Pahud

When the majority of flute concertos are lightweight, it is not surprising that leading flautists are keen to expand the repertory, adapting more ambitious works. That is how, on the suggestion of the composer himself, Jean-Pierre Rampal in 1968 came to prepare a brilliant transcription of Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto recorded here by Emmanuel Pahud. A soft-grained flute could hardly cut through orchestral textures in the concert-hall in the way a violin can, but on disc careful balancing without focusing on the solo instrument too aggressively has produced a successful result.

One of the more puzzling remarks about the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach came from Mozart, who said that anyone who listened closely would realize his debt to the German composer. That seemed unlikely, given that Mozart only rarely availed himself of the Sturm und Drang ("storm and stress") style of C.P.E.'s keyboard music. But listen to this release by flutist Emmanuel Pahud and you'll get an idea of what Mozart was talking about. It's not just that the flute concertos are basically galant in style, not Sturm und Drang. It's a certain nervous energy that makes the flute bloom rapidly out of squarish themes and keeps you guessing as to what's coming next.

With Airlines, supreme instrumentalist, flautist Emmanuel Pahud, takes the music of an Oscar-winning film composer, Alexandre Desplat, into new realms. The album is entirely devoted to world premiere recordings – of original concert works and of reimagined versions of Desplat’s film scores, including Oscar-winners The Shape of Water (2018) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Pahud is accompanied by the Orchestre National de France, conducted by Alexandre Desplat himself.

This double album, Mozart & Flute in Paris, brings together nine captivating works, all with their origins in Paris, which feature a solo flute. Emmanuel Pahud is joined by his colleagues from ‘wind supergroup’ Les Vents Français – oboist François Leleux (here also conducting the Orchestre de chambre de Paris), clarinettist Paul Meyer, bassoonist Gilbert Audin and horn-player Radovan Vlatković – and by Belgian harpist Anneleen Lenaerts.

Flautist Emmanuel Pahud and pianist Eric Le Sage play arrangements of short pieces and songs by four German composers of the mid-19th century: Robert Schumann and his wife Clara (born Clara Wieck), and Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny.

Interweaving the Baroque era and the 20th and 21st centuries, the newest addition to Emmanuel Pahud's Warner Classics catalogue is an imaginative 2-CD collection of music for unaccompanied flute. Among the composers are Telemann, Nielsen, Honegger, Varèse, Berio, Takemitsu, Pärt, Pintscher and Widmann. "Most of the pieces are about exploring new paths," says Pahud. "The power of this music often lies in the contrast between a simple line and the most refined complexities, between a note so quiet as to be barely perceptible and the loudest, most extreme notes playable on the instrument."

Warner Classics' final release for Beethoven's 250th anniversary year is a charming programme of chamber music with flute. The four works, all dating from the earlier years of the composer's career, were recorded in June 2020 in Berlin's Pierre Boulez Saal by a distinguished group of musicians led by Daniel Barenboim, here in his role as pianist, and flautist Emmanuel Pahud. Joining them are two of Pahud's colleagues from the Berliner Philharmoniker, the orchestra's First Concertmaster Daishin Kashimoto and it's Principal Viola, Amihai Grosz, and two players with links to the Wiener Philharmoniker, it's Principal Bassoon Sophie Dervaux, and Silvia Careddu, formerly it's Principal Flute.

Daishin Kashimoto, Emmanuel Pahud, Paul Meyer, Zvi Plesser and Éric Le Sage, who have been close musical partners for years, joined forces once again at the Salon de Provence Chamber Music Festival to record this programme devoted to Viennese composers of the early twentieth century. The most famous and innovative of these are represented: Schoenberg with his Kammersymphonie no.1, Mahler with two lieder transcribed for flute and piano, Zemlinsky’s Clarinet Trio and several pieces by Berg. A disc that encapsulates both the exhaustion of a bygone Romantic age and the avant-garde promises of a modern world still to be built…

Flautist Emmanuel Pahud and pianist Éric Le Sage with present a new album "Mozart Stories", featuring some of Mozart's best sonatas which were originally written for Violin and Piano, now arranged for Flute. Emmanuel Pahud has been captivated by the works of Mozart from a young age! As he puts it, "Mozart is the reason why I became a musician". The musician also shares a birthday with Mozrt which emphasises his reverance for the great composer.