Terrestre - CD

Chase, 33, founder and chief of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is best known for championing genre-defying work of emerging composers. However, for this new CD, she turns her attention to more established repertoire, presenting a collection of 20th century works that "celebrate and invigorate" the flute canon. "The flute had it's heyday as a solo instrument in the baroque era, but it became an orchestral instrument in the 19th century," says Chase, "and we've spent the last 100 years trying to rediscover a solo identity for the flute-trying to put it's repertoire on comparable footing with that of the violin, piano, and human voice." The title track, Saariaho's Terrestre, is a world premiere recording supervised by the composer.