Sonata for flute and piano was written in 1995 for the late Tallon Perkes, first flutist of the San Antonio Symphony. I had the pleasure to work and perform with him in various occasions. This sonata was written and dedicated to him. It is very exciting to finally have a recording that does justice to this virtuosic composition. Singapore based Spanish flutist Robert Alvarez and Ukranian pianist Kseniia Vokhmianina did a superb recording last year. In this challenging Sonata in which the piano is an equal partner with the flute, Roberto and Kseniia both exhibit a superlative musicianship and extraordinary technical mastery. The title of the CD is “The Whirldwind Whithin.”
This is my own review of their recording: “Both performers clearly understood the spirit of the music and were able to bring it out with extraordinary musical confidence and precise technique. They are both perfectly synchronized as an ensemble and demonstrated an amazing flexibility, changing quickly and convincingly among contrasting moods – from strong and energetic moods in the first and 4th movements, to a playful interaction in the Scherzo, and to the poetic, dreamy and mysterious 2nd movement. The ensemble dynamics are also perfectly well balanced, especially in passages where the flute and the piano are in a kind of dialogue, responding to each other. Alvarez plays with perfect intonation, tremendous clarity of articulation and control of dynamics. In the second ‘dreamy ‘movement, Alvarez shows his sensitivity and musicality in the beautiful quality of his tone and well-balanced phrasing. Kseniia is a great partner for Roberto, with absolute technical mastery of the keyboard, rhythmic and dynamic control, and showing an innate musicality. Her playing of the difficult last movement was most impressive, both technically and musically. In the last movement, both show their superlative technical mastery while always staying at the service of music and showing great musical understanding.”
Other works in this recording are also first time recordings and include works by Mike Mower, James Rae, Daniel Sánchez Velasco, José Elizondo, Gonzalo Casielles and Pablo Aguirre. The sonata has four movements and is published by Alphonse Leduc & Cie. The recording of this Sonata will be released on June 3, 2022 during “The Whirlwind Tour” in Europe, with concerts in Madrid, Italy, Mallorca, and Zurich among others.
