Student Recital Series 2024 – 2025 Season
Sara M. Snell Music Theater Sunday,April 13th at 5 PM
Sabrina Clubine, Flute
Keilor Kastella, piano
Fantaisie for Flute and Piano (1912) Philippe Gaubert (1879 – 1941)
Air (1996)
Toru Takemitsu (1930 – 1996)
Music Box of Light (2009) Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962)
Liz Combs and Renee Rivers, flutes
Color Wheels (2017) Allison Loggins-Hull (b. 1982)
Brief Pause
Nocturne, Op. 19 (1867) Franz Doppler (1821– 1883)
Katie Caragiulo, violin
Dario Longobardi, horn
Andrew Voelker, piano
Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op. 94 (1943)
I. Moderato
II. Scherzo
III. Andante
IV. Allegro con brio
Sergei Prokofiev (1891– 1953)
Clubine is from the studio of Dr. Brian Dunbar
This program is presented to fulfill the senior recital requirement for the Bachelor of Music degree in Performance.
Sabrina
PROGRAM NOTES
Fantaisie for Flute and Piano (1912)
Born in 1879, Philippe Gaubert was a French flutist, composer, and educator. He was a student of fellow flutist and composer, Paul Taffanel. Gaubert composed orchestral works, operas and ballets, but he is most wellregarded for his flute compositions, many of which remain as standards in the repertoire to this day. The piece Fantaisie for Flute and Piano was written for the Paris Conservatory’s examination for flute students attending the school. It is dedicated to flutist Leopold Lafleurance, another student of Taffanel. “Fantaisia” is a musical term used to describe an improvisatory style in a piece of music. This Fantaisie opens with a virtuosic, cadenza-like section, labeled Moderato Quasi-Fantasia. This is contrasted by the second section, the Vif, which is in a lively 3/8 time signature. In both movements, there is a great range of contrast and variation, and there are many improvisatory sounding moments throughout.
Color Wheels (2017)
Color Wheels (2017) was entirely inspired by my children at play. One afternoon we were all in the living room and as is typical, crayons were sprawled across the coffee table. My children began to draw and they developed a game out of creating these colorful circles. Looking for ways to simultaneously create music and engage with my kids, I thought it would be fun to assign each color wheel a cell of music. We created a pattern for the color wheels and from that, a piece of music was outlined. With the children’s direction to add vibrant drumming, I fleshed out the electronic accompaniment and sculpted Color Wheels, a piece inspired by kaleidoscopic imagery and energy.
Program note byAllison Loggins-Hull
Music Box of Light (2009)
Jennifer Higdon is one ofAmerica’s most frequently performed living composers. She began learning the flute at age fifteen and began composing shortly after, eventually earning multiple Grammy awards and a Pulitzer Prize. Higdon composes contemporary Classical works across many genres, including orchestral, chamber, solo and even vocal and choral works.
Music Box of Light is one of many chamber pieces involving the flute written by Jennifer Higdon. This work is a short, dreamy piece that particularly highlights the capability of three flutists to blend their sounds. Since three flutes are rarely playing in unison, the moments when they are together are dramatic and meaningful. Dissonant harmonies and staggered rhythmic figures are used to achieve a pensive and yet peaceful listening experience.
Air (1996)
Premiered in Japan on January 28th, 1996 by flutist, Hiroshi Koizumi, Air was written in honor of French flutist Aurele Nicolet on his seventieth birthday. Many elements of nature are infused into the musical language of Air. One such element is the Japanese concept of Ma or space/silence. This musical element can be seen and heard as perceptual silence or stillness with great intensity. Often you will hear this effect carrying as much purpose and intent as the notes that surround the silence. Another natural element present in the musical tapestry of Air is use of pitch variation. Often Takemitsu uses extended techniques such as flutter-tongue and quartertone trills to destabilize a fundamental pitch. Just as wind alters the position of leaves, soil, and flowers, the player’s exhalation of breath alters the pitch center created on the flute.
Program note by Erika Boysen
Nocturne, Op. 19 (1867)
Franz Doppler was a leading composer and virtuoso flutist during the Romantic era. Born in Lemberg, Poland, Doppler came from a musical family and gained fame from performing with his brother, Karl Doppler, who was also a flutist. During this time, Franz Doppler was well-known for his operas and ballets, but today he is most remembered for his works for flute. The title of this work, Nocturne, is a musical term to describe a dreamy piece of music, representative of the nighttime. The arrangement of this piece showcases the different timbres of all four instruments. While horn, flute and violin may be a less common trio, this piece allows their different colors to blend or contrast whenever necessary. Throughout the music, the influence of Russian and Hungarian styles can be heard, as those genres highly influenced Doppler’s compositions.
Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op. 94 (1943)
As one of the major composers of the 20th century, Russian composer and pianist Sergei Prokofiev wrote works across many genres. His compositions were highly influenced by the war conditions and political climate that he lived through. During this time, neo-classicalism rose to popularity and Prokofiev composed many works in that style, like his Sonata for Flute and Piano.
This piece is Prokofiev’s only flute sonata, premiered in 1943 by Nikolai Charkovsky.After the original premiere of the piece, violinist David Oistrakh convinced Prokofiev to transcribe it for violin. Since then, it has become a staple piece in the repertoire for both flutists and violinists. The sonata follows a traditional sonataallegro form. While it follows a classical style in structure, the music proves to be more expansive in color and thematic material. Prokofiev’s compositions, including this flute sonata, have a habit of testing the agility and stylistic capabilities of a flutist, with the use of the flute’s highest register and many technical demands. Throughout the sonata, there is a multitude of contrasting moments. Prokofiev pairs a pastoral melodic theme to a militaristic rhythmic passage just in the first movement. There is contrast in range, as this sonata crosses between the lowest and highest parts if the flutes range Each movement portrays a different mood, so the flutist must show great contrast movement to movement. This work is a full showcase of the many characters and colors capable on the flute and a reflection of the political climate in which the piece was composed.
