Robert Erickson was a formidable guiding spirit as composer and teacher, acting as a mentor for a whole generation of California-trained composers. He utilized many different styles and techniques in his music, from microtonality to electronics and improvisation. High Flyer, written in 1969, requires the solo flutist to speak through the mouthpiece of the instrument while playing. In the 1970s, Erickson turned to a meditative, Asian-inspired aesthetic. The late works Two Songs and Recent Impressions, composed for Continuum as the composer was battling a progressive illness, are remarkable for their intense sensitivity to pure elements of sound and their joyous, life-affirming spirit.
