Flute Equipment

Posted by Sir James Galway on April 25, 2004 at 10:39:44:

I am of the opinion that more time should be spent in playing what you have.

During my last concert in Washington DC, I was signing some CD’s in the Green room and had laid my flute on the top of my flute case. After a little while I heard a noise behind me and turned to find my platinum flute lying upside down on the floor. Upon examination I found the foot joint had become loose and slightly out of line with the rest of the flute. I played the concert on it in any case adjusting it many times during the performance.

Later I gave the flute to Phillip Moll’s wife who took it to Muramatsu in Tokyo to fix. She then brought it back and it is in the safe of a hotel in Vienna, Austria awaiting my arrival in early My when we play together in the Musickverien, the large concert hall where the Vienna Phil play the new years concert.

In the meantime I am playing on my 14kt flute. This took a bit of getting used to but after a few hours practice I did not miss my platinum flute because I had learned, relearned in the meantime how to get the best out of my 14k.

I find I can change flutes easily but it does take a lot of practice to get to know the “new” flute as well as the old one.

My point here is to say that one should practice to the point of great familiarality and only then when you are really sure that you have done your best to know your flute and head joint should you consider changing your hardware setup.

Best regards,
Sir James