amplify
Amplify is a concert series with a focus on BIPOC and out LGBTQ+ composers. Concerts happen multiple times a year, streamed from my living room on my YouTube channel, and each concert features a different composer.
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Concert No. 1: Brian Raphael Nabors
Theme and Variations for alto flute Énergie for flute and electronics |
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Alexander Rosenblatt (arr. Hagen/Corbin) -- Carmen Fantasy (2009)
With Ben Corbin, Piano Live at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series Chicago Cultural Center -- November 2019 Alexander Rosenblatt's jazzy, 21st-century take on Carmen offers a vibrant, fresh approach to Bizet's famous melodies. |
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Kaija Saariaho -- Terrestre (2002)
With The University of Texas New Music Ensemble Dan Welcher, Conductor Live at The University of Texas at Austin -- May 2014 Commissioned in honor of the composer's 50th birthday, Terrestre is based on the second movement of the composer's flute concerto Aile du Songe, of which she says, "The first section of Terrestre, 'Oiseau dansant', introduces a deep contrast with the other material of the concerto. It refers to an Aboriginal tale in which a virtuosic dancing bird teaches a whole village how to dance. The second section ['L'Oiseau, un satellite infime'] is a synthesis of all the previous aspects, then the sound of the Flute slowly fades away..." |
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Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944) -- Concertino for Flute and Orchestra, Op. 107
With The University of Texas University Orchestra James Welsch, Conductor Live at The University of Texas at Austin -- May 2014 A staple of the repertoire, Chaminade composed her Concertino in 1902 for the annual concours at the Paris Conservatory. More commonly heard in its arrangement for flute and piano, the full orchestral version highlights the tremendous drama and variety present in the work. |
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Ian Clarke -- Zoom Tube (1999)
Live at the 92nd Street Y -- April 2008 According to Ian's website, "Zoom Tube is a rhythmic blues influenced piece employing a raft of extended techniques to achieve its aims. A stunning addition to the flute repertoire!" The audience in this video was certainly stunned! I gave this performance in Spring 2006 at the 92nd Street Y in New York. One might even call this the "Hagen edition," as the foot stomping is not written in the score. Alan Ridout (1934-1996) -- Ferdinand the Bull
With the Salastina Music Society Seth Rogen, Narrator Live at The Colburn School -- June 2010 This excellent arrangement by violinist Maia Jasper adds flute to play the role of the famously friendly (and misunderstood) bull Ferdinand in Alan Ridout's classic musical version of the beloved children's tale. Add narration by Seth Rogen (yes, that Seth Rogen), and you have a delight for listeners of all ages. |
Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937) -- Sonata for Flute and Piano (II. Allegretto tranquillo)
Live at the University of South Alabama -- February 2015 Sadly neglected by violinists, Pierné's beautiful Sonata for Violin and Piano has found a home in the flute repertoire, thanks to his own transcription for flute and piano. The second movement, heard here, beautifully reveals the composer's romantic aesthetic, complete with Mahler-like harmonies and voicing (somewhat surprising for a Frenchman). Aaron Price -- Excerpt from Vermillion Sandstone (2012)
Live at Colby College -- July 2012 As a student at the 2012 Atlantic Music Festival, Aaron composed this beautiful work for the Contemporary Music Ensemble, taking full advantage of the beautiful colors available to him from the Pierrot instrumentation. It was a privilege to play the premiere! |
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André Jolivet (1904-1974) -- Suite en Concert
With the UW Western Percussion Ensemble; Tony DiSanza, Conductor Live at the University of Wisconsin-Madison -- April 2018 Subtitled "Second Concerto for Flute," Jolivet's Suite en Concert for flute and percussion is a virtuosic workout for all involved. It is written in his later, more modernistic style, as opposed to earlier works like his popular Chant de Linos for flute and piano. |
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Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) -- Nocturne and D'un matin du printemps
With Thomas Kasdorf, Piano Live at the University of Wisconsin-Madison -- March 2018 The younger sister of famed composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, Lili was a formidable talent in her own right, a talent cut short by complications from Crohn's disease at the age of 24. Her music is beautifully lyrical and harmonically interesting, betraying the French heritage handed down by composers such as Debussy, Ravel, and Faure (her teacher). Her tremendous skill made Lili the first female winner of the Prix de Rome. The two works heard here thankfully exist for "violin or flute" and are worthy additions to our repertoire. |
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Houtaf Khoury (b. 1967) -- Rhapsody for flute and piano (1999)
With Thomas Kasdorf, Piano Live at the University of Wisconsin-Madison -- March 2018 Wissam Boustany is one of my musical heroes. He is a multi-hyphenate: Lebanese-British, Flutist-Composer, Artist-Activist-Human. Through his work, I became familiar with the dazzling music of Houtaf Khoury. About his dramatic Rhapsody for flute and piano, Khoury writes: "My Rhapsody for flute and piano was composed during my study in Ukraine. It was written by the initiative of the Lebanese flutist Nabil Mroue, who wanted to present a Lebanese work in his final program. The Rhapsody was based on folk intonations and Melody." The piece is unlike anything else in my repertoire. I am happy to have performed it, and I look forward to playing it often in the future, alongside Khoury's other works. |
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Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) -- Sonata for Flute and Piano
I. Allegro moderato II. Adagio III. Allegro poco moderato With Thomas Kasdorf, Piano Live at the University of Wisconsin-Madison -- March 2018 Martinu's Sonata for Flute and Piano is one of the staples of our repertoire and one of my favorite works to perform. When it was written, the composer was spending his summer on Cape Cod. He had come to the US as an immigrant, fleeing his Czech homeland that had been torn apart by World War II. When he arrived on our shores, he knew no English. However, thankfully, he and his music were welcomed in the music capitals of New York and Boston, embraced by no less a figure than Serge Koussevitsky, enabling him to teach no less a figure than Burt Bacharach. While the central movement is at turns reflective and angsty, the outer movements of the sonata are filled with palpable joy. Perhaps most enchanting is the final movement, which features the call of the whippoorwill, a bird native to Cape Cod. Legend has it that Martinu was nursing an ill baby whippoorwill back to health while he was writing the piece. |
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Eli Fieldsteel -- Fractus III: Aerophoneme (2011)
Live at The University of Texas at Austin -- April 2013 In Eli's own words: "Fractus III: Aerophoneme, written in close collaboration with flautist Kenzie Slottow, is third in the Fractus series. The piece gradually builds to a breaking point, reinforced by the transition from stereo to quadraphonic sound. This composition has enjoyed numerous performances and is something of a breakthrough piece...." |
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Michael Mikulka -- Flute Concerto (2013) With the University of Texas New Music Ensemble Ben Stonaker, Conductor Live at The University of Texas at Austin -- April 2013 In late 2011, I commissioned my talented colleague Michael Mikulka to write a sonata for flute and piano, which I premiered with pianist Ben Corbin a few months before premiering the concerto version heard here. The work is full of energy and quirk and is rewarding for performers and audiences alike. |
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Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) -- Toward the Sea for alto flute and guitar
With Chad Ibison, Guitar Live at The University of Texas at Austin -- April 2013 Takemitsu's beautiful work, Toward the Sea, was inspired by his fascination with water and his admiration of Herman Melville's great novel, Moby Dick. He encodes his love for both as a motive, SEA (respelled Eb-E-A), used throughout the work's three movements: I. The Night, II. Moby Dick, III. Cape Cod. |
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Pierre Danican Philidor (1681-1731) -- Cinquième Suitte for flute and continuo
With Ben Corbin, Harpsichord, and Alex Amsel, Bassoon Live at The University of Texas at Austin -- March 2013 Pierre Danican Philidor came from a long line of fine musicians who served the royal court of France, and this "suitte" is an example of his expert musical craftsmanship. In addition to its dramatic prelude, the work contains beautiful examples of the typical succession of Baroque dances: allemande, a fast dance with running passagework; sarabande, a slow, mournful dance typified by accents on second beats; and gigue, a lively dance in compound meter that was a favorite finale of eighteenth century composers. |
