Katherine Bryan - Katherine Bryan plays Flute Concertos by Christopher Rouse and Jacques Ibert - American Record Guide

I loved everything about Bryan's debut recording of flute concertos (Linn 367; Jan/Feb 2011: 224). Here are two and a half more.

Christopher Rouse (b 1949) is composer-in-residence with the New York Philharmonic. His Flute Concerto is in five movements, and at just under 30 minutes it is one of the longest flute concertos, too. After 1990, Rouse began a series of elegiac pieces. The first was his Trombone Concerto dedicated to the memory of Leonard Bernstein, who had died in 1990. This work from 1993 also belongs to that group...From its opening minute, this performance is gripping and evocative...the music has a shattering intensity that audiences and critics agree is deeply moving. The Flute Concerto by Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) was written in 1932-3 and first performed in February 1934. The best part of this concerto may be its nocturnal slow movement with muted strings and brass...

Debussy's Syrinx, probably the most famous piece for unaccompanied flute, is included because Debussy's music and his treatment of the flute have inspired so many other composers. Energy and intensity is the key to a performance of the Ballade by Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974), and Bryan doesn't let up. This piece was written for a competition, and it is probably Martin's most-performed work...the Rouse is an important enough concerto-and a large enough share of the program-to consider this Linn release for that alone.