PURCHASE ALBUM

Nouvelle Vie:

a rediscovery of French flute music

 

There is a treasure trove of music for the flute by French composers in the 19th and 20th Century. Many of those works exist in the ‘favorite’ category for flutists; Faure, Hüe, Taffanel. Some of these works are included on this album. However, there are many additional works for flute and piano by familiar and unfamiliar composers that were created for either the Paris Conservatory of Music concour (final exam pieces) or as small concert pieces. These pieces are often shorter but still engaging and charming. While not often heard in concert or on recording, it is the artist’s goal to offer these delightful works new life for listeners and performers alike.

 

– Michelle Batty Stanley

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHIES

 

Michelle Batty Stanley is Associate Professor of Music at Colorado State University where she teaches flute and chamber music. Michelle is a regular performer in solo, chamber and orchestral settings. From early music to new music, Michelle is a passionate performer and strong advocate of the musical arts. She is a regular international artist and has enjoyed giving masterclasses from China to the U.S.. She has performed throughout the U.S. and in Japan, China, France, England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary and Russia. She is on the faculty of the Interharmony Musik Festival in Italy and the Cape Cod Flute Institute in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

 

Michelle is a regular performer in the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and is principal flute for the Pro Musica chamber orchestra and the Colorado Bach Ensemble. She was the second flutist/piccolo player with the Colorado Ballet Orchestra from 2008-2013. She has presented and performed for the National Flute Convention (2017 in Minneapolis, 2016 in San Diego, 2012 in Las Vegas, 1999 in Atlanta), College Music Society Regional and National Conferences, Colorado Music Educators Association conference (2010, 2013), and Music Teachers National Association State and National conferences. She has performed at the Berkeley Early Music Festival, and spent 5 seasons as the second flutist with the Colorado Music Festival orchestra.

 

She is a founding member and performer with the Sonora Chamber Duo that regularly performs and commissions chamber music for flute and cello. She has commissioned and premiered over 20 works from composers throughout the United States. Her first CD of newly commissioned chamber music was released by Centaur Records in 2006.

 

Michelle received a M.M and D.M.A in flute performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder and received a B.A. in Music from the University of New Hampshire. She also attended Trinity College of Music in London where she studied with Anne Cherry.  www.michellestanleyflutist.com

 

Pianist Margaret McDonald, a native of Minnesota, is an Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano at the University of Colorado Boulder. She joined the College of Music keyboard faculty in the fall of 2004. She helped to develop the College’s graduate degree program in Collaborative Piano and the undergraduate collaborative curriculum. Praised for her poetic style and versatility, McDonald enjoys a very active performing career and has partnered many distinguished artists including the Takács Quartet, Kathleen Winkler, Zuill Bailey, Paula Robison, Carol Wincenc, Ben Kamins, David Shifrin, William VerMeulen, David Jolley, Ian Bousfield, Steven Mead, and Velvet Brown.

 

McDonald received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Minnesota and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of California – Santa Barbara. Her principal teachers include Lydia Artymiw and Anne Epperson. She received fellowships to study at both the Music Academy of the West and the Tanglewood Music Center where she worked closely with Dawn Upshaw and Osvaldo Golijov.

 

Margaret McDonald has been a staff accompanist at the Meadowmount School for Strings in New York and an official accompanist at the Music Teachers National Association competition and the National Flute Association annual convention. McDonald spends her summers as a member of the collaborative piano faculty at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California.

 

René DE Boisdeffre (1838-1906) found inspiration in Paris as a young student from the music of Gounod and Saint-Saëns.  His award winning chamber works included pieces for flute, and the Canzonetta shows a great example of his charming compositions.

 

émile Bernard (1843-1902) Bernard was primarily an organist and organ composer. This work was dedicated to Paul Taffanel in 1885 and was written for either flute solo with orchestra or piano.

 

émile Pessard (1843-1917) was a student at the Paris Conservatory and won first prize in Harmony in 1862. Though he was more known for his popular songs and comic operas, he composed solo works such as the Troisième Pièce when he was the Professor of Harmony at the Conservatory.

 

Phillipe Gaubert (1879-1941) Arguably one of the most recognized names in French flute literature, Gaubert creates magical compositions for flute that show his creative ideas for the instrument. A student of Paul Taffanel at the Paris Conservatory, he won first prize in flute in 1894. He became Professor of Flute at the Conservatory in 1919. His chamber music and solo repertoire for flute are great influence on flutists.

 

Alphonse Catherine (1868-1927) was a student at the Paris Conservatory in piano, harmony and composition and later staff accompanist for the opera classes. This led him to a long career with opera houses throughout Paris.

 

Victor-Alphonse Duvernoy (1842-1907) was a student prodigy at the Paris Conservatory, winning first prize in piano at the age of 13. After becoming a Professor of Piano at the same school, he developed his compositional voice through chamber music and solo works such as the Deux Morceaux.

 

Joseph-Henri Altes (1826-1895)  Known for his extensive collection of studies, methods and etudes for the flute, Altès was the flutist of the Paris Opera and Flute Professor at the Paris Conservatory from 1868-1894. Among his compositions were ten solos used as test pieces for the Paris Conservatory.