Buffardin, Pierre-Gabriel

Extract

(b Provence, c1690; d Paris, Jan 13, 1768). French flautist and teacher, active in Germany. Marseilles is sometimes cited as his native city, but 18th-century sources indicate only that he came from Provence. As a young man he was taken to Constantinople by the French ambassador, and there, sometime before 1712, taught Johann Jacob Bach, J.S. Bach's elder brother. In November 1715 Buffardin entered the service of Augustus II in Dresden, and was soon regarded as one of the outstanding players in the court orchestra. Under Augustus III his stipend of 500 thalers was raised to 1000, and in 1749 he was pensioned. During his years in Dresden he maintained contacts with his homeland, and in 1726 and 1737 performed in the Concert Spirituel in Paris. He returned to France in 1750 and on 24 July of that year performed for the Dauphine. A letter by Buffardin concerning the use of quarter-tones on the flute appeared in the ...