Dalbavie, Jarrell & Pintscher Flute Concertos (Emmanuel Pahud)

COMPOSERS: Dalbavie,Jarrell,Pintscher LABELS: EMI ALBUM TITLE: Dalbavie, Jarrell, Pintscher WORKS: Dalbavie: Flute Concerto; Jarrell: ...un temps de silence...; Pintscher: Transir. PERFORMER: Emmanuel Pahud (flute); Radio France PO/Peter Eötvös, Pascal Rophé, Matthias Pintscher. CATALOGUE NO: 501 2262 Marc-André Dalbavie, Michael Jarrell and Matthias Pintscher – French, Swiss and German respectively – reflect Emmanuel Pahud’s status as a French-Swiss flautist working in Germany, and their distinctive voices can be heard in their differing approaches to the concerto. In Dalbavie’s Concerto, although the flute is clearly the virtuosic soloist, it does not operate in opposition to, or even dialogue with, the orchestra. Rather it tends to be the dominant colour in a single meta-instrument, the music moving seamlessly around the orchestra. It is a ravishing sound world, as if distilling the essence of Pahud’s tone, with genuine beauty and drama. Jarrell’s music is built upon dialogue, so it is no surprise that works for solo instrument and orchestra are prominent in his output, though he resists the epithet concerto for …un temps de silence…. The flute works hard here to assert itself in a more boisterous work that, nonetheless, is about perceptions of silence. Pintscher’s Transir is all about moments of transition, both of musical form and from breath to pure musical notes in the solo part. A major label investing in the future is cause for celebration: three cheers to Pahud and EMI for their advocacy of these thoroughly enjoyable pieces.