German Flute Association – Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Flöte e.V.
It all began with the wish of two flautists in German cultural orchestras to initiate a union of like-minded people, following the American model. It was intended to provide a forum for flutists of all levels, amateurs and professionals, teachers and musicians in orchestras as well as students to exchange ideas and experiences. Thus on 3 July 1985 in Frankfurt am Main the German Society for Flute (DGfF) was founded.
Today the DGfF has not only found its place within the framework of flute societies all over the world - it is the largest European flute society in terms of membership - but it is also one of the largest associations in Germany representing a single instrument or group of instruments (2000 members). Flöte aktuell, the official journal of the DGfF, is published four times a year and contains current news, portraits, articles on instruments, stylistic studies - also on the flute in jazz -, information on competitions, reviews of books, sheet music and CDs, tips from educational practice and Fluteenie for children and young people.
International flute festivals have been organised by the DGfF every 2 to 3 years since 1989. These three days offer in a condensed form an exhibition of instruments and sheet music, various workshops on various topics, master classes with the participating soloists and concerts almost around the clock. More than 200 flutists have been heard as soloists so far, among them Aurèle Nicolet, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Paul Meisen, Konrad Hünteler, William Bennett, Trevor Wye, Susan Milan, Andrea Lieberknecht, Henrik Wiese, Emily Beynon, Michael Kofler, Ransom Wilson... This series could be continued endlessly or supplemented by orchestras such as the Budapest Strings, La Stagione Frankfurt, string quartets, trios and wind quintets, flute orchestras... Over the years, the DGfF has appointed some outstanding personalities of the music world as honorary members: the flute makers Albert Cooper † Helmuth Hammig † and Jörg Rainer Lafin, the flutists Trevor Wye, Peter-Lukas Graf, Jean-Pierre Rampal †, Aurèle Nicolet †, Karlheinz Zoeller †, Paul Meisen, Konrad Hünteler, Sir James Galway and Rüdiger Jacobsen.
In the time between the festivals, the DGfF organizes so-called Flute Days. These are smaller events with about 100-200 participants, usually dealing with one main theme, e.g. Peter-Lukas Graf on his 90th birthday in Munich, Louis Lot flutes in Hamburg etc.
Courses are held regularly to deal with pedagogical or interpretive questions.
Originally conceived as a biennial, the DGfF International Competition for young flutists has met with a great response. Due to the Corona crisis it was held online for the first time this year. We received 132 applications from 22 countries. The level was gratifyingly high. The contributions of the prize winners can be seen on our website. This international success prompted us to announce the 2021 competition online again.
Our next International Flute Festival should take place at the end of September at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg. Due to Corona this was postponed to 11-13 March 2022. Instead, we will put a Virtual Flute Festival on our website from 15.10.2020: www.floete.net. There you will find concert contributions, tutorials, workshops, educational contributions etc. So far we have received about 70 videos from international artists and teachers. This Virtual Flute Festival will remain online for a longer period of time and will be constantly expanded as a large online library about flute and flute playing.
The DGfF is represented on the board of the European Flute Council (EFC). In addition to a lively European exchange, the EFC supports European flute societies and organises annual festivals together with them. Because of Corona, the next European festivals in Albania and Portugal have been postponed to April and August 2022.