Word: shaffer
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Died. Elaine Shaffer, 47, leading lady of flutists; of cancer of the lungs; in London. Shaffer first performed with the Kansas City Philharmonic whose conductor, Efrem Kurtz, she later married. With a playing style distinguished by flawless technique and warm, full-bodied tones, she became one of the world's most widely acclaimed solo instrumentalists...
...reading period gives the January theater season much appeal, but there are a few things on his weekend which are good for more than just killing time. Sleuth is wrapping up its Boston run this week, a last chance to see the theatrical original. Only whodunit literati begrudge Anthony Shaffer his many tricks, other find it delightful. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest drew many critics' sneers when it opened off-Broadway. While the dramatization might not so nearly approach the greatness of Ken Kesey's novel, it's powerful enough on its own. Godspell keeps youthquaking along with...
Today the Kurtzes live in a chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland. Shaffer ranges out from Budapest to Berne, Australia to South Africa, to give 50 to 60 concerts and recitals a year. From the front door, she can also ski directly to the lift lines of the Gstaad ski area. This is more important than it might seem. A flutist must have the wind and physical stamina of a well-conditioned athlete...
Besides stamina, the hallmark of the Shaffer style is a big, crisply colored tone that can penetrate the thickest orchestral texture. Her Kincaid platinum instrument not only sounds like a veritable Heldenflöte; it actually is one. It weighs 20 oz., compared with 15 oz. for the average silver model. Shaffer psychs herself into certain musical moods, thinking of bright white lights for staccato passages, for instance, or of the setting sun when she has to change from fortissimo to pianissimo. "As the sun drops lower," she explains, "the heat may lessen but the colors become more intense. That...
...many Angel LPs attest (notably the Bach Flute Sonatas with Harpsichordist George Malcolm), Shaffer is thoroughly at home in the recording studio. "Making a recording is like taking your stage makeup off," she says. "For example, the same tempi that work well before an audience tend to sound too slow coming from a disk. The same is true of dynamics. You can't be as loud, and you can't be as soft." Wherever she is playing, Shaffer tries to preserve the feeling that she is singing instead of merely blowing. That helps explain why she watches...