The title is a bit of a stretch, since only Chen Yi’s The Ancient Chinese Beauty (2008) was actually composed for recorder (in this case for Michala Petri herself). Bright Sheng’s Flute Moon (1999) was originally written for Western flute, while Ma Shui-long’s Bamboo Flute Concerto (1984) and Tang Jianping’s Fei Ge (2002) were composed respectively for the bampi and dizi, two different styles of Chinese transverse flutes. That said, the recorder is probably the only instrument with both the Western tuning and woody timbre to bridge the gap, and Petri proves to be a brilliant cultural negotiator in her own right.

Tang, the head of the composition department at China’s Central Conservatory, offers a rousing opener, ostensibly inspired by Miao singing styles but often sounding more like a cross between Copland’s prairie music and Elmer Bernstein’s film scores. Sheng’s Flute Moon marks a clear departure from his earlier works, the unrelenting aggression of H’un (“Lacerations”) now giving way to unapologetic lyricism. Chen, unsurprisingly, reaches a wholly different level, with a range of emotional states and contrasting playing techniques that fit Petri’s instrument and personal playing style with bespoke elegance.

The composers from the People’s Republic stand in stark contrast to Taiwan-born Ma, who was an established composer when his younger mainland colleagues were picking rice in the Cultural Revolution. His Bamboo Flute Concerto (1984) may not have Chen’s emotional breadth or Sheng’s orchestrational brilliance but its pioneering fusion of Chinese sonority and Western form radiates with a thrill of discovery that practically percolates off the page.