Abstract:
Stephen Lias is an accomplished composer and educator. His music spans a wide variety of styles and instrumentation, and his flute works are especially interesting because of this stylistic variety. He became popular in the flute world after publishing his Sonata for Flute and Piano and winning the National Flute Association's Best New Published Work for Mélange of Neumes. The following discussion provides a comprehensive discussion of five works by Lias, chosen because they are his only works that feature the flute. The works are: Central Park Suite, Lecheuguilla, Sonata for Flute and Piano, Glide, and Mélange of Neumes. Each piece is composed in a different style and employs a variety of flute techniques, but they all contain aspects of Lias' individual style. These aspects include repetitive rhythmic motives, memorable melodic themes, and unique forms with traditional roots. This document includes information received through a personal interview with Lias, intended to afford the reader insight into his musical inspiration and compositional technique. Such information will help the performer gain an understanding of the work as a whole and present an interpretation more attuned to the composer's intentions.
