Our summer listening series continues for a few windy weeks, starting with today's selection of concertos for flute and piccolo.
Inspired by humankind's great myths, the flute concertos by John Corigliano, Simon Holt, and Thea Musgrave personify characters like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Morpheus, and Orfeo. Mark Adamo and Kaija Saariaho nod to 20th-century works by Ingmar Bergman and Saint-John Perse in August Music and L'Aile du songe, while works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Edward Gregson, and Bright Sheng cast the flute concerto in a different light by drawing upon various non-Western musical styles. Avner Dorman, John Harbison, Vagn Holmboe, and Leon Kirchner mine their knowledges of the canon to explore the many attractive qualities a solo flute can possess: alacrity, charm, lyricism, mystery, and more. Also on tap are perennial favorites by Jacques Ibert and André Jolivet.
Please enjoy a Spotify playlist of available recordings of the concertos listed below.
Mark Adamo
August Music
14 minutes
2fl, string orchestra (db ossia)
View the Score
Jeff Beal
Flute Concerto (2016) 23 minutes
1.1+ca.2.1/1.0.0.0/2perc/hp.bgtr/str
Watch the third movement on YouTube | View the score
Lennox Berkeley
Flute Concerto, Op. 36 (1952) 21 minutes
0.2.0.2/2.0.0.0/timp/str
Listen on Spotify | View the score
John Corigliano
Pied Piper Fantasy (1982) 38 minutes
2[+](pic)3.3(ebcl,bcl)3(cbn)/4.3.3.1/timp.4perc/hp[+].pf(cel)/str+ children's group: 9-18fl/2perc
Listen on Spotify | View the score
Avner Dorman
Piccolo Concerto (2001) 15 minutes
pf, string orchestra
Listen on Spotify | View the score
Gabriela Lena Frank
Will-o'-the-Wisp (2013) 18 minutes
2(pic).2.2+bcl.2/0.0.0.0/timp.4perc/pf(cel).hp/str
View the score
Edward Gregson
Aztec Dances (2010) 17 minutes
1(pic).1.1(bcl).1(cbn)/1.1.1.0/perc/pf/str(2.0.1.1.1)
Listen on Spotify | View the score
Sofia Gubaidulina
The Deceitful Face of Hope and Despair (2005) 26 minutes
3(2pic).2.2+bcl.2+cbn/4.2.1+2btbn+cbtbn.1/timp.perc/2hp.cel.pf/str
Listen on Spotify
John Harbison
Concerto for Flute (1994) 19 minutes
2(pic).2.2.2(cbn)/2.2.0.0/timp.perc/hp.cel/ str
Listen on Spotify | View the score
Vagn Holmboe
Flute Concerto No. 1, Op. 126 (1976) 25 minutes
1.1.1.1/4.1.0.0/timp.perc/cel/str
Listen on Spotify | View the score
Simon Holt
Morpheus Wakes (2011) 15 minutes
0+afl+bfl.2+2ca.0+bcl.2+cbn/2.3.2+btbn.1/2perc+cimb/hp/str(0.0.8.8.4)
Listen on YouTube | View the score
Jacques Ibert
Concerto for Flute (1935) 28 minutes
2.2.2.2/2.1.0.0/timp/str
Listen on Spotify | View on nkoda
André Jolivet
Concerto for Flute and String Orchestra (1949) 12 minutes
string orchestra
Listen on Spotify | View on nkoda
Leon Kirchner
Music for Flute and Orchestra (1978) 13 minutes
3.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/timp.5[+]perc/pf(cel,[epf]).hp/str
Watch on YouTube | View the score
Peter Maxwell Davies
Piccolo Concerto (1997) 17 minutes
2+afl.0.2+bcl.0/2.2.0.0/timp.3perc/str
Listen on Spotify | View on nkoda
Thea Musgrave
Orfeo III (1993) 14 minutes
string orchestra
Listen on Spotify | View the score
Michael Nyman
Concerto for Flute and Strings (2010) 17 minutes
string orchestra
View the score
Kaija Saariaho
Aile du songe (2001) 18 minutes
3perc.timp/hp.cel/str
Listen on Spotify | View the score
Bright Sheng
Flute Moon (1999) 18 minutes
2timp.3perc/hp.pf/str
Listen on Spotify | View the score
Joan Tower
Concerto for Flute (1989) 15 minutes
1(pic).1.1(bcl).1/0.1.btbn.0/2perc/str
Watch on YouTube | View the score
For more information on the music and potential guest soloists, please contact Andrew Stein-Zeller.
