From Plato’s Symposium:
“I propose that we dispense with the services of the flute girl who has just
come in, and let her go and play to herself or to the women inside there,
whichever she prefers, while we spend our evening in discussion.” (176e tr.
Joyce)
Plato was not fond of the aulos (wind instruments) of his time, and dismissed
women playing them as “frivolous nonsense” (Protagoras 347d). He
considered wind instruments to be foolish, mathematically inferior to stringed
instruments, and feminine.
This piece is a small celebration of nonsense, femininity, and the piccolo. (2:15)
Listen and preview score:
