Customer Reviews

Telemann: Flute Concertos; Emmanuel Pahud

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I'll leave the musical analysis to others here, but this is one of the most charming and lovely flute recordings I've come across. Pahud has the right felicitous touch for this charming---there's no other word for it---music from the prolific G.P. Telemann. I've listened to it many times and never tire of it. Really. It's terrific.

Telemann: Flute Concertos; Emmanuel Pahud

Let me suggest that you should first read the editorial review by Edith Eister above, I agree with all she says. This is an excellent performance by Emmanuel Pahud, and the other soloists, with the Berliner Barock Solisten, of some of the works for flute by the prolific Georg Philipp Telemann. The Berliner Barock Solisten is made up of leading members of the Berlin Philamonic, here they employ a mix of period and modern instruments, essentially all the strings are period instruments with gut strings, and the wind solo instruments, flutes and oboe d'amore, are modern. While I would generally prefer a period performance, this mix works very well indeed, thanks to the level of skill of soloists and orchestra. The balance between soloists is excellent, and the rapport between soloists is palpable.
Two of the concertos we hear on this CD are premier recordings, and two are well known; the concerto for flute, violin, cello, strings and continuo is from Telemann's well known Tafel Musique, and the superb concerto for flute, oboe d'amore, viola d'amore, strings and continuo.
The sound quality is first class, as are the informative cover notes.
Pahud has established a fine reputation as a flautist in baroque, classical and romantic music, and can be regarded as successor to Rampal.
This is an excellent performance, highly recommended, I have no hesitation in giving it 5 stars.

Telemann is my favourite composer, a supreme master of melodic invention. Generally I prefer Baroque music played on period instruments, so I had some of these concertos played on recorder, but the performances here are so fine and so much in the (assumed) "period" style that I'm very impressed with these "modern" instrument versions. Pahud is fluid and dexterous and the Berlin Baroque Soloists is a very tight and lively ensemble. The orchestra's instruments are generally ancient ones anyway, if not tuned down a semitone or played with gut strings. Importantly, the melodies are artfully caressed so they achieve an appropriate prominence. Recording quality is very good too, and there's a couple of premiere recordings here. The opening track was a surprise as it's so very much like the middle movement of Bach's fifth keyboard concerto. Not unusual though, Handelian themes turn up in Telemann every so often too. Who stole from whom?

TELEMANN: FLUTE CONCERTOS is a rarely beautifully compilation. The five concertos for flute chosen for this recording illustrates exactly what suits the instrument best and accentuates the instrument's beauty. Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) not only wrote concertos for one flute or two, but also variously combined the flute with other concertante instruments, showing the virtuoso flute in a wide range of different roles.

The five pieces heard in this compilation were composed over a period of more than 20 years and fully demonstrate Telemann's engagement with the concerto genre. In each of the five works almost every member in the orchestras at Telemann's disposal was capable of taking solo parts. The beauty of sound springs forth from the combination with softer tone of instruments such as oboe d'amore, viola d'amore or violone, which enhance the flute's brilliance and crispness, while an often astonishing playfulness could develop in the high registers when Telemann introduced a second flute or a violin, as manifested obviously in the Concerto for Flute, Violin, Cello, Strings and Continuo in A from "Musique de Table I" (5-8).

Concerto for Flute, Strings and Continuo in G (1-4) is a first recording because the only manuscript copy of the parts was in an extremely poor condition that the piece was sadly considered unplayable (until 2000). The concerto was composed for oboe as well as for the transverse flute of the time. The andante movement is the most beautiful movement, so elegantly and stately executed. Pahud makes such a strong case for the first recording of this concerto.

Concerto for Flute, Violin, Cello, Strings and Continuo in A from "Musique de Table I" (5-8) is probably the most beautiful concerto in Musique de Table. The agility and swiftness of notes best suited the festive occasions for which Telemann composed in 1733. This might be the most well-known and most played piece out of this compilation. Even Handel himself performed some of the pieces and some of his own compositions (flute sonata and oboe sonata) show the inspiration of Telemann.

Concerto for Two Flutes, Violone, Strings and Continuo (9-12) is also a debut recording for the piece, with a deep, velvety tone of the violone that creates an impressive contrariety to the agility of the flutes, notably when the flutes and the violone play together in parallel for long stretches.

Concerto for Flute, Oboe d'amore, Viola d'amore, Strings and Continuo in E (13-16). The Largo in D minor forms a sharp contrast to the vivacious movements to Part 1 of Music de Table. In the Siciliano, the repeated theme and expression is achieved by repetition of three concertante instruments without the continuo.

Listen for the only concertos with a combination of flute and two other different solo instruments in the final piece of the compilation, Concerto for Flute, Strings and Continuo in D (17-20).

Overall high marks for the agility, flow, and swiftness of all the performances in this compilation.

2004 (33) © MY

Every recording I've heard from the EMI catalogue featuring Pahud and whatever orchestra he's accompanying has been splendid. He must have a great sense about whom to team up with and when. I really have to hand it to him and to his agent. This recording is no exception. Sublime interchange between composer, orchestra and soloist! Maestro Vivaldi lives on mainly in the vaults of Venice churches, where you have to travel to to appreciate the true quality of his music...It truly reverberates only in those ancient, richly adorned tempples.

The CD builds, fresco by fresco.. Starting with the Adagio driven G Major Flute , then travelling rather quickly to the Vivace second movement. The entire CD tends to be a study in that sort of contrast, which is one of the reasons that no matter in what venue we are listening to Vivaldi, he always mangaes to keep us alert! He was one of the first composers to engage in that sort of dimminuendo,zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Quiet you down to the stage that you're ready to nod off and then set a fire cracker off near your right ear!

Maybe not that bad, but I think Beethoven got a lot of his ideas in contrasting modes from first Vivaldi, then Mozart. It's just my own little theory, and I'm definitely no music maven, so just chalk it up to UFO theory type conjecture.


Don't let any of that dissuade you from purchasing this CD, however. It's clear, distinct, exceptionally executed! I can't detect a flaw in the ointment! 5 stars, no debate!

BK