Joachim Andersen has become one of the legendary
names in the world of the flute, along with the likes of Marcel
Moyse, Paul Taffanel and Philippe Gaubert. His compositional
output for the flute includes salon pieces, academic exercises,
opera transcriptions and fantasy pieces. His studies range
from moderately easy to extremely technically challenging.
Andersen’s performing career included several years as a founding
member and principal flute in the Berlin Philharmonic, where
he worked with Brahms, Strauss, Grieg, von Bülow and Tchaikovsky.
He often performed as soloist with the orchestra. He later
returned to Copenhagen where he worked to develop concert life.
The
complete flute and piano works are recorded here as part
of a series of seven discs by Thomas Jensen and Frode Stengard
(see
review of Volume 7). This is a project created
by the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark, where Jensen
and
Stengaard
are associate
professors.
In
the current musical climate, salon pieces have possibly lost
some relevance. They are rarely performed in the way that
they were intended. The days of the family crowding around
the piano for a musical evening seem to be long gone and
are far removed from our culture of television and celebrity.
Some of Andersen’s works still make it onto the concert platform,
although this particular disc does not contain many of his
most well-known works.
This
disc does, however, include the opera transcription of Mozart’s
Magic
Flute. It is an enjoyable re-working of some of the main
themes from the opera which uses the flute’s singing tone
at its best. Also here is the transcription from the less
well known French comic opera,
La Dame Blanche by
Boieldieu, which was extremely popular in the nineteenth
century.
There
are often complex displays of technique in Andersen’s music,
as demonstrated here in the final movement,
Schmetterling (butterfly)
of the
Drei Salonstücke. These short pieces are charming
and display style and character, as well as giving some indication
of Andersen’s abilities as a performer. The
Idylle of
the
Vier Salonstücke [track 8] shows Andersen’s love
of beautiful melodies, and this is a true gem in the repertoire.
The contrasting
Jagdstück (Hunting piece) characterizes
fast-moving horses and the sound of hunting horns.
The
Fantaisies
Nationales are a set of six works which are formed
around folk-tunes from their chosen country. This disc
includes the Danish and Russian Fantasies; the others feature
Scotland, Sweden, Italy and Hungary.
The
playing on this recording is of a consistently high standard
and Jensen’s singing tone and flawless technique is a fitting
tribute to Andersen’s music. Stengaard accompanies sympathetically
and the duo combines to give an excellent overall product.
Carla Rees
Thomas Jensen
(flute), Frode Stengaard (piano) 
