BETH CHANDLER

• Cécile Chaminade: Autumn (excerpt)

"Chandler and Steinberg play Amirov’s music with grace and rhythmic alacrity... Chandler and Steinberg play [Exotic Impressions by Sigfrid Karg-Elert] with considerable virtuosity and panache... Chandler and Steinberg play [Kenneth Frazelle’s Blue Ridge Airs II' sensitively and present the listener with a tapestry of musical color... I want to own this recordings."

Maria Nockin, Fanfare [November/December 2019]

"Once in a while, we fall into a time when life is as we feel it should be - untroubled, joyous and fun. So, when I came up “Time Place Spirit,” I experienced what it might be like to be on the planet free of human intervention in a natural circumstance. I thought about eating desserts, ice cream and cake, instead of heavy, complex meals, not worrying about tomorrow while being alone among the flora and fauna. I recalled one of my escapades through the Blue Ridge Mountains, mirrored in a piece composed by Kenneth Frazelle. As it is with all MSR CDs, a listener may consult a booklet to explain each of the pieces on this recording. Knowing what inspired the compositions is helpful especially with regard to the five “Exotic Impressions” composed by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, such as a humming bird. Putting that aside, the listening experience rules."

Joel C. Thompson, Cherry Grove Music Review [August 2019]

"[Frazelle’s Blue Ridge Airs II] flows, then it dances, settles, reflects or prays, builds, and pontificates... The writing is loaded with color and possibility... This entire program is played very well... Chandler and Steinberg give us the measure and the meaning of this music... These are well thought-out interpretations from accomplished professionals... Balances are superb"

American Record Guide [September/October 2019]

This collection of works for flute and piano is especially meaningful to me. First, there is a connection to nature with most of the works (all, depending on how you look at it). To me nature is a place of wonder, solace, refuge, and adventure. Beyond this connection, all of these works are evocative of a particular time or place, all with different spiritual undertones. The first piece on this album, by Fikret Amirov, is a charmingly unique work based on folk melodies from Azerbaijan. The second work, the Chaminade, is a beautiful little gem, a transcription by Trevor Wye of a lyrically dramatic piece originally for piano. The Karg-Elert is a bit better known within the flute canon, but is a rather unusual and colorful work, each movement having a programmatic, nostalgic, or spiritual influence. The cornerstone of the program, Kenneth Frazelle’s Blue Ridge Airs II, is a truly epic work. I first heard Paula Robison perform this piece shortly after its completion. Soon after and coincidentally, I moved to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, within view of the Blue Ridge. I was inspired by the power of Frazelle’s piece and how profoundly it reflects the beauty of the mountains and also of the inherent culture here. It is a special work by a very gifted artist. In addition to Kenneth Frazelle’s compositional talents, he is also an accomplished watercolorist. I am very grateful for his artistic contributions and his graciousness in allowing me to feature his artwork on the cover of this album. [Beth Chandler, February 2019]


Flutist Beth Chandler enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teacher. A frequent guest artist and master class clinician, Chandler has performed and presented at universities and festivals throughout the United States and abroad. As a soloist, she has performed at notable venues, including recitals at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Portuguese Embassy in Brazil. She has won numerous awards and honors, including the top prizes at the Flute Talk Magazine Competition and the Myrna Brown Artist Competition. Chandler has also been a prize-winner or semi-finalist in numerous competitions, including the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York City, and the National Flute Association’s Piccolo Artist, Young Artist, Orchestral Audition, and Masterclass Performers competitions. As a Fulbright Scholar, Chandler studied with Trevor Wye in Kent, England, as one of six students selected internationally. She was also a Mary Louise Remy Endowed P.E.O. Scholar.

She is currently Professor of Flute at James Madison University, where she has taught since 2001. Previously she was on the faculty of the University of Florida. Her current and former students have enjoyed successes in numerous competitions, fellowships, and graduate programs, and hold positions in public and private music education, with arts centers and symphony orchestras nationwide, and in military ensembles and other performance contexts. Recently she was honored with the James Madison University College of Visual and Performing Arts Distinguished Teacher Award. She is a past president of the National Flute Association.

A native Texan, Chandler received a Bachelor of Music from Baylor University, a Master of Music from New England Conservatory, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers include Bradley Garner, Jack Wellbaum (piccolo), Paula Robison, Trevor Wye, and Helen Ann Shanley. [ www.bethchandler.com ]


Paulo Steinberg has performed as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist in Canada, Brazil, Iceland, and throughout the United States, including solo recitals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. A winner of several national competitions in his native Brazil, Steinberg was also the recipient of a scholarship from the Brazilian government while pursuing his master’s degree in piano. Steinberg, whose recent studies and interests are focused on piano technique and Brazilian music, often serves as an adjudicator in national competitions. He also gives master classes, lectures, workshops, and performances in the United States and internationally. In addition to his performing and teaching activities, Steinberg holds an administrative position as president of the Virginia Music Teachers Association. He is also an active recording artist, having recently completed an album of Brazilian music, and another of works for clarinet and piano with Janice Minor. Steinberg holds a bachelor’s degree in piano from Universidade de São Paulo, a master’s degree from Arizona State University, and a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University. He has studied with Brazilian pianists Gilberto Tinetti, Caio Pagano, and Paulo Gori, and Belgian pianist Evelyne Brancart. Steinberg currently teaches applied piano and piano literature for both undergraduate and graduate programs at James Madison University. [ www.paulosteinberg.com ]


INSTRUMENTARIUM

Flute: Brannen 10K rose gold Brögger Mekanik-Acoustic flute with 14K rose gold Lafin headjoint
Piccolo: Keefe grenadilla piccolo

Piano: Hamburg Steinway Model D FIKRET AMIROV (1922-1984)
6 PIECES for Flute and Piano (1976)
I. Bardenweise (Song of the Ashug)
II. Wiegenlied (Lullaby)
III. Tanz (Dance)
IV. In den Bergen Aserbaidschans (In the Mountains of Azerbaijan)
V. An der Quelle (At the Spring)
VI. Nocturne

CÉCILE CHAMINADE (1857-1944) | Arr. TREVOR WYE
AUTUMN for Flute and Piano, Op.35 (1886)

SIGFRID KARG-ELERT (1877-1933)
EXOTIC IMPRESSIONS for Flute and Piano, Op.134 (1918)
I. Idylle champêtre (Rustic Idyll)
II. Danse pittoresque (Picturesque Dance)
III. Colibri (Hummingbird)*
IV. Lotus
V. Evocation à Brahma (Evocation of Brahma)

KENNETH FRAZELLE (b. 1955)
BLUE RIDGE AIRS II for Flute and Piano (2000)



MSR Classics