Simon Mundy interviews the COE's Spanish Principal Flute, Clara Andrada de la Calle. She talks about how she became a flautist, who her teachers were, how she came to the COE and what makes this Orchestra so special to her. Clara also talks about her musical activities beside the COE.

Here was a conductor working in the infra-red spectrum with players rising to his every wish, fantasy and wraith-like turn. The new faces in the ranks must have wondered what they were in for. Probably not Clara Andrada de la Calle though, solo flute of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Frankfurt RSO, whose contribution, musicality and distinctively toned low register gilded the woodwind section characterfully. The kind of guest to have at any top table.

Competition abounds in Nielsen’s Flute Concerto of 1926 but Andrada is totally inside the unsettled, quixotic nature of the music and communicates lyrical passages with ardent conviction.

Throughout this fascinating album, Andrada’s tone is strong and direct but also full and multi-layered. This is possible to appreciate due to the recording quality, which is spacious yet detailed, though I sometimes wished the mics to give a little more space to the timpani.

That lineup also featured Pierre Boulez’s "Mémoriale." Clara Andrada de la Calle played the sultry flute solos with a lovely tone and distinctive musicianship. And, of course, there was Bach. Ms. Andrada de la Calle shone in a spirited performance of the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto on Saturday evening.