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CLAUDIO PARADISO (ed.), Il Flauto in Italia. Rome: Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato S.p.A., 2005. 607pp., illus. ISBN 88-240-1114-4 (paperback). Text in Italian. Price: euro70
Published under the auspices of Italy's Ministry of Culture, Il Flauto in Italia presents a rich array of primary documentation on the history of the flute in Italy, by way of a deluxe presentation. This tome contains 151 illustrations of documents, instruments and iconography drawn from Italian archives, special collections, conservatory libraries and private collections indexed nicely at the back of the book. Through a series of 30 chapters written by leading Italian scholars and artists of flute, this work conveys the richness of a long tradition of Italian flute making and playing. Delving into little known manuscripts, private collections and library materials not easily accessible, the book constructs an historical picture of the flute that engages the reader from the first chapter on the Etruscan period to the last, which is a tribute to modernist flautist, Severino Gazzelloni (1919-1992), for his contribution to twentieth-century flute-playing on an international stage. Flautists will be gratified to discover chapters on Italy's well-known players and composers in the likes of Giuseppe Gariboldi (1830-1905), Luigi Hugues (1836-1913), and Ernesto Kohler (1849-1907), all familiar and admired figures to flautists worldwide. The art of flute-making in Italy captures our attention with chapters on the Boehm flute in Italy, nineteenth-century flute-making in Milan and the Giorgi system. All of these benefit from detailed historical research interpreted through the lens of Italy's leading scholars whose insights and experience breathe new life into their subject. Although each chapter stands on its own merit, it is their compilation under the editor, Claudio Paradiso, that juxtaposes a range of perspectives, from personal to scholarly, and from performer, teacher and instrument collector to researcher, and composer, that sets this book apart. An illustrated bibliography, pp.485-553, arranged chronologically, spans the period of 1507 to 2005, and lists some several hundred works pertaining to the flute.
In this spirit, Gianni Lazzari speaks from 'Personal considerations based on experience with the Italian Society for the Transverse Flute of the EDT-SIdM'. Writing in essay style, he draws upon his recent book, Il Flauto Traverso: storia, tecnica, acustica, exploring interpretative aspects of his own research and...