Philippe Gaubert was one of the most talented and most admired flutist of his time. Already with 14 years he started studying at the conservatoire with Paul Taffanel and simultaneously he had harmonic and composition lessons. Apart from several national prices he won the 2nd Prix de Rome in 1905. In 1919 he became successor of his teacher Taffanel at the conservatoire where he taught until 1932. Simultaneously, he carried on a career as conductor and was in 1919 appointed principal conductor of the Societé des Concerts and one year later principal conductor of the Paris Opéra (he took over the artistic direction of the opera in 1931). Advocating strongly for the french music, he celebrated great successes also as a guest conductor throughout Europe. His work, which is strongly affected by impressionism, ranges from opera, ballet and orchestra works to chamber music works. There, Gaubert perferred musical miniatures like romances, ballads, nocturnes and phantasies, but wrote, too, three works for flute and piano. The trios „Aquarelles“ were produced in 1926. Most of his work has sadly enough been forgotten. In contrast to that, the teaching book „Methode de Flute“, which Gaubert and his teacher Paul Taffanel designed and published in 1923, is still of outstanding relevance. Sir Eugène Goossens (1893-1962) [that is: gu:snz] His compositions, too, achieved great popularity. Reasons for the fact that most of his works, especially his big stage works were seldom played after their debut performace may be their big technical demands, but maybe also their slightly backwards tending style of composition, which aligns itsself on Ravel, Debussy and the late Richard Strauss. This does not apply to his marvellous early work „Five Impressions of A Holiday“, which – as well als his trio op. 6 for flute, violin and harp from 1914 – shows his special love for the flute. The titles of the five movements are self-explanatory. |
PHILIPPE GAUBERT (1879-1941)