Interview

 

When did you begin the flute?

I started the flute when I was 8, but have been imitating playing a flute on my recorder for years before that.

 

Why to have chosen this instrument?

I really enjoyed music when I was a child and a neighbor of us was playing the flute. I was instantly enchanted by the instrument and demanded my parents to let me have lessons.

 

Since when do know you that playing the flute will be your job?

From the first moments, producing music meant something very special for me. I remember an essay that I have written for school, where I described my future being a flutist. This must have been after playing the flute for only a year or two.

 

What do you prefer to play?

I get really engaged with any kind of music that I pay. Most of the time I end up with the feeling that I should play much more from the given composer or from the certain musical era – there is always so much detail to discover and enjoy while practicing and then even more so when performing.

 

Where do you prefer to play?

I have once decided to make a diary that lists all the places where I have played or practiced. It would be surprising for many people to know in how many bizarre and astonishing corners of the world one ends up practicing between going on stages in beautiful concert halls. Of course it is an incredible feeling to stand on such stages as the Carnegie Hall, but I get a lot of inspiration and flexibility from practicing and playing in unusual places such as abandoned factory buildings, private castles or a storage room.

 

Which is your most beautiful memory of flute?

There have been many memorable performances for me, and so many moments where I felt really inspired to be able to play with great musicians together. Still, the best is when I can just start the day with playing the flute in peace, it is such a beautiful lifestyle and great challenge to keep improving and growing as a musician every day.

 

Which is your worst memory?

 

There are two: once when playing in the Vienna State Opera, in the middle of a sold-out dress rehearsal I noticed that the piccolo I was playing, broke down completely. I quickly received a new one from the other flutists, but I couldn't even try the replacement instrument before my big solos, and I knew that most of the colleagues had no idea what happened. Given that all players are from the Vienna Philharmonic, this was quite stressful moment for me, but I survived and it actually went well!

The other was, when I had two concerts on the same day, in two different places. On the way I noticed that I was in such a hurry, that I had left my flute at the first performance venue… There was no time to go back and I had to play the full recital on a completely unknown flute that I could quickly collect from my boyfriend on the way to the second concert.

 

Where do you dream to go to play?

I dream to play once as a soloist in the Great Hall of the Musikverein. I would love to return to Carnegie Hall and play in other very meaningful concert venues, where so many great musicians have performed. These places have a very special atmosphere, that inspires me to become even more refined and expressive in my playing.

 

What do you appreciate more in this instrument?

Sound production is very mysterious on the flute. In my mind, the flute is the instrument, which has a sound production technique that is most similar to singing. This makes the flute very personal and in a way fragile. I really appreciate to spend a lot of time and energy on cultivating and understanding the process of sound-making, as it adds so many personal values to my performance.

And I also appreciate that the flute fits in a small bag. I don’t think I would manage to do all my travelling carrying a cello around…

 

Do you play another instrument?

I have played the piano and cello for several years. I was really terrible on the piano, interestingly I found it much more difficult to use my two hands independently on the keyboard in comparison with the cello, where it worked quite easily for me.

 

Which is, according to you, the largest current flutist? and of all times?

There are many flutists that inspire my work and I love to listen to any Nicolet, Rampal, Marion or Moyse recording. You can learn so much from these masters. I also very much enjoy following the recordings and performances of my contemporaries, it is brilliant that one can go online and instantly buy any new release. 

 

Which is your objective as a flutist?

My mission is somehow to be able to present the very colorful expression and sensitive, personal character of the flute to the broader public. I often feel that even the standard concert goers have little knowledge and experience of the flute’s sound and of its musical possibilities, as they rarely have the chance to hear it in a non-orchestral setting. There is so much brilliant individual repertoire of our instrument which I feel close to me and find really important to share.

 

Which message would you like to pass to all the flutists?

To always think of the sense behind the music. In the past years, since I am a faculty member of the Royal Northern College of Music and have had the chance to listen to many talented young flutists, I often discover how little we musicians think of the hidden (or not so hidden) meaning behind the notes. This is something professionals tend to forget as well, even though it is the real enjoyment, when you play, to have a deeper understanding of the musical texture.