Happy AANHPI Heritage Month!
At the end of last year, I went through the music in the Virtuosa Flute Solos database with the goal of including a wider representation of women composers from underestimated demographics in the section on living composers. This month, I want to take a moment to share some of the highlights from the contemporary flute solos by Asian women composers.
Flutes have a long history in Asian cultures, and many have their own traditions in their respective forms of classical music. That said, I intend this list as an introduction to music from the Asian diaspora for flutists trained in the Western classical tradition. Neither is any more or less valid than another – but since the flute has variations from all around the world, it makes our instrument particularly versatile for musical cultural exchange.
However, it’s important to acknowledge that much of the music that’s most accessible to Western performers comes from Asian composers who live in Western countries, or from composers of mixed heritage. As a Filipino-American flutist, I love seeing composers embrace mixed influences in their work, and I don’t think that this makes their work any less “authentic” – in either the Western classical tradition or as a representation of their cultural heritage – so I encourage you to keep an open mind as to the range of experiences that their music may reflect.
One final reminder before we jump into the music – conversations about representation in classical music aren’t only for awareness months. And I hope that programming music by Asian composers can help us not only show our support for these amazing artists, but continue those conversations year-round.
None of the links below are for affiliates or sponsors. Sheet music links, that go to the composer’s websites or their publisher, can be found in all of the title headers. For pieces that don’t have a video recording, I’ve included where to find a preview in the description.
Chen Yi – Fisherman’s Song
Chen Yi is one of the more well-known composers in this list, and was the first woman to graduate with a Master of Arts in music composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She is known for writing music that blends a Western classical style with Chinese folk music – and her most recent flute solo is no exception!
Dr. Chen originally wrote Fisherman’s Song for violin and piano, and transcribed it for flute in 2022. This advanced-level piece was inspired by Cantonese folk songs, and features an ornamented pentatonic style in the main theme. For other flute works based on Chinese folk music, also check out her duet for flute and piano, Three Bagatelles from China West, and her concerto, The Golden Flute!
Yuko Uebayashi – Le vent à travers les ruines
Yuko Uebayashi is another popular composer in the classical flute world. She was born in Japan, and has lived in France for the past few decades. In her compositions, Uebayashi combines French impressionism, Japanese film music, and inspirations from landscapes, paintings, and experiences with other musicians.
I feel like many flutists are already familiar with her Sonate, so I wanted to highlight another piece that might be more overlooked. The title of this programmatic, advanced-level work translates to “The wind among the ruins.” It was inspired by the composer’s visit to the ruins of a monastery, and reflects on the emotions Uebayashi experienced while she was there. She published this composition in the first year that she moved to France, and dedicated it to Nobutaka Shimizu, then principal flutist of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra.
PS – Several more unpublished works for solo flute, chamber ensemble, and flute orchestra can be ordered directly from Uebayashi’s website!
Reena Esmail – Jhula Jhule
Reena Esmail is an Indian-American composer who writes orchestral, chamber ensemble, and choral works, and was the Composer-in-Residence for the Seattle Symphony in 2020-2021. She has also studied Hindustani music, and wrote her doctoral thesis on collaborative methods and challenges between Hindustani and Western classical musicians.
Although Esmail originally composed Jhula Jhule for violin and piano, I also love this flute transcription. It’s based on two Indian folk melodies, and she’s included recordings of both in the program notes on her website. This piece is full of personal connections – one of the tunes being a lullaby from her mother, and the other a recording of her grandfather singing. In her notes, Esmail talks about unconsciously separating her home life and her outside life – and as someone who has also experienced that, I love how she embraces bringing songs from her family into her music.
Esmail also has a few other pieces for flute – including Chardonnay, her flute transcription of Zinfandel, and her duet for flute and viola or cello, Nadiya (another one of my favorites!)
Vivian Fung – Javanese Court Song
Vivian Fung is a JUNO award-winning composer known for incorporating multicultural influences into her orchestral, chamber, and operatic works – not only from her family’s experiences in Cambodia and Vietnam, but also through research and travels in China, Spain, and Indonesia.
Javanese Court Song is an intermediate-level piece for flute and piano that incorporates quotations from Javanese gamelan court music. The flute part is an adaptation of melodic lines that would be played by the suling, a bamboo ring flute from Indonesia, and the piano part imitates gongs and mellophones.
There are so many pieces that have been long since normalized as part of our classical canon based on gamelan music that the composer heard at the Paris Expositions between 1855 and 1937.
However, this is the 21st century – so in order to help avoid cultural appropriation, it’s better to support Asian artists, and program gamelan-inspired music by people with connections to this part of the world. Therefore, even though I couldn’t find a recording of this piece (though there’s a perusal copy on Fung’s website), I still wanted to include an adaptation of gamelan music on this list.
PS – If you’re a piccolo player, another piece that incorporates gamelan themes is Su Lian Tan’s Concerto for Piccolo and Orchestra!
Jolin Jiang – Weathered
Jolin Jiang is a Chinese composer based in Sydney, who is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Composition at the Sydney Conservatory of Music. She’s a composer, producer, singer-songwriter, and folk artist, and her music incorporates East and Southeast Asian aesthetics.
As someone who grew up on & around the ocean, absolutely I love the concept behind Weathered. Jiang was inspired by her understanding of water and the ocean, and reflects on the Taoist saying “The highest virtue resembles water. Water benefits all things and contends not with them.” Weathered is a meditative, contemplative work that invokes images of a starry night and sparkling sea, wind travelling across ocean waves, and laying on the beach, soaking in the scenery.
Like most of the pieces on this list, this is an advanced level solo. However, if you’re looking for intermediate-level music, Jiang also has a couple pieces published in the collection Lyrical Flute Legends, ed. Karen North.
Jean Ahn – Toys
I wrote my first draft of this post in the week leading up to Mother’s Day – so I wanted to include this piece because it explores themes about motherhood, and celebrates Jean Ahn’s connections with the mothers in Duo Cameraderie, who commissioned the work.
Toys might seem like an outlier on this list, since it incorporates nursery rhymes instead of Asian folk tunes – but Jean Ahn is a Korean-born composer and pianist who is currently based in California. Her compositions include orchestral, chamber, choral, and electroacoustic works. She also has several projects that introduce Korean songs and techniques to musicians trained in the Western classical tradition – including publishing a collection of Korean folk songs, composing a gayageum concerto for the Santa Cruz Symphony, and directing the Korean-American Ensemble ARI.
Su Lian Tan – Autumn Lute-Song
Last but not least, I wanted to conclude this list with a composer who is also a flutist. I mentioned Su Lian Tan earlier regarding gamelan music – she’s a Malaysian composer whose music reflects both her Asiatic roots and her Western classical training. In addition to showcasing her compositions, Tan’s album Grand Theft and Other Felonies also features her flute playing!
Autumn Lute-Song is an advanced level solo, originally written for flute and string orchestra. However, there’s also an arrangement for flute and piano reduction by A. Douglas Biggs (both versions are available from Theodore Presser). This piece combines Malaysian folk influences with European and Asian modalities, including pentatonicism and elements in the string accompaniment reminiscent of the Pi-pa and Er-hu (Chinese stringed instruments).
Additional Resources
Flute Music by Female Composers Between 1988 and 2021
Daniela Volkovinsky created this thorough annotated guide as her doctoral dissertation, under the supervision of Nicole Esposito. She includes a section that organizes composers by nationality, and lists many women composers from Asian countries in addition to the ones I’ve mentioned here. This resource includes pieces for solo piccolo, c flute, alto, and bass, unaccompanied or accompanied by piano or electronics.
The Westward Migration of the Transverse Flute
Did you know that transverse flutes travelled across the Silk Road, to arrive in Europe sometime between the 10th and 12th centuries? Classical music is more multicultural than you might think – read this post to learn more about the relationship between the Western transverse flute and its Asian cousins!
Playlist – Celebrating Diversity in Classical Music
I originally created this playlist for Women’s History Month, to highlight solo and chamber music by BIPOC composers. If you’re looking for a listening activity for your students, also check out my corresponding Women Composers Bingo board!)