Flute

As a drummer for a Dutch infantry regiment, German born Friedrich Hartmann Graf (1727-1795) was captured during the War of the Austrian Succession. Upon his release, he took up the flute and became a traveling virtuoso. After a stint in The Hague with his older brother Christian Ernst (1723-1805), he accepted a position in Augsburg where he composed most of his 46 flute concertos. All four on this disc follow the standard format of ‘fast-slow-fast’, and were probably composed in the 1770’s, the first 2 likely near the end of the decade. Written in C Major, the opening ‘Allegro’ of the first concerto is thoroughly engaging.

Known for her spirited and luminous sound, Baroque flute player Alexa Raine-Wright shares her eloquent interpretations with audiences across North America in solo, chamber and orchestral performances. This debut solo recording brings to light a collection of rarely heard works by Giovanni Benedetto Platti (1697–1763), a composer with one foot planted firmly in the Baroque, and the other foot pointed toward the Classical style. Equally at ease on the Baroque flute and recorder, American/Canadian Alexa Raine-Wright has shared her passion and talent for early music with audiences across the United States and Canada in solo, chamber and orchestral performances. Winner of several national and international competitions, Alexa was awarded the $10,000 Devonna & Amos Gerber Grand Prize as well as the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra Prize at the 2016 Indianapolis International Baroque Competition. ?Alexa is a founding member of the ensemble Infusion Baroque, winner of the Grand Prize and Audience Prize in the 2014 Early Music America Baroque Performance Competition in Chicago. She is also a member of the celebrated recorder quartet Flûte Alors!, Canada’s only recorder quartet.

Jean-Pierre Rampal was one of history's greatest flute players, and among the most recorded classical artists of all time. His father was the first flutist of the Marseilles Symphony Orchestra and was professor of flute at the Conservatory there. Although his father taught him to play the flute, he did not recommend a musical career for Jean-Pierre, who instead entered medical studies. He was in the third year of medical study when, in 1943, German occupying forces drafted Rampal for service in the military. He learned that he was, in fact, to be sent to Germany as forced labor.

This new release presents selected works of Karol Szymanowski, transcribed for flute and piano, performed here by Polish flautist, Agata Igras and pianist Mariusz Rutkowski.

Karl Kohn is represented on this impressive two-album set by all of his solo and chamber music for flute. Kohn writes that "my music since the early 1960’s has been firmly re-connected with the broader heritage of Western art music, either by specific and direct quotation or “parody,” or – prevailingly - by more oblique allusions to characteristics of past style." Though he has spent seven decades working in California, the 95 year old composer writes that "I am struck how it seems to reflect, first, my Viennese musical heritage, and then my training in a neo-classical tradition." The performances feature the American flute virtuoso, Rachel Rudich, the dedicatee of many of Kohn's works.

eff Khaner’s first solo CD, American Flute Music (AV 0004), garnered international critical acclaim and earned Jeff a place alongside the world’s most famed flutists. Following this notable debut is British Flute Music, a unique overview of the best-known 20th-century British composers. Principal flute of the Philadelphia Orchestra, this release continues to seal Jeff’s reputation as a superb solo artist.