There are two types of recordings, those made in a studio and those made at a live performance. All of my published recordings to date have been made in recording studios (or in a venue similar to a studio) with carefully-positioned microphones and the opportunity to re-record anything which doesn’t meet certain standards.

Recently a number of my recitals and live broadcasts from bygone years were transferred from analog to digital format for preservation purposes. In listening to these live recordings, I was struck by their immediacy and the feeling of interaction between the performers. There was risk-taking and an abundance of musical inspiration. It came to my mind that perhaps one or more of these could be released commercially.

So, for this release I have chosen a concert I played at Vassar College on September 19, 1985. The hall’s microphone placement just happened to be nearly ideal, giving excellent balance between flute and piano and allowing the sound to expand with a natural bloom. Moreover, pianist Irma Vallecillo and I seemed to be having fun exploring the varied repertoire, none of which we had ever previously performed together. This recording also gives you the opportunity to hear Irma’s extraordinary pianism, the lightness of her touch, her natural musicality and superb musicianship.

For this recording I have changed the order of the original program. What may make a good program order for the concert hall is not necessarily best on a recording. My preference here is to place the pieces in chronological order. (If you are interested in listening to the program in its original order, it was Hummel, Wilson, Rheinberger, Caplet, Milhaud, Enesco and Taffanel.) At the conclusion of this live recording, I have added a special encore, an unreleased studio recording which I made in 1978 of Ernesto Köhler’s "Schwalbenflug" or "Flight of the Swallows". - JOHN SOLUM, DECEMBER 2007