Jürgen Franz Artist Interview

April 1, 2023 The Flute View

Jürgen Franz is Professor for Flute at the Music University "Hochschule für Musik und Theater“ Hamburg and a member of the NDR Elbphilharmonieorchestra Hamburg. As soloist and chamber musician he is touring worldwide, he is a frequently artist at european Flute Festivals and in the Jury of international Flute Competitions. Studied with Jean Claude Gérard, Maxence Larrieu and Sir James Galway, Jürgen Franz is artistictly influenced by the french school of flute playing. Jürgen Franz is Haynes Artist and plays a 19.5k Gold Flute.

Can you give us 5 career highlights?

After now 30 years of a professional career it is difficult to remember everything, but as an orchestra musician I remember a concert with Bruckner Sinfonie Nr. 9 with Günter Wand and the NDR Sinfonieorchestra in Londons Royal Albert Hall. Another concert was with Lorin Maazel in the Teatro Antico in Taormina Italy with the Symphonica Toscanini Orchestra. Also some concerts with the Filarmonica della Scala in Milano Italy are very much anchored in my memory. As a soloist I really prefer the more intimate places, as the contact to the audience is more intense. Last summer, for example, I played in the Musicfestival in Livorno and one of the concerts happened in a museum for sea culture. There I played between Whales Skeletons and other big animals from the sea. This was something really impressive.

How about 3 pivotal moments that were essential to creating the artist that you've become?

- Finding the teachers I had, they gave me so much inspiration and energy.

-The flutemakers I met personally like Albert Cooper, Johnathon Landell and Steven Finley from Haynes. They gave me a lot knowledge about the instrument.

-And of course meeting my wife! :-)

What do you like best about performing?

I enjoy very much to perform the music with a clear structure, a natural but well educated musicianship to transport

the emotions of the composer to the audience.

CD releases?

These are my solo CD releases:

-Flute Trios from France

-European Recital for Flute and Piano

-Jean Marie Leclair

Sonata e minor Maxence Larrieu Flute, Georges Kiss Cembalo

"Deuxieme Recreation" for two flutes and Cembalo Maxence Larrieu and Jürgen Franz Flute, Georges Kiss Cembalo

Sonata G-Major Jürgen Franz Flute, Georges Kiss Cembalo

-the poetic flute

ballades and romances for flute and piano

What does your schedule look like for the next 6 months?

I of course play with the NDR Elbphilharmonieorchetra the season which will end in July, between this I teach my flute Class at the University. There we will have the exams and of course the auditions in June for the new students of my class.

I will play Ligeti's "Six Bagatellen" in the big Hall of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Then I will be in Istanbul for a Masterclass and concert with my former student, Aslihan And. There is a project with the "Carnaval des Animaux“ and we have our annual Masterclass in Hamburg with Davide Formisano and me. In the summer, I will be back at the Music Festival in Livorno. Other events in Asia are in the pipeline but not ready fixed.

There also will be some new music for flute and piano. We are just now in finishing an Album. "Five romantic pieces for Flute and Piano". There will be works by Wagner, Brahms, Elgar, Glieder, and Mompou. Also, I can officially announce that there is a second Puccini Fantasy ready which I wrote last year. It's the "Turandot Fantasy" which will be premiered in Istanbul in March. All these you can find later at: www.vigormusic.it

Here are links for the pieces which are available at the moment in stretta music and directly at Vigor music.

Boheme Fantasy

Debussy Ballade for flute and Piano

What are your goals personally? Professionally?

One of my personal goals is to make a trip with my bike to Italy, all the way through Germany and Austria to the northern parts of Italy. In my professional life, I like to create more new music for the flute repertoire and would love to have more time for teaching and solo concerts.

What inspires you the most in life?

The Beauty of Nature, lovely people and Dogs ;-)

What has been your professional greatest challenge?

Traveling and to play the flute like great pianists, violinists or cellists. It still is, but I'm working on it!

What has been your personal greatest challenge?

I'm so lucky with my lovely family, that my personal life is very pleasing to me.

Who were your music mentors? and what did you learn from them?

I always had three flute players who I really loved to listen to: Maxence Larrieu, Jean-Pierre Rampal and James Galway. I never studied with Rampal but I always loved his warm and emotional sound. I played a lot concerts with Maxence Larrieu, his french stylish and beautiful tone, his talent for the flute, and his natural technique was a great influence for me. Then there was Sir James Galway, his way of flute playing was always giving me so much energy to practice, to improve my playing on a higher level. His friendship still is so inspiring for me. I have to say I was really lucky and I'm really thankful to all my teachers specially the teachers from my younger years who were always so patient with me, even when I was arriving with my little motorbike and I had frozen hands, so much so, that I was not even able to hold the flute ;-)

Can you give us 3 quirky, secret, fun, (don't think too much about this) hobbies or passions?

-Walking my best buddy „Sepp“ our dog ;-)

-Driving and the maintaining of my two Italian motorbikes

-Drinking a good espresso and enjoying the Italian way of life „dolce far niente“

What 3 things would you offer as advice for a young flutist?

- Look for a good teacher

- Practice patiently and stay curious about the flute and the music

- Associate progress in your practice routine with positive thoughts, so you are able to be positive when you perform on stage

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