Philippe Gaubert
Philippe Gaubert was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute. He was a respected conductor and a composer, primarily for the flute.
Biography
Gaubert – commonly referred to as Gauberto – was born in Cahors but moved to Paris with his parents when he was six. His mother, who worked as a housekeeper, occasionally cleaned the apartment of Paul Taffanel, who began teaching Philippe the flute. Taffanel was Professor of Flute at the Paris Conservatoire, and Gaubert began studying there in 1893, aged 13.He became one of the most prominent French musicians between the two World Wars. After a prominent career as a flautist with the Paris Opéra, he was appointed in 1919, at the age of forty, to three positions that placed him at the very centre of French musical life:
- Professor of flute in the Conservatoire de Paris
- Principal conductor of the Paris Opéra
- Principal conductor of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
In 1941, Gaubert died of a stroke in Paris.
Legacy
- Gaubert's playing can be heard on a series of recordings for the French Gramophone Company in 1919.
- His Méthode complète for flute, a collaboration with Taffanel, was published in 1923.
- Journalist Jean Bouzerand, Gaubert's friend, convinced the town of Cahors to create a public garden in Gaubert's honour near the river Lot in the late 1930s.
- When Gaubert was still alive, Albert Roussel dedicated the movement "Monsieur de la Péjaudie" in his piece Joueurs de flûte, op. 27 for flute and piano to him.
Honours
Gaubert was appointed Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur in 1921.Selected works
;Chamber music3 Aquarelles, for flute, cello and pianoBallade, for flute and pianoBallade for viola and piano Berceuse, for flute and pianoCantabile et scherzetto, for cornet and piano Concert in F, for orchestra Divertissement Grec, for 2 flutes and harp2 Esquisses, for flute and pianoFantaisie for clarinet & piano in F majorFantaisie for flute and piano in G minorGavotte en rondeau, for flute and pianoLes Chants de la mer, for orchestra Madrigal, for flute and pianoMorceau symphonique, for trombone and pianoMédailles antiques, for flute, violin and pianoNocturne et allegro scherzando, for flute and pianoPièce romantique, for flute, cello, and pianoRomance, for flute and piano Romance, for flute and piano Sicilienne, for flute and piano- Sonata for Flute and Piano No. 1 in A major
- Sonata for Flute and Piano No. 2 in C major
- Sonata for Flute and Piano No. 3 in G major
- Sonatine, for flute and piano
- Suite, for flute and pianoSur l'eau, for flute and pianoSymphony in F major, for orchestra Tarantelle, for flute, oboe and piano