As a soloist, one of my priorities is to prove that the flute can be a wonderful solo instrument. It is much more commonplace to see a string player or pianist at the front of a concert platform, whilst flutes are more often viewed simply as a 'pretty' orchestral instruments, offering shimmering solos and singing high notes. However, I feel that the modern flute has the capacity to do so much more than that. It can transport its listeners through many emotions, evoking many sound colours and characters, and is capable of speaking above an orchestra.

My new album 'Silver Bow' offers a new perspective on familiar compositions. It was an opportunity for me to show just what the flute can do, and I felt that choosing familiar music allows people to hear what the instrument can bring to these compositions. 

The repertoire for solo flute is relatively small when compared to the vast number of compositions written through the centuries for the violin. The violin has always been a strong solo instrument. While members of the Stradivarius family were making violins which are worth millions of pounds in today's market, the flute of the day was an instrument struggling with tuning and limited in the keys and the range in which it could play. Mozart's comment 'the only thing worse than a flute is two flutes' reflects composers’ feelings towards the flute at that time! It was not until the early 19th century that Boehm’s developments put the instrument on the path to today's reliable, versatile instrument and more composers became attracted to composing for it.

So to the repertoire that I chose: naturally, there were pieces that I felt would work better than others. I never want the flute to sound forced or unnatural, so certain violin pieces (perhaps because of their predominant range or character) just wouldn't have been successful. Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending, however, a piece I have known and loved for years, always cried out to me as a possible flute transcription. The flute is often associated with a bird - in both Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals the birds are portrayed on the flute. Whilst the Lark is, of course, a full concerto, I believe that the flute brings amazing colours, atmosphere and lyricism to this piece and can transport the listener to a new sound world. In contrast to this and some of the other slower works on the album, I also wanted to show the more virtuoso pieces that the flute can demonstrate violin pyrotechnics as well, with just as much excitement and dexterity... Possibly even more!

Of course, there are certainly difficulties in playing music for violin. The physical need to breathe is necessary for a flute player, so often in a long phrase which a violinist can play without issue, I would need to find a suitable breathing point. Rather than seeing this as a negative though, I think a breath can actually add a natural, human quality to a phrase; something honest and a chance to add character with the breath itself. Compared to any instrument, the flute in my mind is most similar to the human singing voice, so I often think about breathing in a way that an opera singer would.

Also, certain violin techniques are rather more tricky on the flute. The main one, which appears frequently in the selection of pieces I chose, is pizzicato. To reflect a string pizzicato I use a technique called 'pop tonguing'. This involves 'popping' the tongue off the top lip across the blowing hole of the flute. It creates quite an explosive but effective sound, which I feel is a fun and comparable alternative to the plucking of a string.

I feel that primarily I am a musician rather than a flautist and, most importantly, I see my instrument simply as a vehicle through which to interpret music. I recognise that every instrument has different characteristics, and will inevitably reveal different facets of a piece. It is for these reasons that I made this recording, hoping it will present a fresh view on some much loved works.

Katherine Bryan’s 'Silver Bow' is available now and can be purchased both online and in major retailers.