Book Description

"Most etudes and studies are designed for flutists to practice technical exercises. The Thirty Caprices, op. 107, for solo flute by Sigfrid Karg-Elert focus on technical and stylistic exercises. Karg-Elert's Thirty Caprices are created as a guide for flutists to play as if these were solo pieces from the flute repertoire. Karg-Elert introduces these caprices in the preface as addressing the "urgent need of forming a connecting link between the existing educational literature and the unusually complicated parts of modern orchestral works." He refers to several well-known composers and writes that these caprices are meant to help flutists prepare the existing works as a guide or method studies to achieve standard flute repertoire and orchestral excerpts. In this thesis, I provide in depth theoretical analysis of each caprice and describe how Karg-Elert uses the Thirty Caprices to educate flutists with these exercises. I categorize the caprices into eight sections that require specific flute techniques: embouchure flexibility (arpeggios, whole tone, chromatic scales), rhythm, articulations (single, double, triple, flutter tonguing, slurs), finger technique, dynamic contrast, and embellishments (grace notes, mordents, and trills). I demonstrate the connections between the caprices and pieces in the flute repertoire, further emphasizing and explaining the importance of the caprices in mastering works in the modern flute repertoire as well as orchestral excerpts."--author's abstract.