SACDs - Martin, F

Reinecke's work is a musical re-telling of the well-known story of Undine, the water spirit who marries a knight, but is betrayed and takes her revenge on him. Frank Martin's virtuosic Ballade (1939) features an acrobatic flute cadenza, roaming melismas and irrepressible cascades, generating a compelling sense of drama. In 1945, while in exile during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Martinu composed his Flute Sonata, in which the virtues of his distinct musical language are plain to hear - lyrical lines, a rhythmic drive which is both energetic and lively and an effective use of tone colour. Six years later the bird-lover Messiaen composed Le merle noir, constructed around the song of the blackbird, which he painstakingly noted down and then found the means to imitate on the flute. Poulenc's melodic Sonata, finally, has become a signature work for its composer: its lightness, transparency and sonic refinement have charmed audiences ever since the first performance.

This SACD presents main works of the repertoire for flute and piano from the 20th century. Regarding the history of the flute, this period is of particular interest since the flute underwent a remarkable revival as a solo instrument during this time.

The sonatas by Henri Dutilleux and Francis Poulenc represent the impulse for this development, which originated in France. In his series of sonatas for every melodic instrument, accompanied by piano, Paul Hindemith began with the flute. Frank Martin, the mediator between the German and French traditions, created a colourfully eloquent variant of the sonata form with his 'Ballad'. The sonata written by the American composer Robert Muczynski became the most famous example of his classicist, brilliant style.

Anne-Cathérine Heinzmann is one of the most renowned German flautists of her generation. She regularly performs as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician in Germany and across the globe. She is co-principal flute of the Opern- und Museumsorchester Frankfurt am Main; in addition, since October 2009 she has been Professor of Music at the Hochschule für Musik in Nuremberg.

Young flautist Katherine Bryan is rapidly establishing her place as one of Britain’s bright musical stars of the future.

For her second recording on Linn, the in-demand concerto soloist performs a selection of 20th century concertos plus Debussy’s Syrinx and Frank Martin’s Ballade.

The Flute Concerto by American composer Christopher Rouse is among his most successful and widely performed works since its debut in 1994. Rouse’s concerto calls for astonishing pyrotechnics for both the flute and the orchestra; Katherine is able to showcase the sheer quality of her technique and her playing.

French composer Jacques Ibert’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra is one of the best-loved and most frequently performed concertos in the flute repertoire. Full of humour, virtuosity and intense technical challenges for the soloist, it is characteristic of Ibert’s eclectic, versatile compositional style.

Despite being only a little over three minutes long, Debussy’s Syrinx has achieved iconic status and is regarded as an essential piece in any serious flautist’s repertoire.

Martin’s Ballade features wide harmonic leaps and tests the full range of the instrument, not least with a memorable section for the low register which sees Katherine relish the challenge.

Katherine Bryan is a rising star having appearing as concerto soloist with leading orchestras worldwide, as well as being principal flautist with the RSNO.

Katherine has appeared at major international festivals as both concerto soloist and recitalist. She has given live broadcasts on Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 and BBC television.

Katherine was a prize-winner at the Royal Overseas League Music Competition in London, the Young Concert Artists International Competition in New York and was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year for three consecutive competitions. She was also awarded the Julius Isserlis Scholarship by the Royal Philharmonic Society.

This recording adds Frank Martin’s works for full orchestra to the multifaceted catalogue of his works. The sonorous baritone voice of Thomas Oliemans is a further discovery.

“Widely regarded as one of the world’s finest small professional choirs” (musicweb- international.com), “one of the best professional choruses on the international scene” (klassik-heute.com), “moments, which in their musical culture make the ensemble truly unique” (Münchner Merkur) – these comments and similar ones show that the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks is a leading figure in the world of choral music.

Frank Martin was on the program of Peter Dijkstra’s inaugural concert in October of 2005, when he – an authentic shooting star on the choral scene – assumed the direction of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks at the sensationally young age of 0nly 26. The same composer is now also featured at the beginning of a-cappella production for the BR-KLASSIK label, on which the chorus presents itself under its director Peter Dijkstra. Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Chorus, which was not given its world première until 40 years after it was composed, has nevertheless ranked since then as one of the Swiss composer’s major works. Zoltán Kodály’s Missa brevis is directly marked by powerless despair over the horrors of World War II. Francis Poulenc’s Litanies à la Vierge Noire was prompted by a far more personal motivation. He composed the work on the death of his composer friend Pierre-Octave Ferroud in 1936, a short time after Poulenc had found his own way to religion on a pilgrimage.