best flutist

[fluteguy18]

Speaking of circular breathing... I've been working on it. Not diligently though. I'm making some progress. I can do it except it sounds like I'm re-articulating. Oh well. It's not a big deal. I mean... I recently realized that I can do the entire Mendelssohn Scherzo excerpt in one breath. So I'm not hurting in the breathing/air control department.

[lianeandflute]

Speaking of circular breathing... I've been working on it. Not diligently though. I'm making some progress. I can do it except it sounds like I'm re-articulating. Oh well. It's not a big deal. I mean... I recently realized that I can do the entire Mendelssohn Scherzo excerpt in one breath. So I'm not hurting in the breathing/air control department.

FG18 I am experiencing the same thing! Lucky that you have a big breath capacity though! I'm sure you worked hard for that. I think I have quite small lungs (I am a girl - and women typically have smaller lungs than men - but I also have a small frame which I think is the main contributor, not my gender ) but I should still work more on breathing. I don't do it enough.

Accidentaltourist, what a shame! I really love her sound. Maybe the circular breathing does change her sound, I didn't think of it like that, I have never perceived it to be so. I thought that was just how she sounded, and I like that sound. Oh well.

[accidentaltourist]

Accidentaltourist, what a shame! I really love her sound. Maybe the circular breathing does change her sound, I didn't think of it like that, I have never perceived it to be so. I thought that was just how she sounded, and I like that sound. Oh well.

lianeandflute: no worry. As I said in a previous post: beauty is in the ears of the beholders. I guess sonority is even more personal and subjective than phrasing, which is why we can have so many different possibilities to interpret the same work. The truth is, even if the composer has had a certain sound in mind when she composed a certain piece of work, great interpreters can often bring in a different sound (alongside a different way to interpret the piece) to the composer, and win her over with a different way to look at her own piece. Rampal has done that (several times), Oistrakh has done that, and so did countless others in the history of music.

To be fair, while I personally am not fond of her sound, it is absolutely true that Bezaly's technique has liberated the flute from the usual constraints of wind instrument and opened a whole new world of interpretation possibilities!

[liebeyena]

In my eyes ,the arts is that different people find different meanings of their own.
There is no distinction between high and low.

[JazzGirl301]

I would say it depends on how you look at it. You could look at it from a technique standpoint, soulful, etc... Someone could play something really fast showing off their technique, but showing no feelings for the piece. Or someone could even play a slow meaningful melody with musicianship. It all depends on how you look at it.

[sonicapogee]

Heh. Personally, I would say, Ian Anderson and James Galway. They're like gods to me.

Ian Anderson !!!! ++++++
a GREAT Artist

[asoalin]

My favorites...Emmanuel Pahud, Laurel Zucker, Leone Buyse (went to her masterclass..amazing!!), Patrick Gallois, Clare Southworth, Kenneth Smith, Caen Thomason-Redus, James Galway (I agree that a lot of his music lacks variation, but he makes up for it in technique...though not enough to put him at the top of my faves list)

[flutego12]

anyone with beautiful tone & interpretation and a lot of soul = is the best.
virtuoso/virtuosi is not a must for me.
I aspire to be a top liner.

[fluteguy18]

anyone with beautiful tone & interpretation and a lot of soul = is the best.

I really love that answer! My faves tend to be virtuosic, but you're absolutely right, and others tend to agree! One of the top tier studio flutists (ethnic flutes) in LA is actually a cellist. He doesn't have the greatest finger technique around, but he plays with so much passion and musicianship that it doesn't matter.

[flutego12]

I am new (1.4 yrs since the flute captured my eyes, ears & engaged my lips and fingers) and hence have a rather limited exposure - relatively speaking.

Apart from Galway in the LOTR, the answer to your Q would have to be Jean Pierre Rampal - consistently he is the best & most versatile to my ears and heart

French repertoire - Poulenc's Sonata
Avante garde - Syrinx
Jazz - Bolling's Suite for Flute Nos 1 & 2

amazing depth and tonal pallette out of that amazing Louis Lot.

[flutego12]

When I heard the LOTR, James Galway, was the quintessential flutist - I was not into flutes then.
However now 1.4 yrs on as a flute newbie enthusiast, my OVERALL pick will have to be JR Rampal for his tonal depth, pallete and repertoire - can't beat him for the expressive voice and soul that emerges from the music -eg Poulenc Sonata, Syrinx, Enescu's Cantibile and C. Bolling's Suite for Flute Nos 1 & 2

[Vincentcnbres]

There is no best flutist.

[Card2132]

I think there is no "best flutist in the world" per se, but I can share some of my favorites..

-Alain Marion was quite a player in his days (I love his Vivaldi flte ctos!)
-Jean-pierre Rampal who made me discover this beautiful instrument...
-William Bennett
-Robert Stallman
-Kudo
-Barthold Kuijken on the baroque flute.

[SylvreKat]

Did I miss, or did nobody mention Tim Weisberg?

Then there's also Dr Chris Potter (hey! bass flutists are flutists too, you know! )

And if you ask my Mom, she'll tell you her fave is Kathy Hinkle...duh.

>'Kat

[DiverMike]

Denis Bouriakov. In a category all by himself. Don't even speak his name unless you bow. He is the GOAT, (Greatest Of All Time).................