Michael Nyman, CBE: Flugelhorn And Piano

'Flugelhorn And Piano' by Michael Nyman. This piece was commissioned in 1991 by Graham Ashton for his album 'The Contemporary Trumpet'.

"Michael Nyman wrote Flugel and Piano for me during a period when I felt his approach to the writing and recording of his music was changing quite considerably. I had given him very few guidelines as I did not want to restrict his writing. I knew the result would be a difficult piece, as Michael had often said he likes to hear the performer 'fighting' the instrument. Flugel and Piano is a fight for a couple of reasons: firstly, the flugel does not like being played in the key of D sharp minor, especially with a Trombone 'bucket mute' - unfortunately, this was all that I could find to fit over the larger Flugel bell; secondly, the Flugel enjoys being flat at the top register, making top Cs and Ds a nightmare! Michael's reaction on hearing the recording was that he found the piece surprisingly emotional." - Graham Ashton