Search - Bach; Briccialdi; Debussy; Di Domenica; Van Brink, Paul Lustig Dunkel (flute); Peter Basquin (piano) :: Paul Lustig Dunkel - Live In Recital

My first flute teacher, Robert di Domenica introduced the Bach Partita to me when I was fourteen years old. I studied it with William Kincaid and Samual Baron. Each had different ideas about it - all correct! ? proving a masterpiece can withstand varying interpretations. It's a piece with unlimited possibilities. For many years I was a member of Speculum Musicae, a contemporary music group. Some concerts would open with the Debussy Cello Sonata brilliantly performed by Fred Sherry. Not that the solo flute repertoire is lacking, but I was so envious. It took me 30 years to finally transcribe the sonata for the flute. I think "Syrinx" would fit the cello nicely. Robert di Domencia is also a fine composer. His flute sonata (dedicated to Harold Bennett, his flute teacher) was one of the first contemporary pieces I learned. It is composed in rigorous twelve-tone technique yet is lyrical and romantic, like the music of the second Viennese school that influenced the composer. I came across Matthew van Brink when I judged a competition of young composers. He sent me Dal Dosai which I believe is one of the best sonatas written for flute and piano in recent years. Matt has been influenced by many types of music, and his eclectic taste is evident in this vibrant and challenging opus. Flutists know Briccialdi for his prodigious etudes and virtuoso showpieces. Ballabile (originally with orchestral accompaniment) is another in that tradition. Peter Basquin and I played this at the Newport Music Festival in 1969. The flute part hasn't gotten any easier. PAUL LUSTIG DUNKEL is currently the music director of the Westchester Philharmonic and Principal Flutist of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. He demonstrated his musical abilities at the age of eight soon after his mother dragged him kicking and screaming to his first piano lesson. Two years later, at the encouragement of his piano teacher, he took up the flute under the tutelage of Robert di Domencia. While at Queens College (CUNY) he continued his flute studies with William Kincaid and Samuel Baron and piano with Anka Bernstein Landau. Following graduation Mr. Dunkel was active in New York City's freelance world while pursuing an advanced degree at Columbia University. He was principal flute of the American Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra and Musica Aeterna as well as a member of Speculum Musicae and the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. He also participated in the Marlboro, Spoleto, Aspen and Stratford music festivals. Mr. Dunkel turned his attention to the podium in the 1980's and has since conducted the American Composers Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke?s, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Denver Chamber Orchestra. He has been the Music Director of the Westchester Philharmonic since 1983 and commissioned Melinda Wagner's Flute Concerto (winner of the Pulitzer Prize) for the orchestra's 50th anniversary in 1998. PETER BASQUIN won the Montreal International Piano Competition and has made regular appearances at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. His principal teachers were William Nelson (Carleton College) and Dora Zaslavsky (Manhattan School of Music). He has been a soloist with the Boston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and the Montreal, Quebec and American Symphony Orchestras. He has performed under Michael Tilson Thomas, Gunther Schuller, Dennis Russell Davies and Paul Dunkel. His performances can be heard on the Argo, CRI, Peters International, Grenadilla and New World labels. Mr. Basquin tours with the Aeolian Chamber Players, and has been a professor of music at Hunter College (CUNY). He is a faculty/artist member of the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival and the pianist of the American Composers Orchestra.