Qiling Chen, Yoshiko Iwai - Beethoven: Flute & Piano CD

The chapter “Beethoven and the Flute” is, as is well known, rather narrow. The flute is, of course, represented in every symphony and every piano concerto. But otherwise? The Beethoven Handbook lists only a handful of chamber music compositions with this instrument, which understandably pains flutists. But the situation is not entirely hopeless, for there is the arrangement! In the meantime, “arrangement” is once again very much in vogue, to which Qiling Chen’s album with flute versions of the F major Violin Romance and the Spring Sonata bears eloquent witness.
All three works on the album are arrangements, with Qiling Chen’s own transcription of Beethoven’s 5th Violin Sonata for flute and piano undoubtedly forming the centrepiece of the selection. Since the flute and violin are melodic instruments that are particularly comfortable in high registers and have roughly the same range, it is not surprising that the solo part of the Spring Sonata can easily be played by a flute for long stretches.