One of the most established European flute players, Juliette Hurel presents her third album on naïve, dedicated to masterpieces by Beethoven and Schubert.

“The three works recorded here are a gift for performers wishing to form a true duo. Each musician gets his or her turn in the spotlight, alternating the roles of soloist and accompanist. A common feature of these works is the composer’s use of the ‘theme and variations’ form. Ever since the beginning of my studies, I've always loved this playful genre, as enjoyable to play as to listen to… In Beethoven’s Sonata in B flat, one can already identify traces of the undisputed master he was soon to become. His style is more developed in the Serenade, a work I have played frequently in both its versions (flute, violin and viola, or flute and piano)...Schubert, a great admirer of Beethoven (he participated as a torchbearer at the older composer’s funeral), wrote only one work for flute and piano, one of the unignorable monuments of our repertoire.” Juliette Hurel

It was in 1993, during their postgraduate studies at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse (CNSMD) in Paris, that Juliette Hurel and Hélène Couvert met and decided to work together to form a genuine duo. They went on to win several international awards and are regularly invited to appear in France and abroad in such venues as the Musee d’Orsay, the Maison de Radio France in Paris, and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Their joint discography includes a Prokofiev CD, a French programme entitled ‘Flute Music of the Twentieth Century’ (Naive), sonatas by Haydn, and the recital ‘Impressions francaises’.

In addition to her discography with Hélène Couvert, Juliette Hurel has also recorded flute concertos by C.P.E. Bach with the Orchestre d’Auvergne and Dusapin’s Concerto with the Orchestre de Montpellier. Since 1998 she has occupied the position of principal flute with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Or-chestra, under the conductorship of Valery Gergiev and (since 2008) Yannick Nézet-Séguin.