Græsvold , Hans Magne - Instructive Studies for the Modern Flute

Content: 24 Etudes/Concert pieces 

The publication of this collection of studies is the result of a collaboration between the composer and former professor of flute Hans Magne Græsvold and his successor at the Agder University in Norway, flautist Jørn Eivind Schau.

Published: 2009

Hans Magne Græsvold was born in Vennesla near Kristiansand, Norway in 1936. He started playing the flute at the age of 7 and received his education in composition and flute at the Oslo Conservatory of Music and the University of Oslo. He made his debut as a flautist in Kristiansand in 1958 and in Oslo in 1962. After completing his Master`s degree in Music he became Assistant Professor at the University of Trondheim in 1963 where he remained until 1973. His main subjects were music history, composition, harmony and flute. In 1973 he moved back to the south and took up a similar position at the Agder Conservatory of Music in Kristiansand (from 2007 Agder University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Music). In addition to his teaching Græsvold has contributed many articles to several scientific publications. In 1986 he was the editor of Edvard Grieg´s Vocal compositions with Orchestra, published by Peters in 1986, and in 1999 he co-edited with Terje Mathisen an edition of the songs of Sigurd Lie. Very little of this talented composer`s work has been published and Græsvold and Mathisen continue to edit and publish his compositions for choir, orchestra and ensembles. 

As a composer Græsvold was initially influenced by Norwegian folk music, but later took inspiration from European composers especially Bartok, Schoenberg and Messiaen. His music includes several orchestral works (amongst them a flute concerto and a clarinet concerto) and chamber music (3 piano duos, 2 string quartets, 1 quartet for flute & strings, 2 sonatas for flute and piano, a suite for violin & piano, 1 piano sonatina and 1 guitar sonatina). In addition to several single movements for piano, guitar, flute, violin, cello, accordion, organ and 30 romances, Græsvold has also made several contributions to church music with his 3 cantatas, 2 masses and 30 motets. In addition he has made a large number of arrangements for different ensembles. He is a member of the Norwegian Society of Composers.

In 2007 Græsvold was awarded the Kings`s Order of Merit in gold as an acknowledgement for his work as a musician and composer.

The “Instructive Studies for the Modern Flute” by Hans Magne Græsvold are wonderful miniatures full of sensibility and intelligence. They prepare extremely well the spirit of many different pieces that we meet in our recent repertoire as well as the different types of notations as proportional or exact writings, glissandi, aleatory notations etc.

This kind of material is important to help the young generations to understand what the new music really is; I mean just the music and not an accumulation of effects. Today we live more in the past than in our time artistically and this is not one of the least contradictions of this siècle. It’s urgent to grow up with a repertoire of our time and these studies will quickly become a quasi obligatory passage in the studies.

I would like to add that they are not only studies for the students but just a true and beautiful music which can be used by many professional players as they have the quality of being concert pieces.

I congratulate Edition SVITZER to have given this beautiful gift to every flutist!

Pierre-Yves Artaud
Flute teacher in the CNSMD Paris
Flute teacher in th Ecole Normale Paris
DHC of Bucharest University
Former director of researches in IRCAM Paris