Carl Vollrath – The Glass of Absinthe

photo: Troy University

Born in New York City to German parents, Carl Vollrath attended Newton High School. He received a B.A. from Stetson University, an M.A. from Columbia University, and an Ed.D. from Florida State University. Vollrath studied composition with Ernst von Dohnanyi Carlisle Floyd, and John Boda. He served with the West Point Military Band at West Point NY from 1953 to 1956 and was a music consultant in Miami FL from 1956 to 1958. He joined the Troy University (AL) faculty in 1965.

Major works include six symphonies for band, an opera – The Quest – and a large collection of chamber music, all published by Tap Music (tapmusic.com). MMC Recordings has released three albums of Vollrath’s works, including a two-disc album of clarinet works recorded by Richard Stoltzman entitled Jack’s Fat Cat (2008). His most recent releases by Navona Records include Lingering Longings (2016), THREE PASTELS (2016), WARRIOR MONKS (2017), and SOULS IN TRANSITIONS (2018).

Photo: Marko Uzelac

Dieter Flury was born and brought up in Zurich (Switzerland) and studied with Hans Meyer (Principal Flute of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich), André Jaunet (at the Zurich Music Academy), and Aurèle Nicolet. In addition to his flute studies he graduated in mathematics at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. At age 25 he was appointed a member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and in 1981 he was named Principal Flute of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. 2005-14 he was also the Artistic Director and General Manager of Vienna Philharmonic. In 2017 he retired from the orchestra.

In demand as a teacher, Flury is a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz (Austria) where he has been teaching since 1996. His numerous recordings have featured a wide range of composers from Baroque to contemporary.

Flury has performed as soloist with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphonic, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic, Beijing Symphony, Tokyo Symphony and others in collaboration with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Roger Norrington, Edmond de Stoutz, and Christian Thielemann. He worked with composers including Pierre Boulez, Beat Furrer, György Ligeti, René Staar, Salvatore Sciarrino, Herbert Willi, and Hans Zender. Flury plays a handmade 14k golden flute by Yamaha.