F. Kulhau FANTASIA n.3 op.38

When his mother saw him come home crying, leaving his playmates behind, she immediately realised that fate had played a cruel joke on her little Friedrich. With his hand over his right eye, he blocked out the pain that left him blind forever. But while fate takes away, it also gives. Thus, in little Friedrich Kuhlau, born seven years earlier in 1786, a passion for music grew stronger. He eagerly awaited his father's return from the military band to introduce him to the magical world of music. His talent soon became apparent and in Hamburg, where they had moved, his father hired private piano and theory teachers for him. At the age of twenty, Kuhlau began composing works for piano and songs. Meanwhile, Napoleon's forces were advancing across Europe and, to avoid conscription into the French army, he took refuge in Copenhagen, where he quickly obtained Danish citizenship. Although not Danish by birth, Kuhlau embraced his adopted country and became a central figure in its cultural scene. In 1825, he met Beethoven in Vienna and was struck by him. They roamed around Vienna celebrating their friendship made of music and wine. He was called the “Beethoven of the flute” because of his numerous and significant compositions dedicated to this instrument. In 1831, a year before his death, fate played another cruel joke on him. He set fire to his house, destroying many of his manuscripts. He passed away at the age of forty-five, winking at fate, which, as an inseparable part of life, loves music among other things. The Fantasies Op. 38 for solo flute, published in 1822 by C.F. Peters, use arias borrowed from Mozart's Don Giovanni and, in the case of the third fantasia, from the aria “Deh, vieni alla finestra”. I propose the last of the “Three Fantasies Op. 38” published in 1980 by Nova in the transposition for bassoon or cello edited by R.P. Block.