Spellbound

To date no less than 15 flute concertos have been dedicated to her, and on Spellbound three of these are gathered. The disc is a companion piece to the 2005 disc Nordic Spell, on which concertos by three Scandinavian composers (Kalevi Aho, Christian Lindberg and Haukur Tómasson) were brought together. That disc received a number of prestigious distinctions, including a Midem Classical Award and an Editor's Choice in Gramophone. Bezaly's performances earned her top marks in various international magazines, for instance in Fanfare, whose reviewer wrote: 'It is plain to hear why the composers were so inspired by her artistry, and also why BIS is making a significant commitment of recording her: this is the most technically assured, breathtakingly brilliant flute-playing around.' On Spellbound, Sharon Bezaly interprets works by three women composers: Sofia Gubaidulina, Sally Beamish and Mari Takano. All three concertos were dedicated to Sharon Bezaly, with the composers participating at the recordings and in the booklet. The result is a triptych of three highly personal pieces joined together by the spellbinding artistry of Sharon Bezaly.