Most principal flutists of great orchestras, with the notable exceptions of James Galway and Emmanuel Pahud, tend to be content in their secure, unionized positions, stepping out occasionally to play a concerto, indulge in a recital here and there, or make a vanity disc. Jeffrey Khaner, who has held the principal chair with the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1990, apparently is hell-bent on making a name for himself as a bona fide soloist. Although there is no indication that he plans to quit his day job, he has begun giving more high-profile recitals and is promoting himself actively on his website, iflute.com. On-line evidence suggests that this album is just the beginning, as he has four other recordings already in the can awaiting release.
This well-recorded and imaginative disc of American flute music tests the limits of flute playing in every way, and Khaner (who sounds uncannily like his teacher, Julius Baker) treats his listener to a primer. He possesses a large, muscular tone that modulates effortlessly to the music at hand. Just listen to the first two movements of the Copland Duo where he extracts remarkable pianissimo but full-bodied sounds, all the while demonstrating masterful control of the deceptively simple melodic line. His technical prowess is at the forefront in the propulsive second movement of Liebermann’s Sonata, a triplet tour-de-force for piano and flute that seems to gain energy insistently through its three-and-a-half minutes. If there is any criticism, it is that his high register at particularly loud moments threatens to lose focus, but there is generally no way to negotiate the flute’s top end other than to blow really hard. It’s a fault endemic to the instrument rather than the performer.
Charming and light-hearted rarities from Eldin Burton and Beryl Rubinstein, both from Georgia, fit nicely as pretty diversions to the weightier, mysterious Piston Sonata. Hugh Sung, a fellow teacher with Khaner at the Curtis Institute of Music, provides elegant, balanced accompaniment in piano parts (especially the Piston) that are terribly difficult in their own right. It is not clear whether Avie, which is marketing this disc among its first issues as a new label, plans to pick up Khaner’s other recordings, but based on the auspiciousness of this debut album, let’s hope the label picks up at least one more for its roster.
