How I Stayed in Shape

Marcel Moyse has become one of the legendary great flautists of the 20th century. As a pupil of Taffanel and successor to Gaubert at the Conservatoire National de Paris, he stands in the direct tradition of the ‘French School’.

Following his early studies on technique and tone, as well as his Golden Age for the Flutist and Tone Development through Interpretation, we are here presenting his last book of studies (1974) for the first time in a trilingual edition. Here Moyse has set out his pedagogic and artistic experiences in their entirety with the aim of helping not only professional flute players who have little time to practise, but ‘everyone who loves the flute, while not forgetting the music.’

Thus this volume is not restricted to technical exercises which often follow traditional patterns (Reichert), but it also aims to improve the basic aspects of flute playing (formation of tone, intonation, articulation, phrasing) using examples selected from the repertoire and in the service of musicality. As is always the case for Moyse, song, the world of music drama, opera is the prime model of expressive performance. Thus in pursuit of his intentions Moyse occasionally offers very detailed comments, especially concerning vibrato, enlivened by his own particular brand of humour.