‘For as long as I can remember, the sound of the flute has attracted and swept me away with its magic. The clean and fresh sound, emanating from a simple tube, has always painted my reality with a natural and more optimistic colour.

‘It is that sound which has continued to attract my curiosity as I have established my place in the professional world, and led me to get to know and play historical flutes, to study their particular aesthetic and their specific way of producing sound. I consider myself lucky to be able to play various different flutes, making music in a variety of shades of colours through diverse types of sounds, be it on early wooden flutes or the modern instrument.

‘The idea of putting together compositions from the large breadth of the repertoire for solo flute has always appealed to me. So much has been written for solo flute and so little is actually performed. On this CD I have put together some of my favourite pieces, some very well-known, others less so. The choice was not easy; I was particularly happy to revisit works which I had played while I was a student.

‘Since in my professional life I am constantly required to combine works from different periods on a variety of instruments, it was only natural for me to weave together in this selection a few of Jacques-Martin Hotteterre’s short preludes from “L’Art de préluder”, which offer a marvelous transition from instrument to instrument, from period to period, from one style to another.

‘I wish to dedicate this disc to the memory of a beloved woman, Maxine Zhukov, who helped me find my voice and make it sound.’

– Idit Shemer