Apollo & Marsyas for Solo Flute, Op. 5 No. 2

The music of Halit Turgay is very imaginative, his improvisational style compelling. This piece, dedicated to William Bennett, is loosely based on the story of the musical competition between Apollo and Masyas and the turbulence of this contest is immediately obvious in the complexity and challenges posed by the writing. The slow opening is fragmentary and pucntuated with pauses of determinate length before plunging into a dramatic 7/8 con fuoco.  Respites are brief as the two protagonists battle for flute supremacy. The ending is triumphant and, in this case, a happy one for Marsyas. This is a great piece and one Wibb would have loved.