Robert Neil Cavally (February 24, 1906 – April 25, 1994) was an American

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 Reed (instrument), reeds, a fl ...

who trained and inspired many noted flute performers and teachers, and edited many solos and etudes for use by teachers. He was an eloquent writer and woodworker.

Early life and education

Cavally was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and grew up in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He graduated from the

Cincinnati Conservatory of Music The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, wh ...

where he studied with Ary van Leeuwen. He moved to France to do graduate work at The

Paris Conservatory of Music The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

with flutists

Marcel Moyse Marcel Moyse (pron. ''moh-EEZ''; May 17, 1889, in St. Amour, France – November 1, 1984, in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States) was a French flautist. Moyse studied at the Paris Conservatory and was a student of Philippe Gaubert, Adolphe Henn ...

and

Philippe Gaubert Philippe Gaubert (5 July 1879 – 8 July 1941) was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute, a respected conductor, and a composer, primarily for the flute. Biography Gaubert – commonly referred to as Gauberto – ...

. At the end of these studies he was offered a position with the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

Orchestra but turned it down because he would have had to give up his United States citizenship, and he returned to Cincinnati.

Career

He taught flute and conducted woodwind ensembles at Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music from 1938 to 1979. He retired as Professor Emeritus of Flute. He was flutist with the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cincin ...

from 1943 to 1965. He taught flute at the

Edgecliff College Edgecliff College was a private Catholic women's college located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1935 and merged with Xavier University, also of Cincinnati, in 1980. History The college was founded as Our Lady of Cincinnati College by th ...

of Xavier University (Cincinnati) and had a studio in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. Cavally's extensive performance career also included touring with soprano

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she s ...

for 5 years, first flute with the Armco Band under the direction of Frank Simon, broadcasts on the NBC radio as soloist introducing compositions dedicated to him, Cincinnati Summer Opera and Dayton Symphony Orchestra. He played under the baton of many famous conductors: Georges Enesco, Eugene Goossens, Pierre Monteux, Paul Paray, Fritz Reiner, Max Rudolph, John Philip Sousa, Igor Stravinsky and

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

Awards and recognition

Cavally was recognized twice by the

National Flute Association The National Flute Association (NFA) is the largest flute organization in the world, with roughly 5,000 members from more than 50 countries. It is an association in the United States with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. Members include soloists, ...

. On August 17, 1988 he was the Convention Honoree in San Diego. At the National Flute Association Convention in Orlando, Florida August 17–20, 1995, Bootsie Mayfield presented a retrospective of his life and co-authored, edited, published and distributed a written documentary entitled "''The Cavally Legacy''" which included contributions from many of his former students. Robert Cavally wrote and edited for the ''Flute Forum'' published by the W. T. Armstrong Company in the 1960s. He wrote "The Ideal Flute Tone" for the January/February edition of ''The Instrumentalist.'' He is listed in ''Music and Dance in the Central States'' and ''My Complete Story of the Flute '' by Leonardo De Lorenzo.

Works

Works compiled and edited by Robert Cavally published through Southern Music Company, San Antonio TX:The Flute Forum

Methods and studies

*''Famous Flute Studies and Duets'' *''Let's Play the Flute'' *''Melodious and Progressive Studies (Books 1-4)'' *Andersen/Cavally - Op. 30 ''24 Instructive Studies'' *Andersen/Cavally - Op. 37 ''26 Small Caprices for Flute'' *Andersen/Cavally - Op 41 ''18 Studies'' *Andersen/Cavally - Op. 60 ''24 Virtuosity Studies'' *Andersen/Cavally - Op 63 ''24 etude Studies'' *Fuhler/Cavally - ''24 Artistic Studies'' *Kohler/Cavally - Op. 33 Book 1 ''15 Easy Melodic Etudes'' *Kohler/Cavally - Op. 33 Book 2 ''12 Moderately Difficult Studies'' *Kohler/Cavally - Op. 33 Book 3 ''8 Difficult Studies'' *Kohler/Cavally - ''Romantic Etudes'' *Kohler/Cavally - ''22 Studies in Expression and Facility'' *Schade/Cavally - ''12 Impromptu Etudes'' *Schade/Cavally - ''24 Caprices''

Collections

*''15 Concert Pieces'' *''Romantic Music for Flute'', Books 1 and 2 *Van Leeuwen/Cavally - ''7 Artistic Solos'' *Handel/Cavally - ''7 Sonatas'' *Mozart/Cavally - ''Sonatas V-IX'' *''Six Brilliant Pieces'' *''Solos for the Debutante Flutist'' *''24 Short Concert Pieces''

Flute and piano arrangements

*Andersen - ''Scherzino'' *Bach - ''Sonata in B Minor'' *Bach - ''Sonata in A Minor'' *Barth - ''Petite Suite Pittoresque'' *Benoit - ''Symphonic Poem'' *Bizet - ''Second Minuet (L'Arlesienne)'' *Blodek - ''Concerto'' *Delibes - ''Waltz of the Flowers'' *Duvernoy - ''Concerto'' *Gariboldi - ''Grand Fantasy on an Arabic Theme'' *Gluck - ''Minuet and Dance of the Blessed Spirits'' *Godard - ''Allegretto'' *Hofman - ''Concertstuck'' *Hue - ''Serenade'' *Jadassohn - ''Concert Piece'' *Kronke - ''Second Suite'' *Lax - ''Tarantelle'' *Manigold - ''Concerto'' *Perihou- ''Ballade'' *Pessard - ''Andalouse'' *Rimsky-Korsakov - ''Flight of the Bumblebee'' *Taffanel - ''Andante, Pastorale and Scherzettino'' *Verhey - ''Concerto''

Ensembles

*Andersen/Cavally - ''Allegro Militaire'' (2 flutes and piano) *Grimm/Cavally - ''Salute to Quantz'' (4 flutes) *Rebikoff/Cavally - ''The Musical Snuff Box'' (3 piccolos and 2 flutes) *Schumann/Cavally - ''Twelve Selections from "Album for the Young"'' (7-10 flutes) *Wagner/Cavally - ''Under the Double Eagle'' (3 flutes and alto flute) *''Flute Family Sketch'' (piccolo, flute and alto flute) *''Eight Madrigals for Seven Flutes''

Sources

*''The Flute Forum'' Autumn 1984 "Robert Cavally - Master Teacher" by Arthur Ephrass Director of Publications for Southern Music Compan

*''The Cavally Legacy'' August 1995 by Bootsie Mayfield (Flute Faculty at Gardner-Webb University North Carolin

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavally, Robert Neil Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from Colorado American flautists 1906 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American musicians 20th-century flautists