Elaine Shaffer

Elaine Shaffer was an American flutist and principal of the Houston Symphony Orchestra between 1948 and 1953. She married the orchestra's conductor, Efrem Kurtz, in 1955.

Elaine Shaffer: gifted flutist & musician

Special thanks to John Solum for his additions and corrections.

Elaine Shaffer was a truly gifted flutist and musician. She attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and was the prize student of William Kincaid, the "grandfather" of the majority of flutists in the United States. That he willed his platinum flute to her makes his regard for her talent evident. Amazingly enough, Kincaid was her only formal flute teacher; prior to that, she was entirely self-taught, according to an interview with her husband, Efrem Kurtz, published in the National Flute Association Newsletter in the 1980s.

Ms. Shaffer played for a season as second flute in the Kansas City Philharmonic (1947-1948). Apparently she was not shy—she really did not want to accept the position, though she had been recommended by an oboist in the orchestra, Laila Storch—and she held out not only for more money, but to be allowed to fulfill another engagement prior to starting the job, and a concerto appearance with the orchestra. She surprised the critics, the audience and Mr. Kurtz not only with her playing, but her artistry as well. This was in the 1940s; women had just begun to get positions in orchestras, so she was a trail-blazer. The music director at the time was Maestro Kurtz, which was how they first met, though they were not married until 1955, after she had left the Houston Symphony.

After holding the principal flutist's chair in Houston for five years (1948-1953), she left to pursue a career as a soloist and chamber musician (another first for an American woman) winning praise for her debut recital in London. She performed at many festivals in Europe, and worked closely with violinist Yehudi Menuhin, pianist Hephzibah Menuhin, and harpsichordist George Malcolm. The composer Ernest Bloch dedicated two works to her: Suite Modale and Two Last Poems (Maybe); she gave the world premiere of the latter. She was also a friend of Marc Chagall (who did a drawing for her), Karl Barth and Herman Hesse.

The death of William Kincaid, her principal teacher, in 1967 was very difficult for her—she had a special bond with him. John Solum, a noted flutist and pioneering baroque flutist, became the prime mover (along with a group of other students and admirers of Kincaid's) behind the commission of Aaron Copland's Duo for Flute and Piano, which was dedicated to Mr. Kincaid's memory. Mr. Solum, a close friend and colleague of Elaine Shaffer, invited her and Hephzibah Menuhin to perform the world premiere of that work in the early 1970s at a benefit for the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. A short while later, Ms. Shaffer was diagnosed with lung cancer, though according to Albert Weatherly (flute repairman/dealer in New York) she never ever smoked. She was able to complete two projects that were important to her: a concert of J.S. Bach's sonatas for flute, and the first recording of the Copland. Two months after the recording was completed, Elaine Shaffer died in London on February 19, 1973.

I obviously am a fan. I am a flutist, and it was one of her disks that made me realize just how beautiful the flute could sound, which inspired my own career in music. She made only a very few recordings:

J.S. Bach:

  Sonatas
  Orchestral Suite #2
  Brandenburg Concerto V
  Trio Sonata from The Musical Offering

W.A. Mozart

  Concerto for flute and orchestra, K 313
  Concerto for flute and orchestra, K 314
  Andante in C for flute and orchestra, K 315
  Concerto for flute and harp, K 299 (with Marilyn Costello, harp)

G.P. Telemann

  Suite in A minor for flute and strings

F. Schubert

  Variations on Trockne Blumen, op 160

Friedrich Kuhlau

  Sonata in E minor

Franz Xavier Mozart (W.A. Mozart's son)

  Sonata movement (mistakenly called "Rondo" on the recording)

Some of these recordings are now available on CD. She also performed the major standard flute repertoire of the 20th century, including sonatas by Hindemith, Prokofiev and Poulenc, and the Ibert and Nielsen flute concerti. She gave the world premiere of Virgil Thomson's Flute Concerto, as well as five performances with Italian orchestras of a concerto by Manino for flute, trombone obbligato and orchestra.

Don Hulbert don.hulbert@verizon.net/link to my web page: [1]