With Volume 1 in a series titled “From A to Z”, the formidable young flute virtuoso Sharon Bezaly commences a not-so-strictly alphabetical survey of unaccompanied flute repertoire spanning the baroque era to the present. To appreciate the scope of Bezaly’s full, even tone and nonchalant technical mastery, you might start with Eugène Bozza’s Image, whose dashing scales and interval leaps sound easier to execute than they actually are. Malcolm Arnold’s 1966 Fantasy encompasses the flute’s full range and is jam packed with melodic wit and ravishing harmonic invention. Pastorale d’été by Jurriaan Andriessen, son of Hendrik and older brother of Louis, easily will attract flutists looking for a relatively conventional yet challenging modern work.
Suaveness of tone and ease of delivery define Bezaly’s way with J.S. Bach’s A minor Partita, although I ultimately prefer Jean-Claude Gérard’s more varied articulation, plus phrasing that stresses the music’s dance origins (Hänssler Bach Edition). I also would have enjoyed more rhythmically straightforward outer movements in C.P.E. Bach’s A minor solo sonata. On the other hand, Bezaly shapes Berio’s Sequenza I with darker sustained lines and sharper dynamic contrasts compared to Sophie Cherrier’s tangier traversal (DG). Lastly, Solo III by the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho highlights Bezaly’s superb control of the first movement’s difficult quarter-tone shifts and masterly circular breathing in the work’s perpetual-motion finale. All in all, an auspicious launch for an ambitious project, for which I eagerly await the remaining installments.
