Claire Chase: Terrestre

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 its heyday as a solo instrument in the baroque era, but it became an orchestral instrument in the 19th century, says Chase, and weve spent the last 100 years trying to rediscover a solo identity for the flutetrying to put its repertoire on comparable footing with that of the violin, piano, and human voice. The title track, Saariahos Terrestre, is a world premiere recording supervised by the composer.