Exploring the French School of Flute Playing from 1860 to the Present: An Informed Performance of Pierre Sancan’s Sonatine (1946)

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Conference Date

Spring 4-17-2026

Abstract

This is a presentation on my performance of Pierre Sancan’s Sonatine (1946), which consists of an academically informed interpretation, drawing on a list of sources associated with the “French school of flute playing” from 1960 to the Present. The “French school,” as both an institution and a style of playing, is often defined ambiguously by scholars. However, flutists agree that different qualities of playing can be heard in players from different regions of the world. Before the modern day, this distinction was so apparent that preferences for one national style could exist over another, which subsequently affected the playing of later generations.

Through the lens of historical and modern methods, accounts of performances, books by flutists, recordings, and lessons, I have synthesized a list of pedagogical concepts as they have been observed in the French school. This list includes approaches to tone production and the concept of sound, articulation, vibrato, nuance, and other expressive tools that have distinguished the French school from other schools of flute playing around the world. I have applied this list of concepts to my interpretation of Sancan’s Sonatine, not to state that it is the “correct” way to perform it, but as an attempt to describe and demonstrate how foreign national concepts can be used to inform the performance of music written by composers of that region.

The first four minutes of this presentation will describe the French School as an approach to playing the flute, and outline concepts that the audience should listen for in the recording. This list will be displayed on a PowerPoint slide with musical examples from the score. With these examples still visible, the next six minutes of the presentation will include the playback of a recording of my performance of Sancan’s Sonatine, which demonstrates the previously described concepts. The final five minutes will be left open for the judges and audience members to ask questions about the contents of the presentation.

Presenter

Michael "Mickey" Hogan

Faculty Mentor

Katherine Kemler

Award

2nd Place, LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts

Academic Major

Music

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