Just a day or two before
I listened to this disc, recorded somewhere
in the early 1990s - © 1993 – I
read a MusicWeb
review of a companion disc, written
by flautist Dominy Clements. He hailed
the disc with the bottom line "It’s
the best demo disc I’ve heard for
long time" but still had some harsh
remarks on certain aspects. Since I
am decidedly not a flautist I
probably listen in an different way,
but I know the problem. A pianist friend
of mine with an international career
hardly ever goes to concerts, especially
not piano recitals, because, as he says:
"I am listening to this detail
and that and in the end I leave the
hall exhausted but dissatisfied".
Mr Clements praised Ms Zucker’s technique
- what else can one do? - but wasn’t
quite satisfied with the tone of the
instrument. He wrote: "Zucker has
the microphone fairly close to her nose
by the sound of it, and her brilliant
sound can be close to painful in the
high registers, even at low volume.
This is ‘power flute’ combined with
microphone settings which have taken
no account of the flute’s third octave
forward acoustic peak, so I don’t recommend
headphone listening."
The two discs were
probably not recorded at the same time
and presumably not in the same venue
either. Out of defiance I did exactly
what I shouldn’t – I listened through
headphone and it caused me no trouble.
Nor was the balance between flute and
piano a problem, so it seems that recording
engineer Don Ososke, who is credited
in the booklet, found the right settings
of his sound-desk.
I didn’t find any discs
in my collection with a comparable programme,
the closest being "An American
Recital", recorded in January 1993
by Collins Classics with Jennifer Stinton
and Malcolm Martineau. The pieces they
have in common are those by Copland
and Kennan. Stinton and Martineau, recorded
at St. John’s, Smith Square, are even
more ideally balanced and there is yet
more urgency in Stinton’s playing of
Copland’s Duo. I hope this disc
will make a return to the catalogue,
if it hasn’t already done so. Without
direct comparisons I have no qualms
in recommending Laurel Zucker, and she
probably has the field open to herself
for most of the pieces. Her own three
short pieces for solo flute, written
for dancer Kathleen Quinlan, are agreeable
and explore the instrument’s possibilities.
For contrast she has wisely sprinkled
them in between some more extensive
music. The Copland Duo is
a fine work with an especially memorable
last movement, full of fun, and Wilder’s
Sonata has two beautiful slow
movements. Kent Kennan’s Night Soliloquy
is atmospheric and also exists in versions
for flute and strings, which seems to
have been the original, and for wind
ensemble.
Bloch’s Suite Modale
is mainly inward – this is an old man’s
music. Finally Daniel Kingman composed
Scenario Musical II for Laurel
Zucker in 1992, just about the time
it was recorded. Compositionally it
reminds me of the baroque suite with
an overture, here entitled Sonatine
and some dance movements, but the layout
is quite original: a Petite mazurka
is followed by a Rhapsodie sur la
mazurka, a kind of development of
the preceding movement. Then to begin
with there is a somewhat hesitant Petite
Valse, that features a lovely melody.
Finally as another response there is
a Tarantelle sur la valse. It’s
all very entertaining and allows the
flautist opportunities to show off.
An attractive disc
with some interesting repertoire, well
played by Laurel Zucker and pianist
Marc Shapiro, the latter playing a Bechstein.
It is enjoyable on headphones and speakers
alike – I tried both.
Göran Forsling
Laurel Zucker (flute), Marc Shapiro (piano) 
