Musical interpretation is first and foremost a question of shaping a melody or the melodic line of a setting. Music, like any language, follows its own set of rules and a sufficient knowledge and familiarity with musical 'grammar' is therefore an essential prerequisite of any convincing interpretation. The internationally renowned performer and teacher Peter-Lukas Graf explains in great detail the parameters that have to be taken into account for a successful interpretation: rhythm, metre, agogics, articulation, phrasing, ornamentation and implied polyphony, etc. Numerous examples from the flute repertoire of the 17th20th century serve as models from which he derives the 'rules' appropriate for an interpretation in keeping with each period. These rules are not intended to be dogmatic but instead should stimulate the players to form their own opinion.

Peter-Lukas Graf, flute-player and conductor, was born in Zurich. He studied the flute with Andre Jaunet, and continued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire with Marcel Moyse and Roger Cortet, where he won the Premier Prix for flute, and gained his diploma as a musical director with Eugene Bigot. In the course of a varied career as an orchestral player, musical director of opera, conductor of orchestral concerts, soloist, chamber musician and teacher he won renown worldwide through his concerts and his many recordings for disc, radio and television. Since his appointment to the Music Academy (1973), Peter-Lukas Graf has lived in Basle. He makes guest appearances at prestigious festivals and gives many international master-classes.

About 'rules' - Preface - Golden rules for the interpreter - The structure and analysis of melody - Notes on the execution of ornamentation in the 17th and 18th centuries - Ornamentation in the 19th and 20th centuries - Phrasing - Rhythm - Accents - Dynamics - Tempo - Metre - Flexibility of rhythm/rubato - Shaping the musical phrase - Conclusion - Bibliography - Index - Musical examples