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An excerpt from Nurit Barlev's Eastern Fantasy for flute and piano

Performers: Leslie Zieren, flute and Nurit Barlev, piano

Ms. Barlev is a talented Bay Area composer and pianist with whom I had the incredible privilege of partnering with on this piece. I can't tell you how exciting it was to work with a real, living, breathing composer! I loved this piece the first time I heard it. Using the entire range of the flute, it weaves together Middle Eastern and Western melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements in motifs that express great sorrow, then joy, then sorrow -- over and over again--capturing and reflecting the inevitable fluctuation of these core emotions we all intimately know.

A recital excerpt from Poulenc’s Sonata for Flute and Piano (Presto Giocoso)

fd_polenc.mp3 | 1.05MB

Performers: Leslie Zieren, flute and John Randall Hawkins, piano

Parisian Francis Poulenc composed orchestral, chamber music, ballets, concertos, film scores, and opera, as well as powerful choral and sacred music. This Sonata for Flute and Piano (1956) is inspired by Debussy’s late instrumental sonatas. It was commissioned by and dedicated to the memory of the great patroness of chamber music Elisabeth Sprague Coolidge.

Poulenc describes this work as "simple but subtle". It contains abrupt shifts of mood, jaunty rhythms, spicy harmonies, and beautiful melodies. The second movement Cantilena is exquisite in its simplicity, while the high pitched “bird calls” of the third movement, Presto Giocoso, featured here, are frantically fun.

A recital excerpt from Saint-Saëns’ Odelette

fd_saintsaens.mp3 | 1.16MB

Performers: Leslie Zieren, flute and John Randall Hawkins, piano

Camille Saint-Saens was a child prodigy composer who continued composing for most of his 86 years. He loved writing for woodwind instruments. This piece, written for flute and orchestra in 1920, is charming, graceful, and très French.

A recital excerpt from Reinecke’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra in D major, Opus 283 (Lento e mesto)

fd_reinecke.mp3 | 1.84MB

Performers: Leslie Zieren, flute and John Randall Hawkins, piano

Carl Reinecke (1984-1910) was a Danish composer, conductor, and pianist. The second movement, Lento e mesto, of this concerto, written in 1908, is hauntingly beautiful, sad, yet hopeful.

A recital excerpt from Mercadante’s Concerto in e minor for flute and piano (Rondo Russo)

fd_mercandante.mp3 | 828kb

Performers: Leslie Zieren, flute and John Randall Hawkins, piano

Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (1795-1870) was a prolific composer of Italian operas. This third movement, Rondo Russo, of this flute concerto is entertaining, challenging, and rambunctious!

A recital excerpt from Persichetti’s Serenade No. 10 for Flute and Harp (Larghetto)

fd_persichetti.mp3 | 1.04MB

Performers: Celeste Everson Misfeldt, harp, and Leslie Zieren, flute

Vincent Persichetti (1915 – 1987) studied piano, organ, double bass, tuba, theory and composition. By the age of 11, he was helping support himself by performing professionally as an accompanist, radio staff pianist, orchestra member and church organist. A Juilliard faculty member, he composed for nearly every musical medium—over 120 works. He wrote this Serenade (1957) in eight short, distinct movements that develop atmospheres between and around the performers. The Larghetto, featured here, is reflective and stark.

A recital excerpt from Vivaldi's Piccolo Concerto in A Minor (Finale-Allegro)

fd_vivaldi.mp3 | 470kB

Performers: Leslie Zieren, piccolo and John Randall Hawkins, piano

Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice on March 4, 1678, and died in Vienna on July 28, 1741. He was a prolific composer of operas, cantatas, motets, concertos, sonatas, and string ensemble works. This piece was probably played first on a flautino, a high pitched recorder, but fits today's modern piccolo just fine. The work is energetic, with sections of extreme virtuosity juxtaposed with passages for the accompaniment alone.