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Andante and Scherzo, Opus 51for flute and piano
| Written: 1934 | Premiered: Milan, Dec. 17, 1934 |
| Length:5 minutes | One movement |
| Publisher: Durand | Dedication: Georges Barrere |
About this Work:|
Roussel was fond of the flute; he featured it in many of his chamber works, such as Joueurs de flute, Deux poemes de Ronsard, Serenade, the opus 40 trio, and the poem for radio, Elpenor. He returned to the flute in the Andante and Scherzo — which, despite the implications of its title, is in one movement rather than two. The division into two parts is done internally in the movement, a device that Roussel was also fond of.
After a lyrical Andante, the Scherzo section is introduced by a trotting theme in the piano that forms the musical foundation for much of the accompaniment. The flautist has numerous chances to display his or her technique. This is somewhat unusual for Roussel, who was typically more interested in developing musical ideas that virtuosic displays — a predilection that has kept pieces such as the piano concerto from being performed as often as it should. |
Other opinions:|
He often used the flute to create oriental effects, and the harmonically very complicated Andante is an example of this. [Per Skans]
In 1934, Roussel took leave of the flute with the Andante et scherzo... in which the relatively complicated harmonies of the Andante contrast with the very direct simplicity of the truculent Scherzo, one of the most "Flemish" of all his works. [Harry Halbreich] Each of the two sections of this short piece is well written; but there is a discrepancy between the harmonically complex idiom of the Andante and the more diatonic treatment of the Scherzo. [Basil Deane]
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