MICHAELA KOUDELKOVÁ

Michaela Koudelková is a noted Czech flautist who specialises in the nterpretation of early music and plays copies of period instruments. She studied music in Hamburg, Krakow, and Brno, where she won many awards. As a soloist and chamber music player, she collaborates with important ensembles and orchestras, and she is a member of Ensemble Sanguineus. She is regularly successful at international music competitions (the Tel Aviv Recorder Competition, the Kaleidoscope Vocal and Instrumental Competition, etc). She also devotes herself actively to teaching. For her Supraphon debut album, Michaela has selected masterpieces by George Frideric Handel and Arcangelo Corelli. The recording bears witness to her uncompromising technique and above all to her supreme musical sensitivity and interpretive stylishness, including the ability to participate in the creation of a written composition through improvisation. Just before the album’s release, we asked Michaela Koudelková some questions.

What inspired you to choose works by Handel and Corelli?

I feel very close to Italian music and to Italian ornamentation, a typical feature of the Op. 5 sonatas by Corelli. When considering what composer I could join with Corelli on the album, Handel was the clear choice, since they knew and influenced each other.

How important is improvisation to you?

To me, improvisation is a rare source of freedom that I can permit myself within the definite rules of baroque music. Improvised ornaments are used to a greater or lesser degree in perhaps every one of the compositions. Arcangelo Corelli’s Op. 5 is an example of lavishly notated ornamentation, and this is also heard on the album. However, for his Sonata in C major (the original version for violin is in A major), in the slow movement I used Corelli’s basic notation of the composition and created ornamentation of my own.

Can you tell us about the challenge of playing less usual recorders like the voice flute in D or the sixth flute?

For me, personally, this mainly involves working with the sound. We usually play recorders tuned in C or in F, so instruments tuned in D, B flat, A etc. all sound different when played in various keys. Of course, players are expected to be able to transpose on the individual types of recorders.

Do you recall what has been your most emotional performance?

It’s hard to choose just one concert that would have been the most emotional for me. I try to make every concert and every playing opportunity have an atmosphere of its own, and I always try to let the music I’m playing enchant the audience and speak to them. The moments when I can share music are special, and I am boundlessly grateful for every opportunity, whether in our country or abroad, and whether it’s a live concert or recording an album.