Charles Nicholson (flautist)

Charles Nicholson (1795–1837), was a Liverpool-born flautist and composer, who performed regularly in London. He was soloist at many of the Philharmonic Society Concerts from 1816-1836, and first flautist with the principal theater orchestras. He toured extensively in Britain, but never on the Continent. Besides giving classes to many students, he wrote tutors for flute-playing which were published throughout the 19th century. Nicholson used a flute made by George Astor & Co., a London-based firm operating from c1778 to c1831. His father, also a celebrated flautist, modified the instrument, lining the headpiece with metal, enlarging the embouchure and toneholes with a view to making the flute’s tone more powerful, yet still delicate, permitting the usual fingerings in the third octave, facilitating glides and vibratos. Once his bravura style on the modified flute had become accepted in London, he licensed several London flute makers such as Clementi & Co., Astor, Rudall and Rose, and Potter to produce the ‘Nicholson’s Improved’. The structure of his new flute favoured flat keys such as E flat, A flat, and F and C minor. Nicholson’s variations on Roslin Castle, in F minor which he w