The Flute in Music Literature Trivia Quiz

Answer: Edgard Varese

Most listeners enjoy music with accompaniment: music where some voices supply the melodic tune, while others provide rhythm and harmony. Instruments like the piano and guitar have their own built-in accompaniment, but the monophonic melody played by a lone flutist can be difficult for the listener to follow and appreciate, especially if the composition is inferior or the player is insensitive.

Despite the challenges for composer, listener, and performer, a number of excellent pieces exist for flute alone, and are widely performed today. Edgard Varèse (1883-1965) was a pioneer in the field of electronic music, but also composed for traditional instruments. "Density 21.5" (1936) was written with flutist Georges Barrère and his platinum flute in mind - the title refers to the specific gravity of platinum.

Hindemith's Acht Stücke (1927) and flutist-composer Robert Dick's "Lookout" (1989) are also good examples of pieces for unaccompanied flute. Bach's flute sonatas present a fruitful area of research for musicologists. "The Sonata in A Minor BWV 1013" (probably composed in 1718) is very popular with flutists today, despite the uncertainty regarding its origins and Bach's intentions for it.

Answer: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune

I hope you didn't choose the string quartet!

France is home to a rich tradition of flute music and flute-playing, and Claude Debussy (1862-1918) is just one in a long line of French composers who understood and appreciated the expressive power of the instrument. The "fawn" solo makes great demands on the player's stamina, lung power, and sensitivity to tone color, vibrato, and phrasing. Sinuous, flowing, simultaneously serene and intense, this melody has been adopted by flutists as a tone, breathing, and melodic study and warm-up exercise.

In addition to the fawn solo, flutists who are preparing for auditions study numerous solos from the orchestral literature. Excerpts from works by these composers and many others often appear in lists of required audition pieces: Beethoven, Brahms, Hindemith, Prokofiev, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky. (I'll leave it to the flutists among you match the solos to the composers, and fill out the list as you see fit.)

Answer: Hamburger

The "Hamburger Sonata in G major" of 1786 (Wq. 133 and H. 564) was the last of eighteen flute sonatas composed by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788). Sadly for performers and audiences alike, the sonata received its nickname not as a hint of what type of refreshments might be served after a performance. Actually, it refers to the fact that the piece was written in Hamburg (as opposed to Berlin, where Bach wrote most of his flute music for flutist Frederick the Great).

The other three nicknames, of course, belong to works by Beethoven: the Op. 47 violin sonata is called the "Kreutzer," the Op. 97 piano trio has the nickname "Archduke," and "Waldstein" refers to the piano sonata in C major, No. 21, Op. 53.

Answer: Carl Reinecke

Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) was not only a prolific composer (with about 300 works to his credit), but he was a poet, painter, conductor, pianist, and teacher as well. He wrote his Op. 167 "Undine" sonata for flute and piano in 1882. Generally accepted by flutists as the most significant flute sonata of the Romantic era, this programmatic work is based on the fairy tale of Undine, a sea nymph who bears a suspicious resemblance to the Little Mermaid.

So why did none of the "big name" Romantic composers write flute sonatas (or concertos, for that matter)? As a rule, they felt that the flute was less expressive than the other popular instruments of the day: piano, violin, cello, clarinet, and horn. While the flute was an important member of the orchestra for the symphonic and operatic works of these composers, its sweet and delicate tone just wasn't suited to the melodic and emotional ideals of the Romantic movement, especially in the concerto and chamber idioms.

Many flute pieces were written during the Romantic Era, but precious few are concertos or true sonatas, and almost all are by "lesser" composers. What non-flutist would recognize any of these names: Andersen, Doppler, Bourne, Donjon, Popp, Kuhlau, Demersseman, Fürstenau, Tulou, or Boehm? Flutists who wish to perform higher quality pieces by more famous 19th century composers must turn to transcriptions of works for voice or other instruments.

Answer: Poulenc: "Sonata"

Since 1824 (or thereabouts) the Paris Conservatory has required its flute students to play three pieces as part of the final examination for graduation. One of these three is chosen by the Conservatory, and the chosen piece is often composed specifically for that year's examination (or "concours"). These pieces are usually for solo flute with piano accompaniment. Flutists the world over delight in playing these virtuosic gems; we are proud to claim this treasury of original, challenging, and beautiful works for our instrument.

In addition to Fauré, Chaminade, and Périlhou, (who wrote pieces for the 1898, 1902, and 1903 concours, respectively), the works of numerous individuals have appeared on the list of morceaux de concours, including: Tulou, Demersseman, Taffanel, Gaubert, Hüe, Ganne, Dutilleux, Sancan, Messiaen, and Boulez.

Francis Poulenc's (1899-1963) "Sonata for Flute and Piano" (1956) is a familiar and honored member of the flute repertoire, but has not been used as an imposed morceau de concours. I recommend Emmanuel Pahud's performance on his CD "Paris".

Answer: Joaquin Rodrigo

One of my teachers once told me the story of flute virtuoso James Galway approaching Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo and asking him to write a flute concerto for him. Galway asked Rodrigo to make it so difficult that nobody but him (Galway) would be able to play it. While it is true that Galway did indeed commission and subsequently premier the work (the Concierto Pastoral of 1978), I'm not sure about Galway's exact specifications regarding the difficulty level. Regardless of what Galway may have requested or not requested, the solo flute part of the concerto is indeed extremely challenging.

As for the other concertos from the question: Mercadante's (1795-1870) Concerto in E Minor" also falls into the difficult-to-play category, at least for me. A virtuoso cellist, Boccherini (1743-1805) wrote many fine works, but never a flute concerto. The lovely "Concerto in D Major" that is customarily attributed to him was actually penned by Franz Xaver Pokorny (1729-1794). Finally, Johann Joaquim Quantz (1697-1773) is a respected member of the modern flutists' pantheon. He wrote around 500 works for the flute, as well as a treatise on playing the instrument, which flutists still consult today. He was another musician associated with Frederick the Great.

Answer: Franck: Sonata in A major

Flutists, like most musicians, are always on the lookout to expand the literature for their instrument, and we will often, um, steal and adapt works for other instruments to suit our own purposes. César Franck's (1822-1890) violin sonata of 1886 is a good example of this practice.

The same teacher who told me about Rodrigo's concerto also told me about how flutists and violinists had "negotiated a trade" in music literature. He said that we got the Franck in the deal, and they got the Prokofiev. Personally, I think the Franck piece sounds better played by a violin than it does with a flute. I haven't actually heard the Prokofiev played by a violinist, so I can't comment on that.

Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953) wrote his flute sonata in 1943; another teacher of mine told me that it was a "war sonata," and it should be played with that fact in mind. As strange as it seems for Prokofiev to have chosen such a gentle instrument as the flute for a war piece, there are quite a few military themes and bellicose gestures in the sonata that actually work well for the instrument.

The other two compositions mentioned - the sonatas by Muczynski and Martinu - are both excellent pieces, and every advanced flutist should know them well.

Answer: Reicha: Wind Quintet in G Major, Op. 88, No. 4

The standard wind quintet comprises one each of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon. Antonín Reicha (1770-1836) composed quite a few works for this colorful and versatile ensemble, paving the way for other composers such as Danzi, Janácek, Neilsen, Ibert, Ligeti, and others through the present day.

In general, music for woodwind ensemble has a long history, and the genre deserves at least one quiz of its own (someone remind me to start on that one of these days). Harmoniemusik (music for winds) was popular in Germany and surrounding areas in the 18th and 19th centuries, but did not usually include flutes. Beethoven, Krommer, Stamitz, Hoffmeister, Mozart, and others composed pieces in this genre. Some more recent composers who also wrote fine works for woodwind ensembles (these ones include flute) are: Enescu, Milhaud, Dvorák, Gounod, and Richard Strauss.

Answer: The Mamas & The Papas: "California Dreamin'"

In an online article for "Mix" magazine, the engineer who recorded the Mamas & the Papas singing "California Dreamin'" recounts the details of the session. He remembers the record producer suggesting an instrumental solo after the second chorus, but he didn't want a sax solo - all the rock bands were doing sax solos, and he wanted something different. The engineer grabbed jazz flutist / saxophonist Bud Shank (who was doing a session in another studio that night), and brought him in. The rest, as we say, is history: Bud's haunting melody has enchanted listeners ever since.

The other three songs I mentioned here ("He's a Rebel", "Yakety Yak", and "Tequila"), of course, all feauture really rockin' sax solos.

Answer: In a Baroque music concert

The modern alto flute dates from about 1854, and was developed by Theobald Boehm (1794-1881), a genius inventor and musician to whom modern flutists owe many thanks. Pitched in G (a perfect fourth lower than the concert flute) and somewhat larger than the concert flute, the alto flute is valued by contemporary composers, jazz musicians, and flute choirs for its rich and evocative tone. The Baroque Era happened before Boehm helped make the alto flute a more practical and common instrument, so it would be very unusual indeed for one to hear an alto flute in a performance of music from this time period.

I hope this quiz was educational and entertaining, and I hope you have been inspired to explore the music for the flute on your own. Thanks for playing!