Kayla Ann Low

Date of Award

Spring 2022

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

School of Music

First Advisor

Sarah Williams

Abstract

This study aims to determine the flutist and pedagogue Johann Joachim Quantz’s place in the flute’s standard repertoire. I contend there are three main causes for Quantz’s exclusion from the standard repertoire suitable for public performance. 1) Quantz’s legacy has been anachronistically recorded thus affecting our understanding of Quantz and why his music is not in the standard repertoire. Among other factors, Quantz’s autobiography was not published in English until 1951. 2) Quantz’s position as the private teacher of Frederick the Great not only determined, but also stifled his output. 3) Finally, I argue the evolution of the silver flute created an instrument vastly different from the one for which Quantz wrote. Such a discrepancy exists between Quantz’s flute and the modern flute that the circulation and legacy of Quantz’s music is impacted, rendering it not as accessible a repertoire as other Baroque composers’ works; for instance, Bach, did not write music for a particular type of flute, thus making his music accessible to an audience beyond the Baroque era. This study will review the facts of Quantz’s history including the way his legacy has been recorded, the circumstances of his employment with King Frederick the Great of Prussia, the large divide between Quantz’s flute and the Boehm silver flute favored by the French School, and finally the ways current academic settings where flute is played portray Quantz. At the end of this study, I will determine what place, if any, Quantz holds in the flute’s standard repertoire and argue further for his inclusion in the standard repertoire as a viable source for public performance.

Rights

© 2022, Kayla Ann Low

Download

Included in

Music Commons

Share

COinS