Lifesize Miniature Études is a set of 12 short études for solo flute. They are grouped into three sets of four études, each of which is structured loosely like a sonata, consisting of a first movement, a scherzo, a slow movement and a finale.

Lifesize Miniature Études is the second set of solo études I have written, having completed a set of Piano Études in 2021. In that earlier piece, I oriented myself explicitly in relation to the illustrious history of the piano étude, modelling movements on Chopin, Scriabin, Debussy and Ligeti. Here, the compositional challenge was quite different, in that the flute étude has generally stayed closer to its pedagogical roots than the piano étude, and has been correspondingly more modest in artistic scope. For that reason, I decided to compose more or less independently of that specific generic context; indeed, the first étude of the set can be read as a joke about how boring flute études can sometimes be.

While writing Lifesize Miniature Études I also composed a companion piece in which I expanded four of the études, arranging them for a trio of flute, alto saxophone and piano. That piece is called Amplified Miniature Études; here, the études are presented in their original, ‘lifesize’ form.