"Mozart is the reason why I became a musician," says flautist Emmanuel Pahud, who - like Mozart - was born on January 27th. He first became captivated by the composer's music when he was just five years old. In the words of the Baltimore Sun he plays it "with an astonishing array of subtly moulded sounds, superb breath control, flawless articulation and, above all, consistently eloquent phrasing." With pianist Éric Le Sage, Pahud performs several Sonatas, which Mozart originally composed for violin and piano.

Here is all the chamber music composed by Gabriel Fauré between 1875 and 1924. These recordings, now viewed as benchmark versions, feature some of the finest artists on the French and international scene: violinist Daishin Kashimoto, cellist François Salque, violist Lise Berthaud, pianist Alexandre Tharaud, flautist Emmanuel Pahud, clarinettist Paul Meyer and the Quatuor Ébène. An exceptional project initiated by the pianist Éric Le Sage, whose 2019 recording of the thirteen Nocturnes completes the anthology.

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.

Major composers of the earlier Romantic period somewhat neglected the flute as a solo instrument, even though there were a number of virtuoso players and the flute was popular with amateurs. The fact is that the instrument presented technical difficulties in terms of consistency of timbre and intonation; these were not satisfactorily resolved until 1847, when Theobald Boehm, a German manufacturer of wind instruments, produced the revolutionary prototype of the modern flute. The album comprises: Robert Schumann's three Romances op 94 - originally written for oboe and transcribed for flute in the 1950s by Jean-Pierre Rampal - and his three Fantasiestücke op 73, originally conceived for clarinet; Clara Schumann's three Romances op 22, which she dedicated to the great violinist Joseph Joachim; arrangements of six lieder by Fanny Mendelssohn, and the sonata in F that Felix Mendelssohn composed as a violin work in 1838.

Nino Rota was not only the man who wrote film scores for Fellini (La strada etc), René Clément and King Vidor. He was also a twentieth-century great composer. A child prodigy, he studied in America with Fritz Reiner, crossed paths with Toscanini, Igor Stravinsky and many others. Éric Le Sage, Emmanuel Pahud, Paul Meyer, Daishin Kashimoto, Aurélien Pascal and their partners from the Salon de Provence festival pay tribute to his music with the Piccola Offerta Musicale (Little Musical Offering), composed in 1943 at the age of twenty-two, alongside a Nonet and a Trio for flute, violin and piano, both written in the late 1950s. The Trio for clarinet, cello and piano (1973) comes from Rota’s last creative period and has all the characteristics of his mature works.

REVIEW:

The performances from the talented group of musicians here are impeccable; they respond with vitality and a gratifying sense of interplay. Memorable, too, are the polished playing, impeccable ensemble, and range of tone colours created. I’m unsure why the eleven players have not given themselves a name.

This is an entirely compelling album of Rota chamber works. If you know Rota’s music only from his film scores, this would be an ideal place to start exploring his legacy. Those familiar with Rota’s music, even if there are duplications, will find this a valuable addition for the quality of the playing alone.

– MusicWeb International