by Daniel Hathaway

Oberlin’s historical flute professor Michael Lynn has devised a whole day of events celebrating the little-known world of 19th century French flute music. On Saturday, October 31, Lynn will team up with flute professor Alexa Still, fortepianist David Breitman, the Conservatory’s music history department, the Conservatory Library, and the Frederick R. Selch Center for Music History, to shine light on a neglected subject through lectures, a concert and an exhibition.

Lynn said in a telephone conversation that his project has been an adventure full of surprises. “I didn’t know that much about the repertoire, but I had the general feeling that there was a bunch of it out there. I’ve collected flutes from that era, especially Viennese instruments, but somehow I got pulled in by the French flutes. They’re simpler, more elegant instruments, and the more digging I did into the music written for them, the more interesting it became.” [Read more…]