Since at least the nineteenth century, there has been an established tradition of transcribing for the flute solo works originally written for other instruments. In part, this is because of the paucity of flute solo repertoire of significant aesthetic weight from this period. Notwithstanding this, there have been very few transcriptions of Robert Schumann’s works for the flute, and his Cello Concerto Op.129 is a notable omission in flute transcription repertoire.

One reason for this is a belief that the flute of Schumann’s day was unsuited to his musical ideals. However, current research has not adequately considered the application of the advances in flute technique that developed as a result of the invention of the Modern Boehm flute in 1847. Furthermore, the terminology related to transcription is often ambiguous, highlighting the need for a more precise definition.

In this study, I consider the capabilities of the flutes of Schumann’s time and compare them with the capabilities of the Modern Boehm flute. Analysis and comparison of nineteenth-century flute methods including Drouët’s Method of Flute Playing, Tulou’s Méthode de flute, Hugot et Wunderlich’s Méthode de flûte and Fuerstenaus’s Kunst des Flötenspiels, and those of the modern French School of Taffanel, Gaubert and Marcel Moyse are used to understand the capabilities of the flutes of Schumann’s time and determine their suitability for Schumann’s expressive ideals. The term creative transcription is established while the problems and solutions that occur during the transcription process are explored and applied to an inaugural transcription of the Schumann Cello Concerto Op.129.

I argue that a flautist using the Modern Boehm technique can express Schumann’s performance ideals in transcriptions of his works and that the Modern Boehm flute is, therefore, a suitable vehicle for the performance of transcriptions of Schumann’s music.