Henry Cowell: Diverse Works for Flute

Henry Cowell?s interest and involvement with modern music societies in the early twentieth century is well known and documented. His experiences and performances with these groups allowed him to collaborate with some of the most promising flutists of the time who would become important performers, teachers, and pedagogues throughout the twentieth century. Cowell collaborated with flutists such as Georges Barrère, Julius Baker, Samuel Baron, Otto Luening, and James Pellerite. These musicians were often the inspiration for some of Cowell?s works for flute or were performers invited to give the first performance of a work. In existing research, however, Cowell?s musical relationship with these flutists has not been extensively explored.While Cowell has been criticized as not adhering to a particular compositional style, his choice of flute as the primary instrument in twenty-nine of his pieces seems to denote an identifiable and recognizable style for flute. The relationships and collaborations between Henry Cowell and the modern flutist and the works that resulted from these collaborations will be explored in this document. Further research, analysis, and performance will reveal the importance of his influence in the world of the modern flutist in the early twentieth century; thus revealing that a new level of importance should be given to Henry Cowell?s works for flute.