Hanna Kulenty - Flute Concerto No.1 (1/2)

second part
http://youtu.be/7WDFzvj1Hic

Anne La Berge, quarter-tone flute
Parallèle Ensemble, Nicole Paiement, conductor

US Premiere of Hanna Kulenty's Flute Concerto No. 1 (2001) performed at Other Minds 10 at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 2004.

Winner of the UNESCO Rostrum of Composers (2003), and one of Europes most promising young composers, Hanna Kulentys talent is virtually undiscovered in the US. Often compared in orchestral style to Ligeti or Xenakis, she shares their flair for drama, expressive intensity, and relentless, layered rhythms. Virtuoso flutist La Berges quarter-tone flute sound is as flexible as the human voiceits timeless, indigenous, raw expression is highlighted by Kulentys driving compositional language.

Funded in part by Goethe-institut San Francisco, Gaudeamus Foundation, and Consulate General of the Netherlands, New York.

Flute Concerto No. 1 was inspired by the composer's acquaintance with the remarkable virtuoso flutist Anne La Berge. The extreme possibilities of the quarter-tone Kingma flute played by La Berge inspired Kulenty to write this piece for her with the Dutch wind and percussion ensemble "de ereprijs". As in her other compositions, repetitive elements, glissandi, a single powerful arch and haunting sonorities give her music a compelling emotional intensity. Remarks soloist Anne La Berge writes of the concerto: Kulenty uses the flute as an ensemble leader which is quite different from the traditional role of a concerto soloist. Shes given the performer an opportunity to play the flute in a less conventional way, employing subtle use of tone color, which sometimes blends and sometimes shines above the ensemble. Although the flute writing is very virtuosic, the soloist is still asked to be an essential part of the ensemble voice, rhythmically and harmonically.

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Music

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• Nicole Paiement