Zyman, S :: Sonata

Sonata

Zyman, S

Samuel Zyman s best known composition is his Sonata for Flute and Piano, a work that has entered the standard repertoire. Zyman s sonata is frequently performed all over the world and has been commercially recorded numerous times. The sonata is often included in graduation recital programs and has been used as a recommended or required piece at national and international flute competitions and as a topic for doctoral dissertations.

'The most fully satisfying work is the 17-minute sonata by the Mexican-American composer Samuel Zyman, now in his late fifties, and a member of the Juilliard faculty for quite a few years. From my personal vantage point, Zyman s music seems to have drawn little serious attention, but of nearly a dozen of his works that I ve encountered over the years I haven t heard one that failed to exhibit an irresistible sense of compelling creative urgency, vividly and expertly articulated within the general language of traditional modern neo-classicism. But unlike the neo-classical norm, often characterized by a cool detachment and lack of emotional commitment, Zyman s music is always serious and expressive in tone, with a driving contrapuntal energy. I cannot imagine a flutist who wouldn t relish a work like this, which grabs the listener intensely from the first moment and never lets go. The piece it most resembles is the perennially popular Sonata for Flute and Piano by the late Robert Muczynski, but Zyman s 1993 sonata is somewhat more driven and edgy.'

- Walter Simmons; 2013.