Europa is an incredible and very eclectic album by flutist/composer Ron Korb. The album was released in 2014 and when we did an interview in September 2025, Ron mentioned that it was one of his favorites of his 30+ albums but that it is often overlooked. The music was inspired by Ron’s extensive travels in Europe and each piece tells a specific story (included in the booklet that comes with the CD). While most of the fifteen tracks are classically-influenced, some also contain world music and jazz influences. In addition to Ron and his many different flutes, some of Canada's most talented artists appear on the album including jazz pianist Laila Biali, bassist George Koller, cellist Winona Zelenka, and many others. Europa was awarded Album of the Year, Best Composition, Best Solo Performance and Best Graphic Design from the Global Music Awards. Quoting Ron from our interview:

“The music draws from both my classical training and my travels across Europe. For example, ‘St. Johann,’ ‘Mozart’s Wedding,’ and ‘Beethoven Pasqualatihaus’ pay homage to the great composers, while ‘Christmas in Prague’ has more of an Eastern European sound. ‘Lady of Sonnets’ is inspired by Shakespeare, ‘Beckett’s Whisper’ by Samuel Beckett, and ‘Italian Summer’ reflects my first trip to Italy, where I took masterclasses in Siena and Assisi.”

Europa begins with “Mozart’s Wedding,” inspired by a trip to Mozart’s birthplace in Salzburg, Austria. Light and optimistic, the piece features flute, piano, bass, and drums - a great start! “Beethoven Pasqualatihaus” refers to one of the many, many places Beethoven lived when he was in Vienna. It has been turned into a small museum and is where Beethoven composed masterpieces including “Fur Elise,” three of his symphonies and his only opera. Instrumentation includes flute, piano, bass, drums and cello. There are actually three versions of “St. Johann” on the album, inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach. The first is the most classical and is for flute and cello. The second, the “Jazz Blooper Version,” comes later in the album and the third, the “Jazz Version,” is the last track. Those feature flute, piano, bass and drums and they’re all great! Ron switches to Irish flute for “Beckett’s Whisper,” a poignant tribute to playwright Samuel Beckett. Flute, violin, Celtic harp, accordion, piano, bass and cello are melancholy, heartfelt and very beautiful! “1759” refers to the year of a battle that extended from Europe to the New World. Wooden flute and a variety of other acoustic instruments give the piece an 18th century feeling. “Italian Summer” is warm, breezy, and lighthearted. “Christmas in Prague” features bass flute, cello, piano and more, and is a bit darker in spirit, but heartfelt and very beautiful. “My French Movie” is an elegant, evocative trio for flute, piano and cello. “Redemption” is from a film that was never made. It told a story of intrigue and tragedy set in Ireland, and Ron wrote this theme right after reading the script. He now dedicates this lovely piece to “the many talented artists whose projects were never brought to fruition.” “Skating” was inspired in part by two paintings by 16th century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel that depict skaters on a frozen river. Flute, piano, bass and drums create a sound painting that describes the grace and ease of gliding on a frozen body of water as well as the sharp chill in the air.

Europa is a wonderful musical tour through time as well as through Europe! CDs are available from Ron’s website and the album can be downloaded there as well. CDs, downloads and streaming are available on Amazon; streaming and downloads are on Apple Music/iTunes; and the album can be streamed on many platforms including Spotify and Pandora. Very highly recommended!