PROGRAM NOTES

Written by John Ross

Eugène Bozza (1905-1991) enrolled three times at the Paris Conservatory, studying violin first, and then conducting, and lastly composition. In
1934, he won the prestigious Prix de Rome for his opera La légende de Roukmāni. Winners of this award are chosen by the French government, and
then sent to study at the Académie de France at the Villa Medici in Rome, Italy. Bozza’s Image, Op. 38, for solo flute was first published in 1940,
although some scholars believe it may have been written as early as 1936 during his time in Rome. It was dedicated to Marcel Moyse, Professor of
Flute at the Paris Conservatory. The work is written in ternary (three-part A-B-A') form with a slow, fantasy-like introduction. The outer A and A'
sections are fast and technically demanding, while the B mid-section is slower and more lyrical. Each of the sections is linked together by free-
flowing cadenzas.1
Indian sitār player and composer Ravi Shankar (1920-2012) first began his artistic career as a dancer in the Indian classical style. In his early years,
his brother Uday brought him to Paris to participate in his dance company. It was there that he became familiar with many great composers and
musicians, which would help him to bridge the cultural gap between India and other nations later on in his life. In 1938, he left his brother’s dance
company to study Indian classical music with Allauddin Khan. During that time, Shankar developed a unique approach to elaborating the Indian rāga
system.2 His L’aube enchantée, translated as Enchanted Dawn, for flute and harp was written for flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal in 1976. It is based on the
Hindustani rāga Miyan ki todi, more commonly known as Todi. This is a late morning rāga performed during the hours of 9 AM and 12 PM. It
consists of the pitches D, E-flat, F, G-sharp, A, B-flat, and C-sharp, with D being the tonic note, or sruti. The work is divided into four sections: alap-
jor-gat-jhala. The alap, meaning conversation, is very slow and unmetered, with both instruments alternating individual explorations the rāga. The
jor, or momentum, adds a rhythmic aspect in the harp part, giving the piece a feeling of forward motion. The gat section traditionally adds a
percussion instrument playing a tala, or rhythmic cycle. Shankar gives this role to the harpist, who plays the tala throughout the gat section. The
jhala, or sparkling, section concludes the work with constant rapid pulsations of rhythm in the flute part, achieved by articulating each note
separately.3 The increase in rhythmic drive of each section lends to the late morning character of the rāga itself, from the slow start of the day to the
quickening pace as the day progresses into the afternoon.
Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) wrote Ballade for flute and piano in 1939 as a test piece for the Geneva International Flute Competition.
It is one of five Ballades composed to showcase the prominent characteristics of each instrument for which it was written. 4 Martin arranged the
Ballade for flute to be performed with string orchestra and piano in 1941. It was premiered by flutist Joseph Bopp and the Basel Chamber Orchestra
on November 28, 1941, with Paul Sacher conducting. 5 The work uses the full range of the instrument, alternating lyrical passages with intense
technical sections. All of this is tied together and driven by constant underlying two-against-three or three-against-four rhythmic patterns between the
two hands of the piano or the piano and flute.
British flutist and composer Ian Clarke (b.1964) studied mathematics at Imperial College in London while simultaneously working part-time at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he currently teaches. 6 His Deep Blue for flute and piano was written in 2012. He states that the piece
“is partly inspired by the ocean and whale song”. Clarke gave the first performances of the piece at workshops throughout the summer of 2012, and
then premiered it in the United States at the 2012 National Flute Association annual convention in Las Vegas, NV. 7 The piece is written in C-sharp
minor with a modified strophic form, alternating two themes with slight variations in length, register, and meter throughout the work. Clarke notates
pitch bends within the melodic line of each theme. These are achieved by first bending the pitch with the lip, then utilizing various fingering
combinations to give the bend a natural feel and color change.
Canadian flutist and composer Robert Aitken (b. 1939) is well known for his experimentation with extended techniques in his compositions for
flute. His Icicle for solo flute was written in 1977 for the opening of Pierre Boulez’s Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique
(IRCAM), a concert of new and experimental compositions in Paris. It is written with two staves: one that indicates what and how the performer will
play, and one that illustrates how the piece should sound. Entire phrases are played with specific keys held open, creating a hollow tone color
throughout the piece. Aitken wrote in a program note for the work: “The inspiration came from pranks which [my] flutist daughter Dianne had been
playing on her younger, at that time bass-playing sister. The prank involved the theme song to the film The Pink Panther, the rhythm of which may
be apparent from time to time in this work. The resemblance ends there, however, as the remainder of the piece is based on the shimmering,
glistening effects which can be produced on the flute through quick changes of multiple fingerings and various articulations.” 8
Eric Ewazen (b. 1954) holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School, where he currently teaches. 9 Much of Ewazen’s
work is based on scenic landmarks throughout the United States. He writes that his second flute sonata “rides on cosmopolitan sparkle inspired by a
party atop Atlanta's Hilton Towers, looking down at the city with live jazz in the background in celebration of concerts at the 1999 NFA convention.”
The piece was commissioned by and dedicated to Sandra Lunte and Richard Seiler in 2011. 10 The first movement, Allegro appassionato, is a lively
Rondo that alternates a fast mixed-metered theme with lyrical melodies and flourishes. The remaining movements, Andante con moto and Allegro

1 Kelly Ann Kazik, “Selected Accompanied and Unaccompanied Flute Works of Rivier, Bozza, and Francaix” (doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland, 2008), 4-
5-12.
2 Stephen Slawek, “Shankar, Ravi,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 2nd ed., vol. 23 (London: Macmillan Publishers Limited,
2001), 202-03.
3 Lori Ann Kesner, “Krishna Meets Pan: Indian-Western Fusion in Two Works for Flute and Harp by Ravi Shankar and John Mayer” (doctoral dissertation, University
of Cincinnati, 2006), 35-43.
4 Christina L. Bayes, “Twentieth-Century Works for Flute and Piano and Unaccompanied Flute Most Frequently Selected to be Performed on the Final Round of the
National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition from 1985-2004” (doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland, 2010), 17.
5 Bernhard Billeter, “Martin, Frank,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 2nd ed., vol. 15 (London: Macmillan Publishers Limited,
2001), 913.
6 “Biography,” Ian Clarke: Flautist/Composer, accessed March 4, 2015, http://www.ianclarke.net/page4.html.
7 “Deep Blue and Beverley,” Ian Clarke: Flautist/Composer, accessed March 4, 2015, http://ianclarke.net/page40.html.
8 Jennifer Brimson Cooper, "The Weinzweig School: The Flute Works of Harry Freedman, Harry Somers, R. Murray Schafer, Srul Irving Glick and Robert Aitken”
(doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2012), 67-69.
9 “About Eric Ewazen,” The Music of Eric Ewazen, accessed March 6, 2015, http://www.ericewazen.com/about.php.
10 Eric Ewazen, “Sonata No. 2 for Flute and Piano,” back cover (King of Prussia, PA: Theodore Presser Company, 2013).
giocoso, are both in ternary form. The second is more relaxed and ponderous, alternating singing melodies with flowing sixteenth note passages
between the flute and piano. The third movement is very energetic, juxtaposing pointed duple patterns with smooth broken chords in triplets.