Blog for Flutists and Composers
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Ligeti Piano Concerto, Practice Notes to Self
The following are suggestions for practice in preparation for the flute and piccolo passages of (my favorite ensemble piece!) the Ligeti Piano Concerto. They are my own ideas, not authentic or especially original – except for one remark on the piccolo solo in the second movement that Ligeti gave me during the recording session with…
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Ligeti Hamburg Concerto (Horn Concerto)
I thought it would be a nice segue from my last post on the True Range of the Flute to a work that, great as it is, has serious issues regarding range. Composers, if you have overstepped the bounds of the flute’s range, you are in good company. Gyorgi Ligeti is just about my favorite…
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The True Range of the C Flute
Back in the USSR, when information was really suppressed, many people were hungry for the truth. Now governments hide the truth from us under a deluge of information. I think composers suffer from this deluge, but it is not a government conspiracy. The true range of the concert C flute is a matter of public…
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Ghost Icebreaker
My first CD, Ghost Icebreaker, is out! (And who knows, maybe my last!) For the past ten years I have had the pleasure to collaborate with pianist Alexei Lapin. We have appeared on a number of CDs together (visit my CD shop), but this is the first I have produced, and the first where we…
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Preparation for Expression
This summer, for better or worse, I find myself without paid work for a whole month, so I have flown off to St. Petersburg with my family to enjoy the last of the White Nights. With one week left, I spend my vacation practice mentally preparing that which I have to play from memory, and…
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Tempo and Rhythm in Cassandra’s Dream Song
In previous posts on Ferneyhough’s music, I describe my approach to his complex rhythms. It is worth noting again that his music is not pulse based; rather, the measure is considered a “domain of a certain energy quotient”. In Cassandra’s Dream Song we are presented with freedom from measures, time signatures, or metronome markings. The…
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Atonal Intonation in Light of Berio’s Sequenzas
Luciano Berio‘s Sequenza no.1 for flute is one of my favorite pieces. I also love teaching it; it has so much to offer in terms of technique (especially articulation!), style and presentation. There is an unwritten book inside me about this work, but for now I would like to consider one aspect of the work…
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Perfection and Procrastination in Daily Practice
Recently I have spent most of my practice sessions “warming up” and playing exercises. The repertoire I am working on is singularly uninspiring, so this is mostly a maneuver in procrastination. But it’s great: taking the time to do and re-do an exercise while focusing your awareness of what’s going on under your skin is…