ABSTRACT
Plutarch observes that “the flute calms the spirits and penetrates the ears with a sound so gracious that it brings peace and tranquility to every movement, even down to the very soul”. The real golden age of the transverse flute coincided with the beginning of the present century. The enthusiasm for the flute is proportional to the lack of trust certain Romantic composers had of the instrument, considering it incapable of expression or vulgar and colourless in sound. In 1828 Boehm set up his own workshop for the manufacture of flutes and employed Rudolph Greve, son of the famous Mannheim manufacturer, Andreas Greve. Igor Stravinsky mastered the virtuosic aspect of the flute in Petrushka, The Firebird, The Song of the Nightingale and the Concerto, for example. Naturally, chamber music also took possession of the flute and gave it an unrivalled position in increasingly varied instrumental combinations.
