Given the title of this CD and the idyllic image on the cover, anyone not familiar with Gary Schocker might reasonably assume that it belongs in the new age bin. Schocker is, in fact, a flutist with impeccable credentials as an orchestral player, soloist (he was once called on short notice to substitute for Rampal), and teacher. His discography ranges from Bach and Mozart through Piazzolla, but the majority of his recordings feature his own compositions. Although his formal training was in flute and piano, he began ...
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Given the title of this CD and the idyllic image on the cover, anyone not familiar with Gary Schocker might reasonably assume that it belongs in the new age bin. Schocker is, in fact, a flutist with impeccable credentials as an orchestral player, soloist (he was once called on short notice to substitute for Rampal), and teacher. His discography ranges from Bach and Mozart through Piazzolla, but the majority of his recordings feature his own compositions. Although his formal training was in flute and piano, he began composing at 5 or 6, and has published hundreds of compositions, many of them featuring flute. Schocker has said that his music is most often likened to that of Poulenc, Bernstein, and Bolling, and that he prefers not to be pigeonholed with those descriptions, but the influence of those composers is audible in much of his work. Schocker is fluent in his handling of traditional tonality, and the pieces on this CD are ideal showpieces for his virtuosity and interpretive sensitivity. The most...
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