If you believe that twentieth-century flute music only found its authentic voice with Boulez – or, later, with Ferneyhough – this disc will be best avoided. So, too, if you hold to the conviction that no flute concerto should ever last more than 15 minutes. But listeners of a more relaxed disposition will find plenty to enjoy.
The oldest, shortest piece is Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea II, from 1981. Despite the allusions to Melville – the second movement is subtitled ‘Moby Dick’ – there are no epic struggles here; but nor does the music merely meander. Takemitsu’s mastery of nuanced understatement does not eliminate all tension from these pieces, and the scoring, for alto flute, harp and strings, inspires textures of great subtlety to match the flexible forms.
The two concertos are more robust, the spirits of Prokofiev and Poulenc not too far away. Yet both are quite individual, and distinctive in style. The Penderecki (1992) manages not to fall back on the portentousness of his grander symphonic and vocal works – the first movement being especially lively and well varied – and the quiet ending to the third is a genuinely imaginative stroke. The Sallinen (1995) has the subtitle Harlekiini, and it’s clear that a portrait of the clown as at times nonchalant, at times melancholy, is intended. It seems rather casually put together, the four movements padded out by moments of routine, yet there’s enough substance to the ideas to keep boredom at bay. The sparkling performances help, too, and the recordings are bright and clear.'