Release date: March 5, 2004
Contact: Deb Hammacher, Associate Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0644 or dhammac@emory.edu

Edward Beckett Presents Recital of 20th-Century French Music

Renowned flautist Edward Beckett will present a recital of 20th-century French music at Emory University's Cannon Chapel, 515 Kilgo Circle on March 23 at 8 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. Beckett, principal flute and founding member of the London Festival Orchestra, will perform compositions by André Jolivet, Henri Dutilleux, Alain Weber, Jacques Castérède and Jean Françaix. His recital will be preceded by a master class for area musicians at 6 p.m. Admission to the class is $5 and on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call 404-727-6840.

Beckett's program of French composers has been planned to complement the first Atlanta performances of Olivier Messiaen's "Turangalîla-Symphonie" by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (April 15-17). Beckett's recital and master class will provide a remarkable introduction to the "Turangalîla-Symphonie" by highlighting French composers of Messiaen's generation who, with him, shaped the very specific French musical landscape after World War II.

Beckett studied in Dublin with the French flautist André Prieur and at the Paris Conservatoire with Gaston Crunelle, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Marcel Moyse. He then settled in London pursing a career as soloist as well as orchestral and chamber music player. In Beckett's 25 years as a fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama he trained a generation of young musicians.

Among Beckett's recordings are the "Bach B minor suite," the "Malcolm Arnold concerto," a collection of Romantic French music entitled "Fantaisie" and "Mozart's G Major concerto," "Flute and Harp concerto" and the "Andante and Rondo in C," with the London Festival Orchestra. British composer and pianist Christopher Howell heralded Beckett's "Fantaisie" for its "elegant, understated manner and control of long sinuous lines," adding that Beckett "puts a flawless command of his instrument and his comprehensive musicianship at the service of the composers themselves."

Beckett's forthcoming recording for ASV is as soloist and director of the first complete version of the six concertos by Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1780), with the orchestra of The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Beckett prepared the scores and parts from the original manuscripts of Abel concertos; these will be published for the first time by Hunt Edition in London, together with piano reduction, concurrently with the release of the CD.

Beckett also is in Atlanta to consult with the editors of "The Correspondence of Samuel Beckett" (he is the nephew of the late writer and playwright), which has been affiliated with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Emory since 1990. Editors Martha Fehsenfeld and Lois Overbeck are publishing four volumes of letters written by the author of "Waiting for Godot," selected from more than 15,000 letters that have been consulted in archives and private collections all over the world. Among them are the letters of Walter Asmus, Beckett's assistant director on productions at the Schiller Theater in Berlin, who has directed Beckett's plays in Berlin, London, Dublin and New York. Asmus is the guest director of the current production of "Waiting for Godot" at 7 Stages (March 4 - April 4).

Edward Beckett's recital and master class are co-sponsored by The Correspondence of Samuel Beckett (a project of Emory's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

Parking at Emory is available at the Boisfeuillet Jones parking lot or the Peavine parking deck; see www.emory.edu/ARTS for further information. The number for more information is 404-727-6840.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For more than a decade Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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