# Favorite Flute Works



## RussianFlute (Jul 26, 2021)

Hi all, 
I'm looking for new pieces both for listening enjoyment and for myself to play. I prefer mainly tonal works, but I also like to hear what types of works other people enjoy on my instrument. Recently I have discovered the Shor Concerto and the transcription of Mendelssohn's violin Concerto, both of which I highly recommend. Concertos, solo flute, flute solos, anything featuring the flute is a go. 
Have a good day and thanks for your input!


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

A few that come to mind:

Debussy: _Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp_ (a bonafide masterpiece, IMHO)
Ravel: _Introduction and Allegro_
Nielsen: _Flute Concerto_
Poulenc: _Flute Sonata_
Schulhoff: _Concertino for Flute/Piccolo, Viola & Contrabass_
Bernstein: _Halil for flute and chamber orchestra_ (one of my favorite Bernstein works that never gets talked about)
Rouse: _Flute Concerto_
Feldman: _Flute and Orchestra_
Takemitsu: _I Hear The Water Dreaming_ (also his three different arrangements of his work _Towards the Sea_)


----------



## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

I recently came across this and was bowled over by it althought it might not be to your taste. Using all manner of extended techniques I found this virtuosic piece to be compelling and immensely exciting. It's well worth a listen, especially for a player as the performance is top notch.


----------



## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Flutist and fellow shakuhachi player Elizabeth Brown has composed some fetching solo and ensemble pieces for flute.


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

What happens if you play seven flutes at the same time? Fausto Romitelli has the answer at about 7:10 here,

MHL-Live: Fausto Romitelli in Concert II - YouTube


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Salvatore Sciarrino: Come vengono prodotti gli incantesimi? - Canzona di ringraziamento - YouTube


Salvatore Sciarrino's _Come vengono prodotti gli incantesimi?_

Comments from Nicholas Hodges paper "A Volcano Viewed from Afar: The Music of Salvatore Sciarrino", _Tempo _No. 194 (Cambridge 1995.)




> _The piece describes a curve which grows in density and solidity throughout, starting with unblown key taps and becoming denser through, at first, the intensification of movement and widening of harmonic range, and then the intervention of blown notes, becoming more and more prominent in the texture. In 'Entretien avec Salvatore Sciarrino', in Entretemps No.9. (Paris 1991) Sciarrino mentions in connexion with this the tradition of final movements which represent a virtuosi culmination - a tradition which can be traced through late Haydn and late Beethoven (a preoccupation of Sciarrino's) to Liszt - and many others of his works bear an active, conscious relationship with this tradition. In the present case the piece confounds expectations of a final pyrotechnic display: it completely loses its confidence, and retreats into mournful tremolo warbles. There are a few brief attempts at a repeated intensification - which fail, leaving the piece to end unresolved.
> 
> This is an explicit formal reference, not for reference's sake, but to make a point about perception. Sciarrino notes that 'in order to hold the attention it is necessary always to escalate; and that is what the piece contradicts _


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Luc Ferrari's Madame de Shanghai which combines music for flute trio with field recordings & excerpts from Orson Welles' Lady from Shanghai

Manuel Zurria - Madame De Shanghai (Luc Ferrari) - YouTube


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

David Toop is, amongst other things, a flute player. These recordings are taken from a CD of free improvisations made with percussionist Paul Burrell. The music really does inspire the imagination, it has an almost Shamanistic magic. If I could only have one flute CD, this would be it 

David Toop & Paul Burwell - Suttle Sculpture (excerpt) - YouTube


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

What does 40 flutists with 72 flutes sound like? Horatio Radulescu has the answer

Horaţiu Rădulescu (1942-2008): Byzantine prayer op. 74 (1988) - YouTube


----------



## Xenophiliu (Jan 2, 2022)

Cécile Chaminade: Flute Concertino

This work comes first to mind when mentioning flute concertos.


----------



## composingmusic (Dec 16, 2021)

There's already some really good recommendations here. I'll add a few works to the list:
Thea Musgrave: _Narcissus_
Kaija Saariaho: _NoaNoa_
Claude Debussy: _Syrinx_
Heinz Holliger: _(é)cri(t)_
J.S. Bach: _Badinerie_ from Orchestral Suite no. 2
Olivier Messiaen:_ Le Merle Noir_
Bohuslav Martinů: _Sonata for Piano and Flute_
Henri Dutilleux: _Sonatine_
George Benjamin: _Flight_
George Lewis: _Emergent_
Enjoy!


----------



## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Brian Ferneyhough - Unity Capsule (1976)


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Varese: Density 21.5 
The Takemitsu Chamber Works CD on Naxos is recommended. Features some beautiful playing by Robert Aitken.


----------



## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Highwayman said:


> Brian Ferneyhough - Unity Capsule (1976)


Outstanding.


----------



## Enthalpy (Apr 15, 2020)

Definitely Prokofiev's sonata opus 94 for flute and piano, for the massive creativity. Uneasy on a flute, nicer than on a violin. Here an adequate flutist.


----------



## Pyotr (Feb 26, 2013)

There are so many but since you asked this question in the Solo and Chamber forum, I'll go with Mozart's Flute Quartet No.1 K285.


----------



## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

The following composers wrote exceptionally well for the flute,

Phillipe Gaubert:





Charles Koechlin:
















Les chants de nectaire, Series 2, Op. 199 "Dans la forêt antique": No. 1, L'ombre, par une...
Koechlin: Quintette No. 2 pour flûte, violon, alto, violoncelle et harpe, Op. 223: I. Allegro...

Albert Roussel:
--Sérénade for Flute, String Trio and Harp, Op.30
Roussel: Sérénade pour flûte, violon, alto, violoncelle et harpe, Op. 30: I. Allegro
Albert Roussel ‒ Sérénade for Flute, String Trio and Harp, Op.30

--2 Poèmes de Ronsard, Op. 26:
Poèmes De Ronsard Pour Flûte Et Voix - I. Rossignol (Albert Roussel)
2 Poèmes de Ronsard, Op. 26, L. 31: II. Ciel, aer, et vens (Très modéré)
Albert Roussel - 2 Poèmes de Ronsard, Op. 26 (1924)
Deux poèmes de Ronsard: I. Rossignol, mon mignon... (Ténor et flûte)

--Pan
Albert Roussel - Joueurs de flûte, Op. 27 (1924)
https://open.spotify.com/track/0DMWl4bdvSHYN9FYI3107s

Joseph-Guy Ropartz:
--Prélude, marine et chansons pour flûte, violon, violoncelle et harpe
Ropartz: Prélude, marine et chansons pour flûte, violon, violoncelle et harpe: I. Prélude...

Joseph Jongen:
Modere (sans lenteur)

--Concert à cinq for flute, harp, violin, alto and cello, Op. 71: Concert à cinq for flute, harp, violin, alto and cello, Op. 71

Claude Debussy:
--Sonata for flute, viola and harp L. 137:
Debussy Sonate pour flûte, alto et harpe Laskine/Pasquier/Rampal
Debussy: Sonate pour flûte, alto et harpe, L. 137: I. Pastorale (Lento, dolce rubato - Vif et...

--La Flûte de Pan (Syrinx):
Syrinx, L. 129: Syrinx

--Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, L.86
Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, L.86

Camille Saint-Saëns:
--Une Flûte Invisible
Une flûte invisible

Andre Caplet:
--Viens, une flûte invisible soupire
André Caplet - Viens! une flûte invisible soupire (1900) [Score]
Viens ! Une flûte invisible soupire

--Ecoute mon coeur
Écoute, mon coeur ! ...

--Petit valse
Petite valse

--Reverie
Rêverie

Maurice Ravel:
--Introduction et Allegro,
Introduction And Allegro For Harp, String Quartet, Flute And Clarinet
Ravel: Introduction et allegro pour harpe, avec accompagnement de quatuor à cordes, flûte et...
Ravel: Introduction And Allegro For Harp Flute Clarinet And Strings

Arthur Honegger:
--Petite Suite for Flute, Viola and Harp
Honegger: Petite Suite for Flute, Viola and Harp

Francis Poulenc:
--Sonate pour flûte & piano
Francis Poulenc - Sonata for Flute and Piano
F. Poulenc SONATE /flute Emmanuel Pahud

Andre Jolivet:
--Chant de Linos
Alain Marion, flute, plays 'Chant de Linos' by Jolivet

--Cinq Incantations
André Jolivet: Cinq Incantations, per flauto (1936/1937)

--Sonata for Flute and Piano
Andre Jolivet - Sonata for Flute and Piano (1961) [Score-Video]

Olivier Messiaen:
--Le merle noir
Messiaen, Olivier (1952): Le merle noir pour flûte et piano — Christan Lardé, Yvonne Loriod
Le Merle noir

Serge Prokofiev:
--Flute Sonata in D Major, Op. 94
Flute Sonata in D Major, Op. 94: III. Andante

Tōru Takemitsu:
--Toward the Sea III
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yViNKp1jx4&list=OLAK5uy_nKQU3EFHJlfdiO6sLOmb-pIa6IcPVgIVY&index=3

Henri Dutilleux :
--Sonatine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUo2lcpeFrQ

Pierre Boulez:
--Sonatine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjUTJDO-2uk


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Xenophiliu said:


> Cécile Chaminade: Flute Concertino
> 
> This work comes first to mind when mentioning flute concertos.


Nice, must have for flute lovers .


----------



## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

Wow, you guys know your flute music. Very good recommendations. Here are a few more, sorry if I missed them in a previous post: Schubert, Introduction, Theme and Variations on Trockne Blumen ("Faded Flowers", from his song cycle Die schoene Mullerin, i.e., The Maid of the Mill), Op. 163; Mozart flute quartets, especially K. 285; Beethoven, Serenade for flute, violin and viola, Op. 25; Reger, Serenades for the same instruments, Op. 77a and Op. 141; Reinecke's Sonata Undine Op. 167; Debussy's Sonata for flute, viola and harp; Honegger, Danse de la chevre; Hindemith, Sonata for flute and piano; Messiaen, Le merle noire; Boismortier, Concertos for five flutes; J.S. and C.P.E. Bach, Telemann, Handel sonatas; Telemann Fantasias; J.S. Bach Trio from The Musical Offering. OK, dinner is ready here, so that will have to do for now.


----------

