The Inner Light

An impressive and virtuoso concert with Trio Gabriel. The musicians sounded as if they were melting with each other. Their delicious and immensely devoted performance tore the audience from their seats.

-Hamburger Abendblatt, January 2005

Moshe Aron Epstein gave a convincing performance of Mozart's D-Major concerto, showing virtuosity and stylistic purity. His interpretation of the slow movement was glorious, it shone with a most expressive legato.

-Westdeutsche Zeitung, March 2001

His encore was fabulous – a glazed Bach-Sarabande.

-Rheinische Post, 2001

It left a deep impression thanks to the beauty of the instrumental solo part of Moshe Aron Epstein on flute and his elegant expressiveness.

-Die Rheinpfalz, 1999

What Cesar Franck demanded from the violin, Moshe Aron Epstein amazingly produced on his flute. Epstein expressed the magnificent scent of the pastoral, which he carried on to Syrinx with a moving simplicity.

-Der Bund, Schweiz, 1994

... Moshe Aron Epstein is not only an artist of the flute, but also is an enthusiastic and exciting conductor who produces a brilliant and warm sound from the orchestra along with vitality and tenderness.

-Al Hamishmar, Israel, 1994


Biography:

MOSHE ARON EPSTEIN shares his solo and chamber music career with his professorship of flute at the Hochschule (Academy) of Music and Theater in Hamburg, which he has held since 1999. As a soloist he has performed with major Israeli orchestras and several European orchestras such as the Berlin, Ljubljana, Frankfurt and Hamburg. He has been invited to play for many music festivals including the Bregenz and Hopfgarten in Austria, "Bach a Bartok" in Italy, Kfar-Blum in Israel, Festspiele in Berlin, Mozart Festspiele in Schwetzingen, Schloss-Kirche Concerts in Mannheim, the Mozart Festival of Skopje, Macedonia, as well as the festivals of the English, Slovenian, German and American Flute Societies and more. Master classes with Mr. Epstein are internationally sought after and he has taught worldwide. He has taught in the US, Japan, Germany, France, England, Finland, Slovenia, Moldavia, Italy, Hungary, Estonia, Macedonia and Israel.

Moshe Aron Epstein began playing the flute in 1960 at the age of 8. He studied flute with Dr. Uri Toeplitz at the Rubin Music Academy of Tel-Aviv. While there he also studied orchestral and choral conducting as well as music theory. He graduated in 1975 "magna cum laude," and his Artist Diploma followed a year later. During his years of study he was awarded scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. After winning 1st prize at the Music Academy in Tel-Aviv's flute competition, Mr. Epstein studied in Switzerland with Marcel Moyse. Later on he was a guest of the Artist-Home Boswil with Aurèle Nicolet. Upon returning to Israel in 1981 he became principal flutist of the Israel Sinfonietta, where he frequently appeared as soloist in numerous subscription concerts and in the Israel Festival. He toured with the Israel Sinfonietta to Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain and France.

The same year Prof. Epstein joined the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance he also served as head of its Wind Department, chair of the Orchestra Instrument Department, and dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts. He also was music director and conductor of the Academy's chamber orchestra (1996-1999). Before his arrival in Hamburg Mr. Epstein conducted such orchestras as the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Sinfonietta, the Israel Kibbutzim Chamber Orchestra and the Tel-Aviv Symphony Orchestra.

In 2002 he established the Trio Gabriel with Bettina Pahn (Soprano) and Wolfgang Zerer (organ/harpsichord). "Sweet Silence," a CD of the trio containing arias and sonatas of the baroque period will appear in October 2006 by AMBITUS. From 1992 - 1995 he directed and narrated the Chamber Music Series at the Auditorium of the Ted and Lin Arison Israel Music Conservatory in Tel-Aviv. A CD with M.A. Epstein, containing pieces by J.S. and C.P.E. Bach appeared in 1991 in Germany. His practice book "Mind your Fingers" was published by Zimmermann Edition in 1999, and a version for the oboe was published in 2005.



CD Release: 

Moshe released a CD featuring works written and arranged for flute and organ. This unique combination of flute and organ (Wolfgang Zerer, organist) creates a special acoustical ambience unlike any other. Works by Reinecke, Debussy, Dukas, Poulenc, Saint-Saëns, Franck, Alain, and Martin.

"The pieces recorded on this CD express romanticism and nostalgia, tragedy and hope. One flute and thousands of organ pipes join together to perform music, which, as I once learned from Marcel Moyse, expresses deep sadness and sorrow but always leaves some room for a glimmer of sunlight, of hope."       - Moshe Aron Epstein

Please visit http://www.ambitus.de/ in order to purchase a CD. You may also purchase CD's through Flute World and The Carolyn Nussbaum Music Company.

For more information, visit Moshe's personal website: http://www.maepstein.de/


Interview: 

We had the opportunity to ask Moshe a few questions. Take a look at his thoughts on studying with Aurele Nicolet, what he emphasizes the most in his teaching, as well as advice for upcoming flutists.


1. What do you think is the most important thing for you to emphasize in your teaching and in your own playing?

Playing a musical instrument, the flute included, is a rare discipline that combines technique, spirit, body and soul. I have been teaching flute for almost 42 years (a frightening figure, isn’t it?!), from beginners through professionals. I spend endless time and effort on the physical side of playing: from posture to breathing, from intonation to finger technique, dynamics to sound quality and of course to shape, style, and musical phrasing etc. But above all I look for the special encounter between the player and the composer and the message to be delivered through musical means. I put an emphasis on the fact that we should serve the music - be like a vessel through which the great music is flowing. The better the technique, the more subtle it should become.

I’d say it takes about 15 years for one to learn how to play the flute. After that, one should learn how to (in a way) forget it and instead activate the huge knowledge through spiritual-emotional triggers and use it for the sake of music making. This is what is so important for me to emphasize while teaching. When I play, I hope to achieve that state of mind, which is not always so easy but most rewarding when it happens.


2. Can you give me any insights into your experience studying with Auréle Nicolet?

I came about studying with Auréle Nicolet in 1979 when I was 27 years old and already a so called “professional flutist.” I studied with him at his home in Oberwil, near Basel, Switzerland. I had received a scholarship from the “Artist Home Boswil,” the place where Marcel Moyse used to give his master classes, which I participated in the year of 1975.

Nicolet first listened to me play for a while and then told me in German with a slight Swiss-French accent, “I see you know how to make music pretty well and have learned quite a bit over the years. But you are not so young anymore. I’ll try to make you a solid flutist - one who can deliver a high level of respected playing even under the most difficult conditions.”

Nicolet then taught me what concentration really means: how I could work with my mind, my thoughts and focus so that the management of playing with all its levels and unlimited demands is efficient. That it is there, ALWAYS there, existing and present.

It was an unforgettable lesson for me. Over a period of seven or eight months I learned from him what can happen deep within myself when I put my whole being under the command of concentration. What happens when I, while playing, surrender the regular state of mind for the sake of a different level of functionality of a higher division of attention - essentially making my body do what my spirit commands.

Nicolet, who unfortunately is now very sick, was a great thinker who expressed his immense intelligence and profound philosophy through the flute.


3. How did you come to choose recording a CD with the unique combination of flute and organ?

I was born in Israel and lived there most of my life. There are very few organs in Israel and before the time I had spent in Switzerland, I had never heard of one in my life. This changed immediately upon arriving in the Artist Home in Boswil, as the organist in the nearby little town of Muri, Mr. Egon Schwarb, asked me to join him and play several Bach sonatas in services. We then played concerts in the magnificent Baroque church with an equally magnificent organ. I truly fell in love with this monstrous instrument (which is no more than several thousands of flutes…)

In Hamburg I met my colleague, Prof.Wolfgang Zerer, who also became one of my closest friends. Wolfgang is an organist with such a high level of musicianship, which is a continuous challenge for me. I am so lucky to have him as a collaborator in concerts for flute and organ when playing baroque as well as romantic music. Especially with music that was included on the last recording we produced entitled, ‘Romantique.’

The organ, if well registered, is a wonderful sound partner for the flute and opens completely new possibilities and dimensions for performances. There are a few (almost) original pieces for this combination, like Frank Martin’s ‘Sonata da Chiesa’ and Jehan Alains ‘Aria.’ However, there are so many adaptations and possible arrangements from harpsichord, piano and orchestra parts that can be very successful.


4. How did you come to choose Miyazawa as your flute of choice?

As it happens for all of us who have made the flute their profession, I’ve tried numerous different flutes of all makers and models. There are many good makers nowadays.

But the very first time I tried the Miyazawa heavy wall Platinum flute it hit me like a bolt of lightning! The sound was so rich in overtones, unlike any other flute I had ever played. It allowed for the brightest dynamic as well as the most extensive color palette I could ever dream of.

And it has remained this way ever since, more than 4 years ago!


5. If you had one piece of advice to give an upcoming flutist, what would you tell them?

The professional life of a flutist has become quite difficult in our present time. Getting a job is a nightmare. Please do not fall into the trap of devoting yourself so much to the efficiency of playing up to a level of becoming a wonderful human-machine.

Keep a good, healthy and true balance between the outer demands of the modern world and your own inner voice, soul and spirit. In a humorous way, with some Yiddish flavor it would be: In spite of the fact that you are, or want to become a flutist, be a MENSCH!