– 1989 newsletter archive.) Sue Ann Kahn .................... 1989– 1992 World War I left us with an indelible literary legacy in Nancy Toff ........................... 1992– 1995 the poetry of Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfrid Owen, Alan Seeger Rie Schmidt ......................... 1995– 1998 (“I Have a Rendezvous with Death”), and John McCrae (“In Patricia Spencer .................. 1998– 2001 Flanders Fields”) and the prose of Edith Wharton (Fighting Jan Vinci ................................ 2001– 2002 France: From Dunkerque to Belport), Ernest Hemingway (A Jayn Rosenfeld .................... 2002– 2005 Farewell to Arms), Erich Maria Remarque (All Quiet on the Lt. Alvin F. Bluthenthal, David Wechsler..................... 2005–2008 Western Front), and Willa Cather (One of Ours). On No- at home in Memphis, Nancy Toff..................... ....... 2008–2011 vember 11, please come hear what musicians contributed Tennessee, 1918. John McMurtery................. 2011–2012 to the cause as we honor the Generation of 1914. Wendy Stern................... ..... 2012–2015 Patricia Zuber....................... 2015–2018 2019 Competition Deadlines NYFC Competition Young Musicians Contest Newsletter Barbara Siesel, Coordinator Katherine Saenger, Editor Kaoru Hinata, Coordinator 115 Underhill Road Flutists ages 18 to 27 are eligible to The Young Musicians Contest is di- Ossining, NY 10562 compete in the annual NYFC Com- vided into four age groups spanning 914-762-8582 petition. ages 8 and under to 18. The 2019 [email protected] Preliminary and final audi- tions will be held at the Flute Fair on contest will take place on Sunday, www.nyfluteclub.org Sunday, March 17, 2019. Each win- February 10 at the School for Strings, ner receives a cash honorarium and 419 W. 54th St., NYC. The winners Copyright © 2018 by The New York Flute Club, Inc., will perform at the Flute Fair on unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. will perform at the Club’s April 28, Sun- 2019 concert. The application dead- day, March 17, 2019. Regular applica-