The Interview Guests
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Interview with
Fenwick Smith
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BOSTON-BASED FLUTIST Fenwick Smith has enjoyed an unusually wide-ranging career. After twenty-four seasons, his annual recitals are a prominent feature of Boston’s concert calendar. A member of the Boston Chamber Music Society since 1984, he has also performed on Baroque flute with Boston’s leading early-music ensembles, and was for thirteen years a member of the contemporary-music ensemble Boston Musica Viva. Second flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1978, Mr. Smith spent four of those years as acting assistant principal flute of the BSO and principal flute of the Boston Pops Orchestra. In the last three years he has introduced to Boston audiences Lukas Foss' Renaissance Concerto, and the flute concertos of John Harbison and Christopher Rouse. His interest in bringing unusual and little-known flute music to a broader public has resulted in premiere recordings of works by Copland, Foote, Ginastera, Koechlin, Dahl, Harbison, Cage, Pinkham, Schulhoff, Schoenberg, Rorem, and Reinecke.
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Adjunct Professor of Music. BM, Performer's Certificate, University of Rochester, Eastman Music Division. Study with William Kincaid. First flute, National Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic. Former principal flute, Boston Symphony Orchestra. Honorary doctorate, Harvard University, 1982. Present position, 1973.
Obtained from Boston University - School of Music
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Interview with
Renee Flemming
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Soprano Renée Fleming was born February 14, 1959 in Indiana, PA and raised in Rochester, NY; while at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam, she studied voice under Patricia Misslin, and after completing her graduate studies at Rochester's Eastman School of Music she attended the Juilliard School's American Opera Center from 1983 to 1987 under the tutelage of Beverly Johnson. Fleming made her professional debut in 1986 as Konstanze in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and a year later earned top honors at the Eleanor McCollum Competition in Houston; the exposure helped her land the star-making role of the Contessa in a revival of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, and in 1989 she made her New York City debut in La Bohème. After making her London bow as Glauce in Cherubini's Médée later that same year, Fleming returned to New York in 1991 to make her Metropolitan debut with a return to Le nozze di Figaro. Just months later she starred in the world premiere of Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles. Other roles Fleming created include her 1994 turn as Madam de Tourvel in Susa's The Dangerous Liaisons and her 1998 performance as Blanche DuBois in André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire.
Obtained from CDNOW: Discography : Renee Fleming : biography
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Interview with
Ian Anderson
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Ian Anderson, known throughout the world of rock music as the flute and voice behind the legendary Jethro Tull, celebrates his 41th year as a recording and concert musician in 2004.
Ian was born in 1947 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. After attending primary school in Edinburgh, his family relocated to Blackpool in the north of England in 1959. Following a traditional Grammar school education, he moved on to Art college to study fine art before deciding on an attempt at a musical career.
Tull formed in 1968 out of the amalgamation of the John Evan Band and McGregor's Engine, two blues-based local UK groups.
Still enjoying a lengthy and ongoing career, Jethro Tull has released 30 albums, selling more than 60 million copies since the band first performed at London's famous Marquee club.
After undertaking more than 2500 concerts in 40 countries throughout three decades, Tull plays typically 100 concerts each year to longstanding, as well as new fans worldwide.
Widely recognized as the man who introduced the flute to rock music, Ian Anderson remains the crowned exponent of the popular and rock genres of flute playing. So far, no pretender to the throne has stepped forward. Ian also plays ethnic flutes and whistles together with acoustic guitar and the mandolin family of instruments, providing the acoustic textures which are an integral part of most of the Tull repertoire.
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The Kingma Company originated in Holland in the early 1950’s shortly after World War II. At that time there was a great shortage of wind instruments and Dirk Kuiper, a flautist in the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, founded this small company to meet the demand for new flutes. For over 20 years Kuiper was known for his wooden, silver and gold C-flutes. He also built alto flutes, which at that time were unusual. In 1975, when the company had moved to the nearby village of Nederhorst den Berg, Eva Kingma joined Dirk Kuiper in building flutes.
In 1980 Kuiper retired and Eva Kingma assumed the position as head of the company.
On february 12th 2006 Dirk Kuiper died at the age of 92 years after a fruitful life.
Since 1988, the company has been located in the picturesque rural village of Grolloo in the north of Holland. Many Kingma customers have enjoyed their stay in this village while visiting the company’s workshop.
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Interview with
Emmanuel Pahud
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Emmanuel Pahud was born in Geneva in January 1970 of a Franco-Swiss father and a French mother, which makes him three-quarters French. He began music lessons at age six. In 1990 he graduated with a First Prize from the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied with Michel Debost, Alain Marion and Pierre-Yves Artaud.
While still at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, he was appointed principal flute of the Basel Radio Symphony. Following his graduation, he pursued advanced studies in Paris with Aurèle Nicolet, and in 1991 was chosen principal flute for the Munich Philharmonic under Sergiu Celibidache. Two months later, however, he was offered the position of principal flute with the Berlin Philharmonic, which he accepted in 1993 at age 23.
In 1992 Mr. Pahud won first prize in the prestigious Geneva International Music Competition, having already received numerous prizes in European and Japanese competitions, including Kobe in 1989 and Duino in 1988. He took the Soloists Prize in the French Speaking Radio Community Awards in Switzerland, and the European Council's Juventus Prize. He is also a laureate of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and of the International Tribune for Musicians of UNESCO.
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Interview with
Rhonda Larson
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"...Once every generation there comes along a transformative force that breaks all the industry rules. Larson wields her instrument like a blow torch, breaking down our Victorian preconceptions of what the classical flute should be, how it should sound and where it should take us...This intensely gifted flutist needed little more than her native Montana charm to win the hearts of the packed house..." raves Connecticut's VOICES review of Rhonda Larson & Ventus in concert.
Flutist, composer, and bandleader Rhonda Larson entered the national music scene from her native Montana by winning first prize in the National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition in 1985, including a Carnegie Hall debut. Shortly thereafter, Rhonda joined forces with the Paul Winter Consort, initiating her journey of combining diverse musical styles in addition to her classical training. Rhonda won a Grammy Award during her last year with the Consort, departing the group at that time to embark on her individual cross-cultural/multi-genre music path. |
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Special: Interview with
Sir James Galway
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Interview with
Mr. Yamamoto
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Sir James and Mr. Yamamoto (chief engineer of Miyazawa)
talk on the subject of flute making.
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Interview with
Thomas Robertello
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Internationally acclaimed for his musical imagination and
virtuosity, flutist Thomas Robertello enjoys a multifaceted
career as a soloist with orchestra, recitalist, chamber
musician, orchestral player and teacher. He has been a
member of several elite American orchestras including the
Cleveland Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony and the
National Symphony Washington, D.C. Many orchestral tours
with the world's leading conductors have taken him to the
music centers and festivals of the U.S., Europe, South America
and the Middle and Far East.
As one of the leading flute professors in the world, Mr.
Robertello is currently on the faculty of Indiana University
School of Music. He has also served on the faculties of the
Cleveland Institute of Music and Carnegie Mellon University.
He regularly presents recitals and masterclasses throughout
the US and Japan and has made solo appearances at Pacific
Music Festival, Nara Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival,
Brevard Music Center and numerous other venues. He has also
presented recitals in South America and South Korea and has
given masterclasses at the Shanghai Conservatory in China.
He has performed chamber music concerts with members of
the Vienna Philharmonic and Empire Brass at the Pacific Music
Festival and is a regular performer at the Sarasota Festival
each summer. Robertello was the first featured flute soloist at
the Kirishima Festival in Japan in 2003. He has appeared as
soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Londrina Festival
Orchestra Brazil as well as on Bartok Radio Hungary.
A versatile solo performer with an extremely varied
repertoire, Robertello is also a leader in the effort to expand
the flute's solo literature and the role of the flute in new
music. He has commissioned and championed the works of
several young composers including Martin Kennedy, David
Dzubay, Mischa Zupko and Matthew Van Brink. Solo
recordings include Gypsy Wheel on Crystal Records - music by
Griffes, Bizet/Borne, Taffanel as well as three new
commissions with pianist Winston Choi. Other solo recordings
include Souvenir - Music by Faure and Martin Kennedy with
the composer at the piano for RIAX and Thomas Robertello
Flute Recital recorded live during Mr. Robertello's Japan debut
tour in 1996.
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Interview with
Rainer Lafin
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J. R. Lafin born in 1940, began his career as a Principal Flutist after having studied with Dr. Demmler and Aurèle Nicolet. His last playing position was 1st Piccolo-Flutist in the Berlin Radio-Symphony-Orchestra. While in Berlin he had the good fortune to play very often as a guest with the Berlin Philharmonic during both concerts and recordings, under H.v.Karajan as well as all the other famous conductors. Mr. Lafin has always been deeply impressed by the quality of this orchestra which has greatly influenced his sensitivity for sound.
In 1979 he decided to learn flute-repair as there is no-one in Berlin who does flute repairs and subsequently he was able to go to Japan where he received extensive training at the Muramatsu factory. Having contact with so many flutists he often heard criticism about head joints, except when the player had one which was made by Albert Cooper. So he thought he would make head joints himself and then started by first designing his own tools.
After a long period of trials and experiments co-operation began with Albert Cooper making head joints to his design and specifications. As both Mr. Lafin and Mr. Cooper are costantly experimenting with new ideas to improve playing characteristics. The actual design is always changing slightly in an ongoing effort to make flutes play even better.
J.R.LAFIN has always made progress with help from those who have also criticized him. It is for this reason that he still highly values personal contact, viewing it as challenge to meet up to each player's individual expectations of sound quality. His long journey from experimentation to actual improvements has now brought him to a point where he finally feels that he has come as close to his own ideal sounde as possible. |
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