Story of the Flute
in Amsterdam. One day a musician who was in the habit of getting shaved by Drouet's father presentedDrouet the child with a little flute. Drouet was a marvellously precocious musical genius, and is said to have begun the flute at the age of four and actually to have played a difficult solo at a concert at the Paris Conservatoire when but seven years old. He achieved great success at a concert in Amsterdam in 1807. The only instruction on the flute he ever received was a few lessons in that city as a child. He is said, however, to have studied for eight hours a day for many years, even playing daily for a couple of hours in bed before he rose! In 1808, Drouet was appointed solo flautist to King Louis of Holland, who presented him with a flute of glass having keys set with precious stones. Napoleon the Great invited him to Paris in 1811 and appointed him Court flautist, granting him an exemption from the conscription. Subsequently he belonged to the band of Louis XVIII. Drouet travelled through Europe, creating an immense sensation everywhere. He appeared at the London Philharmonic in 1816, and again in 1832. In March, 1817, he and Nicholson both played at Drury Lane Theatre within ten days of each other. In 1829 he again visited England along with his friend Mendelssohn. He once more visited England in 1841-42, and appeared, by command before Her Majesty Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Buckingham Palace. About 1854 he visited America. Drouet, although he stuck to the old flute and never adopted the Böhm,
198
