Description

GEORGES BARRÈRE (BORDEAUX, OCTOBER 31, 1876 – NEW YORK, JUNE 14, 1944)

Georges Barrère holds a preeminent place in the history of American flute playing. Best known for two of the landmark works that are dedicated to him — the Poem of Charles Tomlinson Griffes and Density 21.5 by Edgard Varèse — he was the most prominent early exemplar of the Paris Conservatoire tradition in the United States and set a new standard for American woodwind performance. Barrère’s story is a musical tale of two cities, and this book uses his life as a window onto musical life in Belle Epoque Paris and twentieth-century New York. Recurrent themes are the interactions of composers and performers; the promotion of new music; the management, personnel, and repertoire of symphony orchestras; the economic and social status of the orchestral and solo musician, including the increasing power of musicians’ unions; the role of patronage, particularly women patrons; and the growth of chamber music as a professional performance medium. A student of Paul Taffanel at the Paris Conservatoire, by age 17 Barrère premiered the landmark Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. He went on to become solo flutist of the Concerts Colonne and to found the Société Moderne d’Instruments a Vent, a pioneering woodwind ensemble that premiered 61 works for 40 composers in its first ten years. Invited by Walter Damrosch to become principal flute of the New York Symphony in 1905, he founded the woodwind department at the Institute of Musical Art (later Juilliard). His many ensembles toured the United States.

TRACKLIST

1. Aubade No. 1 (Lalo) Columbia 46894 A2074
2. Aubade No. 2 (Lalo) Columbia 46896 A2155
3. Canzonetta (D’Ambrosio) Columbia A1813 45902
4. Flute Sonata No.2 in E-flat major, mvt. I Allegro moderato (Bach) with Yellen Pessl (Harpsichord) HMV 3409 2A 010666
5. Flute Sonata No.2 in E-flat major, mvt. II Siciliano, III Allegro (Bach) with Yellen Pessl (Harpsichord) HMV 3409 2A 010667
6. Guillaume Tell (Rossini) Ô Mathilde with M. Housset (oboe) Zonophone
7. L’ Arlésienne suite — No. 2 (Bizet) Minuet Columbia 39097 A1449
8. La Feria — La Reja (Lacome) Columbia 46892 A2074
9. Lagu Ardja (Ardja Melody) (transcribed by Colin McPhee) Georges Barrère (flute), and Colin Mcphee, piano Columbia 515-A 2097 early April- early May 1941
10. Les Vêpres Siciliennes (Verdi) with M Housset (oboe) and Henri Lefèbvre (clarinet) Zonophone X-2179 x217, 1903
11. Musette (G. Pfeiffer) with M. Housset (oboe) and Henri Lefèbvre (clarinet) Zonophone X-2180, 1903
12. Orphe´e et Eurydice (Gluck) Dance of the blessed spirits Columbia 39096 A1449
13. Petite symphonie Scherzo Barrère Ensemble of Wind Instruments Georges Barrère (conductor) Edison 3487
14. Rameau Trio Children’s corner No. 1 Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum (Debussy) with Horace Britt (cello) and Carlos Salzedo (harp)  Victor 2041 BS-010046
15. Rameau Trio Children’s corner No. 2 Jumbo’s Lullaby (Debussy) with Horace Britt (cello) and Carlos Salzedo (harp)  Victor 2041 BS-010047
16. Rameau Trio Children’s corner No. 3  Serenade for the doll (Debussy) with Horace Britt (cello) and Carlos Salzedo (harp)  Victor 2042 BS-010048
17. Rameau Trio Children’s corner No. 4 The snow is dancing (Debussy) with Horace Britt (cello) and Carlos Salzedo (harp)  Victor 2042 BS-010049
18. Rameau Trio Children’s corner No. 5  The little shepherd (Debussy) with Horace Britt (cello) and Carlos Salzedo (harp)  Victor 2043 BS-010050
19. Rameau Trio Children’s corner No. 6  Golliwog’s cakewalk (Debussy) with Horace Britt (cello) and Carlos Salzedo (harp)  Victor 2043 BS-010051