The Mythic Flute

Stahmer, Klaus Hinrich; Ferneyhough, Brian; Levine, Carin

This release aims to give listeners an overview of 20th and 21st century contemporary music. Mythical themes and their affects have become more and more numerous in the history of flute literature and play an important role in the selection of thematic material for many composers. In many ways, this album introduces the idea of the mythical; it is, so to speak, the compositional leitmotif. This obviously begins with works such as “Syrinx” by Debussy, “Sisyphus Redus” or “Mnemosyne” by Ferneyhough, which already bear the mystical reference in the title. This also applies to “Cary” by Trevor Baca; it is the Czech word for “magic.” But even with an “Air” by Takemitsu, there is something mythical: the work refers to “Syrinx.” All this is interpreted by one of the world’s most sought after contemporary flute music specialists, Carin Levine, who has previously performed and premiered over 900 works of contemporary music. The winner of numerous international competitions, former pupil of Aurele Nicolet, is also editor of the series “Contemporary Music for Flute” at Barenreiter Publishers.