Close
index_slide_1
Veronika Vitazkova Simonsen

Flutist
World woodwind player
Recording artist
Music teacher

Performing

Recording

Teaching

I am a professional flutist based in Vienna and I enjoy conveying my love of music through different genres, styles and woodwind instruments from all over the world.

 

It is a joy to introduce traditional half forgotten instruments on an international stage and to inspire and bring new knowledge to my audience.

Learn more

Remote recordings

flutes and other world woodwinds

Media

photos and videos

Teaching

live or online lessons

Projects

credits, upcoming and past projects

The cucurbit flute hulusi (Traditional Chinese 葫蘆絲, Simplified Chinese 葫芦丝, which means "gourd silk", referring to the instrument's silky tone) is an end-blown free reed pipe with gourd windchest. Single pipe specimens are rare, most hulusi having a melody pipe and at least one drone pipe. It is a musical instrument unique to the ethnic groups in China's Yunnan Province. It is especially popular among the Dai people. The instrument is made with natural materials of gourd and bamboo. Composed of a gourd, main pipes, reeds and auxiliary pipes, the cucurbit flute sounds beautiful and heartwarming. It is ideal for expressing soft and tender feelings. As the sounds are as soft and graceful as shaking silk, the flute is also called "Bottle Gourd Silk". In addition, the instrument is simple and elegant in appearance, easy to learn, small and easy to carry. There's a touching legend about the cucurbit flute among the Dai people. It is said that in the remote past, a young man of the Dai minority saved his sweetheart from a mountain flood by holding a big bottle gourd and rushing through the turbulent waves. His unswerving loyalty to love touched the Buddha, who inserted bamboo pipes into a gold bottle gourd and gave it to the brave man. Holding up the gold bottle gourd, the man played beautiful music. All of a sudden, the torrential flood retreated, flowers came out and peacocks were spreading their tails. All things on earth seemed to be sending their good wishes to the lovers. Ever since then, the cucurbit flute has been passed down from generation to generation among the Dai people. The Dai people are versatile and skilled in singing and dancing. During festivals, they sing songs to the accompaniment of intoxicating cucurbit flute tunes and the music can be heard everywhere. Popular cucurbit flute pieces include Lakeside Peacocks and The Depth of Bamboo Groves etc. (from https://web.archive.org/web/20080922015811/http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/17Traditions978.html) Player: Veronika Vitazkova Instrument from: DanTang&Chinese bamboo flute Video production: Risto Nikolic https://veronika-vitazkova.com/ https://www.instagram.com/veronika_vitazkova/
A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). This instrument is named after Pan, the Greek god of nature and shepherds often depicted with such an instrument. In Greek mythology, Syrinx (Σύριγξ) was a forest Nymph. In her attempt to escape the affection of god Pan (a creature half goat and half man), she was transformed into a water-reed or calamos (cane-reed). Then, Pan cut several reeds, placed them in parallel one next to the other, and bound them together to make a melodic musical instrument. Ancient Greeks called this instrument Syrinx, in honour of the Muse, and Pandean, or Pan-pipes and Pan-flute, after Pan. The Syrinx, a predominantly pastoral instrument for the Greeks, was adopted by the Etruscans who played it at their festivals and banquets; the Etruscans called it fistula. The Romans adopted the Syrinx from the Greeks and the Etruscans, and they too played it at their banquets, festivals, as well as in religious and funeral processions. Player: Veronika Vitazkova Simonsen Instrument made by Roman Borisenko Video production: Risto Nikolic https://veronika-vitazkova.com/ https://www.instagram.com/veronika_vitazkova/
The ocarina belongs to a very old family of instruments, believed to date back over 12,000 years. Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. Different expeditions to Mesoamerica resulted in the introduction of the ocarina to the courts of Europe. The modern European ocarina dates back to the 19th century. Player: Veronika Vitazkova Simonsen Instrument: Ocarinamusic Video production: Risto Nikolic https://veronika-vitazkova.com/ https://www.instagram.com/veronika_vitazkova/
Gajdica is an archaic instrument, which was preserved in Lipany, a village in a rural countryside of Saris region (Slovakia). It consists of a wooden pipe with a cowhorn bell at the lower end. Similar to Zhaleika, Жалейка, žalejka, Zhaleyka, Jaleika, Schaleika, bryolka (брёлка), Zhalomeika, sopel’, pishchelka, fletnya, duda, zgaleyka, zhalijka, rizhok... The Zhaleika was a shepherd's instrument used to perform solos, duets, or ensemble pieces. The earliest single-reed pipe instruments date back to about 2700 BCE in Egypt, where most of these instruments most commonly had double pipes and used idioglot reeds. The earliest evidence of the zhaleika was in A. Tuchkov's notes dating back to the late 18th century. It was widely spread in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania, but now can only be seen in folk music orchestras. In 1900, V. V. Andreyev incorporated a modified zhaleika - called bryolka - into orchestras. It consisted of a double-reed oboe type with additional finger holes and vents for chromatic scale. In Slavic cultures zhaleika was a well known funeral instrument and its name is near to a word that means "compassionate". Zhaleika sounds like a one piped bagpipe. The slovak version: "Gajdica belongs to the group of reed aerophones and, hence, within the category of Slovak instruments, to the group that includes all types of bagpipes. The reason is the same principle of tone creation and playing practice. Gajdica is thus a full-fledged part of the widely developed pipers’ tradition in Slovakia. It is a seven-hole cylindrical clarinet-type instrument that uses a single reed. It is produced by drilling haze, elder or maple-tree wood and its length reaches 35–45cm. Its body consists of three parts: the whistling element called perdzavka, the melodic reed called gajdica, and the cow horn referred to as ruh. There are six holes cut on the top part of the melodic reed, the seventh being on the back side. The sound of the instrument is extremely penetrating, rich, and its natural tuning significantly influenced the singing expression of the players especially in the past. The gajdica players of the Upper Šariš region have largely contributed to the existence and preservation of gajdica and its musical expression and style. There is unfortunately a lack of information about the origin, deeper history, and territorial expansion of this instrument; however, the oldest mentions date back to the turn of the 19th and 20th century, coming from the municipalities of Kamenica and Lúčka- Potoky (today’s Sabinov District). From there, gajdica has gradually expanded to other municipalities of the Upper Torysa region with a strong shepherding tradition. The most significant and the oldest known gajdica player was Andrej Mizerák (1897 – 1977) from the municipality of Lúčka-Potoky, who contributed throughout his entire life to the preservation and promotion of gajdica as well as to the training of other players of this instrument. The basis of the playing repertoire of this instrument consists of shepherds’ songs, individual instrumental melodies, and signals. The segment of the odzemok type of dance melodies is also important; however, gajdica is most frequently used for the musical accompaniment of the unique shepherds’ culture dance, commonly referred to as Ofči zdich (Sheep’s Perish). The ancient gajdice tradition is naturally influenced by innovations: one of the most significant one is attributed to Alexander Gernát, who created a double gajdica (dvojgajdica) in 1976, following the philosophy of gajdica playing in terms of style and aesthetics. The specific character of gajdica, its inspiring nature and viability is manifested through the growing number of gajdice players, who nowadays present this instrument and its music culture on the folklore scene. The folklore group of Ján Lazorík from Krivany uses gajdica as an accompanying instrument for its dancing and theatrical performances." Text from https://www.ludovakultura.sk/en/list-ich/gajdica/ Player: Veronika Vitazkova https://veronika-vitazkova.com/ https://www.instagram.com/veronika_vitazkova/ Instrument maker: Juraj Dufek Video production: Risto Nikolic
Assobio a Játo (The Jet Whistle) for Flute and Cello, W493 by Heitor Villa-Lobos Veronika Vitazkova - Flute https://veronika-vitazkova.com/ Anna Veselova - Violoncello https://annaveselova-cello.com/ video production: Fabian Chaundy https://fabianchaundy.com/
Load More... Subscribe