de Lorenzo, L :: Il 'Non plus ultra' del Flautista 18 Capricci op. 34 [The Flutist's 'Non plus ultra' 18 Caprices op. 34]

Il 'Non plus ultra' del Flautista 18 Capricci op. 34 [The Flutist's 'Non plus ultra' 18 Caprices op. 34]

de Lorenzo, L

"The Italian Flutist Leonardo de Lorenzo was born in Viggiano in 1875 and died in Santa Barbara, California, in 1962. He was one of the greatest virtuosos of the late 19th century. Like many of his fellow countryman he left his native country as a young man to find recognition in the United States of America for his skills as an instrumentalist and artist. For example, he was Gustav Mahler's first flutist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for some time, before he took up the same post with the great orchestras in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Rochester.

Quite early, Leonardo de Lorenzo began taking an interest in the pedagogical aspects of his instrument. Consequently, he quit his orchestra job in 1923 to teach generations of young American flutists at the 'Eastman School of Music'.

Among the numerous compositions he wrote for his instrument, the works with pedagogical objectives are of particular importance. Like the 'Non plus ultra of the flutist' presented here in a new printed edition and the '9 great artist studies' also published by Musikverlag Zimmermann, they are considered not only the most difficult (comparable with Paganini's caprices) but also the best written 'flute challenges' - simply a must for any ambitious flutist!" - Andras Adorjan