From Piccolo to Contrabass flute: A Flute Journey through Hindemith @ MIM

This goes back a little while, but I would like to share a few thoughts about the concert held on February 7 at the Musical Instruments Museum.

It had been some time since I last performed in a flute and piano duo. This concert series is structured around a country theme, and this time the focus was Germany.

The first half featured Maiko Inoue performing a Beethoven sonata. In the second half, I played Hindemith’s Eight Pieces (for solo flute), Schumann’s Romances, and Böhm’s Variations on a Theme by Schubert.

I chose Schumann’s Romances partly because they suit Maiko’s affinity for Romantic repertoire. As for me, I rarely have the opportunity to perform Schumann, and I wanted to reconnect with that particular lyrical sound. I had also recently changed my flute headjoint, so this was a chance to explore a warmer, more expressive tone color.

My personal highlight of the program, however, was Hindemith’s Eight Pieces.

flflute contrebasse en PVC fabriqué par Pierre Coulon

I decided to divide the work between flute, piccolo, alto flute, and contrabass flute (PVC), performing two pieces on each instrument.

Since I began working with the contrabass flute built by Pierre Coulon, I had been thinking about how to use it as a solo instrument. At the same time, although I own a piccolo and an alto flute, much of my activity revolves around the shinobue, so these instruments do not get as much use as they could. This project was therefore an ideal opportunity to bring them all together.

That said, adapting the embouchure between instruments proved far more demanding than expected. Even with the shinobue — where switching between multiple flutes (from 1 to 12) is common, sometimes using five instruments in a single concert — it requires adjustment. But moving from piccolo to contrabass flute feels like an extreme shift, almost like experiencing the transition from a newborn to a seventy-year-old overnight.

My husband, a violinist, found this approach quite amusing. If a violinist were to switch from violin to viola, then cello, and finally double bass, it might be perceived more as a circus-like act than a serious musical gesture. But within the flute family, it tends to be received as something impressive. In that sense, we might be benefiting from a particular characteristic of our instrument.

As Hindemith is a composer I greatly appreciate, I would like to develop this work further as part of my repertoire and continue refining the technique of switching between instruments.

La salle de Musé des Instruments de Musique à Bruxelles

As for Böhm, to be honest, the specific piece mattered less. I simply wanted to revisit technically demanding repertoire, and variations serve that purpose well. However, I remain somewhat ambivalent about this type of work: no matter how much effort one puts in, it does not necessarily result in strong musical substance. It truly comes alive when performed with exceptional virtuosity — almost as a deliberate display of technical mastery. That is not really my preference.

That said, performing at the Musical Instruments Museum made me want to highlight Böhm himself, as the inventor of the modern flute.

Classical music can certainly be enjoyed on its own, but understanding its background and context adds another dimension. I enjoy incorporating explanations into my concerts, and this program was no exception.

While it is valuable to include familiar pieces, exploring lesser-known works through their context and background is equally rewarding. This is also part of what makes classical music so rich. Since flute repertoire is often unfamiliar to non-flutists, I feel inclined to provide more context and explanation.

Incidentally, Böhm is said to have worked on the development of steam locomotive whistles. It seems he had a consistent fascination with sound-producing tubes — in other words, with “flutes” in the broadest sense.