Sonatine

Looking back to the year 2018, my good friends and great musician, Kalaya Phongsathorn, flutist and piccoloist of the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, and Usa Napawan, a pianist who collaborates with international musicians, asked me to compose a piece for flute and piano to be performed at the Flute Festival Singapore 2018. After our discussions, I realized that we shared a common vision—to showcase a composition that blends Thai musical elements with classical music. As a composer and collaborative pianist, I noticed that there were not many Thai compositions written specifically for flute and piano. Therefore, I gladly accepted the opportunity to compose this piece.

For this composition, I was inspired by a Thai traditional song called “Lao Kruan,” which is both sweet and melancholic. This melody resonated with me when I first heard it performed by the ‘Khlui’, a small Thai traditional flute, and it seemed particularly suitable for the flute. I took this melody and expanded upon it, developing it further within the composition. We will hear this melody again in the cadenza section. The piece consists of three continuous sections without breaks.

This work premiered at the Flute Festival Singapore 2018 and has been performed multiple times in Thailand, including at Sala Sudhasirisobha, Goethe Institute Hall in Bangkok, Music Hall — Art and Culture Building of Chulalongkorn University, MACM Hall at Mahidol University, BSRU Hall at Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, as well as in the ATT19 Gallery. It has also been featured as a competition piece at the Thailand Flute Festival 2023 in the Open Division. You can listen to this piece on the album “Thai Contemporary Music for Flute and Piano,” a project curated by Kalaya Phongsathorn, which aims to promote culturally blended compositions by Thai Composers. Recently, Kalaya Phongsathorn was also interviewed by The Flute View, further highlighting this collaborative effort.