Aram Khachaturian; Jacques Ibert - Flute Concertos (Emmanuel Pahud)

Information

Composer: Aram Khachaturian; Jacques Ibert

• Khachaturian - Flute Concerto (Violin Concerto, arranged for flute by Jean-Pierre Rampal)
• Ibert - Pièce pour flûte seule
• Ibert - Flute Concerto

Emmanuel Pahud, flute

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich

David Zinman, conductor

Date: 2003

Label: EMI

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Review

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.

The flute naturally lacks the required incisiveness for the first subject, but there are obvious gains in the lyrical second subject (2'05" into track 1): Pahud’s gentle tone and fine shading bring out echoes of Dvoák in New World vein, where the violin in the original has more of a gypsy flavour. Rampal and Pahud effectively replace the cadenza’s double-stops (at 7'48") with little arpeggiated flourishes, and surprisingly little seems changed.

Better still is the slow movement, where Pahud’s exquisitely hushed playing finds a mystery and tenderness in the hypnotic, Satie-like melody. In place of the finale’s brilliant extroversion on the violin, Pahud’s flute offers a cheeky lightness. James Galway in his RCA version brings out a jaunty penny-whistle quality, where Pahud relates this movement more clearly to the rest of the concerto.

Ibert’s unaccompanied Pièce makes an interlude between the concertos: a work which owes its easily improvisatory flow to Debussy’s Syrinx. The Flute Concerto was written for Marcel Moyse two years earlier in 1934; the finale’s mix of 6/8 and 3/4 metres brings a sharp, jazzy flavour.

What sets Pahud’s performance apart is the depth of feeling he conveys in the slow movement: poignantly mysterious, with breathtaking pianissimi matched by the strings of the Tonhalle Orchestra under David Zinman. The long, slow middle section in the finale, too, has a slinky quality, as in a valse grise. The recording, made in the Grosser Saal of the Tonhalle in October last year, is full and clear.

— Edward Greenfield

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Aram Khachaturian (6 June 1903 – 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenian composer and conductor. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, he studied at the Gnessin Musical Institute and the Moscow Conservatory with Nikolai Myaskovsky, among others. As a young composer, he was influenced by contemporary Western music, particularly that of Maurice Ravel. In his Symphony No. 1 and later works, this influence was supplanted by a growing appreciation of folk traditions. His other works include Symphonies No. 2 & No. 3, the symphonic suite Masquerade, the ballet Spartacus, concertos, as well as film scores and incidental music.

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Jacques Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer. Educated at the Paris Conservatoire, he won the Prix de Rome despite studies' interruptions caused by World War I. Ibert enjoyed a prolific career, composing operas, ballets, chamber and choral works, film and incidental music, and piano pieces. He is best known for orchestral works such as Escales and Divertissement, which illustrate his stylistic range from lyrical romanticism to playful wit. Alongside his composing, Ibert held major administrative posts, including director of the Académie de France in Rome and later the Paris Opera.

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Emmanuel Pahud (born 27 January 1970) is a Franco-Swiss flautist. Trained at the Paris Conservatoire, he studied with several eminent flautists and gained early recognition through major competition successes. In 1992 he was appointed Principal Flute of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he continues to hold. Pahud performs worldwide as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, collaborating with distinguished conductors and artists. He is a strong advocate for contemporary music, commissioning numerous new works for flute. He has received many honors, including the 2024 Léonie Sonning Music Prize.

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