Flute Material

Posted by Sir James October 29, 2003 at 01:34:05:

In Reply to: A Question for Sir James

I think this is a bit confusing. It was confusing for me to write it but I hope it helps you about flutes.

As you probably have noticed I have never really recommended one metal over another when discussing flutes. The fact is that I cannot tell the difference when I am listening to someone play. This was brought to my attention when I listened to the active participants in my class in Italy playing. They were all really good players and I suddenly looked up to see Noralee Garcia playing a Powell platinum flute with red gold keys. The first thing that struck me was how good looking the instrument was. I then began to think that if she was playing some other instrument would she sound different. I would not know unless I heard her play another instrument right away.

Listening to all these really fine players play I was impressed that they all sounded good no matter what they were playing upon. They ranged from student models to the top of the line professional flutes. Three of them were students and I cannot really remember what flutes they played. I began to think that no matter what they played they sounded like the individuals they were. Bulent Evcil from Turkey sounded fantastic on his silver flute, Davide Formisano, solo flutist la Scala Milan, sounded magnificent on his gold Muramatsu.

You are probably wondering where this is leading regarding my Muramatsu EX model. Well I was in London some years ago and the Muramatsu team was there doing business with the London flute shops and Andrew Thompson of Top Wind threw a party for them to which I was invited. They were showing the EX model and I had no idea what it was. They asked to try it without looking at the name. Well I played it for about ten minutes and thought it was one of the better made French flutes like a Lous Lot. I was really amazed when I was told it was the ex model. I offered to buy it there and then but it was not for sale. Later on that year I want to visit Andy Thompson at his shop from where we were going to go to a very good Indian restaurant and the subject of the EX came up. He had on in the shop and I bought it right then.

The reason I bought it was that it reminded me about the days I used to play my silver flutes. I played silver flutes till around 1972/3 when I bought my first gold Cooper to play in the Berlin Phil. Until then I played on a flute made by E J Albert of Brussels for about 5 years before buying a Haynes silver closed hole offset g, which I played until around 1962/3 when I bought my first inline, open hole sterling silver flute. When I joined the Berlin Phil in 1969 I had Albert Cooper build me a silver flute at A 445 and I played on this until in 1972/3 when I got my first gold Cooper also at a 445.

When I played this EX model it brought to mind the great days I enjoyed playing in the London orchestras, playing concertos and chamber music with some of the greatest players in London at the time.

Each time I come home form a tour I get several of my flutes out and play them. They are all different and I find it hard to tell what flute suits me best. I tend to play the one that works the best in the end.

While in Tokyo recently I visited the factory of Muramatsu and tried all the flutes they had there. I did try the EX and all the other silver flutes and loved them. After I had finished playing them my wife Jeanne told me she thought I sounded better on gold. She said it sounded more characteristic of the way I now play. Incidentally, Muramatsu have made many innovations which will be announced later this year. I was very impressed with the workmanship and dedication to producing a great flute at the Muramatsu factory. I met the guy who made the tone holes in my flutes and another who made the thumb keys and so on. You should all go and have a look at this wonderful factory.

I had Muramatsu make me a new head for my platinum flute and I happen to think this is a really great flute. I have been playing it since I arrived home on Sunday last. Mainly I have bee playing only studies. The reason I play studies is to brush up my technique and style after a tour. These studies contain all the difficulties one has to deal with on a daily basis and I really like playing them.

Before I went on tour I had a wonderful CD sent to me by a young Swedish flutist called Magnus Irving Båge. I listened to it and was so impressed. This to my ear was the playing of a master who knows his flute. I called him to tell him how much I liked the playing and choice of music. He told me he has been playing the same silver flute for the last fifteen years. I was very impressed and knew already that this playing of a superior class was from someone who knew the instrument and had played the same instrument. You can check out this wonderful recording at http://www.sforzando.se/1005/. The instrument he played on the recording was a Sankyo rs1 and is seventeen years old.

My wife Jeane has been listening to me play the flute nearly everyday for the last 22 years or more. She thinks I sound the best on gold but that the other metals have different qualities. She told me gold sounds warmer and thinks that I sound like a young James Galway when I play silver.

Next week I will ask her to listen again with a view to giving you more information. I just need time to get the hang of my platinum flutes.

Sometimes I think it is all in the mind and there are usually quite a few minds being applied to these listening sessions.

I still like my EX.

Best regards,
Sir James Galway