Flute holiday

We spent last week at a flute course in a lovely ex-farmhouse towards the south of France.   Run by Philippa Davies  (and see also here) who is a fabulous player and wonderful person, combined with calm surroundings and delicious food and free-flowing local wine, it was a good escape.  And I met some lovely people, and it improved my playing into the bargain.

We got an opportunity to do some sightseeing, and visited a local market and castle.  More on those later.

It turns out that my recent attempts to improve my left-hand flute technique have resulted in "focal dystonia" which is stiffening the hand and causing it to do things I don't ask it to.   I looked it up on Google.  In flute players it happens mostly in the left hand.  Yep.  After a change in technique.  Yep.  I have some work to do there.  None the less, the last evening's concert went well and I played the first Haydn London Trio, with a bassonist playing the 'cello part.  I also played Köhler's Walse des Fleurs, a bit of victorian grandiosity that is nothing but good fun.