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Wood, Silver & Gold - A Flutist's Life

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John Wion's book is a rare and fascinating look at the gearbox of the classical musical field. Readers will learn what motivates someone to enter the field, what the pitfalls are, what glories it can hold, what the daily concerns and lives of its practitioners are like. Of special value is the fact that it is written by someone who has worked in both the trenches as an orchestral musician, and on the stage as the star performer. In addition, since he spent a large part of his career working for the major Lincoln Center opera companies, it also provides valuable insights into the relationships between opera singers and their colleagues in the pit, in addition to the role played by the conductors. This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the performing arts.

Every professional musician will recognize something of his own journey in this memoir by John Wion, one of America's premier flutists: the childhood beginnings, where a career is perhaps not even imagined yet, the move to serious study, the first tentative steps into professional musical life where more is learned than ever college can teach, and the increasingly firmer footholds in a career which can be as difficult and unpredictable as it can be satisfying.
Great musical names and great personalities populate these pages and Wion acquaints us with their generosity, their power to inspire, their humanity (in its different shades) and, too, their tragedy. But this is not just a memoir of public life. Wion takes us into his private world too, notably to his marriage to the ballerina, Victoria Simon, and their journey through parenthood to grandparenthood, not to mention their journeys to seemingly every country on the planet. The text is enlivened throughout by copious photos, always a plus for the visually oriented like myself.
If you are curious about what makes up a musician's life and experience you will find it all inside this book but better still you will encounter the author himself whose gentle humor, lack of illusion and unfailing sympathy for his fellow humans make him a most genial companion and raconteur.

John Wion's memoir of his life as a successful flutist is a must for every serious musician. His anecdotal style lends itself well to the subject matter and he writes with great honesty about the pain inherent in the field. As the waters of the classical music world become more difficult to navigate, it is essential that established artists have the courage to tell the truth to aspiring young players. Clearly talent and hard work do not guarantee success. Mr. Wion has just released an accompanying set of two CDs which includes many of the pieces mentioned in the book. http://homepage.mac.com/johnwion/recordings.html

Anybody who loved and listened to classical music in the 1950's and beyond, will find a marvelous medley of fascinations here, including a number of intriguing trade secrets and other insider information I don't recall seeing anywhere else.
Robert Sherman

Wood, Silver & Gold - A Flutist's Life
John Wion's memoir of his life as a successful flutist is a must for every serious musician. His anecdotal style lends itself well to the subject matter and he writes with great honesty about the pain inherent in the field. As the waters of the classical music world become more difficult to navigate, it is essential that established artists have the courage to tell the truth to aspiring young players. Clearly talent and hard work do not guarantee success. Mr. Wion has just released an accompanying set of two CDs which includes many of the pieces mentioned in the book.