— Jeanne Baxtresser, Former Principal Flutist, New York Philharmonic wrote this about the album: "Three of the most treasured Romantic pieces for flute are performed with beauty and elegance by flutist Karen Kevra, and pianist Jeffrey Chappell. It is a pleasure to hear these beloved works lovingly played with such natural expressivity and a singing line by both musicians." CD Notes: Louis Moyse (1912-2007), the legendary flutist/pianist composer, urged us to make this recording after he heard us perform the Schubert Variations in 2005. In preparation for the recording we worked with Louis, an intuitive master of Romantic music who had personal ties to many important composers including Philippe Gaubert (his teacher at the Paris Conservatory), as well as Paul Taffanel, and Cecile Chaminade. He even had a memorable childhood encounter with Gabriel Fauré. (Louis’ first memory of Fauré was that “He looked like a lion!”) Louis’ ideas were organic, from the heart and were frequently tied to stories from his long, rich past. He insisted on a tremendous depth of musical expression and demanded a huge range of dynamics, a rainbow of tone colors, and the kind of shadings and nuances one would expect in visual art. We consider the Romance from Widor’s Suite to be the focal point of this recording because of its warmth, nuance, intimacy, and range of emotion. Louis gave us poignant advice about this piece: “Of course, I am of that period of time that none of you are. But a Romance, you know what the idea of the Romance is really. It is starting love between two people. And in that time…you know, I will give you an example. At the beginning of the century, Taffanel was principal flutist at the Opera of Paris. He was also flutist at the Société des Concerts. The répétition [rehearsal] was Saturday afternoon, and the concert on Sunday afternoon. Then, it was a period of time when Taffanel would never accept anything on Saturday. Then he would put himself in his room, take his flute completely apart, one piece by one piece, completely, to make sure it played well the day after. He put the spring in oil. Everything was perfect. He would put it in the case. And then he would go to sleep. At 7 o’clock, he would go to gymnasium. Two hours exercise. And promenade [go for a walk] of two hours. And repas [meal] at lunch time at his home. And ready to be first flute at the Société des Concerts at 2 o’clock, concert afternoon. The time was very important for these people! They take the time to live, they take their time. You have to put yourself in that period of time…more relaxed. One hour was one hour, it was not 59 minutes, one minute was not 59 seconds. It was really 60, 60 was the time. Time to hear, the time to look, the time to think, the time to love, the time to eat, the time to rest, the time to walk…you feel all this when you play a piece like that.” — Louis Moyse Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937): Suite for Flute and Piano, Opus 34 Published in 1877, the Suite Opus 34 by Charles-Marie Widor is dedicated to Paul Taffanel, the influential founder of the modern French school of flute playing. Its four character pieces seem to take inspiration from the harmonic and melodic language of Schumann. At the same time, they are rooted in the French sense of balance and serenity for which the works of Fauré are the model. The Suite also follows a sonata’s structural plan of first movement, scherzo movement, slow movement, and fast finale—another example of which can be found in the Reinecke “Undine” Sonata on this same recording. The Suite’s untitled first movement follows sonata-allegro form in a concise fashion, and it restlessly avoids its home key of C minor until the final pages. The Scherzo is typified by lilting triple meter rhythms and a breezy tempo. The Romance is the most emblematic of the Romantic style, with its languorous melody and intimate subtleties of expression. The Final takes off at a gallop and sustains its purposeful intensity until the appearance of the tranquil second theme, which then is recapitulated at the end as a triumphant anthem. Carl Reinecke (1824-1910): Sonata “Undine” for Flute and Piano, Opus 167 In composing Sonata “Undine”, Carl Reinecke was apparently inspired by “Undine”, a novel written by the German 19th-century author Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. One might generally track the correspondences between it and the sonata as follows: Undine, a spirit of the water, leaves her aquatic kingdom to seek love (first movement). She is raised by a fisherman and his wife (Intermezzo: second movement). Then she falls in love with Hulbrand, a knight (third movement). His fiancée wins him away from Undine and she is forced to return to the sea (Finale: fourth movement). Encouraged by the other wrathful water spirits, she appears at Hulbrand’s wedding and kills him with a kiss. However, this 1882 composition would have earned its enduring place as one of the most important Romantic flute sonatas even without any extra-musical references. It is solidly crafted, eloquently expressive, and idiomatically written for each instrument and for the two together. Reinecke ties together the composition with cyclic form: the quiet melody from the middle section of the second movement reappears at the very end of the Finale. After the churning high drama that precedes it, the melody provides a peaceful surprise finish. Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Introduction, Theme, and Variations on “Trockne Blümen” for Flute and Piano, D. 802 Trockne Blümen (Withered Flowers) is the eighteenth song in Schubert’s 1823 cycle, “Die Schöne Müllerin”, and it mourns an unfulfilled longing. The lyric tells how the protagonist wants all of the flowers given to him by his beloved to be put in his grave. Considering the origin and the significance of the source material, opinion is divided regarding whether the variations, written the following year, are illustrative of the song cycle itself. The symphonic Introduction certainly creates a hushed mood of mysterious foreboding. It delivers us to the fateful theme, the tune of which is traded between the piano and the flute. The variations at first seem to alternate between two aspects—Variations 1 and 3 are subdued, while Variations 2 and 4 are outbursts. Variation 5, however, is all about flute virtuosity, and a listener can’t fail to notice the display. Having built up to this point, Schubert uses Variation 6 as a quiet recess. In Variation 7, all tragic references are left far behind as Schubert sums up the intricate masterpiece with a bright march full of light good humor. The coda has a few reminiscent clouds of uncertainty, but the work finishes in unequivocal high spirits. — Jeffrey Chappell