VIRGINIA BROFFITT KUNZER

"to know Narrative is to love it, as its depth, musically and conceptually, rewards repeat listenings."

David McGee, Deep Roots [January 2024]

"Kunzer and Walker revel [Fanmi Imèn's] multiple references, in its sheer joy of global reach.... The name of Amy Beach is certainly familiar, but what makes this different is that three songs...are heard in an arrangement by the performers for flute and piano. These three vocalises are performed with a lovely sense of ease and contentedness... Duetting between flute and piano melody is a continual joy here, and while Broffitt Kunzer alternately sails above or whispers in our ears, Walker provides great illumination for the piano part, never once blurring the musical argument... Kunzer and Walker capture [the Boulanger piece's] core emotion of hope and expectancy to perfection...
[in the Shulamit Ran piece] extended techniques are used, but subtly, never for the sake of it, and the fact they work so well is of course a testament to Broffitt Kunzer’s expertise. This is fragrant, evocative music, expertly crafted...
This is a lovely disc, intriguingly programmed and providing a valuable broad overview of music for flute by women composers from the Romantic period to the present day."

Colin Clarke, Fanfare [March/April 2024]

"The performances by flutist Virginia Broffitt Kunzer and pianist Tammie Walker are admirable in every respect. The artists play with keen precision, attractive tone, and a convincing grasp of the wide range of idioms encompassed in this recital. The recording...is excellent. This is an admirable recital; recommended."

Ken Meltzer, Fanfare [March/April 2024]

"[Kunzer and Walker] themselves arranged two of the works here: Three Browning Songs by Amy Beach and Sechs Lieder ohne Worte by Delphine von Schauroth. Both the pieces are collections of small parts, and in both cases the arrangements are handled with pleasant professionalism and a good sense of balance between the wind instrument and the percussive one. Beach’s work was written for high voice, and its vocal line translates almost directly to the flute – listeners who know Robert Browning’s poems will be able to hear their cadences clearly in the flute part... Both Beach’s piece and von Schauroth’s are firmly rooted in Romantic sensibilities, and both offer lyrical expressiveness compressed within a series of small packages: the individual movements stand on their own while also coming across effectively as parts of a larger whole... All the performances are enthusiastic and nicely balanced, and although the differing styles of the music make hearing the disc straight through occasionally jarring, no discomfort of any kind is evident in the playing: it is always assured, rhythmically aware and emotionally sensitive... [listeners] can pay attention to the music’s communicativeness and the effectiveness of the presentation."

Mark J. Estren, InfoDad [September 2023]

NARRATIVE | Art by women tells their stories. From famous figures of the past whose acclaim has since faded to creators who have recently emerged, the composers heard on this recording have created works that speak of their experiences, both real   and imagined. Their music inspires imagery: of the beauties of the natural world, of calling birds and rustling forests, of the brightness of a springtime morning and the dreaminess of night. Their songs, with or without words, express the poetry of their emotions. Women composers, not always heard, here tell their own histories of ancestors past and the places where they and their  kind have traveled. From our hearing their musical voices, women’s pasts—and their future—are assured.
 

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Virginia Broffitt Kunzer has established a successful and diverse career as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician and teacher. She has performed and taught throughout the United States, Asia and  Europe, has been a concerto soloist with numerous ensembles. Kunzer is also the Flute Mentor at the Hot Springs Music Festival, Principal Flute in the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and Flutist in the Pangaea Chamber Players in the Elicio Winds. Previously, she served as faculty at Western Illinois University and Oklahoma State University. Kunzer maintains an active presence in the National Flute Association through performances and service, performing regularly at conventions. She previously served as a Board Member and a Coordinator of the Young Artist  Competition, of which she herself is a winner. As a recording artist, she released an album with the Pangaea Chamber Players  [Navona]. Kunzer has several published flute and piano arrangements through Alry Publications. A native of Iowa City, Iowa, she received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Kunzer is a Miyazawa Performing Artist, and is currently the Associate Professor of Flute at Auburn University. [ www.virginiabroffitt.com ]

Tammie Walker is an experienced solo and collaborative pianist, educator, administrator,  and national advocate for the arts. As a pianist, she has given hundreds of concerts throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, Western Europe, Myanmar and South Korea, and is an active clinician, lecture-recitalist, and master class teacher. As an adjudicator, she has served on many regional, national, and international juries in the United States and South Korea. As an author, she has published articles in The Piano (Korea), International Piano, American Music Teacher and the Music Educators Journal. As an arts advocate, she has held a variety of leadership roles in national music organizations. As an editor and arranger, she has published works with Progress Press, TrevCo Music and ALRY Publications. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Dr. Walker is the former Director of the School of Music and Professor of Piano at Western Illinois University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she studied with Ian Hobson. Walker is currently Director of the School of Music and Professor of Piano at the University of Iowa. VALERIE COLEMAN
FANMI IMÈN
 
AMY BEACH (arr. Broffitt Kunzer / Walker)
THREE BROWNING SONGS
I. The year’s at the spring
II. Ah, Love, but a day!
III. I send my heart up to thee
 
LILI BOULANGER
D’UN MATIN DE PRINTEMPS
 
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA
ALLEGRO RUSTICO
SOUNDS OF THE FOREST
 
DELPHINE VON SCHAUROTH (arr. Broffitt Kunzer / Walker)
SECHS LIEDER OHNE WORTE
I. Mässig und gefühlvoll
II. Bewegt und sehr gebunden
III. Innig und seelenvoll
IV. Rasch und feurig
V. Venezia. Moderato
VI. Am Arno. Wiegend, sehr weich
 
SHULAMIT RAN
BIRDS OF PARADISE
I. Sparkling, energetic
II. With mystery and awe, slow and flexible
III. Brilliant, articulate, propulsive



MSR Classics