Alone, Together: A Monologue for Solo Flute

A new solo flute piece has landed on our music stands! (Or in my case, iPad!) What a joy to have this penned by one of our most important living American composers. Samuel Adler has written a very thoughtful, idiomatic and poignant new work, in the form of a monologue for solo flute. Samuel Adler was born to a Jewish family in Mannheim, Germany and his family fled to the United States in 1939. He studied with Water Piston, Aaron Copland and Paul Hindemith, all who have written major flute works which he is known to adore. He has taught composition at both Eastman School of Music and the Julliard School. This piece was written for American flautist, Mimi Stillman. It was composed during lockdown and was premiered online with the composer being there virtually, hence the title, Alone, Together. In an online interview with Ms Stillman, Adler expressed that he composes his flute music away from the keyboard imagining the sound of the flute. His older daughter played the flute, before she went to university, so this was never difficult! Adler thoughtfully expressed, "The flute has qualities from the lowest C to the top that are very special". Alone, Together lasts approximately 4 and a half minutes and is around grade 7 standard. It is well suited to the instrument, using small fragments that sound improvisa-tory. It begins with an ascending three notes in D minor, posing a question? He doesn't write in a key, and the piece migrates and rises and falls in many thoughtful and imaginary ways. It is haunting in quality and to this flute player, very reminiscent of Hindemith's Acht Stücke for solo flute.