Max Abbas (1844-1923) 🇩🇪
Born in Weimar on 25 May 1844, son of the first oboist of the court, Max Abbas studied there with Kammervirtuoso Theodor Winkler.
He accomplishes his entire carrier within Thuringia :
he was 1st flute of the Hofkapelle of Coburg-Gotha, 1st flute of the Hofkapelle Sondershausen.
During 25 years (1976-1901) he has been flutist of the Bayreuther Festspielorchester.
From 1873, until his retirement in 1910, he was 1st flutist of the Herzogliche (Ducal) Hofkapelle Meiningen.
He served there also as the librerian of the orchestra. Max Abbas died in Hildburghausen in 1923.
Egide Aerts (1822-1853) 🇧🇪
Born in Boom (province of Antwerp) on 1 March 1822.
He studied flute at the Brussels Conservatoire with François Lahou from 1834 and won 1st prize at the age of 14.
In 1837, he travelled to Paris and, in 1838, toured central France, Milan, Venice and London.
In 1841, when the Boehm flute was introduced at the Brussels Conservatoire, Aerts initially opposed it, but the director Fétis eventually convinced him and he adopted it after a long period of study.
In 1847, Egide Aerts became a flute teacher at the Brussels Conservatoire and principal flutist of the orchestra at La Monnaie Opera House, a position he held until his untimely death at the age of just 31.
Jules (Giulio) Alary (1814-1891) 🇮🇹 🇫🇷
Born in Weimar on 25 May 1844, son of the first oboist of the court, Max Abbas studied there with Kammervirtuoso Theodor Winkler.
He accomplishes his entire carrier within Thuringia :
he was 1st flute of the Hofkapelle of Coburg-Gotha, 1st flute of the Hofkapelle Sondershausen.
During 25 years (1976-1901) he has been flutist of the Bayreuther Festspielorchester.
From 1873, until his retirement in 1910, he was 1st flutist of the Herzogliche (Ducal) Hofkapelle Meiningen.
He served there also as the librerian of the orchestra. Max Abbas died in Hildburghausen in 1923.
Henri Altès (1826-1899) 🇫🇷
A native of Rouen, Henri Altès began playing the flute at the age of 10 and joined Jean-Louis Tulou’s class at the Paris Conservatoire in 1840. It was only after winning first prize (in 1842) that he switched to the new Boehm flute, which was rapidly gaining popularity in France at the time, despite Tulou’s opposition. In 1848, Altès became principal flutist at the Paris Opera, a post he held until 1872. He was also a professor at the Conservatoire (where he succeeded Dorus) from 1868 to 1893. He trained many pupils, including Taffanel, Lafleurance, Fleury, Barrère and Hennebains, who went on to have prestigious careers. His method, published in 1880, remains a standard reference today.
François Devienne (1759-1803) 🇫🇷
Virtuoso of the flute (which he studied with Félix Rault) and of the bassoon.
At his arrival in Paris, Devienne works at the service of the Cardinal de Rohan, and performed frequently as a soloist in the Concert Spirituel and (as a Freemason) in the Concerts de la Loge Olympique. During the revolution years, he worked as a flutist in the Théâtre Feydeau (where he produced most of his operas) and became later the first flute teacher of the new Conservatoire de Musique (in 1795). On his death (at the age of just 43), he left behind a substantial body of compositions (chamber music, concertos and operas), as well as a flute method that was to exert a major influence throughout the 19th century.
Tebaldo Monzani (1762-1839) 🇮🇹 🇬🇧
Born in Verona, Monzani played the oboe as well as the flute. He moves to London around 1784 and from this moment becomes an active player in the Salomon Concerts and as a first flutist of the King’s Hay Market Theatre, . In 1801 he publishes his Instructions for the German Flute. In the early years of the XIXth century, he seems to give up playing and concentrate on a commercial activity of publisher, instrument seller and specially flute maker, in association with Henry Hill (from 1807 to 1829), producing instruments of great elegance and quality.