I'm too new here to disclose any dislikes yet , but I do like
Emmanuel Pahud
Patrick Gallois
Ørnulf Gulbransen (late Moyse pupil)
Timothy Hutchins
Barbara Deleu
Amonst the younger ones, Alexandra Grot is great for interpretation, and I urge you to check out Tania Pimenova at youtube! She is a coming star for sure!
(Will return with all the people I forgot to mention.. )
There is a crack in everything,
that's how the light gets in.
i like galway, but not now, he is losing steam w/ age christina jennings, Marina Piccinini, and michel debost
i don't like pahud or khaner
out of the young ones, i like alexandra grot listen to her bozza image it is so magical and the interpretation is so beautiful and spot on it is amazing
i was wondering what you guys thought about who were the best teachers in the world?
I am grateful also for all the time and offerings he allows on YouTube. I have gained so much from listening to his playing and his words. I also saw a brief documentary of him on Ovation channel recently.
Even more, when I see him perform Annie's Song on YouTube, a recording that is from way back in the late 1970's, I just sit amazed.
(As a side note, it just hit me the other day about the actual words to this song, Annie's Song...the title could easily be changed to A Song to God as that is how it makes me feel, words and everything about it. I am also a John Denver fan.)
Per chance, does anyone know if James Galway has recorded any very religious CD's? with standard Christian tunes that everyone knows? I would love to know if he did. I have been looking at a lot of his CD's, but I am sure I have only seen/heard about a portion of them out there. Thanks.
Baz wrote:Amir - Welcome to the forum! Since no one's yet responded, the best thing would be to check out Amazon or your fave music store's website. That will give you the best idea in the shortest time.
...and while I'm here, I'm going to add a very emphatic vote for Peter-Lukas Graf (see pic on left). Two votes in fact, because he deserves them.
...and whoever mentioned James Galway, wash your mouth out with soap and water...
I agree about Peter-Lukas Graf. I think he's always had the best tone, very even, rounded and every note perfectly hitting the 'sweet spot' with complete evenness throughout the register. For my money, there aren't any other performances of the Bach B minor sonata that come anywhere near his. I'm not at all keen on big vibrato and his vibrato is restrained compared with a lot of other performers'. In other words, I would say he plays with impeccable good taste, his technique always at the service of the music, whereas unfortunately, the reverse is too often the case. Aurele Nicolet was another flautist in the same mould, but there aren't too many of his recordings around thiese days. I'd also mention Severino Gazzelloni. Kind regards, T.
Sharon Bezaly has arguably one of the most virtuosic technique I've ever heard, but can't warm up to her sound. My current favourite are Patrick Gallois, Rampal, Paula Robison and too bad nobody mentioned Jacques Zoon! His Mozart flute concertos, I've yet heard anybody topped him in terms of elegence and effortless tonguing.
When I was young, I was a #1 fan of Rampal. As one American critic put it when he was still alive: there are all the flautists and then there is Rampal...
Not sure if you have listened to his recording of Vivaldi's 4 seasons - I preferred his interpretation to any of the violin version of the work!
After I started learning the instrument, I began listening to different interpretations of the same work. It was Pahud who made me understand that everyone is shaping their interpretation around his own sound - so sonority (how the instrument sounds in your hand - or under your lips) counts far more than the agility of your fingers. By extension, I began to realise that some sonority will go better for certain pieces of work, but not the others...
For Mozart or anything Baroque, I still vote for Rampal, esp. his older recordings (his three Mozart concerto recordings is self-explanatory, that even Rampal couldn't keep up with his own standard in later years)
For Nielsen and all romantic concertos, Galway is still unmatched - as is his Danny Boy...
Would be nice to learn of other "definitive" interpretations of different works!!
Shaping the interpretation around their own sound.... HOW TRUE! I was thinking about that yesterday after a lesson with Jim Walker. I was playing the Mozart D Major and he had me play it with a different style (making 3 different interpretations that teachers have had me play). He discussed this point exactly. You MUST shape your interpretation around your sound.
I have 3 teachers at the moment ( a lot! I know!). One studied with Doriot Dwyer and has a sound and style similar to hers. Their Mozart tends to be 'stretchy.' Another teacher studied with Kujala but tends to take after Leone Buyse in her Mozart: compact sound with a light and fluffy interpretation. Jim prefers a more robust and dare I say... brazen approach to the Mozart. He compared the different styles to my sound and we discovered through experimentation that my sound does not suit a light/fluffy, or stretchy interpretation. My sound is just too big/full.
And another interesting idea: Definitive recordings of pieces. Even though there are other recordings that are technically cleaner/precise I don't think that you can really surpass Pahud's recording of Jolivet's Chant de Linos. I also think that Christina Jennings has captured the essence of what Charles Griffes was trying to convey in his 'Poem.' Furthermore I think that Marina Piccinini has done a fantastic job with the Hue Fantasie.
I must admit though, I generally prefer Bennett when it comes to the JS Bach Sonatas ( E minor especially). I prefer Rampal's recording of the Ibert Concerto to Susan Milan's. She is more musical and cleaner, but I think she misses some of the essence of the piece.
These are the two I am listening to religiously at the moment.
Of course I love a lot of other flute players, but apart from the obvious ones (Rampal, Moyse, etc) I can't even remember their names right now because I am SO into Bezaly and Grot.
"It's happening inside you; not in the flute!" - Emmanuel Pahud (At a masterclass in Sydney, Nov. 2010)
Hey many thanks for the suggestions! Now I have listening materials over the summer holiday!
Heard Alexandra Grot's Bach partita on youtube once before. While I was truly impressed by her technical facility, I had found her sound too "brassy" for Bach (Personally I prefer a more "fragile" flute sound for Bach, as Debost - that's why I stick with Rampal). But now I got to hear Sacha's Nielsen concerto on her website... Mama mia... I ordered her Prokofiev CD right away... Why is she not doing more recordings???
More "must listen" suggestions are most welcomed!!
lianeandflute wrote:These two have already been mentioned but:
Sharon Bezaly
Alexandra Grot
These are the two I am listening to religiously at the moment.
Of course I love a lot of other flute players, but apart from the obvious ones (Rampal, Moyse, etc) I can't even remember their names right now because I am SO into Bezaly and Grot.
Bought some Bezaly CDs for a trial. Beyond any doubt the critics are right to compare her to Heifetz and Rubinstein - I have not heard any flautist who can gliss through scales in such a quick-silver way like her. But then she serves also as a best example of why Debost said "don't bother learning circular breathing / blowing, as the flute doesn't sound the same under this technique"...
accidentaltourist wrote: But then she serves also as a best example of why Debost said "don't bother learning circular breathing / blowing, as the flute doesn't sound the same under this technique"...
Maybe beauty is in the ears of the beholders?
what do you mean about the circular breathing note sounding the same?
but yeah, it's so subjective!!
"It's happening inside you; not in the flute!" - Emmanuel Pahud (At a masterclass in Sydney, Nov. 2010)
accidentaltourist wrote: But then she serves also as a best example of why Debost said "don't bother learning circular breathing / blowing, as the flute doesn't sound the same under this technique"...
what do you mean about the circular breathing note sounding the same?
What I meant is, between someone playing the flute with the circular breathing technique (Bezaly), and someone playing the flute with the usual technique (Galway, Rampal, you name it), the sonority (ie how the flute sounds like under your lips) is NOT the same.
Yes it is very subjective, but I just cannot get myself to like the sound of the flute when someone's playing it with a circular breathing technique....
, but I do like
She is a coming star for sure!
)
I ordered her Prokofiev CD right away... Why is she not doing more recordings??? 
