March 1
La Region Mas Transparente
Leo Brouwer (b. 1939)
Leo Brouwer was born on this day in 1939 in Havana, Cuba. He holds a prominent position in Cuban musical life as a guitarist, composer and conductor. La Region mas transparente, (Where the Air Is Clear), was composed in 1982. Brouwer’s compositional output is frequently broken into three style periods and this comes from the second. During this time, his work shows the influence of the European avant-garde, as heard in the experimental use of timbre in this piece.. The title is shared with a highly regarded novel of the same name by Carlos Fuentes and Brouwer has said that the music evokes the region in Mexico where the novel is set.
NFA Rep Guide Level J
Dana Crytser, flute Claudio Olivera, piano
March 5
Sonata for Flute, Op. 94
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev’s Flute Sonata in D Major, Op. 94, composed in 1943, stands as one of the finest works in the 20th-century flute repertoire. He was inspired by wind playing in the French tradition, and especially by the ‘heavenly sound’ of noted flutist Georges Barrere. The sonata exudes an atmosphere of both lyrical grace and rhythmic energy, blending Prokofiev’s distinctive modernist style with elements of classical tradition.
NFA Rep Guide Level K
Performed by Dr. Deanna Little
March 8
Allegro from Flute Sonata in A Minor
C.P.E. Bach (1714-1788)
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach was born on this day in 1714. Like his father, J.S. Bach, he was successful as a composer and keyboard player, holding posts as a court musician for Frederick the Great of Prussia and as Kapellmeister for the city of Hamburg. His music serves as a bridge between the Baroque and Classical periods, and is an example of the German empfindsamer stil, which was characterized by chromaticism, an improvisatory style, and sudden changes in character. Bach wrote his Sonata in A Minor for flute solo in 1747. It is one of few existing works for unaccompanied flute from this period.
NFA Rep Guide Level I
Performed by Jenny Davis
March 9
Canzone , Op. 38a
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Samuel Barber was born on this day in 1910. His Canzone for flute and piano was originally conceived as Elegy for flute and piano in 1959 and was written for the German flutist Manfred Ibel, who was, for a time, Barber’s lover and muse. The music became the material for the second movement of his Piano Concerto for which Barber was awarded his second Pulitzer Prize in 1962. The music is both simple and profound, imbued with Romantic feeling in its short 40 bars.
NFA Rep Guide Level H.
Performed by Ziqing Guan, flute and Claudio Olivera, piano.
March 14
Fantasie #9 in E Major
G.P. Telemann (1681-1767)
Georg Philipp Telemann was born on this day in 1681. He began musical studies as a young child and showed a strong passion for both performing and composing. His family was afraid that these interests would lead to a career in music, so they forbade him to study and took away all of his instruments- however, he continued to compose and practice in secret! Despite his family’s protests, he went on to have a long and distinguished career as musician in both courts and churches. His influence on the musical life of the places he worked as well as on future generations of musicians cannot be overstated.
There is some disagreement over an exact year of composition for the Fantasies for solo flute, although historians agree that they were likely written between 1727-1732. Each of the 12 fantasies is in a different key and most are in two- or three-part forms. The Fantasies are a compendium of dance styles of the time from across Europe including sarabandes, correntes, and bourrees as well as other forms like toccatas and even a French overture. Quantz wrote about the popularity and importance of these pieces to flutists of Telemann’s day; their popularity endures as 21st century flutists still consider these pieces to be a cornerstone of the flute repertoire.
NFA Rep Guide Level I
Performed by Jennifer Parker-Harley
March 16
Peony for flute and electronics
Mary Kouyoumdjian (b. 1983)
Mary Kouyoumdjian Composer Mary Kouyoumdjian’s projects range from concert works to multimedia collaborations and film scores. As a first generation Armenian-American and having come from a family directly affected by the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, she uses a sonic palette that draws on her heritage, interest in music as documentary, and background in experimental composition to explore social and political conflicts. She was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for her opera Paper Pianos.
The composer writes, “Peony is a celebration of life after loss. This piece is in dedication to flutist and dear friend Katie Cox, whose beautiful garden full of peonies in Fairbanks, Alaska celebrates exactly that”.
Performed by Sarah Brady.
March 17
III. Introspective from Sonata for Flute Alone
John LaMontaine (1920-2013)
Born in Chicago on this day in 1920, John LaMontaine won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Guggenheim Fellowship during his long career. Varied influences can be heard in his works, from sounds of nature to jazz to medieval music and folk song. He said, “Part of my creed is that you should be interested in everything.” His most popular work for flute, the Sonata, shows his characteristic rhythmic vitality and jazz influence.
NFA Rep Guide Level I
Performed by Jennifer Parker-Harley
March 19
Three Preludes
Robert Muczynski (1929-2010)
Born on this day in 1929, Robert Muczynski was an American composer and pianist. His relatively small compositional outlook consists primarily of chamber works and piano pieces, although his compositions for flute are numerous and have become part of the standard repertoire for the instrument. The Preludes exhibit his sense of rhythmic vitality and the influence of jazz on his style.
NFA Rep Guide Level H
Performed by Jennifer Parker-Harley
March 21
Allemande from Partita in A Minor
J.S. Bach (1685- 1750)
Born on this day in 1685, J.S. Bach wrote his Partita while he was music director at the Calvinist court of Cöthen. Bach adopted the form of this four-movement work from the French baroque instrumental dance suites. The “Allemande,” no longer danced by the 17th century, is a highly-ornamented introductory movement in a German style.
NFA Rep Guide Level K
Performed by Emily Stumpf
March 22
Black Anemones
Joseph Schwantner (b. 1943)
Joseph Schwantner is known for his dramatic and unique style and as a gifted orchestral colorist. Black Anemones – a transcription for flute and piano of a song originally published in 1980 – explores the lyrical side of the flute. Jennie Oh Brown is a great friend of the USC Flute Studio and her recording of Schwantner’s flute works, Looking Back, is available Innova Records
NFA Rep Guide Level J
Performed by Jennie Oh Brown, flute
Cindy Trowbridge, piano
March 23
Poemeto
Osvaldo Lacerda (1927-2011)
This beautiful melody was written by the Brazilian composer Osvaldo Lacerda (March 23, 1927-July 18, 2011). To me, it embodies the warmth and generosity of spirit that I found in everyone I met while visiting Brazil. The performance took place at the Festival Inverno in Vale Veneto.
NFA Rep Guide Level E
Performed by Jennifer Parker-Harley, flute and Paolo Bergmann, piano
March 31
Fast from Fury of Light
Jake Heggie (b. 1961)
Jake Heggie, born on March 31, is an American composers most known for his contemporary operas which earned him a Guggenheim Fellowship. Fury of Light was written flutist Carol Wincenc to celebrate her Ruby Anniversary and is inspired by Mary Oliver’s poem, “Sunrise.” The last line of the poem informs the piece, saying “whatever you want, it is/happiness, it is another one/of the ways to enter/fire.”
Performed by Jennifer Parker-Harley, flute and Winifred Goodwin, piano