Most famous composers have written beautiful flute solos in their orchestral works. Those solos are worth practicing on their own and are essential for orchestral auditions. In addition to knowing the flute part well, a flutist must also know what the other instruments in the orchestra are playing and the musical context of those solos. Below I list some of the most common orchestral excerpts, and when available, their flute parts, orchestral scores, and links to a few articles about them that I have written in this blog.
For a comprehensive list of the most commonly requested extracts with measure numbers, and instructions on how to practice them, I recommend Orchestral Excerpts for Flute by Jeanne Baxtresser [Theodore Presser Company] and Orchestral Techniques for Flute and Piccolo: An Audition Guide and an Inside Look at Symphonic Performance Traditions by Walfrid Kujala [Progress Press].
The following is a short list of frequently asked principal flute orchestral excerpts that I encourage my students to practice and memorize:
| Beethoven: Leonore Overture No.3 | flute part | score | |
| Beethoven: Symphony No.3 | flute part | score | |
| Bizet: Carmen - Entr'acte | flute part | score | |
| Brahms: Symphony No.1 | flute part | score | |
| Brahms: Symphony No.4 | flute part | score | |
| Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune | flute part | score | |
| Dvořák: Symphony No.8 | flute part | score | |
| Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis | flute part | score | |
| Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream | flute part | score | article |
| Prokofiev: Classical Symphony | flute part | score | article |
| Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf | flute part | score | |
| Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé | flute part | score | |
| Rossini: William Tell Overture | flute part | score | |
| Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals - Volière | flute part | score | article |
| Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (1919 version) | score | ||
| Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks | flute part | score |