These
recent flute concertos were all commissioned for Emmanuel
Pahud by the Berliner Philharmoniker and Zürich Tonhalle
(Dalbavie), the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Jarrell)
and the Lucerne Festival (Pintscher). Although all three
works are clearly contemporary, they are nevertheless
considerably different in character and in style.
Dalbavie’s
Flute Concerto is certainly the most classically
conceived work here. It is scored for a standard orchestra
of double woodwind, strings and timpani. The music is
characterised by clarity and transparency and very often
brings Ibert to mind, albeit with some “update”. Although
it has its darker corners, this is mostly playful, animated
and often ebullient, at least in the outer sections.
The often virtuosic solo part is beautifully tailored
although it also calls for considerable musicality. This
is an attractive addition to the repertoire that should
become as popular as Jacques Ibert’s lovely and quite
popular Flute Concerto.
I
have already had some opportunities to tell you of my
enthusiasm about
Michael Jarrell’s music. Recently
I reviewed a new Aeon disc entirely devoted to his orchestral
music. That release included three substantial concertante
works. His
Flute Concerto “… un temps de silence …” is
a worthy successor to the other works available on the
Aeon disc. Globally, it is conceived along the same lines:
a fairly substantial single movement falling into three
contrasting sections capped by a slow epilogue. It opens
with three marcato chords for strings which will return
later, albeit differently scored, but nevertheless functioning
as an anchor point throughout the piece. The first section
is animated and often intricate. An imposing tutti introduces
the central, mostly static, but melody-dominated section,
in which the music slows considerably. After a short
pause, the final section is launched by the soloist who
now seems to be willing to assert himself and dictate
the orchestra’s behaviour. Two of the opening chords
put an end to the restlessness and the music slowly dissolves
in a dreamy, beautifully atmospheric epilogue in which
time comes to stand still.
In
his notes about his Flute Concerto,
Matthias Pintscher mentions
that “
Transir” is an old French word “describing
the phase of transition, or the passage itself”. This
I must take for granted, but the word “Transir” also
has another, more down-to-earth meaning: “To freeze to
the bone”. Both meanings of the word are reflected in
the music, since the work is conceived as an instrumental
Requiem in memory of a young French composer Dominique
Troncin who had encouraged Pintscher to take his first
steps as a composer. Shortly before his untimely death
of the age of 33, Troncin had sent Pintscher sketches
of a work that he was no longer able to complete that
bore the title of “Transir”. This is how and why Pintscher
composed
Transir in memory of Troncin.
The music is rather more sparse than that of the other
works recorded here, but in no way less imaginative.
On the whole, it sounds like a slow, coolly undemonstrative
though deeply felt ritual. The music may be somewhat
more radical than that of Dalbavie’s and Jarrell’s works,
though never extravagantly so.
Emmanuel
Pahud is a beautifully equipped musician with flawless
technique and musicality. He plays beautifully throughout
these undoubtedly demanding, but ultimately rewarding
works. These pieces in all of their diversity are most
welcome additions to the repertoire. This is one of the
finest releases that I have heard recently. This is contemporary
music with considerable appeal.
Hubert
Culot
see also review by Kevin Sutton
Emmanuel
Pahud (flute) 
