Listen & tracks

3 of 13 tracks have a preview · 5 works · 57:46

Sonata for Flute and Piano (2015)Stuart Greenbaum 4 movements22:06
1. 1 distance to Ganymede: 628,300,000 km 8:26
2. 2 ice crust: 150 km thick 6:06
3. 3 saltwater ocean underground 5:09
4. 4 for those in peril on the sea 2:25
5 Seven Fragments after Paul Celan Rohan Phillips Fragment III – in the liquefied names the dolphins dart 3:54
6 “Cloudy Mountain” for Flute and Piano (1981) Anne Boyd 8:04
Three MiniaturesMark Pollard 3 movements8:47
1. 7 Sheridan Close for solo piccolo 2:32
2. 8 The Amber Room for solo alto flute 3:35
3. 9 Illoura House for solo flute 2:40
Sonata for Flute and Piano (1960)Richard Meale 4 movements14:55
1. 10 movement 1 5:00
2. 11 movement 2 :55
3. 12 movement 3 6:48
4. 13 movement 4 2:12

This album continues a series of Flute Perspective recordings that explore established Australian flute repertoire from the 1960s to the present day.

The second volume opens with the world premiere of Stuart Greenbaum’s Flute Sonata (2015), the seventh in a series of twenty sonatas written in the new millennium. Its four movements contemplate the projected discovery in March 2015 of a huge underground ocean on Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, and take performer and listener on a fascinating journey.

Also featured is the iconic Richard Meale Sonata (1960), a strong example of the avant-garde style the composer was keen to bring before Australian audiences. Anne Boyd’s Cloudy Mountain (1981) continues from Flute Perspectives, where Goldfish through Summer Rain was featured. Boyd’s music marks a pivotal moment in Australia’s artistic turn toward the Asia–Pacific region, as artists, composers and others embraced neighbouring cultures.

Rohan Phillips contributes Fragment III (2001–2002) from Seven Fragments after Paul Celan. Derek knew Rohan from decades earlier; both grew up in Bendigo. Rohan studied composition with Larry Sitsky in Canberra while Derek studied flute at the VCA with Vernon Hill and Thomas Pinschof. The short work draws on the full gamut of flute colours, effects and techniques.

The programme closes with Mark Pollard’s Three Miniatures (Sheridan Close, The Amber Room and Illoura House), played on piccolo, alto flute and flute. The pieces describe three buildings along St Kilda Road, Melbourne, sketched by Pollard as a passenger on a tram.

Reviews

Together Jones and Roberts navigate even the most challenging musical terrain with dextrous articulation, magnificent sensitivity and an ensemble that is razor-sharp. The achingly gorgeous tonal quality in Jones's rendering of Mark Pollard's The Amber Room is a standout of the album, as is Roberts' sparkling accompaniment in Anne Boyd's Cloudy Mountain. By turns virtuosic, contemplative and haunting, this stunning collection leaves no stone unturned in its exploration of one of the world's oldest instruments. ★★★★★

— Jessie Cunniffe, Brisbane Times / Sydney Morning Herald

Diverse styles of five composers provide a fascinating sampling of Australian flute music over a span of sixty years. Listening through this CD is a totally rewarding experience. The pieces have been discerningly chosen to provide variety, contrast and perspective. Derek Jones and Cameron Roberts are highly accomplished musicians whose performances demonstrate a strong affinity with the music as well having the virtuosic and interpretative skills required.

— Gwen Bennett, Music Trust e-zine Loud Mouth

On this collection, five works embrace a fair gamut of contemporary music written in this country ... it’s obvious that this CD is essential listening for anybody with a commitment to serious Australian music. The five works could not be more varied – a multiple perspective – and their interpretations are informed and make the most of the scores involved. Richard Meale’s Sonata for Flute and Piano of 1960, one of the pivotal moments in Australian composition ... Anne Boyd’s Cloudy Mountain for Flute and Piano from 1981, a product of the writer’s fascination with Asian sounds ... Greenbaum’s four-movement work is the most substantial on the CD, coming in at close to 20 minutes. So you have a cross of expanded canvases and smaller scenes to consider.

— Clive O'Connell, O'Connell the Music

Artists

Derek Jones

flute, piccolo, alto flute

Derek Jones has enjoyed an extensive performing career throughout Australia, Europe, the USA and Asia. Solo appearances include the Melbourne Symphony, the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the last of these taking him to Carnegie Hall, New York.

Cameron Roberts

piano

Cameron Roberts is an Australian international concert pianist, renowned coach and author on the application of science to elite musical performance, and a specialist anaesthetist.

Anne Boyd

composer

Anne Boyd enjoys a distinguished career as a composer and music educator. A graduate of the University of Sydney (BA Hons in Music, 1967) and the University of York (PhD in composition, 1972), she has shaped Australian musical life through both her writing and her teaching.

Stuart Greenbaum

composer

Stuart Greenbaum’s sound has overt connections to jazz, pop and minimalism, yet is equally grounded in the Western art music tradition, across a large body of orchestral, chamber, choral and stage works.

Richard Meale

composer

Richard Meale (1932–2009) was a leading Australian composer of instrumental works and operas, and an influential teacher. Early scores introduced international avant-garde methods to Australian audiences; later music turned toward a frank lyric tonality.

Rohan Phillips

composer

Rohan Phillips is a composer and conductor living in Bendigo, Central Victoria. He has written for a range of instrumental and vocal forces and his works have been performed nationally by professional and amateur musicians.

Mark Pollard

composer

Australian composer Mark Clement Pollard has an eclectic style that draws on improvisation, jazz, pop, minimalism and the indigenous musics of South-East Asia.