By Tiffani Tang
Correspondent
Although a drab and rainy Sunday afternoon, there was something brilliant and magical going on in Mayo Concert Hall on March 30.
Kathleen Little, a senior music major, performed her section of this semester’s Senior Music Recitals. She enchanted listeners with the flute, accompanied on the piano by Sally Livingston.
Little chose to open with “Sonata in G Major HWV 363b” by George Frideric Handel, a lovely piece split into five movements.
It started with “Adagio,” which sounded like it should be played at a royal coronation. “Adagio” ended with a trill that led straight into “Allegro,” a call and response between flute and piano, which ended smoothly with a ritardando.
The “Allegro” melted into the second “Adagio.” Livingston’s notes were chorded, allowing more focus on the drawn out and dramatic forte notes of Little’s part.
“Bourrée angloise,” the fourth movement, was the shortest and felt light.
The final section was “Minuetto,” which was reminiscent of the final dance at a grand ball. There were several beautiful legatos and sharp staccatos.
The second piece played was “Rondo in D Major K. 184” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The music was a story, some parts acted as a conversation with the audience, quick little snippets followed by rests to give the audience time to “answer.” There was also a nice juxtaposition between Livingston’s slow playing and Little’s intense trills.
Audience members began to see Little’s confidence increase and the width of her smile did.
When “Concert for Flute and Orchestra” by Carl Nielsen was played, there was a dreamy tone throughout the piece.
There was a nice piano introduction with the sustain pedal and Little’s flute skills shone in the middle when the piano took to the same repetitive low notes. The piece ended with a “cliffhanger” ending.
After intermission, Little was reintroduced with a solo: “Syrinx for Solo Flute” by Claude Debussy. She nailed repeating sections loaded with subtle differences.
In her second flute solo, “Air for Solo Flute,” by Toru Takemitsu, Little didn’t miss a note and her passion for music showed as her body language reflected pitch and dynamics.
“She was good,” whispered one of the youngest audience members.
In her final piece, Little was rejoined by Livingston to perform “Fantasie” by Philippe Gaubert. The introduction was intriguing and there was a ritardando followed by an accelerando into the second section.
The piece started off with a thoughtful tone, but ended in allegro. Even the legatos were something exciting and enticing to listen to.
There were many trills and the fastest part was a flute solo. During the last few bars, Little ignored the sheet music and looked up at the audience, already knowing she had done a fantastic job.
Applause lasted for minutes. People were clapping even as the stage was empty and some even gave Little a standing ovation.
The audience even got excited as they misunderstood some backstage victory playing as an encore.
“The best thing is the experience of being able to put all the hard work in action,” Little said. “It’s being able to enjoy the music.”
Little plans on continuing her education at the New York University’s graduate program for music performance.
