William Kincaid

William Kincaid (1895–1967) was an American flutist and one of the most prominent flute teachers in the XX century. He was born in Minneapolis but grew up in Honolulu, where he used to dive for pennies as a kid and learned how to control the breath, which later helped in a music career. In 1911, Kincaid went to New York and simultaneously enrolled at Columbia University and the Institute of Musical Art, where he studied flute with Georges Barrère, graduating from both schools in 1914 and 1918. He played as a soloist with The New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1914 to 1919, and briefly served in US Navy during World War I. In 1920, William Kincaid was a soloist with the New York Chamber Music Society. After Leopold Stokowski had fired his soloist during a rehearsal in April 1921, he offered Kincaid position of the principal flutist in The Philadelphia Orchestra, which musician held for a remarkable four decades until the retirement in 1960. In 1928, William M. Kincaid joined the faculty of the recently established Curtis Institute of Music, where he taught for the whole life and gained a title of the 'grandfather of American flute school' as a consequence of his invaluable contribution to the modern orchestral playing in the USA. He mentored numerous distinguished artists, including Burnett Atkinson, Julius Baker, Harold Bennett, Jacob Berg (2), Robert Cole, George Drexler, Doriot Anthony Dwyer, Britton Johnson, John Krell, Joseph Mariano, Donald Peck, James Pellerite, Maurice Sharp, Albert Tipton, Frances Blaisdell, Paul Dunkel, Katherine Hoover, Claire Polin, Felix Skowronek, and John Solum. For most of his career, Kincaid played a unique and probably most expensive flute in the world with a solid platinum body and silver French-style open-hole keys. The head joint has a Trylon & Perisphere logo, symbol of the 1939 New York World's Fair, engraved by Verne Q Powell. Originally it was produced solely as a show attraction and not for sale, displayed under the armed guard during the Fair. But after the event, famous musician purchased the instrument. Shortly before his death in 1967, William presented the rare flute to his student, Elaine Shaffer. After she had passed away, the instrument was auctioned by Christie's in 1986. A respectable art collector Stuart Pivar, who was accompanied by Andy Warhol that night, won the bid and paid $187,000 for this remarkable flute. Today, it's exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art in New York.