Monarch of the Flute The Life of Georges Barrere

"An impressively detailed biography.... The thoroughness that Toff exhibited as she investigated so many diverse sources of information, and her scrupulous attention to detail and accuracy, have paid off handsomely. She writes in a very engaging style, each page replete with fascinating material, and we are forever indebted to her for this landmark biography of our 'great-grandfather' of American-style flute playing."--Walfrid Kujala, The Flutist Quarterly
"Once again, Nancy Toff puts her thorough research and journalistic skills to use and creates this fascinating, well-documented look into the founding father of American flute playing. There is no doubt that this book will be part of the standard body of flute literature, just as Toff's other valuable writing, The Flute Book has become."--Victoria Jicha, Flute Talk
"This is the first work of depth and stature on Georges Barrere (1876-1944), one of the most important flutists in modern history. Barrere, for example, premiered in Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (at age seventeen, no less!); and the Griffes Poem and Verese's Density 21.5 were composed for him. Toff has pursued solid credible research including repeated trips to Paris to examine primary documents ("Somebody's got to do it," she quipped with a smile at a presentation last summer at the NFA Convention), and the result is absolutely fabulous. --Kansas City Flute AssociationNewsletter
"In this detailed view of Barrere's life, Nancy Toff weaves an amazing musical tale of two cities, Belle Epoque Paris and early 20th-century New York...This book is a good read. Clearly and logically organised, with really useful appendices and index, it shows how the man and his music developed. Fascinating and informative, I found it hard to put down. Fascinating because it reveals how a playing musician lived and worked (so often we only hear about how composers lived), and informative because by the end of it, I felt as though I too had