Flute Watch

Although the number of COVID-19 cases is beginning to slow in China, the pandemic is continuing to affect hundreds more every day in the U.S. The number of affected victims, in fact, is projected to continue growing exponentially and peaking this month. In response to the massive outbreak, music schools have taken the quick initiative to curb potential spread by shutting down their facilities. For instance, the Julliard School of Music closed its school from March 16th to March 29th as the faculty transitions to virtual online courses, and the Curtis School of Music extended its schoolwide spring break to Sunday, March 22nd. The University of North Texas similarly will be transitioning to "online or alternative instructional delivery" by March 23rd. Despite the alarming news, there is reason to hope for the affected music teachers, whose jobs are now partially or fully compromised due to their decreased opportunities for instruction. Modern technology allows music te...

Last Thursday night, Dallas County filed a public health emergency declaration as well as a community gathering order. The order prohibits gatherings of over 500 people, and subsequently, will inhibit Dallas Symphony Concerts to continue for the time being. In response, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra has canceled all concerts from Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 22 and rescheduled Chris Botti's concerts for a future date and time. Any current ticketholder will still be able to enjoy the concerts but on a rescheduled day. In a Facebook post, the Dallas Symphony wrote, "We encourage everyone in our music community and beyond to follow all health recommendations of the CDC, WHO and the City of Dallas concerning COVID-19, and to take great care of themselves to stay healthy and avoid contact with the virus." Photo by form PxHere

On Saturday, January 25th, flutist Marianne Gedigian and pianist Gabriel Sanchez performed a stunning solo program at the Irons Hall for the UTA Flute Festival guest artist recital. The UT Arlington Festival is a relatively new event for flutists in Texas, consisting of workshops, guest masterclasses, competitions, and judged events. The festival traditionally concludes with a new artist recital every year. The first piece on the program was the irresistible Franck Violin Sonata transcribed for the flute, in which Gedigian enchanted the hearts of her audience. Marianne Gedigian has the innate ability to communicate her music directly to the heart. Throughout the sonata, her thick, suede tone carried throughout the hall, caressing the honeyed phrasings of the sonata. Her subtle artistic decisions, such as her pianissimos in the high register, dense low tones, and conscientious rubatos, effused raw emotion, piloting her audience through rapid flashback memories of happiness, tra...

Last January, I had the opportunity to travel to Massachusetts and attend the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Now in its 139th season, the symphony played a program of Chihchun Chi-Sun Lee's world premiere of Formosan Triptych, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3. The world premiere, commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was a strange piece that sailed over the audience's heads without much settling substance to hang on to. Although it was clear that the piece signified a landmark accomplishment for Asian-American composers and represented an important cultural contribution to Taiwanese heritages, the piece was not well received by the audience. For many, the piece simply sounded like the general clattering of everyday pots and pans. The Mozart piano concerto featured international concert pianist Till Fellner, the first prize winner of the renowned Clara Haskil Piano Competition in Vevey, Switzerland. Fellner played with ex...