The New York FluteClub · PDF file(Cont’d on page 5) Laurel Zucker: ... Flute Happenings ... Sonata in A minor, D. 821 “Arpeggione” . . . . . . .Franz Schubert

LAUREL ZUCKER: RECITALIST, RECORDING

ARTIST, AND TEACHER

N E W S L E T T E R

The New York Flute ClubN E W S L E T T E R

I N T H I S I S S U E

(Cont’d on page 5)

Laurel Zucker: Recitalist, Recording Artist, and Teacher ......................1

by Renée Siebert

From the President ......................2Watch that Pencil!

Member Profile ............................3Keith Bonner

Jayn Rosenfeld on the NYFC’s Henry Brant CD Project ........4

A n n o u n c e m e n t sFlute Happenings..................................3Member Announcement ......................3Ensembles Program Update and

Next Meeting ..................................5Holiday Refreshments ..........................5Classified ............................................5

December 2006

A fter childhood years in seven states (NY, NJ, TX, MA, SC, VT, andAZ), Laurel Zucker attended the New England Conservatory ofMusic (1973–75) and graduated from Juilliard (BM, 1978).

Active as a soloist, recitalist, and recording artist, she has been a profes-sor of flute at California State University, Sacramento since 1988 andhas a discography of more than 30 self-produced CDs (availablethrough Cantilena Records, www.cantilenarecords.com). This interviewtook place by email over several days in September and October.

RENÉE SIEBERT: Laurel, you and I both attended the North CarolinaSchool of the Arts as teens in high school [RS in the late ’60s, LZ in theearly ’70s]. Were you thinking at that time about the possibility ofrecording?

LAUREL ZUCKER: When I attended NCSA and studied with PhilipDunigan, a fabulous teacher and person, my dream was to become a

Sonata in A minor, D. 821 “Arpeggione” . . . . . . .Franz Schubert(1797–1828)

Suite Buenos Aires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Maximo Diego Pujol (b. 1957)

Primera Cronica del Descubrimiento (1991) . . . . .Roberto Sierra (b. 1953)

Segunda y Tercera Cronicas delDescubrimiento (1995) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Roberto Sierra

Tercera Cronica del Descubrimiento (1995) . . . . .Roberto Sierra

Suite for Flute and Guitar (2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mike Mower(composed for Laurel Zucker) (b. 1957)

Gran Duetto Concertante, Op. 52 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mauro Giuliani(1781–1829)

Program subject to change.

Interview by Renée Siebert

In Concert

Laurel Zucker, fluteMark Delpriora, guitar

Sunday, December 17, 2006, 5:30 pmYamaha Piano Salon, 689 Fifth Avenue

(entrance between Fifth and Madison on 54th Street)

NYFC DEC06.FINAL 11/24/06 3:26 PM Page 1

2 — NYFC Newsletter

THE NEW YORK FLUTE CLUB INC.

2006–2007Board of Directors

David Wechsler, PresidentJayn Rosenfeld, First Vice PresidentArdith Bondi, Second Vice PresidentJeanne Wilson, Recording SecretaryKeith Bonner, Membership SecretaryEdward Wolf, Treasurer

Katherine Fink Karla MoeSusan Friedlander Seth RosenthalSvjetlana Kabalin Rie SchmidtFred Marcusa Stefani Starin

Nancy Toff

Advisory BoardJeanne Baxtresser Robert LangevinHarold Jones Gerardo Levy

Marya Martin

Past PresidentsGeorges Barrère .................... 1920–1944John Wummer ........................ 1944–1947Milton Wittgenstein .............. 1947–1952Mildred Hunt Wummer ........ 1952–1955Frederick Wilkins .................. 1955–1957Harry H. Moskovitz ................ 1957–1960Paige Brook ............................ 1960–1963Mildred Hunt Wummer ...... 1963–1964Maurice S. Rosen ................ 1964–1967Harry H. Moskovitz .............. 1967–1970Paige Brook ............................ 1970–1973Eleanor Lawrence ................ 1973–1976Harold Jones .......................... 1976– 1979Eleanor Lawrence ................ 1979–1982Paige Brook ............................ 1982–1983John Solum ............................ 1983–1986Eleanor Lawrence ................ 1986–1989Sue Ann Kahn ...................... 1989–1992Nancy Toff .............................. 1992–1995Rie Schmidt ............................ 1995–1998Patricia Spencer...................... 1998–2001Jan Vinci .................................. 2001–2002Jayn Rosenfeld........................ 2002–2005

NewsletterKatherine Saenger, Editor115 Underhill RoadOssining, NY [email protected]

Sue Carlson, Layout/Production789 Westminster RoadBrooklyn, NY [email protected]

www.nyfluteclub.org

Copyright © 2006 by The New York Flute Club Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

Hello everyone! I wanted to do a column on some-thing useful to all musicians this month. Is it per-sonal hygiene? Is it money management? Nope. It is

the art (or lack) of marking orchestra parts. Marking a partcan be like the boy who cried wolf: when you do it toooften, it loses its meaning. As an orchestral librarian andflutist of an opera company I see many parts, and flute partsseem to be overly marked. The markings generally contain alot of unnecessary information, serving more as a distractionthan anything else. I have made more mistakes in rehearsals

trying to decipher poor markings or trying to see around too many circled thingsthan I ever would have had the part been “virgin.” Generally, in modern operaparts (1920s or even a bit earlier) all the things one needs to read in order to fol-low along in a recitative or a long rest are printed in the music. Such extremelyrare and difficult musical terms as a tempo or rit., are printed in the part. Yet somepeople insist on sloppily writing them in pencil right above the printing. Peoplewrite cues in their parts for a recognizable figure in the middle of a long rest. Thatis a fine thing to do. However, when you put your friend’s name instead of theinstrument, it becomes a distraction. It doesn’t do me any good to know thatGwen has an entrance. Stick to the instrument! I recently played Peter and theWolf from a part with some really dumb markings. Right before the E-flat arpeggiosection someone had written, “Relax fingers.” If you need to be reminded of thatin writing before that section, you haven’t practiced that passage enough. Anotherneedless marking was the intonation arrow—you know, the one that points up toremind you to raise the pitch, or down to lower it? When you have those third-octave half-note E flats an octave above the oboe’s starting note on one of theduck solos, is it really necessary to write an arrow pointing up or down? Presum-ably the rehearsal showed you where to put the pitch. Even more importantly, ifthat oboe note changes from where it was in rehearsal, are you still listening andadjusting? Speaking of that, “listen” was also written someplace in this part. Whatelse would you be doing in an orchestra?

Marking of accidentals is another overdone activity. I will be the first to markan occasional accidental in a part if the harmony is unorthodox and my ear iswinning over my eye, or I just keep goofing it up. However, when someonemarks them lightly, or sloppily, so it’s unclear when you are reading fast, and youplay a wrong note because a natural looks like a sharp, out comes the eraser. Butsometimes you might just remark it clearly. If you have ever played an old hand-copied opera part from the 19th or early 20th centuries, you may be familiar withthe style of copying where the script is flowery and illegible, noteheads are allbackwards, and quarter rests closely resemble eighth rests. But what is even moredisconcerting on many of these parts is that the key signature appears only once,at the beginning of each modulation, not on each line, as in a modern part. Inthat case, people sometimes write the key signature on every line. That’s forgiv-able for a young player with little experience. But the reason that the copyist leftthe key signature out (aside from the fact that in hand copying you get paid forspeed) was that it isn’t really necessary for a well-trained musician to see it. Intonal music of that period the chords are fairly basic. Once you get the tonality inyour ear, it should be instinctively foreign to gravitate to a note outside the har-mony. On the other hand, when it is late 19th century music and there is no keysignature, you really are well served by putting it in.

Each situation is unique, and every player is different. I am merely suggestingthat, for some, a more judicious use of markings might be in order. Familiarizeyourself with all things printed on a page, not just the notes. You will then be ableto play and listen to the music in a more sophisticated manner.

Watch that Pencil!by David Wechsler

From thePresident


December 2006 — 3

FREE to current NYFC members, this section lists upcoming per-formances by members; flute-related contests, auditions, andmasterclasses organized/sponsored by members; and briefdescriptions of members’ new recordings, sheet music, and books.Send submissions to the Newsletter Editor.

FREE to current NYFC members, this section lists upcoming per-formances by members; flute-related contests, auditions, andmasterclasses organized/sponsored by members; and briefdescriptions of members’ new recordings, sheet music, and books.Send submissions to the Newsletter Editor.

Saturday 1:00–3:00 pmA lecture/performance on Ecuado-rian Mestizo music by SHARON

LEVIN, flute, and Allison Brewster Franzetti,piano.

• Westport Senior Center, 21 Imperial Avenue,Westport, CT. • Admission is free with RSVP tothe Westport Senior Center at 203-341-5099.

Wednesday 7:00–9:00 pm“The Great Danes,” a Paula Robisonmasterclass featuring Carl Nielsen’s

Concerto and Joachim Andersen’s Elegie, Op.55, No. 1, and Die Blumen, Op. 56, No. 2.

• Diller-Quaile School of Music, 24 East 95thStreet, NYC. • Admission (auditors): $30 general,$15 students. • Info, call Heather Holden at 212-369-1484 x26, or email [email protected].

Friday 8:00 pmFlutist MICHAEL PARLOFF willperform Ralph Vaughan Williams’s

The Lark Ascending with the Ridgewood Con-cert Band directed by Christian Wilhjelm. Alsoon the program: Barnes’ Variations on aMoravian Hymn, Susato’s Suite from theDanserye, and Humperdinck’s Evening Prayerand Pantomime.

• West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 SouthMonroe Street (at West Ridgewood Avenue),Ridgewood, NJ. • Admission: $20 general,$15 seniors, $7 students. • Info, visitwww.ridgewoodband.org.

Tuesday 8:00 pmBART FELLER, flute, Linda Mark,piano, Stephen Williamson, clarinet,

and Allen Lieb, violin, will perform works byLiebermann, Martinu, Ferroud, Muczynski,and the New York premiere of MichaelFiday’s Nine Haiku in a concert to celebratethe release of Bart Feller’s second solo CD,20th-Century Duos.

• Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue (at 54th Street), NYC.• Admission(includes copy of the new CD): $15 general, $10 students/seniors.

DECEMBER ’06

DEC6

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Employment: Freelance flutist andteacher.

A recent recital/performance: A Novem-ber 26th recital with pianist JasonAndrews, on Staten Island at St. Alban’sEpiscopal Church, performing works ofProkofieff, Liebermann, Korngold (anadaptation of the composer’s violin andpiano arrangement of the Much AdoAbout Nothing Suite), and Fauré.

Career highlight(s): Special highlights:Joint recitals with flutist Reva Youngstein(a longtime friend and colleague he’sknown since the 1988 Chautauqua MusicFestival), and touring Japan each sum-mer with the New York SymphonicEnsemble (a chamber orchestra made upof New York freelancers and membersof New York’s opera and symphonicorchestras). He says, “It’s a wonderfulexperience to explore a different culture,perform in wonderfully designed halls,develop bonds with Japanese studentsand eat deliciously exotic Japanese cui-sine.” More routine highlights: perform-ing with the Westchester ChamberOrchestra, the Key West Symphony, theRiverside Symphony, outreach programswith the New Jersey Symphony; playingBroadway shows (Beauty and the Beast,Fiddler, Nine, and the national tour ofPhantom of the Opera); teaching at the92nd Street Y’s School Partnership Pro-gram in Harlem and coaching theGreater Newark Youth Orchestra.

Current flute(s): A preowned silverPowell (No. 2911, c. 1969) purchased

in 1997; a wooden Powell piccolo (No. 6621).

Influential flute teachers: Florence Nel-son (in high school), Michael Parloff (incollege), and Joshua Smith and JeffreyKhaner (for graduate studies); summerswith Sandra Church (in Chautauqua)and Nadine Asin (at Aspen).

High school: Freeport High School inFreeport, NY (on the south shore ofLong Island near Jones Beach).

Degrees: BM (Manhattan School ofMusic, 1992); Professional StudiesDiploma (Cleveland Institute of Music, 1994).

Most notable and/or personally satisfying accomplishment(s): Acceptingthe challenge of living life with afocussed awareness of the presentmoment. While difficult to live by sucha simple idea, he finds it to be a greatsource of personal contentment (as well as a help when performing instressful situations).

Favorite practice routines: Keith says, “I am a believer in the power of longtones and scales done on a consistentbasis (daily if possible). The trick is tokeep them interesting and musical byvarying dynamics, articulation, attacks,vibrato, and color. I then work on thefun part . . . the music.”

Other interests: Staying active (yoga and running three to six days a week),reading (fiction and biographies of performers and artists who inspirehim), cooking for friends, and generally exploring the arts, cuisine and fun of NYC.

Advice for NYFC members: Take time tolisten to and/or watch your favorite per-formers in all areas of the arts. Discoverwhat touches you about their perform-ance and use it to inspire your own.

Member ProfileKeith BonnerNYFC membersince 2004Membership Secretary since 2006

FLUTE

HAPPENINGS

The Bay Area Flute Festival will be held onDecember 10th, 2006, from 1 to 5 pm at theChapel of the Chimes in Oakland, California.The free event will feature workshops,exhibits, a masterclass with Amy Likar, andperformances by CAROL ALBAN and AmyLikar. Info, visit www.bayareaflutefest.com.

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS



The NYFC’s latest CD project, Henry Brant: Music for Massed Flutes whichcontains his Angels and Devils (1931), Ghosts and Gargoyles (2001), andMass in Gregorian Chant for Multiple Flutes (1984), was recently released byNew World Records. The Newsletter editor had some questions for JaynRosenfeld, the behind-the-scenes person most responsible for getting the proj-ect off the ground and seeing it to completion.

can composer, and he is in his 90s, sothe Aaron Copland Fund for Music,supported by Copland’s hugely suc-cessful career as an earner of royal-ties, was a clear place to apply. Iwrote a grant, got the projected fig-ures in hand, with the help of esti-mates from the producer [JudithSherman], editor [Paul Zinman ofSoundByte Productions, NYC] andrecord company [New World Records].The Copland Fund agreed with ourmeans and goals. I should say thatNew World Records was an easy sell,

because they’re very much in the busi-ness of creating a recorded Americanmusical heritage.

It also helped that Robert Aitken (a personal friend of Henry’s, andsoloist/conductor for the NYFC’s March2003 performance of G&G) loved the idea.

KS: Where were the new recordingsdone?JR: The recordings were done on suc-cessive days at the American Academyof Arts and Letters, which has an old,relatively secluded, relatively sound-proof auditorium. And the Academy ina cooperative effort with the CoplandFund gave us a special rate on the rent,something I knew nothing about untilthey told me.

KS: Who participated?For Mass I rounded up about 20 flutistsand Bob Aitken, who, in a superb“teaching rehearsal,” taught us how todo the 17th-century mean tuning thatwould be appropriate for Gregorianchant. He has a superb ear and wetried very hard to get those fourths lowand sevenths high. It was a learningexperience for all, and Aitken wasreally generous with his gentle teachingand coaxing. For G&G we used as bestwe could the same players who hadperformed the piece at the Flute Fairthe previous year, including Aitken’sdaughter Dianne, another Canadian.And the Flute Club flutists all donatedtheir services, which really kept downthe price!

KS: Any funny stories?One of the guards at the Academyturned out to be a flutist, and he tooksome pictures of us rehearsing, whichhe later brought to my house, unfortu-nately not to be used in the finalproduct.

KS: Do you have any advice for otherswho wish to do something similar in thefuture?JR: First, have a really good idea. Andthen get the full cooperation of the NewYork Flute Club! This was one of theeasiest projects I ever had a hand in. Itmade sense from beginning to end. ❑

�Jayn Rosenfeld was NYFC presidentfrom 2002 to 2005; KatherineSaenger is the NYFC Newsletter editor.

JAYN ROSENFELD ON THE NYFC’S HENRY BRANT CD PROJECT

KATHERINE SAENGER: My first reactionupon learning about the historic 1956Angels and Devils recording (CRI-106)from Nancy Toff’s interview with Henry[NYFC Newsletter, March 2003] wasthat it would be wonderful to get it reis-sued with a new recording of Ghostsand Gargoyles.JAYN ROSENFELD: Great minds thinkalike! That reaction was universal: thepairing of Henry Brant’s two great pic-torial compositions would make a greatCD. But the bulk of the credit shouldgo to Paul Taub, who mastermindedthe commission of G&G to make anelegant pair. And I and others knewwe wanted to fill out the CD withHenry’s lovely Mass.

KS: I had never heard of Mass. Can youtell me something about the piece?JR: Mass does not include originalmusic by Henry, but rather his inspiredconcept of a controlled chaos ofcathedral-like resonance and “drag-ging,” applied to some exquisite Gre-gorian chants. You have to hear it tounderstand how beautifully it works.And the reason it goes with the otherpieces, especially G&G, is that there isa spirituality and simple sincerity to allof Brant’s music.

KS: You were the executive producer forthis project. How did you make ithappen?JR: My own experience in running anew music group [the New York NewMusic Ensemble] has shown me that itis relatively easy to raise money—from the right source—for a goodproject. Henry is an important Ameri-

Interview by Katherine Saenger

“There is a spiritualityand simple sincerity toall of Brant’s music.”


December 2006 — 5

(Cont’d on page 6)

Ensemble Program Update and Next Meetingby Annette Baron, NYFC Ensembles Coordinator

The Fall Ensembles Gathering took place on Sunday, November 5th, atShetler Studios in NYC. It was a huge success, with more than a dozen

members of the NYFC participating. All levels of players were repre-sented, from beginner to professional. The group ran through quite anumber of pieces, including Masques (McGinty), Simple Gifts (R. Lom-bardo), a movement from the Kuhlau Quartet, and flute choir arrange-ments of Schubert’s Moments Musicaux and Mozart’s Die Zauberflote.

Groups are still forming. Please let me know✵ if you are looking for an ensemble,✵ if you have already established a group, and/or✵ if your group would like to play at the NYFC’s May 2007 ensembles

concert.

Our NEXT Ensemble meeting will be geographically tailored to the New Jersey members of the NYFC. . . . please let me know if you will be coming to my home in Wayne, New Jersey on Sunday, December 10th from 2:00 to4:00 pm. All members are welcome!

Contact:Annette Baron, NYFC Ensembles Coordinator

Email: [email protected] • Daytime phone: 973-244-0992

virtuoso flutist, to give concerts andto do recordings. I was not dreamingabout organizing all the recordingprojects that I am involved in now.

RS: How many CDs do you have outnow?

LZ: Thirty-two, to date.

RS: That must be one of the mostextensive recording catalogues of anyself-producing flutist! When and howdid this huge project begin?

LZ: In 1992 I felt ready to record atthe level that I had envisioned formyself. My first recordings, VirtuosoFlutist and An American FluteRecital, included repertoire that Ienjoyed playing and listening to. Ialso wanted to make recordings thatwould be beneficial for flute studentsto listen to and for their teachers touse as teaching tools.

RS: When you got started, what washardest? And are these challenges

any different now that you are get-ting ready to issue your 33rd-36thCDs?

LZ: The most difficult aspect of doinga recording was and continues to bequality control: having an excellentengineer who understands how torecord the flute accurately, having asuitable space in which to record,recording with musicians who areexceptional on their chosen instru-ments, having available finances tocomplete the CD, working with anexcellent graphic designer and artistfor the CD visual layout, workingwith the manufacturer, and beingpatient with the entire process frombeginning to end.

RS: Did you ever get discouraged? Ifso, how did you deal with it?

LZ: I do not think that I actuallyexperience discouragement very oftenin any aspect of my life. Of course Ihave had many roadblocks from peo-ple telling me that I was recordingtoo much, spending too much, and

Laurel Zucker (cont’d from page 1)

December Refreshments

Post-concert refreshments are needed for December 17th.

Please contact David Wechsler (718-859-8649, [email protected]) if you can bring some-thing. Requested items include wine,soda, cheese, crackers, cookies,grapes, and other nibbles.

C L A S S I F I E DYour Flute Works of NYC is proud toannounce the launch of a new website:www.yourfluteworks.com. We haveexpanded the inventory of our flutes, headjoints and piccolos for sale, and bringtogether quantities of information to ourvisitors regarding repairs, restorations, andmaintenance of flutes.

Come for a visit!

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴



being too much of a perfectionist. Iam a perfectionist, and I want myrecording projects to be up to thelevel that I expect for myself. The firsttwo recordings that I did I threwaway because the engineers did notunderstand how to record a flute well.Robin Sutherland, pianist of the SanFrancisco Symphony, [then] recom-mended Don Ososke as an engineer,and I have completed many success-ful recordings with him. I also haveworked for years with AdamAbeshouse in NYC and have releasedmany successful recording projectswith him as well. I view both of theseexceptional people as friends. LeslieAnn Jones at the Skywalker Studio inMarin County is also a friend and asuperb engineer/producer. I also feelfortunate to have a very supportivepartner in my life. She is an internistphysician, and when either of us doget frustrated or impatient we are able

coming up to me, congratulating meand insisting on buying my CDs. Myteacher at Juilliard, Samuel Baron,came up to me and was so excited.He said, “You did it Laurel!! You areon your way!” What I noticed wasthat there were so many people whowere so supportive. I think my stay-ing power in the flute recording mar-ket is due to all the people who havereally believed in me. Music is allabout the magic of make-believe,beauty, and journeys . . . if I thinkback on every adventure that eachrecording project has brought to me,it is kind of like a really difficult fairytale.

RS: Can you walk us through the stepsyou take to prepare over 70 minutesof repertoire for a recording? How farin advance do you begin?

LZ: The answer to this question variesfrom project to project. The oneaspect that is true for every recordingI do includes an intensive amount ofpractice and score study. For instanceI am in process of finishing up Inflo-rescence III—Music for Solo Flute.Much of the music I have recorded Idecide to record about two weeksprior to the recording session. Forinstance, I just recorded the StamitzCaprices and Daniel Dorff’s AugustIdyll in this manner. If I have the

time, one of my favorite things to dois to completely submerge myself fora couple of weeks in some newmusic with the end reward of record-ing the repertoire. And then it’s on tonew music which I so welcome atthat point.

Sometimes I think of an amusingtheme for a recording. For instanceThe Dark Side of the Flute came aboutbecause I was performing Frank Mar-tin’s Ballade, Gluck’s Scene fromOrpheus, Messiaen’s Merle Noir, andHarbison’s Duo, and realized thesepieces shared either a dark-sidedstory or musical content. The CD,Take a Walk on the Wilder Side—theFlute Music of Alec Wilder, was a playon words that I found amusing.

The CD series, Inflorescence, isalso a play on words because theword inflorescence means “to grow”and the intent of this continuous CDseries is to provide the listener withtwo CDs of solo flute music perrelease. Hopefully one day I willhave an Inflorescence X.

RS: Is your prep for a CD differentfrom what you would do for a recital?

LZ: The difference between preparingfor a recital and a recording session isthat in a recording session I havemany more responsibilities: I musthire the engineer, the space, have the

Laurel Zucker (cont’d from page 5)

“I think my stayingpower in the fluterecording market is due to all the peoplewho have reallybelieved in me.”

to listen and give constructive adviceto each other.

RS: An important thing that perhapssome people do not realize is thatonce you have made the CD you haveto sell it. I would think this could betime-consuming and never-ending.

LZ: Absolutely true. Selling CDsthrough radio play, performing con-certs, word of mouth, advertising,and reviews is challenging. When Ireleased my first two CDs in 1993 Ihad a booth at the National FluteAssociation Convention and it wasamazing. All the flutists that I went toJuilliard with or worked with were


December 2006 — 7

piano tuned if necessary, be veryaware of the other recording musi-cians’ needs, and coordinate sched-ules for a lengthy period of time.When I did my first 15 recordings Icompleted each recording in onerecording session due to lack ofmoney. Sometimes I would recordthree or four CDs in a row day afterday. I would be so tired afterward Icould barely stand or focus. I wouldhang out with my friends afterwardslike a zombie. My wonderful, kindengineers Adam Abeshouse and DonOsoske can definitely attest to thefact that it was truly a difficult andchallenging experience, but theyreally stood by me and supported

RS: You and I had a lot of funrecording several volumes of the Kuh-lau flute duets [in May 2004].

LZ: Yes, we did. I love the Kuhlauduos. And my goal is for us to recordthem all. So far we have recordedfour volumes . . . two more volumesto go. In terms of sales they are not abest seller, but it makes no differenceto me. I just love Kuhlau!

RS: I remember towards the last ofwhat turned out to be ten-hourrecording days, you and I got sogiddy that it was hard to keep ourfaces straight enough to play. But itwas very satisfying to record some ofthe best romantic music written forthe flute.

LZ: I think we flutists can be almostin a constant state of giddinessbecause we are inhaling so much airin our bodies all the time.

RS: I felt that we both played for thefun of it in order to keep the charac-ter and spirit of a spontaneous per-formance alive, but knowing that itwas being printed permanently wewere trying to go for high accuracy.But that was secondary to the lifeand spontaneity. What were yourthoughts while we were in the mid-dle of the project?

LZ: I was having a great time! Theduos are not only fun, but manytimes quite challenging in regard toperforming them accurately. It wasso rewarding for me to have theopportunity to work them up to anartistic level, especially since theyhave so many lovely gentle musicalmoments. I was also very thankfulto be recording with you because ofthe beautiful way you interpret themusic . . . you are such an excep-tional person and musician.

RS: Thank you! Can you tell us aboutsome of your other collaborations?

LZ: Currently I am collaborating withMark Delpriora, guitarist; Susan Jolles,harpist; Mark Shapiro, pianist; andGerald Ranck, harpsichordist.

RS: What has been the most satisfyingpart for you of this lifelong endeavor?

LZ: Working with all of the wonderfulmusicians that I have collaboratedwith, and learning from my mistakesand successes. Really–rehearsing, per-forming, and recording music is allabout sharing one of the most beauti-ful and emotional experiences theworld has to offer.

RS: What advice would you give toflutists who would like to make theirown recordings?

LZ: Make sure you are at anextremely high artistic and technicallevel and believe that you havesomething special to offer the pro-fessional music world. One way toprepare is to record a recital thatyou do and then be absolutely hon-est with yourself as you listen to therecording and critique aspects thatyou need to change and work at.Then record another recital and seeif you have made those neededchanges. Keep repeating thisprocess until you are satisfied. Andby the way this process can bereally fun and exciting becauseworking on music in detail is sorewarding.

RS: Thank you. We look forward toyour concert! ❑

�Renée Siebert has played second flutein the New York Philharmonic since1975. She collaborated with JeanneBaxtresser on Great Flute Duos fromthe Orchestral Repertoire, published byTheodore Presser, and has recorded sev-eral CDs of Kuhlau flute duets with Laurel Zucker.

Flute Happenings DeadlinesIssue Deadline Mail date*January 2007 12/07/06 01/04/07February 2007 01/11/07 02/08/07March 2007 02/00/07 03/00/07April 2007 03/15/07 04/12/07May 2007 03/29/07 04/26/0*Projected

“My mind craves theactivity of learningnew music all thetime!”

me. Today I do not record thisway—I take at least two or three ses-sions on different days to complete arecording. And as a result I can actu-ally teach flute after a recording ses-sion and offer a coherent commentor two.

RS: How do you decide on therepertoire?

LZ: A variety of ways. Sometimes Iget requests to record compositions.Other times it is choosing standardrepertoire that I know that I mustrecord. However my absolute favoriteway of choosing repertoire is to gothrough the Flute World catalogueand highlight all the music I do notknow and then order the music.Many times when I am getting readyto record a project I flip through theFlute World catalogue to distractmyself. It is during these times everyyear that I will order thousands ofdollars worth of repertoire. Myabsolute favorite thing to do is toorder new music and then learn it.My mind craves the activity of learn-ing new music all the time!


The New York Flute ClubPark West Finance StationP.O. Box 20613New York, NY 10025-1515

Greetings! This month we will hear flutist Lau-rel Zucker performing a program of flute and guitar musicwith guitarist Mark Delpriora. Renée Siebert’s interviewfocusses on the rewards and challenges of self-producingyour own CDs, a topic on which Laurel must be the fluteworld’s expert, with 32 to her credit so far (including sev-eral CDs of Kuhlau flute duos with Renée).

Dave Wechsler’s “From the President” letter on thequirky and distracting handwritten notations you sometimesfind on the orchestral flute parts you get first made melaugh . . . and then made me remember (and feel a little

guilty about) all the marked up parts I have had in my possession over the years.Readers interested in a behind-the-scenes look at how the NYFC’s recently

completed Henry Brant recording project got done should check out my mini-interview with Jayn Rosenfeld (p. 4), and those of you who’d like to know whatyou missed at the November 5th Fall Ensembles Gathering (or learn about thenext ensembles meeting) should take a look at Annette Baron’s update on p. 5.

Keith Bonner, a NYC-based freelance flutist and the Club’s new membershipsecretary, is this month’s member profile subject. I enjoyed his reaction to histravels in Japan and was intrigued to find out that there is a Korngold piece thatworks for flute that he will be playing on his next recital program. Anyway, allfor now.

Best regards,

Katherine Saenger ([email protected])

December 17, 2006 concertSunday, 5:30 pm • YamahaPiano Salon, 689 Fifth Avenue (at 54th Street)

Laurel Zucker, flute, and Mark Delpriora, guitar

From theEditor

2006–2007 Concerts

87th SeasonOctober 29, 2006 • Sunday, 5:30 pmFENWICK SMITH, flute, and SALLY PINKAS,piano

November 19, 2006 • Sunday, 5:30 pmLEW TABACKIN, jazz artist

December 17, 2006 • Sunday, 5:30 pmLAUREL ZUCKER, flute, and MARK DELPRIORIA, guitarHoliday reception

January 21, 2007 • Sunday, 5:30 pm TIM LIU, Chinese bamboo flutes

February 25, 2007 • Sunday, 5:30 pm THE HANOVERIAN ENSEMBLEJOHN SOLUM and RICHARD WYTON,baroque flutes

March 10, 2007 • Saturday, All dayFLUTE FAIR 2007—CAROL WINCENC

April 29, 2007 • Sunday, 5:30 pm2007 NYFC COMPETITION WINNERS

May 13, 2007 • Sunday, 6:00 pm ANNUAL MEETING & ENSEMBLE CONCERT

All concerts and events (except as noted) at YamahaPiano Salon, 689 Fifth Avenue (entrance betweenFifth and Madison on 54th Street). All dates and pro-grams subject to change. Tickets $10, only at the door;free to members. For more information, visit the NYFCwebsite at www.nyfluteclub.org or call 732-257-9082.


Documents

The New York FluteClub · PDF file(Cont’d on page 5) Laurel Zucker: ... Flute Happenings ... Sonata in A minor, D. 821 “Arpeggione” . . . . . . .Franz Schubert