I desperately need new flute music.
Ever since the chaminade (which i discovered like 6 months ago now and have since learnt, overplayed, and grew to dislike for many reasons!) i haven't found any music that has made me really like wow i wanna practise and practise till i can play that.
Flute was my absolute favourite thing in the world ever ever ever and i would play for hours on end but now... well, i'm getting so bored And it makes me sad (and really scared! ) that i barely practise for 15 mins a day lately... My practise sessions since the last 2 monthsish have been me getting my flute out, playing through syrinx, a bit of hindemith (both of which im growing bored of) and then playing random notes and random scales and random sections of pieces, not cause i want to but cause "i cant just play for 10 mins a day!", but then after 5 mins of this randomness i end up putting it away and getting out my violin for which i have lots of challenging and interesting and fun music...
I want and need to get back into playing my beloved flute So, i need some new music. Something challenging, with a nice, distinctive and catchy melody. I love sweet melodies, like in La Flute de pan
Any suggestions pleeaase?

I'mguessing you've already played the Poulenc Sonata....otherwise that's a lovely one. The 3rd movement is particularly challenging

Lots of fantastic music for flute...you'll be spoilt for choice

Have you got "Flute Music By French Composers" (edited by Louis Moyse)? It's got lots of lovely advanced flute music in it (including the Chaminade), by composers such as Faure, Gaubert, Enesco, Taffanel etc... I particularly like Busser's Prelude et Scherzo.

Listen to samples on itunes, and if they take your fancy buy it and listen to the whole piece before buying it! (thats how I do it)

Try Ibert Jeux, not too challenging but i like it......
Hue Fantasie?
Morlacchi swiss shephard?

Just have a scan of french flute music, it usually the stuff with the nice melodies. Oh and anything by Gaubert!

Prokofiev sonata, or what about a Mercadante concerto (I love them but so far haven't been brave enough to try any )?

Second the Flute Music by French Composers suggestion, if you don't already have it. It's only £6 or so from amazon -a real bargain.

Maybe even some of the Ian Clarke stuff? Sunstreams is very pretty, and the duet Maya if you can find a friend to flute with!

I like the mercadente too. I think if you buy any new music it is an insentive to practice. I havent bought any for ages you can here sunstream on youtube, and some of mercadente in fact there are lots of good examples on there.

I would absolutely agree with the others and suggest the Flute Music by French Composers. I have it and I LOVE the pieces, especially Cantabile and Presto by Enesco, which I just can't seem to get enough of at the moment! Also, there are some more challenging pieces by Ian Clarke, for example Hypnosis (if played with all the ossias), and another of my personal favourites is the Carmen Fantasy by Francois Borne, though I haven't mastered that yet And (assuming you haven't already), how about trying the theme and variations on Carnival of Venice? I have no idea who wrote it (maybe Genin?!) but I seem to remember it being in Suzuki Flute book 7.. hmm

Flute Diva

I'm not surprised you get bored if all you do is practise and play to yourself. I can only practise seriously when I'm preparing to play with other people. If I were a flautist of your standard, I would want to meet other instrumentalists with whom to play chamber music. Ideally, this would include a harpist, for the Debussy Sonata (fl, va, hp) and the Ravel "Introduction and Allegro" (fl, cl, hp, str 4tet). Now that Ravel is out of copyright, you could arrange "Mother Goose" for the ensemble of your choice, using his first orchestral version (original publication reproduced in a Dover paper-back) as source. Otherwise, what about Mozart flute quartets, wind quintets (scores of them, even if you only count the good ones), or dectets (double quintets; ask me about repertoire if that's a possibility)?

For orchestral music with challenging flute parts, you would have to get into a pretty good amateur orchestra. I have never heard of a wholly amateur orchestra playing "Daphnis & Chloe", but Brahms 4 is possible (the big flute solo in the 4th movement of Brahms 1 always sounds feeble to horn players); Dvorak 8 & 9 both use flute well (you need a musical principal trumpet to allow the 4th movement flute solo in Dvorak 8 to come through).

Two of my favourite duos (fl, kb) are the Bach B minor sonata and the Roussel "Andante and Scherzo". I would work very hard on the keyboard parts of these if had an opportunity to perform them.

Thanks everyone, some really great suggestions I'll get listening to those. I can't believe i forgot the Carmen Fantasy and Carnival of Venice! I'll definately be getting those.

And i am in an amateur orchestra of a high standard - the music is very challenging and we're even known over in America and stuff, it's a really really good band. However, we only ever meet about twice a year. Stupid, i know! We just have intensive courses coming up towards concerts - mainly because everyone comes from so far away to get there.

If you like Carnival of Venice and Carmen Fantaisie (brilliant piece ) you might like Hungarian Pastoral Fantasy by Franz Doppler - similar sort of style with variations on the main theme (difficult but lovely ). Schubert's "Variations for flute and piano on Trockne Blumen" does the same sort of thing (beautiful but very hard in places).

Have fun choosing

Try both Genin and Briccialdi versions of carnival of venice, as soon as you pick it up, all flaws in technique will be REALLY obvious, will really give you something to work at, tonguing, scales, flexibility. The piece isnt a great piece of music as such, so making it musical is also something to work at.

Schubert's "Variations for flute and piano on Trockne Blumen" is a good piece, but I wouldnt rush into that.....Its the kind of piece postgrad flautists do in their final recitals......althought some variations are very manageable......

Also how about venturing into new things....I went through a phase of contemporary flute music, and now am dabbling in British flute music....its nice to try new things out!

Schubert's "Variations for flute and piano on Trockne Blumen" is a great piece...haven't attempted to play it yet though lol.

I really like Widor's Suite.

Anything by Jethro Tull?

*I'll get my coat*

I really like the Ian Clarke stuff... and all the Bach sonatas - quite easy but nice things to learn. Have you tried Passecaille by Renee Baton? and the Quantz Concerto in G? just Grade 8 things but good to be able to play - and really pretty too. i played the 2nd (slow) movement of the quantz at the school concert and it made my english teacher cry! The Rutter Suite Antique is fab - especially the Aria and Prelude - and anything by Faure!

have fun...