With Plenty To Chew On-Seven concert pieces including 'Carmina Banana' and other favourites!When I began putting together a few piano pieces back in 2007 I didn't imagine they would quickly spawn a thriving eleven-volume series entitled Eye-Tunes taking players from 'easy' to grade 8 level. Nor did I imagine these might trigger a further five volumes of arrangements for flute and piano two called Creature Comforts (which predictably enough are comprised of animal-inspired pieces) or indeed the three volumes in this current series Flute Pastilles. While it goes without saying that not all pieces conceived for piano will work equally well for the combination of flute andpiano I'm a great believer that a good tune is frequently one which will transcribe easily. I like to think of these cherry-picked arrangements concise though they are as being 'proper' pieces in that they can earn their keep beyond the confines of the practice room or flute lesson. From Book 1 you will find a sprinkling of more thoughtful pieces such as Wind over Goonhilly Forget-Me-Not and Follow the North Star to offset the more jaunty pieces. These in particular call for a little extra attention to tone colour dynamics and phrase-shaping with some awareness of what the piano part is doing too. Think hard about choosing your tempo for each piece as this is a major contributor to musical character and in the faster moving music aim to articulate the rhythms as crisply as you can so that the music can really spring off the page and come to life for your audience.I must acknowledge as before the inestimable contribution to the success of these pieces made by Gillian Poznansky whose suggestions over the appearance of the scores has made such a difference to how the music is likely to be played. She also came up with a fair number of the titles to these pieces and has done them further service by performing them with me to great aplomb on innumerable occasions in far-flung corners of the globe.

Susan Milan discovered the charming Popp Sonatinas Op. 388 while researching 19th century flute repertoire in the British Museum Library. These beautifully crafted works are all without exception a delight to play and suitable for a broad level of player. They are a lovely example of Classical style and detailed in a way that makes them a joy to perform and as they are less than 10 minutes long they are a perfect addition to a short recital programme. Wilhelm Popp studied with the great Louis Drouet in the 1850s and wrote many charming works for the flute thisamong them. Susan Milan acclaimed soloist and teacher has edited this elegant edition. Susan Milan writes: 'I discovered the charming Popp Sonatinas Op. 388 while researching 19th century flute repertoire in the British Museum Library. They were first published in Hamburg in 1888. These beautifully crafted works are all without exception a delight to play and suitable for a broad level of player. They are a lovely example of Classical style and detailed in a way that makes them a joy to perform and as they are less than 10 minutes long they are a perfect addition to a short recital programme. In editing the Sonatinas I have tidied some of the articulation making the flute part consistent. Discrepancies between markings in the flute and piano part have been corrected. I have occasionally added some slurs where I feel the lyrical nature of a section might be enhanced shown as 'dotted' slurs. Where staccati appear to be missing I have added them. I have not on the whole added expression marks. I have not changed or removed original markings.'

Susan Milan discovered the charming Popp Sonatinas Op. 388 while researching 19th century flute repertoire in the British Museum Library. These beautifully crafted works are all without exception a delight to play and suitable for a broad level of player. They are a lovely example of Classical style and detailed in a way that makes them a joy to perform and as they are less than 10 minutes long they are a perfect addition to a short recital programme.Wilhelm Popp studied with the great Louis Drouet in the 1850s and wrote many charming works for the flute this among them. Susan Milan acclaimed soloist and teacher has edited this elegant edition.SusanMilan writes....'I discovered the charming Popp Sonatinas Op. 388 while researching 19th century flute repertoire in the British Museum Library. They were first published in Hamburg in 1888. These beautifully crafted works are all without exception a delight to play and suitable for a broad level of player. They are a lovely example of Classical style and detailed in a way that makes them a joy to perform and as they are less than 10 minutes long they are a perfect addition to a short recital programme. In editing the Sonatinas I have tidied some of the articulation making the flute part consistent. Discrepancies between markings in the flute and piano part have been corrected. I have occasionally added some slurs where I feel the lyrical nature of a section might be enhanced shown as 'dotted' slurs. Where staccati appear to be missing I have added them. I have not on the whole added expression marks. I have not changed or removed original markings.'