Flute Center's Favorite Pieces
Here are the favorite flute pieces of Flute Center's Resident Flutists!
Lauren's Favorite:
Andre Jolivet - Cinq Incantations
--
"Jolivet's Cinq Incantations is such a powerful, strong piece. I've always been drawn to performing music that makes a big statement, and this piece does just that. I performed this piece on my final Master's Degree recital in Copenhagen, and it is a performance that I will take with me everywhere. I had a friend of mine who is a visual artist do graphics in the background, and a friend who is a singer read aloud the names of the incantations before each one from a balcony on the other side of the room. The whole experience was thrilling...especially because the music itself is so demanding!" -Lauren
Jackie's Favorite:
Ian Clarke - The Great Train Race
--
"I've always had an affinity for music that shows the expansive and exciting nature of the flute, and there's nothing like the rush of transforming into a speeding train in front of your audience. I was preparing for graduate school auditions, and I knew that one of my pieces needed to be contemporary but virtuosic, and with all the other repertoire I was learning, it needed to be short. This piece was always on my bucket list and so I decided that it would be my final piece for all of my auditions for graduate school. Every time I got the chance to perform it, I could feel the panel get excited because of how different and exhilarating it was to hear when you've been listening to Mozart and excerpts all day.
I still remember my audition for the Mannes School of Music like it was yesterday. It was early in the morning and snowing outside, and it was the last of my auditions for the season. I finished the audition with "The Great Train Race", and I still remember looking up at the panel when I had finished and being met with such big smiles and kind words. I received my acceptance to Mannes a few weeks later and began my dream of being a musician in NYC, and for that I have so much love and gratitude towards this piece! -Jackie"
Julian's Favorite:
Otar Taktakishvili - Sonata
--
"In February of 2005, I started shopping for a new flute. I was a freshman when I began my search, but didn't finalize until November of my Sophomore year, about 9 months later. There was a period at the end of the search where I had selected a flute, but just needed to arrange for payment, which took about 2 months, during which time, I didn't have my new flute to play on. I was finally able to make payment and I received the flute at about 4pm on the day of a Studio Recital.
I don't think I had even 10 minutes to play on the flute before receiving it, but I decided, "no looking back" and performed the Taktakishvili Sonata on the new flute without any break-in period. I went from practicing on a Gemeinhardt 33OSSB to performing on a 14K gold Miyazawa in the blink of an eye. It was definitely not my best performance - the Miyazawa was such a pleasure and had so much more responsiveness that it was very difficult to control. But I'll never forget that second movement of the Taktakishvili Sonata - as beautiful as it is without this kind of cathartic experience - it was a truly transcendent experience!" - Julian
Alex's Favorite:
Aaron Copland - Duo
--
"I learned this piece the summer after my junior year in college. I had just been accepted to attend the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival and I got to play this piece for the "Rising Stars Concert" that they had to open the festival. Later in the festival, I had the privilege of playing the first movement in a Masterclass with Paula Robison. It was so wonderful to get her feedback on this piece because Aaron Copland came to listen to her rehearse this piece before her first performance. So she has first hand knowledge of how the composer really wanted this piece to sound. The Imani Winds Festival also hosted at Juilliard so this meant it was my first time coming to New York City. I absolutely fell in love with the energy of New York and knew I would live here someday. This was also the final piece I played in my senior recital for my BM in Performance so this piece will always have a special place in my heart because it embodies so many milestone experiences in my musical career." -Alex
Emily's Favorite:
G.P Telemann - 12 Fantasias
--
"I have always loved the Telemann Fantasies. I have fond memories of performing the Fantasie in E Major for an all-Telemann recital in middle school, and it seems that no matter how many times I revisit them (now as both a performer and a teacher), I always find something new."
-Emily
Kim's Favorite:
Charles Griffes - Poem
--
"I learned Griffes Poem during my junior year of undergrad for my school's concerto competition. This was the first piece that I felt like I was truly able to immerse myself in the expressiveness of the music and communicate that in my playing. In my mind I had a full storyline throughout the whole piece, like a fairytale. I made it to the final round of the concerto competition, which I had never done before! Though I didn't win that competition, I came back to this piece several years later after my master's for a different competition, and won! I was able to perform it with orchestra in May 2018, my first time performing a solo with orchestra. It was a beautiful full circle moment!" -Kim
Caity's Favorite:
Pierre Sancan - Sonatine
--
"I've always loved the Sancan Sonatine and the way it makes me feel like I've been transported into a Monet painting. I've studied drawing and painting and continue to keep it up as a hobby, so I am particularly drawn to pieces like Sancan's that are so evocative of the Impressionist movement. " - Caity
