20th century
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
20th century
21st century
Solo repertoire
Piccolo
Alto flute
Bass flute
Kennan Kent Wheeler
Aitken, Robert
Amirov, Fikret
Amlin, Martin
Amram, David
Andriessen, Jurriaan
Arnold, Malcolm
Arrieu, Claude
Auric, Georges
Babbit, Milton
Bacchus, Peter
Bacri, Nicolas
Baker, Michael Conway
Baksa, Robert
Barber, Samuel
Barrere, Georges
Bartók, Béla Viktor János
Baton, René-Emmanuel
Beaser, Robert
Bennet, Richard Rodney
Berg, Gunnar
Berio, Luciano
Bernofsky, Lauren
Bernstein, Leonard
Bloch, Ernest
Bolling, Claude
Bon, Maarten
Bonis, Mel
Boughton, Rutland
Boulanger, Marie-Juliette
Boulez, Pierre
Bourdin, Roger
Bournonville, Armand
Bowen, Edwin York
Bozza, Eugène Joseph
Bréville, Pierre
Brings, Allen
Brotons, Salvador
Brown, Elizabeth
Brun, Georges
Burkhard, Willy
Burton, Eldin
Büsser, Henri
Camus, Pierre
Carmichael, John
Carter, Elliott
Casella, Alfredo
Chaynes, Charles
Clarke, Ian
Colgrass, Michael
Colquhoun, Michael
Copland, Aaron
Corigliano, John
Cortese, Luigi
Currier, Sebastian
Dahl, Walter Ingolf Marcus
Damase, Jean-Michel
Davidovsky, Mario
De Lorenzo, Leonardo
Debussy, Claude
Del Tredici, David
DeLaney, Charles Oliver
Delerue, Georges
Denisov, Edison
Dèsbriere, Jacques
Dick, Robert
Dinicu, Grigoraș
Dodgson, Stephen
Dohnányi, Ernő
Dubois, Pierre Max
Dukas, Paul
Durey, Louis
Dutilleux, Henri
Enescu, George
Farkas, Ferenc
Feld, Jindřich
Ferroud, Pierre-Octave
Flothuis, Marius
Folio, Cynthia
Foote, Arthur
Foss, Lukas
Françaix, Jean
Fukushima, Kazuo
Gade, Jacob
Gál, Hans
Gaubert, Philippe
Genzmer, Harald
George, Thom Ritter
Ghidoni, Armando
Gieseking, Walter
Glass, Philip
Glière, Reinhold
Golovin, Andrei
Gordeli, Otar
Grier, Lita
Griffes, Charles Tomlinson
Grinblat, Romuald
Grovlez, Gabriel
Guarnieri, Mozart Camargo
Gubajdulina, Sofia
Hahn, Reynaldo
Hailstork, Adolphus
Halphen, Fernand
Hanson, Howard Harold
Harberg, Amanda
Harbison, John
Harsányi, Tibor
Harty, Hamilton
Heiss, John
Heith, David
Henze, Hans-Werner
Higdon, Jennifer
Hindemith, Paul
Holliger, Heinz
Holmboe, Vagn
Honegger, Arthur
Hoover, Katherine
Hosokawa, Toshio
Hovhaness, Alan
Hüe, Georges Adolphe
Hurel, Philippe
Ibert, Jacques
Ichiyanagi, Toshi
Ittzés, Gergely
Ives, Charles
Jacob, Gordon
James, Bob
Jemnitz, Sándor
Jirák, Karel Boleslav
Jóhannsson, Magnús Blöndal
Jolivet, André
Jongen, Joseph
Karg-Elert, Sigfrid
Kay, Ulysses
Kelterborn, Rudolf
Ķeniņš, Tālivaldis
Kennan, Kent Wheeler
Kennedy, Martin
Kernis, Aaron Jay
Khachaturian, Aram
Kocsár, Miklós
Kodaly, Zoltan
Koechlin, Charles
Kornauth, Egon
Kraft, Leo
Krzywicki, Jan
Kupferman, Meyer
La Montaine, John
Lauber, Joseph
Lavista, Mario
Lee, Eugene
Leeuwen, Ary van
Levinson, Gerald
Liebermann, Lowell
Loudova, Ivana
Mack, Dieter
Mahler, Gustav
Maresz, Yan
Martin, Frank
Martino, Donald
Martinů, Bohuslav
Meltzer, Harold
Messiaen, Olivier
Mihalovici, Marcel
Milhaud, Darius
Mouquet, Jules
Mower, Mike
Muczynski, Robert
Nielsen, Carl
Norby, Erik
Nordenstrom, Gladys
Offermans, Wil
Olsen, Carl Gustav Sparre
Paget, Daniel
Perle, George
Petrovics, Emil
Piazzolla, Astor
Piston, Walter
Poulenc, Francis
Prokofiev, Sergey
Rachmaninoff, Sergei
Ran, Shulamit
Raphael, Günter
Rautavaara, Einojuhani
Ravel, Maurice
Reynolds, Verne
Riegger, Wallingford
Rivier, Jean
Rodrigo, Joaquin
Rota, Nino
Rotaru, Doina
Rouse, Christopher
Roussel, Albert
Rutter, John
Saariaho, Kaija
Sancan, Pierre
Schmidt, Ole
Schocker, Gary
Schulhoff, Erwin
Schwantner, Joseph
Sciarrino, Salvatore
Shostakovich, Dmitri
Sibelius, Jean
Smit, Leo
Tailleferre, Germaine
Takemitsu, Tōru
Taktakishvili, Otar
Tansman, Alexandre
Tomasi, Henri
Tower, Joan
Uébayashi, Yuko
Varèse, Edgar
Vasks, Pēteris
Weigl, Vally
Weinberg, Mieczysław
Wilder, Alec
Williams, Ralph Vaughan
Yi, Chen
Yun, Isang
Zgraja, Krystof
Threnody for flute and piano
Threnody for flute and piano
K.W. Kennan: Threnody for flute and piano was written in 1994.
The term "Threnody" (a song of lamentation) suggests a memorial or mourning context. While no specific individual's death is publicly linked to the 1994 composition date, the work fits into the broader 20th-century tradition of instrumental "soliloquies" and "laments" that Kennan championed throughout his life.
In 1994, Kent Kennan was living in Austin, Texas, as a Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas. He had officially retired from full-time teaching in 1983 but remained a prolific and respected figure in the academic community.
Unlike the "Impressionistic" and "Romantic" flair of his 1930s works, his 1990s compositions like Threnody reflect a more refined and somber lyrical quality. Musicologists often note that his late-period works were written with a "deeply reflective" tone, characteristic of a composer looking back on a long career.
1994 was a period when Kennan's textbooks, The Technique of Orchestration and Counterpoint, were the industry standards in nearly every major American music school. His compositional output in these years was often viewed through the lens of his pedagogical mastery; Threnody is frequently cited in Master's level repertoire lists for its "economical and effective" use of the flute's middle register.
Kennan Kent Wheeler
Kent Wheeler Kennan (1913-2003) was a highly respected American composer, educator, and author whose pedagogical texts on
orchestration and counterpoint became foundational resources for music conservatories worldwide.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kennan was raised in a family that valued academic and creative pursuits.
He studied composition at the University of Michigan and the Eastman School of Music, where he was a star pupil of Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers. His education there was rooted in the "American Romantic" tradition, emphasizing lyrical craftsmanship and robust orchestration.
After winning the Prix de Rome in music in 1936, he spent three years in Italy, where he was further influenced by the neoclassicism and structural clarity of Italian masters like Ildebrando Pizzetti.
Kennan spent the vast majority of his career (starting in 1940, with interruptions for military service) at the University of Texas at Austin, where he served as a Professor of Music Theory and Composition.
His musical style is characterized by rhythmic vitality, neoclassical clarity, and tonal accessibility. According to research on American wind literature, his music is "expertly crafted for the performer," reflecting his deep knowledge of instrumental capabilities.
Since the age of 43, he stopped composing and dedicated himself to teaching. Among his best-known works are Trumpet Sonata and Night Soliloquy for flute and piano.