Albert Fransella
Alfred Fransella (1865–1935) was born in the
Netherlands and came to England at the age
of nineteen. He became the leading player
in the country, replacing Oluf Svendsen
when he retired as first flute in the Crystal
Palace Orchestra (at the time the only full-
time symphony orchestra in London) before
he was invited to become first flute in
Henry Wood’s newly-founded Queen’s Hall
Orchestra. Fransella had the distinction of
being a soloist at the first Henry Wood
Promenade concert on 10 August 1895,
playing two movements from the Suite by
Godard.
Christopher Steward’s early flute recordings
The Godard Waltz was clearly a
favourite piece of Fransella’s, since
he recorded it no fewer than four
times for different companies. This
version was made in 1907.
Photograph of Albert Fransella
from the collection of Robert Bigio
Robert Bigio flute pages
Articles on the flute
Note that the designer of the label appears to
have mistaken ‘3 Morceaux’ for ‘Zimorceaux’.
