Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin (Toulon, 24 March 1693 - Paris, 13 January 1768) was a French

flutist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

and composer of the late Baroque period. He was a son of Jean-Joseph Buffardin (Vaison-la-Romaine, 22 July 1664 - Avignon, 28 August 1726), an instrument maker. Buffardin was the principal flutist of the orchestra (Hofkapelle) at the court of the

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

from 1715 to 1749. He was the teacher of flutists

Johann Joachim Quantz Johann Joachim Quantz (; 30 January 1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German composer, flutist and flute maker of the late Baroque period. Much of his professional career was spent in the court of Frederick the Great. Quantz composed hundreds of flute ...

, Pietro Grassi Florio, and

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

's elder brother,

Johann Jacob Bach Johann Jacob Bach (or Johann Jakob) (baptised – 16 April 1722) was a German musician, composer and an older brother of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach is thought to have been born in Eisenach. After his studies at the Latin school there, he be ...

, whom he met in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

in 1711. Buffardin's Concerto in E minor for Flute is the only work which it is certain he wrote. Quantz said of Buffardin: "Il ne jouait que des choses rapides: car c'est en cela qu'excellait mon maître." (Translation: "He only played fast pieces; for in that my master excelled."). Antoine Mahaut claimed that Buffardin was the inventor of the flute's screw cap and the foot register; it remains uncertain whether or not a transverse flute stamped "Buffardin le fils" (discovered in 2015) may be attributed to him or a relative (see Giovanni Tardino, note for recording Bach: Sonate a cembalo obligato e traversiere solo, HRA (HiResAudio), 2018).

Selected discography

*''French Baroque Concertos,'' performed by

Musica Antiqua Köln Musica Antiqua Köln was an early music group that was founded in 1973 by Reinhard Goebel and fellow students from the Conservatory of Music in Cologne. Musica Antiqua Köln devoted itself largely to the performance of the music of the 17th and 18t ...

, directed by

Reinhard Goebel Reinhard Goebel (; born 31 July 1952 in Siegen, West Germany) is a German conductor and violinist specialising in early music on authentic instruments and professor for historical performance at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Goebel received his fi ...

(Ernst-Burghard Hilse, flute). *"French Baroque Concertos," performed by

, directed by

( Wilbert Hazelzet, flute) *"Flötenkonzerte des Barock" performed by Dresden Baroque Soloists (

Eckart Haupt Eckart Haupt (born 2 November 1945) is a German flutist and university teacher. The Staatskapelle Dresden described him on their homepage as one of the "leading flutists of the present". Life Born in Zittau, Saxony, Haupt grew up in Görlitz. ...

, flute) {{DEFAULTSORT:Buffardin, Pierre-Gabriel French male classical composers French Baroque composers French classical flautists Musicians from Avignon 1690 births 1768 deaths 18th-century classical composers 18th-century French composers 18th-century French male musicians 17th-century male musicians