Laurel Zucker, virtuoso flutist has recorded 26 outstanding Cds , all played regularly on every classical radio station throughout the world! CD Reviews Laurel Zucker Flute Music by French Composers By: Keith \"MuzikMan\" Hannaleck 7/12/2004 Artist: Laurel Zucker Title: Flute Music by French Composers Genre: Classical Label: www.cantilenarecords.com Website: www.laurelzucker.com Flute Music by French Composers music makes you feel like you are dancing on the clouds with angels and Laurel Zucker plays the flute as if she was ordained by the Holy Spirit to do so. For classical music, it simply does not get any better than this. I feel all music has a direct connection to heaven and this particular set of compositions gave me a front row seat inside the pearly gates. According to the artist, she states that this set of compositions is a necessary purchase for any flute student. It covers all the required flute competition compositions for the Paris Conservatory throughout the years. Included is a bonus track of \"Bornes Carmen Fantasy,\" which is a very difficult piece to perform. From a listener\'s perspective, all of these compositions must be very difficult to master. The fact that Ms. Zucker takes one piece from each individual French composer and molds it into a born again masterpiece is a credit to her steadfast dedication to the artistry of flute playing. She honors each individual composer giving respect to them by showing the varying degrees of emotion and tempo found within every piece. This is a most difficult thing to accomplish while attempting to create uniformity and smoothness during the recording and technical process. This is very peaceful and serene music, perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon. The energy is subdued yet purposeful. This is the type of music made for those with discriminating tastes and an ear for perfection in the classical music genre. The bonus track is the pièce de résistance of the entire recording clocking in at 11:59. It ends this CD in fitting fashion, reaching a crescendo of blissfulness that is hard to find in any music. Laurel Zucker talks about her inspirations behind this outstanding recording: Inspiration for this recording came directly from my teaching job at California State University, Sacramento as Professor of Flute since 1988. I ask that flute majors learn and perform various selections from all of the compositions recorded on this CD in order to learn grace, technique, tone development and articulation skills. Two years ago, the flute studio performed a concert that included every piece on this CD and it was a great success. A wonderful company, Flute World, recommended that I release a CD of all these terrific pieces that can be found in a book by the same title edited by Louis Moyse. *Evolution Scale: 9.5/10 Please visit the Laurel Zucker website at www.laurelzucker.com Gramophone issue December 2007 states \"Zucker shapes everything with lovely gradations of timbre and nuance, and her phrasing keeps the ear mesmerised.\" Laurel Zucker is described by Gramophone Magazine 2003 \"as polished and gratifying as Rampal and Galway. Zucker\'s interpretations are splendid all round. Her tone is airy and sweet, her virtuosity graceful.\" In 2004 Gramophone \"strongly recommended\" The Complete Telemann Fantasies for Flute and The Complete J.S. Bach Flute Sonatas on Cantilena Records describing her performances as \"intelligent, naturally phrased and highly musical with a rich sound beyond reproach.\" In the August 2003 book, Inspirational Stories from the World\'s Best Flute Players, Laurel Zucker is featured along with James Galway, Herbie Mann, Ian Andersen, and Julius Baker. Fanfare Magazine refers to Ms. Zucker \"as a forceful advocate for 20th century music,\" and when she was awarded the Aaron Copland Fund for Music from the American Music Center to record the 1998 Take a Walk on the Wilder Side-CD, Fanfare Magazine stated \"this disc fills an important niche in American Music as well as flute literature.\" With 45 CD releases available on Cantilena Records, Ms. Zucker can be heard regularly on worldwide classical radio stations. She has performed many times in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Mondavi Center, etc. As a concerto soloist she has been featured with the American Symphony Orch., Erkel Chamber Orch. of Budapest, The Orch. of NY The Gold Country Orch., Merced Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, The Arlington Symph. Orch., and toured with the Sumara Orch. of Russia. As an active chamber artist she has performed with the Marlboro Festival and Tour, Harvard Chamber Players, Music Fest of Arizona, Music in the Mountains, UC Davis Chamber Players,Wet Ink Festival and Chamber Music Alive! As a jazz flutist Jazz Now 2005 describes her performance as \"Laurel\'s flute cutting the still air with a deep-felt emotion to the very last note.\" Claude Bolling in March 2004 on Zucker\'s Bolling Jazz Suites CD writes \"Dear Laurel Zucker, Your recording is beautiful, musician partners are excellent and your flute playing superb!!!\" Of the Flute Music by French Composers CD, Sir James Galway recommends on his website \"This is a really good record and should be in the library of all serious students. The repertoire is very good and it is beautifully played by Miss Zucker. I have a copy and think it is outstanding...\" As an active performer and supporter of the flute community, Ms. Zucker has been a guest performer/teacher at the New York Flute Club, The Portland Flute Society, The Houston Flute Society, LA Flute Club, Dallas Flute Festival, North Carolina School of the Arts and the National Flute Association Convention. In 2000 The Year of the Rome Aureole Jubilee (hosted by the City of Rome and the Pope) three of Ms. Zucker\'s Cantilena Records CDs (Serenades; Music of Guiliani for Flute and Guitar; Mozart Flute Quartets CDs) were played non-stop for six months throughout the largest Convention Center of Rome, Italy and were also featured in a documentary created at UCLA on the Santa Maria Maggiora Chapel of Rome. November 2007, Laurel Zucker and Mark Delpriora were presented with THE GOLD ARTIST AWARD from RadioIndy for their 2007 CD, Masterpieces for Flute and Guitar. In 2006 Ms. Zucker received THE BEST CLASSICAL SOLO INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2006 from The Just Plain Folks Awards. As Professor of Flute at California State Univ., Sacramento since 1988, Ms. Zucker received the 1998 President\'s Award for Creative and Scholarly Research, 1998 and 2000 Creative Research Awards, a nd 1989 Professional Promise Award. In 1978 she won Artists International Competition and gave her Carnegie Recital Hall Debut. Her first performances in Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center were at the age of 16 performing 1st flute in the Alexander Schneider\'s Orchestra. Ms. Zucker graduated from Juilliard where she studied with Samuel Baron for 3 years; with Paula Robison for two years at New England Conservatory of Music; and privately with Marcel Moyse and Julius Baker. Ms. Zucker holds a Masters in Music Composition from New York University. Her compositions are published by Lyra International and Bourne Music Company and are recorded on Cantilena Records. In 2008 a new website www.laurelzuckermasterclass.com was launched providing a new DVD series of flute masterclasses lead by Ms. Zucker.