Piccolo Tunes

Brilliant solo lines in orchestral works by Tchaikovsky, Bartók, Mahler and Shostakovich have ensured that the piccolo is being appreciated more and more by the concert-going public, although actual recitals with this ‘small flute’ are still rare. Composers still unfortunately believe that the piccolo is merely capable of a shrill birdlike twittering. Whilst the works recorded here are extremely different in style, they all nevertheless demonstrate the piccolo’s ability to encompass many timbres and moods, passing from tenderness to aggressive confrontation. The three short pieces by the French composers Francis Poulenc, Georges Auric and Darius Milhaud (all members of the Groupe des Six) were originally written for pipeau and piano. This CD contains also short pieces by Mike Mower and Raymond Guiot. His ‘Onnivato’ is a palindrome of ottavino, the Italian term for piccolo. Also we hear works of Gary Schocker , Jan Huylebroeck, and Marc Matthys. In his Echoes he returns to several compositional techniques from the past in combination with contemporary repetitive and minimalist principles.