The Atlantic Flute Society |
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Reviews & Recommendations
Wind Song Patricia Creighton, flute Compact disc recording of a live concert at For CBC Radio Francis Poulenc: Sonata for flute and piano This recording has been submitted for nomination in the 2009 ECMAs for "Best Classical Album of the Year". Patricia Creighton has always been a distinctive and captivating performer, whether in an orchestral setting as principal flutist of Symphony Nova Scotia, or in a solo or chamber music setting as in this live concert captured on disc by the CBC. Whenever an interpretation of hers is played on the radio, one can always identify the exciting personal style without having to wait for the name of the flutist to be announced. This concert, featuring many of the major war horses of the flute repertoire plus a couple of additions, was no exception. With a long but exciting program requiring a remarkable amount of stamina, Patricia carried the listeners through many different landscapes of musical expression with passion and aplomb, perfectly partnered in those pieces requiring piano by husband and concert pianist Peter Allen. The Poulenc was a passionate study in contrasts, with sparkling, bird-like trills and quick-silver vibrato in the fast movements, and cries of loneliness in the slow. The movements of Bach, within the parameters of the modern silver flute, were executed each according to character, and within each character ran a narration of thoughts that made linguistic sense as any well-composed oratory should. Prokofiev was his usual quirky and virtuosic self, sometimes impossibly ornery and sometimes tender, and Debussy explored the whole spectrum of tone colours available on the flute. The Colgrass was indeed an electrifying ride through an Arctic blizzard, with howling and moaning winds lashing the psyche with the sting of a whip. Bartok was the final refreshment to cleanse the palate after a hearty and varied meal. Patricia unreservedly threw her all at every piece, never backing down to play it safe as one might be tempted to do in a studio recording season, and it is this living element which makes this recording exciting to listen to; one only needs a church pew to sit on and the sound of erupting applause to return to the original concert. A fully varied palette of colours, articulations, vibratos and phrasings all added up to achieve this, and the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. The contributions of Peter Allen to the project were orchestral in scope and simply outstanding. For more information on Patricia Creighton and Peter Allen, you are invited to visit their websites: www.patriciacreighton.com ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT (lists past and future performances) THIS DISC CAN BE BOUGHT AT: iTunes Link: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=281398003 CD Baby Internet Sales link: The Madrigal, Spring Garden Rd,
~ ~ ~ Trio Arkaède Karin Aurell, flute Recorded live, November 2006 Antoine Dornel: Sonata en Trio, op. 3/3 This is a highly polished performance from three accomplished players, who not only are masters of their respective instruments but also team players who pass musical ideas amongst themselves like old friends passing on the eggnog and pastries. Elegant and well-crafted, this recording would be the perfect gift for the hard-to-please flutist on your holiday shopping list, and anyone else as well. The famous Sonatine by Dutilleux, a modern piece familiar to flute majors, is delivered with the right mix of angst and brilliance by Karin Aurell. Ravel's Habanera and Kaddisch are soulfully executed by Isabelle Fournier. Julien Le Blanc is both the rock and the gracious dance partner underpinning every piece. The Baroque offerings are tastefully executed, with intellect and understanding, on modern instruments. Vibrato is kept minimal, and phrasing is expressive without being romanticised. In the December 2008 issue of Pan, the journal of the British Flute Society, Baroque flutist Jed Wentz speaks of the legitimacy, and indeed the need, to have early music performed on both historical and modern instruments. He writes that we should not expect the traverso and the Boehm flute to sound like each other, but should appreciate each for what it can offer to the music, and extends that to other early and modern instruments as well (article "Does the instrument really matter? The case for -- and against -- historical flutes"). The offerings of Trio Arkaède are convincing and pleasing by any standards, and leave a great lasting impression. This recording can be ordered by making contact through any of the following avenues: Place yourself in the concert hall and enjoy the recital! ~ ~ ~ Nightingales for Katy Karin Aurell, flute Recorded at the Mount Allison University Chapel, Sackville NB September, 2002 Featuring: Syrinx -- Claude Debussy Nightingales for Katy -- Richard Gibson Partita in A minor for flute alone, BWV 1013 -- Johann Sebastian Bach Envol - Alléluia pour flûte seule -- Gilles Tremblay Pièce pour flûte seule -- Jacques Ibert Sonata for Flute Solo -- Sven-Erik Bäck Danse de la chèvre -- Arthur Honegger Fantasie no.12 in G minor, TWV 40:13 -- George Philipp Telemann Available on compact disc at the Canadian Music Centre Boutique: http://www.musiccentre.ca/apps/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.drawBuyARecording Karin Aurell delivers confident, sophisticated and engaging interpretations of Baroque and modern works for solo flute in this recording. Her crystal-clear sound soars through the natural acoustic of the Mount Allison University Chapel, and she manipulates that acoustic to great artistic advantage. She solidly surmounts the sometimes substantial technical challenges of each piece in such a way that they become simply a natural, organic development of the music -- which is precisely everything that a composer could hope for in an interpreter. Biography: Karin Aurell is a Swedish flute player living in Sackville, New Brunswick. She has an MA in Music Performance from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, where she studied with Gerhard Schaub. After completion of her formal studies, she spent a year in Toronto studying with Robert Aitken. Other teachers who have influenced Karin include William Bennett, Peter-Lukas Graf and Geoffrey Gilbert. Karin has been an orchestral flutist since 1985, first in the north of Sweden with the Norrlandsopera company and since 1987 with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, where she was the assistant principal flutist. Since moving to Canada's east coast in 2001, Karin has become a member of the New Brunswick-based new music group Motion Ensemble. With Motion, she has toured extensively throughout Canada, performing the group's signature mix of new music from the region and New York School works. The group played their debut New York concert in October 2003. Karin works regularly with Halifax pianist Barbara Pritchard. She performs on a regular basis with the orchestras in the region, mainly with Symphony Nova Scotia and the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra. Of her debut Halifax recital, Stephen Pedersen wrote in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald: 'With her rich, milk-chocolate tone and her unusually direct way of imagining the music she's playing, Aurell could not have been more impressive'. ~ ~ ~ |