Works For Flute

The Complete Works for Flute and Clarinet: In both original works and transcriptions, the Ebony Duo explores Scelsi’s use of special sound colors and his coloring of sound. Transcriptions especially prepared by the clarinetist (and pianist) Michael Raster provide the basis for some of the works on the present album. Yet Scelsi’s original intentions incurred no damage as a result of this recrafting. To the contrary! “The formidable technical demands that playing on two strings with in part opposite dynamics places on the solo violinist certainly justify an adaptation for two instrumentalists – all the more so as Scelsi himself had already been concerned with the “third dimension”, the depth of sound, in connection wind instruments before, especially in the piece Ko-Lho for flute and clarinet.”

Mozart claimed to dislike the flute and, for that matter, the harp as well which also plays a prominent role in this compilation. But in spite of that, he produced music for the flute in a variety of genres all of which is delightful and much of which is masterful. This release on Philips's "duo" series presents an excellent opportunity for an overview of Mozart's works for flute, well played. It also offers a rare opportunity to hear a variety of performers on the flute and other instruments and orchestras.

The recordings on Sweden's BIS label by Israeli-born flutist Sharon Bezaly have exposed a great deal of neglected and often highly virtuosic repertory, much of its brought within reach by Bezaly's unusual circular breathing technique. She's a remarkable flutist, but it's her repertory selection that really sets her apart from the crowd. She actually throws in some chestnuts, like Cécile Chaminade's Concertino for flute and orchestra, Op. 107, this time around, but the highlight is a really nifty and unknown little work: the Flute Concert in D major, Op. 283, of Carl Reinecke, composed in 1908. Its three movements reduce Wagnerian language to a compact concerto in all kinds of ingenious ways. Sample the first movement, where the flute provides a charming pastoral element against a varying backdrop. The other works are each characteristic of their composer, even including the very early Largo and Allegro for flute and strings of Tchaikovsky.

Patrick Gallois belongs to the generation of French musicians leading highly successful international careers as both soloist and conductor. From the age of 17 he studied the flute with Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatoire and at the age of 21 was appointed principal flute in the Orchestre national de France under Lorin Maazel, playing under many famous conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Pierre Boulez, Karl Böhm, Eugen Jochum, and Sergiu Celibidache. He held this post until 1984, when he decided to focus on his solo career, which has subsequently taken him throughout the world.

Kazuo Fukushima - Works for Flute and Piano - Eberhard Blum, Steffen Schleiermacher (1992) {hat ART CD 6114}
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© 1992 Hat Hut Records | hat ART CD 6114
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Avant-Garde / Chamber Music

These solo and duo works by the self-taught composer Kazuo Fukushima represent the influence of noh music and Buddhist dharma on his life's work. They are self contained universes where the notion of the infinite is contained within a single note and its interaction with another one or with silence itself. The earliest of these works here, "Requiem" from 1956, is a flute solo based in serial technique, a simple 12-tone row repeated over the course of five-and-a-half minutes. In his duo for flute and piano, "Ekagra From 1957," we see the influence of other composers such as Toru Takemitsu and even Varese come into play.

Karg-Elert occupies a remarkable niche in the history of German music. He is best known for his compositions for organ and harmonium but this first recording of his complete works for flute, reveals a completely individual voice. The ground-breaking Sonata in B flat, Op. 121 stretches virtuosity to the instrument’s limits, the Suite pointillistique is exquisitely colourful and the Sonata appassionata romantically expressive. Each work, not least the challenging Caprices, reflects Karg-Elert’s kaleidoscopic imagination, and represents a significant body of music for the flute in the twentieth century.