Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin

Baroque French Flutist and Composer

Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin (Toulon, 24 Mar 1693—Paris, 13 Jan 1768) was a French flutist, pioneer of the Flûte Traversière in Germany, composer, and flute-maker of the late Baroque period. Born in Provence, Buffardin was a flute soloist at Dresden Hofkapelle, the court orchestra of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden, from 1715 to 1749. He taught flutists Johann Joachim Quantz, Pietro Grassi Florio, and Johann Sebastian Bach's elder brother, Johann Jakob, whom he met in Constantinople circa 1710, accompanying the French Ambassador on a mission. Buffardin's Sonata for Flute is the only certainly-attributed work. His Concerto à cinq in E minor was written for his virtuosic student Quantz, who said of Buffardin: "Il ne jouait que des choses rapides: car c'est en cela qu'excellait mon maître." (Translation: "He only played fast pieces; for in that my master excelled.") Buffardin was also involved in making flutes. Later experts attributed some essential technical innovations to Pierre-Gabriel, such as developing a screw cork and experiments with the foot register.