Maryanne Amacher

Voila Maryanne Amacher. She looks pretty reserved, right? Maybe a little uptight? Maybe a little cray-cray?

More on the cray-cray.

But in a good way! In an excellent way. Maryanne made soundscapes - crazy huge houses full of wiring and speakers and all sorts of things that could go wrong. And she spent most of her time in red overalls. And crazy red hair and ace glasses. And she passed away last year. No good way to segue to that after perving on her, really. Sorry for lack of finesse. There's a (possible) leadership spill and stuff tonight.

Yardena Alotin

This woman is a babe. Srsly. This is what I want my hair to look like. Usually, I just look like I've come off a treadmill.

Anyway, enough about me. Alotin was born in Tel-Aviv, and wrote lots of unaccompanied choir stuff. And some other stuff which isn't very interesting. And a flute piece called "Yefei Nof", which apparently is like a total fave of Galway's, and has "become established in the international flute repertory", according to my Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. It was a prize, alright! But anyway: I don't know this piece, so it can't be any good. KIDDING.

ps she's a babe. Nice pattern on shirt as well.

Andreas Traeg

I know nothing about this man. He hasn't even got a wiki. I mean, come on man! I know you've been dead a while and everything, but if you'd created a good enough legacy etc etc.

Well, he wrote a Solo Flute Fantasy in G Major. Not very exciting.

However: HELLO SAILOR. He's just got that look. How marvellous.

Also, bit of trivia: his sash is made out of French watered silk. I know this, because when I was music captain of my inner south eastern suburbs Catholic girls school (yeah, I know right?) we wore blue sashes made out of blue French watered silk, just like that.

You're completely welcome.

Burgmüller

Here is Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller:

Oh look! Here he is again, from the other side:

Here he is when he gets old! (Or possibly a picture or someone else with the same name. Google image search isn't particularly discerning)

Points for the funny hair.

I love this man from the deepest depths of my heart. And my god are those depths deep. So deep you could drown in them. Figuratively, of course. If they were actually deep or even existent I'd probably die, which would be terribly detrimental to my ability to love and blog, making this entire situation redundant.
Whatever.
He has made many, many, many hours of my work easier by writing his Op.100 which is easily accessible (as I have a copy of it sitting on my piano) and children seem to like it. I hate going out of my way to please children, so this is completely perfect.
Apparently he was fairly good looking too, had sideburns, which is always a plus and didn't lure children into the forest with candy or anything like that, so I'm going to assume he was one of those "all round nice guys" I keep hearing so much about. In the magazines.
Yup.
Burgmuller.
Awesome (probably) and attractive (debateably.)

David Hirschfelder

Ok, so I'm kind of breaking some rules again.

1. He's not really a babe. To obfuscate (probably not correct use of word) this unsightly fact, I have given you a picture of the Hirsch from the side, as he prepares to conduct summat. I believe that, much as an added piano makes an average person more attractive, putting someone in a high concentration situation like conducting can also make them more attractive. Discuss.

Here's another hilariously beardy photo. Just coz.

2. Actually, I only broke one rule. I don't know what my issue is today. Possibly because I haven't practiced. All kinds of jumbled.

ANWAY our good freind D-Hirsch wrote some stuff for "Strictly Ballroom", including that really pretty waltz that Doug does all by himself (tear), and some stuff for Australia. Some people would have a quiet little vom at that, but I really like Baz Luhrmann. I think sometimes that perhaps I'm a gay man. Like, a really really camp one.

He also used to play in the Little River Band (ace) AND WAS FULLY MUSIC DIRECTOR FOR WHISPERING JACK. Oh, Johnny Farnham. If only all those on your payroll were so good.

Grands Exercices Journaliers de Mecanisme par Monsieur Taffanel et Monsieur Gaubert.

"L'etude reguliere et attentive de ces exercices est indispensable a tout flutiste. Toutes les difficultes de l'instrument y sont contenues."

This is what it says in the "Notes on Practising/Note pour le Travail" at the start of Paul Taffanel and Phillipe Gaubert's "Grands Exercices Journaliers de Mecanisme".

What it translates to is something like: "Regular and thoughtful study of these exercises is indispensible to all flutists. They contain all the difficulties of the instrument."

What it should translate to is something more like this:
"Regular and thoughtful study of these exercises will cause intense pain in all parts of the upper body of the flutist, as well as a strange sudden desire to stab oneself in the aeorta with one's own flute. They contain all the difficulties of the instrument, and because we are spiteful French bastards, we take great pleasure in writing them out, so you can study them in your tertiary years and suffer immense physical and mental pain, to the point that you are willing to cut off your own fingers. Schadenfreude is what we do, even though that's a German word. Also, LE HOH HOH HOH HOH."

Other interesting facts: Paul Taffanel had a rectangular face and elf ears, while Philippe Gaubert was a neckless wonder whose choice in bowties was highly questionable.



Also, I heard from a reliable source that they used to eat children, and kick old women in the face for fun.

Hey, don't shoot the messenger.

Happy practising.
xx

Lili Kraus

My girl Lili had a pretty eventful life. She studied under Bartok and Kodaly (it's too late for accents), toured the world, even got to Australia in the 30s GOOD LORD - then got interned and held by the Japanese while she was touring Java. FOR LIKE THREE YEARS.

And then she got out, and got New Zealand citizenship, which also counted as British citizenship then, apparently, and started it all up again! And then she moved to America and continued to be brilliant.

And still, wiki give her like three paragraphs. Typical.

Also, I've just realised she isn't a composer. WHATEVER MAN IT'S LATE.

She's got a lot of babe potential. Her hair is too limp for my liking in this photo, but there's a lot there. She has a nice slouchy thing going too. Alexander wouldn't be happy, but she has grunge.

Also? If anyone ever writes a book about me, I would like it also be subtitled "Personality Extraordinaire".