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Articles on the flute
Robert Murchie
Robert Murchie (1884–1949) studied at the
Royal College of Music. He became one of
the leading flute players in London,
succeeding Albert Fransella in the orchestra
of the Royal Philharmonic Society (not to be
confused with the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra) and the Queen’s Hall Orchestra.
He later played in the BBC Symphony
Orchestra. Murchie was a member of the
London Flute Quartet (with Frank Almgill,
Gordon Walker and Charles Stainer), with
whom he made recordings, and of the
London Wind Quintet. He was a successful
teacher; his students included Gareth Morris
(to whom he bequeathed his flute), Richard
Adeney and Harold Clarke.
In this photograph Robert Murchie is holding
the same Rudall Carte flute that can be seen
in the photograph of Gareth Morris.
Christopher Steward’s early flute recordings
Robert Murchie is joined here by his
colleague from the London Wind Quintet,
the clarinettist Haydn Draper, in the Valse de
Concert by the flute and piccolo player James
Wilcocke. The recording was made in 1923.
