Gabriela Lena Frank: Five Andean Improvisations

for flute and piano

Commissioned by The New York Flute Club in commemoration of its centennial — nyfluteclub.org

Movements
I. Quena
II. Ritmo del altiplano
III. Pinkillo
IV. Chuta
V. Sombras

Composer note
Five Andean Improvisations, for flute and piano, are musings inspired by highland Peruvian/Bolivian musical motifs. The first movement, Quena, is written as if for the traditional quena flute that bears a similarity to the Japanese shakuhachi. The second movement, Ritmos del altiplano, when the piano enters for the first time, uses a simple one-two rhythm in the piano part decorated by ornamentation and florid lines. This is followed by the third movement, Pinkillo, inspired by the light silvery small flute of the same name. Chuta follows, a bright rendition of one of the most recognized motifs of the Andes, the chuta motif with its proliferation of repeated notes. The finale, Sombras, is a short tone poem of the islands of Lake Titicaca, where the stars are so bright they cast eerie and brilliant shadows, even at night.

— Gabriela Lena Frank