When you're in music school to learn how to play the flute professionally, one of the big books you study out of is Jeanne Baxtresser's "Orchestral Excerpts for Flute". It has a bunch of passages from big orchestral works that will be asked for during orchestra auditions. Much like the "24 Italian Songs and Arias" for singers, this book is the flute students "bible" (for lack of a better term) to study out of and learn from. I wish I could give my opinion to all of the excerpts, but the list is already a bit exhausting, so here are SOME of my favorite (and not so favorite) pieces, and some I wish were in the book (not ranked, of course. Wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of these dead people, would I?)

THE GOOD

Igor Stravinsky: Petrouchka

Man, I love this excerpt! Flutes often tend to take very light and innocent roles in the orchestra, and this excerpt epitomizes this. Set mostly in the upper register of the flute, the flutist needs to make sure they make this excerpt seem effortless. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, amirite?

How my teacher would sound on this solo:

How I sound on this solo:

Maurice Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite no. 2: Pantomime

Flutes don't always have to play the innocent role in the orchestra. When they play a more seductive or dark role, they sound just as stunning. I love this solo for its complex emotions it portrays; the flute has the sole responsibility of how people feel after listening to it. It can either be played so beautifully that it can jerk a tear from a glass eye, or it can be played so poorly that it makes people throw up.

When studying this Excerpt, you learn more about it the more you play it. At first, you feel emotionally touched because of how the melodic line grows. You might even cry. But as you start learning your notes, listening to recordings, and playing it over and over again, you find that the solo has a bit of a seductive edge to it. This is the part of the scene where Pan is chasing Syrinx wanting to try and get some of that... you know....

Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in B minor, no. 7: Domine Deus

Perhaps I'm a bit biased because my school will be playing the whole Mass in B minor this April, but I'm obsessed with this little ditty. The principal flute starts this duet with the Soprano and Tenor soloists with a delicate, almost dance-like passage, which will set the tempo for the Soprano and Tenor when they come in. I've found that it's hard to find a graceful spot to breathe, especially since this excerpt is so exposed.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no. 3 in E-flat Major, "Eroica"

The flute is once again subjected to playing this excerpt as delicately and effortlessly as possible. Do y'all even realize how hard that is to do in such a high register? It's hard. Trust me. But if pulled off well, this solo is noted as one of the best parts of the whole symphony!

Georges Bizet: L'Arlesienne, suite no. 2

I love this solo for how much soloistic liberty this solo gives the player. With these romantic composers, the melodic lines flow effortlessly so that the excerpt is simple and beautiful.

THE "MEH"

Felix Mendelssohn: Incidental Music to A Midsummer NIght's Dream (Scherzo)

I mean, I can see why people love this excerpt so much. There is so much double tounging but it's easy enough that it rolls off the tongue (at least for me, a novice double-tonguer). But this is so overplayed. When I go to flute conventions or flute festivals, there is no doubt that there someone will be playing this when they're testing out multiple flutes over and over and over again. It's also pretty low in the register, so when it's played as part of a concert, you can barely hear it over all the strings.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Suite

The people who know me must be pretty surprised since I love Bach (seriously, one of my favorite composers. I'm even taking a class on him this coming semester), but you can count on this being played during flute conventions ad nauseum as well, especially the Badinerie.

Claude Debussy: Prélude à l'apres-midi d'un faune

This excerpt is used a lot with auditions because it tests out a flutist's endurance and breath support. But I've found there comes a time where an excerpt is so overplayed that I will personally get bored and be numb to the nuances that come with it.

Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks

I mean, this excerpt isn't even a big, memorable part of this piece. I suspect the only reason it's an excerpt is that the flute is really exposed.

Sergei Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf (Symphonic Tale for Children)

This excerpt is too high and has too many hard rhythms, but I mean it sounds good. What can I say?

THE BAD

Johannes Brahms: BOTH Symphonies 1 and 4

"Crooked Johannes Brahms wrote weird excerpts for the flute in his symphonies. Nothing interesting. Sad!"

Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: 10. Volière

"Saint-Saëns decided that the flute can do anything (not wrong) but he's making these flutists play too many notes for a long time! Not fair!"

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4 in F Minor

"Peter 'Lil Bitch' Tchaikovsky decided to write a not interesting excerpt for the flute! The piccolo got the interesting part! That dumb small wood thing always gets the fun parts! This must end!"

Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Matthew Passion

"Look, tonality is a great thing, but I'm not liking what John Bach is doing here. Just don't like it. I could have written it better! I am the best at writing music, but people say that I am the best flute player ever! I'm not going to say that they're wrong! It's time to Make The Traverso Great Again (and this ain't helping)!"

Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore Overture no. 3

"Beethoven did such a good job with the Eroica Symphony, but he did such a not good job with the Leonore. Too many long notes! Can't find where to breathe! I'm going to build a great wall and make Beethoven pay for it!"

THE "WISH I HAD"

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade

I've been learning this piece all year and there are so many good solos in here. The one solo that sticks out to me is in the second movement, where the principal flutist is accompanied by the harp and some strings. The background is simple so that her sound can shine. I don't see why people don't ask for that solo more often since it demands a lot of expression.

Benjamin Britten: Four Sea Interludes

Nobody knows this about me, but I love a good British Sea Song. The buoyancy that the flute portrays is breathtaking!

Aaron Copland: "Billy the Kid" Ballet Suite

I've been learning this in orchestra too, but in one of the scenes ("Prairie Night"), the flute has a simple solo (well, it sounds simple but the rhythms are weird). When played well, it can be one of the most beautiful scenes in the suite!

Sir Henry Wood: "Fantasia on British Sea Songs"

I'm also becoming a big anglophile, so I've been listening to a lot of sea songs. I love this piece because it's played annually for the Last night of the Proms, and the flute highlights the famous sea shanties.

Claude Debussy: "La Mer"

I've always kind of loved the theme of the sea in regards to the flute. La Mer has this lovely part where there are a bunch of triplets and it makes you think of waves.

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So there you have it! Obviously, I feel really bad that I can't rank all of the excerpts in the Baxtresser book, so maybe if the mood strikes me, I'll do another one of these, but until that day comes, here's what I think of these excerpts. Fight me.