Sonatine for Flute and Piano

Boulez’s famous Sonatine for flute and piano was composed in 1946 and revised three years later. It first appeared in print in 1954. This new edition has been many years in the making, the result of a collaboration between Boulez (who died in 2016 before it was released) and musicologist Susanne Gärtner. Errors in the earlier edition have been corrected, and Boulez also made some changes based on practical experience from the numerous performances the work has received. These changes relate mostly to accents and tempi, as well as dynamics and articulation, giving clarity to the work’s underlying logic.

Aside from these changes, which were made through consultation with the 1949 manuscript and all personally approved by Boulez, the score’s presentation has been improved. In particular, detailed thought has been given to the management of page turns in the flute part, which includes fold out pages to avoid the previous need for multiple music stands, copying and sticking. The score is also a slightly bigger format, which makes the detailed instructions easier to read, and printed with excellent clarity. There are full scores for both the flute player and pianist, and an appendix which shows the rhythmic realization of one particularly complex passage.This is one of the classic flute works of the Twentieth Century, which has established its place in the repertoire. This new edition is an excellent development which will help to give clarity to Boulez’s musical ideas for the next generation of flute players. Highly recommended.