Page:The story of the flute (IA storyofflute1914fitz).djvu/239

 was an excellent cricketer, and scored against crack elevens.

Oluf Svendsen (1832-88), a native of Christiania, was the son of a military bandmaster, and played first flute in the theatre there at the age of fourteen. He had two years before joined the Guards band as first flute. He first learned from Niels Petersen, of Copenhagen, and subsequently from Reichert at the Brussels Conservatoire. In 1855 he came to London to play for Jullien at the Covent Garden promenade concerts, and settled in England. Svendsen held the post of Professor at the Royal Academy of Music for twenty years, was first flute at the Crystal Palace for some time, and for many years played at all the principal concerts in and about London, joining Queen Victoria's private band in 1860, a post which he retained till his death. He played in the Royal Italian Opera from 1862 till 1872, and frequently appeared at the Philharmonic (1861-85). His wife was a daughter of Clinton and a fine pianist. Personally, Svendsen was a quiet, modest man, with agreeable manners. He was very fond of his native land, and often visited it. He produced a beautiful tone from his silver flute, and was not only a fine orchestral player, but also excelled as a soloist. The great features in his playing were his exquisite, artistic phrasing and the singing effects he produced, like those of Ciardi and Briccialdi, I shall never forget the way in which, a few months before his death, he led a performance of one of Gabrielsky's quartetts for four