”La Belle Epoque,” three decades of gracious living in Paris that preceded the outbreak of war in 1914 – this time of prosperity, glamour, and literary and musical pleasures shines even brighter by comparison to the turbulent century that followed it.

The Belle Epoque was conservative in spirit, and its musical center was the Paris Conservatory. The great flute teacher at the Conservatory was Paul Taffanel (1844–1908), who founded the French school of flute playing that remains influential today. The music on this recording is imbued with the spirit of this epoch, from Gabriel Fauré’s early melodic masterpiece ”Morceau de concours” to Georges Hüe’s ”Fantaisie” with its Spanish and Arabic overtones. In the Romantic tradition of virtuoso recitalists, Marina Piccinini contributed fantastic variations and flourishes of her own to Borne’s Fantasy on Bizet’s Carmen.

Flutist Marina Piccinini has earned an international reputation for her brilliant virtuosity, captivating presence and tremendous range of tonal colors. Since making her critically acclaimed debuts in New York’s Town Hall and London’s Southbank Centre, Ms. Piccinini has enjoyed a concert schedule that has taken her to the major halls throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. The first and only flutist ever to win the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Ms. Piccinini was also the First Prize Winner at New York’s Concert Guild International Competition, and in 1989 was named ”Young Artist of the Year” by Musical America.

She is accompanied by American pianist Anne Epperson who heads the Collaborative Piano Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music.