I live in Freiburg, Germany. My main ensembles include the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, La Stagione Frankfurt, Camerata Cologne, and the Ardinghello Ensemble for Romantic chamber music. With these groups, I have toured worldwide and recorded a large part of the repertoire from Hotteterre to Schubert on CD. Yet there is always wonderful new music waiting to be discovered.

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The first thing you do when you pick up your traverso to start the practice day, and why?

I start with about 20 minutes of yoga for relaxation and strengthening, mainly to compensate for the one-sided nature of flute playing. Balance exercises are very important — for example The Tree pose. If you have a balance pad, you can practise standing (or even playing) on one leg.
Exercises for the spinal column are especially useful because flute playing involves constant rotation of the upper body.
For guidance on good exercises, I often refer to the book Musicians in Motion by Alexandra Türk-Espitalier, who is both a professional flutist and a physiotherapist.

Any recurring piece to play every day, and why?​

I mainly practise the pieces I will need to perform in the coming weeks.​

Do you have a daily routine?​

Not really. Every single day is unique.​

What kind of goals do you set for your practice?​

On the one hand, my goal is to maintain or deepen playability and inspiration; on the other hand, I need to learn new repertoire. And, of course, to have a good time while doing it.

Do you do any systematic warm-up?

I always begin by searching for a beautiful sound. Every note must be discovered and shaped as an individual.
Some notes are very strong and bright, like third-octave D; others are more sensitive, like E; others again are dark but beautiful, such as A-flat, B-flat, and low C.
Each tone requires its own amount of air, resonance, and pressure. The vowel shape and the angle of the air stream have to be found individually.
Inégalité is a fundamental quality of our instrument, of baroque music, and even of 17th- and 18th-century society. But in a certain sense, tones also need to be adjusted. For example, F cannot be either too high or too soft — a certain degree of equality is necessary.
Very important: messa di voce.
I play every note from pp to ff and back, starting with low D and ending with top A. Each note lasts at least 12 seconds.
Then I practise repetitions on all notes using various articulations (tu, du, du-ru, did’ll).
A model exercise for repetitions on one note is:
ti-di-ri-did – ti-di-ri-did (4 times), followed by a long note with a beautiful messa di voce.
I repeat the same exercise with ti-di-di-did and did’ll-did’ll.
Did’ll is particularly difficult for many flutists. Quantz’s explanation is excellent, although he himself says that it is very hard to describe in words and much easier to learn with a teacher.
I conclude the warm-up with scale exercises in all major keys, similar to the major-scale exercise from Taffanel-Gaubert.

Do you have a specific structure for warm-up and practice sessions?​

Yes. I always practise baroque flute first — warm-up followed by repertoire — and then the multi-keyed flute, again starting with a warm-up and then repertoire.
I consider the classical multi-keyed flute to be a type of baroque flute with additional possibilities.​

Any distinctive characteristics of baroque flute daily practice vs. modern flute or other instruments?​

The modern flute requires much greater air speed than the baroque flute. Eighteenth-century flutes must be played with great sensitivity to resonance and with very precise intonation of individual notes.
Above all, historical flutes are not truly chromatic instruments. Therefore, it is very useful to practise within a limited range of keys — for example, sharp keys one day, flat keys the next. Each key has its own colour.
You might imagine a specific colour for each key — for example, blue for A major, red (like a Rioja wine) for G minor, yellow for D major. This imagination is subjective and differs from player to player. You can also associate different affects with different keys.
B minor always sounds like B minor, regardless of pitch level, and pieces in B minor tend to convey similar affects. The challenge is to find that specific colour on your own flute.
Chromatic études written for the Boehm flute are generally not suitable for the baroque flute. This is also reflected in the way 18th-century practice material is structured. They can, however, be useful for simple-system flutes with six or eight keys.​

What are the key elements and unmissable points of daily practice?​

Sound quality and dynamic flexibility are essential. And most importantly, you should feel comfortable with — and genuinely love — your instrument and the music.​

How long and distributed should warm-up and practice be?

This depends very much on the individual. However, warm-up should last at least 20 minutes.
The amount of time needed for repertoire varies widely: some musicians need very little time, others much more. There are many different types of learners.
​Tartini even recommends that his students practise a messa di voce exercise alone for one hour every day…😎!

Any  specific tip to address difficult technical passages during daily practice?

I believe one should practise technical exercises consistently. Do not try to improve technical skills by working directly on musical masterpieces.
This is also Quantz’s recommendation: he warns that practising certain compositions too often can dull one’s sensitivity. I think he is right.​

Are there any tools that are particularly useful for practicing?

I don’t use a tuner — not even for bass notes. The sound is too synthetic, and intonation is always relative.
A metronome, or even better a pendulum, can be very useful. Above all, receiving feedback from other musicians during daily practice is invaluable.​

Any other general advice, suggestion, tip?

Listen to yourself very carefully — critically, but benevolently.
And above all, enjoy life and music.​

How do you advise your students as far as structuring their daily practice?

I practice with the students in class how to do tone exercises, technical exercises, and feel the design for an individual interpretation. Duet playing is very helpful because stylistic learning happens intuitively.​

Do you suggest or teach a warm-up routine?

There is a basic “routine” that should be followed, but the problems change constantly, and practice strategies must be adapted accordingly.

Are there any specific pieces particularly beneficial to be played regularly in daily practice?​

I strongly recommend the Studi by Dôthel, which cover all keys and allow systematic practice of sharps and flats.
Zimmermann’s Capricci are also very useful for daily practice.
Of course, Telemann’s Fantasias are essential — including adaptations of the Fantasias for viola da gamba.
For the French style, Hotteterre’s Préludes are invaluable.
For the classical style, the études by Drouet are particularly useful.​

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