This album features the complete works for flute (to date) by Franco-Ukranian composer Dimitri Tchesnokov (b.1982), with the exception of his flute trio Tableaux féériques. This programme is supplemented by some of Tchesnokov’s piano solos in a comparable style. The pieces presented here offer a contrast to the composer’s religious/mystical music (3 Chants sacrés, Requiem, Ave Verum) and his historic/realistic works (Symphonie archaïque, Château de Grandval, Symphonie Ukrainienne).

The influence of the Far East is present in several of the compositions, among them Rhapsodie Japonaise, based on traditional modes like Hirajōshi and Insen; Quelque part à Tsushima (Somewhere in Tsushima), evoking the sound of the koto; and La Fête du Dragon, conjuring the fireworks and cheerful colours of China with the pentatonic mode. From the composer’s Slavic roots comes Une Histoire vraiment bizarre (A truly bizarre story), a trip to a magical forest from old Russian fairy tales, where Little Red Riding Hood meets strange characters like the forest ghost, Leshy.

The absolute music of Tchesnokov’s Partita combines simple motifs with a special harmonic tripartition of the octave. The slow movements are the calm before the virtuoso fugue – a real challenge for a monodic instrument like the flute.