Peculiarities for Flute and Piano

You can't help but smile when you read down the title list of this book. Here are eight short pieces of moderate difficutly expressing extraordinary concepts in an eclectic range of styles. 'Who's Jumping' feels like it's jumped out of a beginner book until the rather strange harmonies appear.  'A natural cause for romance and quarrels' has a haunting melody accompanied by constantly fluttering tremolando in the piano to give a really uncertain feeling to the texture, and 'Time expands' end with angry chords and repeated notes. 'Visions of corruption' also ends dramatically, possibly a railing against the crime itself. 'Ramifications of a mute period' could be a simple jazz piece but there is more drama to be found at the end here too. It's all very peculiar indeed but strangely charming!

This beautifully presented edition comprises eight short pieces for flute and piano. Designed for early-stage flute players (the pieces could be comfortably performed by a player of around Grade 3-5, although one of them is in B major), this music is likely to appeal most to adults as a result of the imaginative titles and the musical ideas, which maintain a sense of rigour despirte their simplicity. My favourite titles are TIme expands but ultimately no one can escapeand Visions of corruption; players may also enjoy Embodiment of madness and Ramifications of a muted period.

Sideris is a Greek composer with a PhD in composition from Royal Holloway. He is also an active professional pianist. His pieces are well structured with distinctive musical ideas; each of the eight pieces in this volume has something to offer and would be an enjoyable recital addition. The compositional sytle is tonal but not bland; Sideris makes use of interesting harmonies and the tensions that can arise from the use of dissonance. The piano parts are also on the whole relatively simple and do not require a virtuoso technique, making the pieces a good option for teaching.

Published by Editions Musica Ferrum, the score and flute parts are clearly laid out and printed on ivory paper, with careful thought to page turns.

These pieces are ideal for anyone wanting to include a work by a living composer but without having to commit a large chunk of programme time to it. The titles alone could make the pieces something of a talking point, and help to demonstrate the relevance of new music to modern life.