The French flute player and conductor Paul Taffanel (1844-1908) was
an extraordinary virtuoso and a major figure in fin-de-siecle
Parisian musical life. Based on a treasure trove of private
documents of Taffanel's previously unpublished letters and papers,
Taffanel: Genius of the Flute
recounts the rich story of his multi-faceted career as a player,
conductor, composer, teacher, and leader of musical organizations.
As a player, Taffanel had a rare vision of the flute as a serious,
expressive instrument and his name sits at the center of the
extraordinary lineage of flutists. At a crucial moment in the
flute's history -- after it had been completely remodeled by
Theobald Boehm -- Taffanel had far-ranging
influence, creating the modern French school of playing which has
since been widely adopted throughout the world, and re-establishing
the instrument in the mainstream of music. Taffanel was also an
inspiring teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, to whom many modern
flutists can trace their roots.
Taffanel also pioneered a renaissance in playing and composing
chamber music for wind instruments. He founded the Societe de
musique de chambre pour instruments a vent (Society of Chamber
Music for Wind Instruments) in 1879, reviving the wind ensemble
music of Mozart and Beethoven, and stimulating
the composition of many new works, among them Gounod's Petite
symphonie. The ensemble broke the dominance of piano and strings in
recital and chamber music and fostered many of the canonic works in
that repertoire.
Although foremost a flutist and teacher, Taffanel was also an
important opera and orchestra conductor, virtually without rival in
Paris. From 1890, he served as chiefconductor at the Paris Opera
and the Society des concerts du Conservatoire (Paris Conservatory
Orchestra) - the first time a flutist,
rather then a string player, had been appointed to such key
positions. At the Opera he was charged with all new productions and
gave notable French premieres of various Wagner operas and Verdi's
Otello. At the Societe des concerts he championed contemporary
French composers, particularly his great
friend Saint-Saens, and gave the world premiere of Verdi's Sacred
Pieces.
Beyond his work as a performer, teacher and conductor, Taffanel was
a fluent composer for the flute and wind quintet, a formidable
administrator of several musical organizations, and was a major
personality in Parisian musical life. Blakeman expertly places
Taffanel's story in the rich political and
cultural backdrop of the time, evoking Conservatoire intrigues, the
Societe des concerts, and Taffanel's relationships with various
musicians and major composers. Blakeman details the circumstances
surrounding landmark commissions, performances, and repertoire, and
weaves the details from Taffanel's
correspondence with first-person interviews and flute lore. What
emerges is a portrait of an all-round musician who was also a
modest and genial man.
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