The National Flute Association annual convention highlights new music every year, and 2024 has been a standout year. Check out these books to find something different.
Nicole Chamberlain: Entanglement for Flute and Alto Sax
If you are after a really good piece for flute and sax that challenges both the performers and their audience this could just be perfect. It’s the striking colours in this piece that are exciting and these, together with the contrast between the rhythmic interplay of the outer movements and the delicate texture of Secure Communication, makes it a future classic. Inventive and great fun – perfect.
JS Bach arr Elisabeth Parry and John Alley: Flute Obbligatos with Piano Accompaniment, Vol 2
This second volume of Bach obbligatos is just as good as the first. Integrating the vocal line into the accompaniment means that flute players can really gain experience from these arrangements and have insider knowledge when it comes to playing the original.
Daniel Dorff: Perfect Storm for Flute, Piccolo and Piano
Daniel Dorff has made each of these three movements substantial enough to stand alone which is always useful. Toccata has swirls of notes over a more static accompaniment that gives the movement drive and energy. Sarabande is a much more textural affair with an evenly spread range of material across the three instruments that is lush and indulgent. It is the Rondo that presents more normal scoring with the flute and piccolo dancing mainly in harmony over a supportive piano line. It’s all very quirky and a stylistically extremely varied.
Phyllis Avidan Louke: Of Mountains, Lakes and Mischief for Flute Choir
Phyliss Avidan Louke has written this very effective piece for flute choir in memory of the great American flute teacher Eldred Spell. Mountain Prayer is simply beautiful with its sweeping lines and gentle flute textures. Eleven Cats is all stop start as cats do, before breaking into a hoedown, and Kayak on the Lakemflows along dreamily. You don’t need to know anything about Eldred Spell to enjoy this fitting tribute.
Nicola Mazzanti: The Mazzanti Method Daily Warm-ups for Piccolo Volume 2
Nicola Mazzanti is a piccolo star and in this hefty tome he has chosen plenty of good material to help everyone with technique. There is much to learn from his writing which puts the exercises into context and makes practice goals easier to achieve. A bonus are the downloadable accompaniments that bring the melodies to life. There has to be a justification for the high cost of this book and if you are a Mazzanti fan you will easily be willing to make this investment.
Other winners:
- Reynaldo Hahn arr Danilo Mezzadri: Sonata in C major for Flute and Piano
- Kirsten Stoner: Sonata for Flute and Piano
- Mike Mower: Attitude in C for Flute and Piano
- Ulysses Kay: Aulos for Mixed Ensemble (Flute and Piano reduction)
- Cynthia Folio: Philadelphia Portraits for Piccolo and Piano
- Mike Mower: Picc Trix for Solo Piccolo and Wind Orchestra
- Marie Elisabeth von Sachsen-Meiningen arranged Matt Johnson: Romance for Alto Flute and Piano
- William Linthicum-Blackhorse: My Kind Hearted Boy for Flute Quartet and Piano or Harp
- Adolphe-Francois Wouters: Adagio and Scherzo for Flute Quartet Op 77
- Glinka arranged Matt Johnson: Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture for Flute Choir
- Gay Kahkonen: Spirit for Flute Choir
- Cynthia Folio: Western Winds, Eastern Roots for Flute, Clarinet and Piano
