Al ver mis Horas de Fiebre for Flute and Piano

This is a three-movement work for flute and piano with a duration of around 13 minutes. Commissioned with funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, the piece was premiered by Karin Aurell and Janet Hammock in 2011 and has since been recorded by Frédéric Chatoux, who presents it here in an edition for Billaudot.

The piece is inspired by the poetry of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, a Romantic Spanish poet. Each of the titles of the movements comes from a line of poetry and attempts to capture the spirit and emotion of the three rima which are presented. The music is languid and warm, with clear influences coming from both jazz harmony and Spanish traditions. Kutnowski combines nineteenth century stylistic tropes with more contemporary ideas, helping to connect the modern listener with the historical context of the poems. In all three movements, intensity grows and dissipates to present a range of emotional responses, including at times anguish and longing. The two instruments interact as equal voices, and the melodic lines are often cantabile, requiring good legato control. There are moments of outburst, and moments of technical display, such as the end of the first movement, with its rapidly moving third octave triplets. The opening of the final movement makes me think of Debussy in its accompanimental texture and leaning towards the exotic. The bouncing rhythms here give a stronger sense of energy than in the previous movements, and, once the music allows, potential for a wide range of timbral variation.

This is an interesting piece which is a bit different from the mainstream repertoire and would fit well in a recital programme as an extension of Romantic style. It presents technical and musical challenges for advanced players and is especially wellsuited to university level duos looking for something a little unusual.