Sonatine for Flute and Piano - Henri Dutilleux

Henri Dutilleux (1916–2013) was a French composer whose early works were influenced by Debussy and Ravel. Although he later distanced himself from many of these works, the Sonatine for Flute and Piano remains a favorite among flutists and one of his most frequently recorded compositions. Dutilleux wrote the Sonatine for the Paris Conservatoire’s end-of-year flute examination in 1943. As was typical of each year’s examination piece, it tested the student’s abilities in tone, technique, articulation, and expression. Its three connected sections explore these skills in a compact musical drama. 

The piece starts mysteriously, with a lopsided and angular melody in a seven-beat meter. A solo cadenza leads into an expressive Andante, which explores the lyrical personality of the piece. The final Animé is whimsical and playful, its sparkling passagework giving way to a second cadenza before an accelerating rush to the end.

Partita in A minor for solo flute, BWV 1013 - Johann Sebastian Bach

Among the most influential and revered composers of the Western art music tradition is German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Working in churches and courts during the Baroque period as a composer, organist, and teacher, he composed a vast range of sacred and secular music, from choral works to music for solo instruments. 

It is uncertain when Bach wrote the Partita in A minor for solo flute, though scholars place it sometime between 1718 and 1722. The piece was written for the flute of his time: a wooden instrument with six finger holes and a single key, quite different from the metal, extensively keyed flute familiar to audiences today. The Partita’s chromatic passages and wide range place considerable demands on that earlier instrument. 

Because the Partita was written for flute without accompaniment, the flute must suggest both melody and harmony. Bach accomplishes this through a single musical line that moves between registers, implying bass notes beneath the melody. 

Each of the four movements draws its character from a dance. The Allemande (derived from the French word for “German”) unfolds in an intricate, continuously moving line over a duple meter. The Corrente, meaning “running” or “flowing” in Italian, quickens the pace with restless energy. The Sarabande, a slow, triple-meter movement with roots in an old Spanish dance, invites the listener into a spacious and contemplative atmosphere. The contrasting Bourrée anglaise (“English bourrée”) brings a lively, dance-like conclusion with crisp rhythms and a playful character.

Andante Appassionato - Elisenda Fábregas

Elisenda Fábregas (b. 1955) is a Spanish composer, performer, and teacher who primarily trained as a pianist before pursuing a prolific career in composition. Her international career has spanned the United States, Europe, and Asia, and her works include music for orchestra, voice, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments. 

Fábregas composed Andante Appassionato for the late Tallon Sterling Perkes, former principal flutist of the San Antonio Symphony, who gave its premiere at the San Antonio Museum of Art in November 1996. Perkes described it as “an unabashedly romantic work infused with dynamic rhythmic intensity and evocative melodies requiring a soulful and virtuosic temperament.” The harmonic development of the piece is based on the interval of a diminished fifth, or the tritone, a highly unstable interval in the harmonic conventions of the Western music tradition. Through a wide range of articulation, dynamics, and register, the piece explores the flute’s capacity for both intimate expression and dramatic intensity. The work’s unaccompanied writing places the performer’s expressive voice at the center, bringing together lyrical warmth and virtuosic energy.

Prayer - Amanda Harberg

About her piece Prayer, Amanda Harberg (b. 1973) writes the following: 

In this version for flute and piano, Prayer opens with the flute rising gently out of simple piano arpeggios. The melody flows seamlessly from beginning to end, with one long rising and falling line, punctuated periodically by gentle responses in the piano part. The work arcs twice, with the flute working its way up to the highest register and then falling away to a place of peaceful surrender. 

Prayer holds a special place in today’s program as an expression of gratitude toward my community, my family, my professors, and God, who have all been anchors in my life over the last few years. 

Sonata for Flute and Piano - Robert Muczynski

Robert Muczynski (1929–2010) was an American composer, pianist, and teacher whose output centered on solo piano and small chamber ensembles. His Sonata for Flute and Piano brings a distinctive character to the flute repertoire. Rather than emphasizing only the instrument’s lyrical and soaring qualities, Muczynski explores its capacity for sharply articulated, rhythmically forceful playing. 

The sonata is in four movements. The Allegro deciso begins with a lively, syncopated four-note idea whose development drives the movement forward. The Scherzo is brief but packed with mischievous energy. The Andante begins with the flute alone, its solitary line joined by the piano to create a haunting atmosphere. The fiery and rambunctious Allegro con moto restores the urgency of the first movement and brings the sonata to an exuberant close.