There are lots of great compilations for flute players at the early stages; there are naturally fewer collections aimed at intermediate to advanced players who are starting to learn entire works.
For teachers of pupils who've just taken Grade 4, 5 or 6, it can be easy to just order the next exam book rather than working on broadening their repertoire.
Schott's Classical Highlights 18-piece collection fits nicely into this gap and is worth exploring. While Grade 4 level players will enjoy Bach's famous Air on the G String and McDowell's To a Wild Rose, it'll be a few more years before they can tackle Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee or Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance.
Many of the pieces are instantly recognisable crowd-pleasers – everyone loves to play Ravel's Boléro – with a few interesting lesser-known choices, such as Blue Waltz by Eduard Pütz, thrown into the mix.
Handel and JS Bach represent Baroque style; the varied arrangement of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring will challenge the player's tone and flexibility in the high register. While there's no Classical period repertoire included, the flute's Romantic repertoire is less extensive than that of other instruments, so the arrangements of Schumann, Rubinstein and Fibich here are lovely opportunities for pupils to explore different aspects of the style.
There are many opportunities for players to explore the lyrical side of flute playing, from the pure singing tone and long phrases required for Schubert's Ave Maria to Debussy's La fille aux cheveux de lin – a showcase for shimmering piano and pianissimo playing. There are two Fauré pieces: Après un rêve and his famous Pavane, ideal for working with pupils on creating different tone colours and using vibrato expressively. Anyone asked to play at a wedding will be covered, as this collection features both Mendelssohn's Wedding March and Wagner's Bridal Chorus. The collection is a great overall resource for concert pieces. Recordings of the piano accompaniments can be downloaded for the player to practise with.
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