Ceremony

Emmanuel Pahud is one of the few living flautists who can effortlessly bridge multiple genres. In this recording, he glides seamlessly from the cinematic, historical weight of Prokofiev, to the avant-garde spiritualism of Hosokawa, and finally to the devastating, structural eulogy of Rouse. It is a testament to the fact that all great music, in its boundless imagination, ultimately tells a deeply human story. This project stands as yet another milestone in Pahud's remarkably long career, which spans Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and contemporary music - encompassing all the significant epochs of classical music history.

This album unites three modern masterpieces for flute and orchestra: Sergei Prokofiev's "Sonata for Flute & Orchestra in D Major, Op. 94" (transcribed by Stephan Koncz), Christopher Rouse's "Flute Concerto," and Toshio Hosokawa's "Ceremony for Flute and Orchestra" (dedicated to Emmanuel Pahud, who premiered the work in 2022 alongside the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich and Paavo Jarvi).

Together, these works form a virtuoso, highly atmospheric landscape defined by deeply contemplative movements. Emmanuel Pahud is one of the few living flautists who can effortlessly bridge multiple genres, gliding seamlessly from the cinematic, historical weight of Prokofiev to the avant-garde spiritualism of Hosokawa and finally to the devastating, structural eulogy of Rouse. It is a testament to the fact that all great music, in it's boundless imagination, ultimately tells a deeply human story.