Performance Tip #1

Gotta love Quantz. Flute teacher to Frederick the Great, but not too busy to write an enormous tome covering virtually every aspect of musicianship in general, and flute playing in particular. Ever the practical guy, and no detail is too small…

“He [the performing flutist] must hold the flute so that the wind may escape unhindered. He must be careful not to blow at some time into the clothes of those who stand very close upon his right side, since this makes the tone weak and muffled.”

J.J. Quantz: On Playing the Flute. Berlin, 1752. Chapter XVI:10

(English translation by Edward R. Reilly, pub. Faber & Faber 1966/1976/1985/2001)

220px-Johann_Joachim_Quantz

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