26th Forum for Flute and Piano

26th Forum for Flute and Piano
Diekirch, 25.07 – 03.08.2014
Live your flute dream in Diekirch!
Have you ever dreamt about playing for and work with the best flute professors?
Do you want to spend fantastic holidays with wonderful musicians from all over
the world? Participate in Forum for Flute and Piano and gain experience to
enjoy playing the flute even more!
by Ewa Januszewska
When I first entered the website of the 26th Forum
for Flute and Piano, I could not believe that this
course would give me an opportunity to work with
so many fantastic flute professors in one place
during 10 days. Artistic director of the Forum, Carlo
Jans, invited great flutists to collaborate with him –
Jean-Claude Gérard, Wally Hase, Qiling Chen, Gaby
Pas-Van Riet, Peter Verhoyen and Alan Weiss. Great
willingness to learn from them made me apply for a
scholarship to participate in the Forum.
Preparation and the work that I had done were
fruitful and I succeeded in receiving a scholarship
from the Ministry of Culture of the Grand Duchy of
Luxembourg, covering the costs of participation in
the 26th Forum for Flute and Piano in Diekirch.
Being extremely happy to be given such a chance, I
couldn't wait for the beginning of the course.
Organization
All of the organization issues concerning the access to Diekirch, registration of participants, schedule
and many other things were not a problem thanks to the tremendous work of assistant manager
Simon Knopp. During the whole Forum, Simon Knopp was patiently answering to the all partcipants'
questions, taking care of preparing a comfortable schedule for each day, helping along with solving
any problems and keeping guard over the proceedings. Thanks to the supreme organization, the
participants were able to focus only on music.
Lessons took place in the Old Church, Music School,
Philharmonie Municipale (on the left), and at the Lycée (below)
Individual lessons
Lessons with professors during the 26th Forum for Flute and Piano were a precious, lifelong
experience. The greatest musicians were sharing their knowledge with passion and were patiently
working on the interpretation and technical aspects of playing the flute.
My lessons with professors: Jean-Claude Gérard (on the left), Gaby Pas-Van Riet (on the right), Carlo Jans (below)
A distinguishing feature of Forum for Flute and Piano is obviously the fact that every participant could
work with each professor present at the course. Working with so many fantastic musicians was a great
opportunity for me to look at the pieces that I am playing from different points of view. Thanks to
26th Forum for Flute and Piano I could get advice on every difficult issue and find the best solutions to
solve the problems and develop my flute playing.
Piano accompaniment
Piano accompaniment was a great complement to the individual flute lessons. 26th Forum for Flute
and Piano gave a chance to work with Cordula Hacke and Katrin Reifenrath. These two amazing
personalities shared their great experience to show the beautiful dialogues between flute and piano
and helped in better understanding how to play with the piano during the concerts.
Open groups
Besides individual lessons, 26th Forum for Flute and Piano gave the opportunity to attend „open
groups”. These were group lessons open to the all participants of the course. Each open group looked
different, depending on the professor. We could play our pieces to work on interpretation, discuss the
technical issues, ask questions about the excerpts of certain compositions and much more. That was a
great opportunity to share the opinions either with professors or other participants of the Forum.
Technique
As far as flute technique is concerned, participants were divided into several groups and had a chance
to attend technical classes with Carlo Jans. During his lessons Carlo Jans showed us numerous
technical excercices. Each example was like a remedy for different kind of problematic issues in flute
playing.
Baroque music
During the 26th Forum for Flute and Piano the participants also had an opportunity to work on
baroque music with magnificent cembalist and organist Ewa Rzetecka. During her lessons we could
discover the rules of proper execution of baroque pieces and form the baroque ensembles. We could
present our work during the special baroque concert.
Participants of the 26th Forum for Flute and Piano with Ewa Rzetecka after the baroque concert
Concerts
26th Forum for Flute and Piano was rich in wonderful concerts. We could listen to two fantastic
concerts of professors in beautiful Old Church in Diekirch. Each concert was an exceptional musical
journey and confirmation that working with these masters was a great honour for all participants of
the Forum. During the concerts of participants we could present what we had learnt from the
professors and get another experience in presenting ourselves on the stage.
Waiting for a concert in the Old Church in Diekirch
Participants of the 26th Forum for Flute and Piano after the concert in Saeul
Conferences
Besides the practical classes, we could listen to the
lectures proposed by the flute builders. During the
conferences we could get to know how the history of
french flute had developed, what the influence of each
player and material on the sound of the flute was and
how the flute headjoint making looked like. The flute
exhibitions were a great opportunity to try out many
different flutes, headjoints and piccolos and discuss the
reflections with the professors and other participants of
the Forum.
Me performing at the concert in Saeul
Tobias Mancke presenting his lecture entitled “Headjoint making”
Accomodation and relax
The participants of the 26th Forum for Flute and Piano were living in the Interat Jos Schmit in
Diekirch which was a comfortable place to get some rest and to entertain with friends. After the classes
we had time to relax and integrate with other participants, as well as with the professors. Welcome
Party, Barbecue, After Party in Saeul and Goodbye Party were the fantastic occasions to talk, laugh and
enjoy the special time we could spend in Dierkich.
26th Forum for Flute and Piano was incontestably
the best flute course I have ever participated in. 10
days of masterclasses with great professors helped
me in developing my flute playing, but also
enriched me as a person, teaching how to be more
patient and solid during practising. Every day of
the course was full of new experience.
Unforgettable advice, special atmosphere,
wonderful, talented people from all over the world
made the 26th Forum for Flute and Piano an
exceptional place to live the flute dream.
I wish I could come back to Diekirch and
participate in Forum once more!
A lovely fountain in Diekirch