Sunday 12 April 2026
from “20 Easy and Melodic Studies”
This is duet No. 3 from the first volume of Twenty Easy Melodic Progressive Studies by Italian Romantic composer Ernesto Köhler. It is marked con tristezza, which means “with sadness”, and a sense of sadness is indeed conveyed by the use of a minor key.
Saturday 11 April 2026
by Theobald Boehm
Theobald Boehm, the inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute and its improved fingering system, was also a virtuoso flutist as well as a celebrated composer for the instrument. This “Souvenir of the Alps”, written in 1852, is the fifth of a set of six such pieces.
Friday 10 April 2026
Traditional Irish jig
This tune is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Music of Ireland, published in Chicago in 1903. It is a variation on an older tune, “Jackson's Coggie in the Morning”, which had appeared in O'Farrell's Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes around 1805.
Thursday 9 April 2026
from “20 Easy and Melodic Studies”
This étude in D minor is taken from the second book of Twenty Easy Melodic Progressive Studies by Italian composer Ernesto Köhler.
Wednesday 8 April 2026
from French Suite No. 2, transcribed for two flutes
Today's piece is the central air from Johann Sebastian Bach's second French Suite for harpsichord, composed around 1722. Originally in C minor, this movement has been transposed to F minor to better fit the range of the flute.
Many thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this arrangement!
Tuesday 7 April 2026
by Niccolò Paganini, arranged for solo Flute
Originally written for violin and piano, this well-known “Cantabile” in D major seems to have been composed not for public use but rather for the private enjoyment of Paganini and his circle. Here we find the composer's virtuoso fireworks tamed, his bag of tricks closed. Far removed from the pyrotechnic “Caprices”, the Cantabile is instead a gorgeous Italian vocalise.
Thanks to Mauro from Italy for suggesting this piece!
Monday 6 April 2026
Traditional Irish jig
This jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Music of Ireland, published in 1903. O'Neill's source was Chicago fiddler, dancer and police patrolman Timothy Dillon, originally from County Kerry in western Ireland.