In the age of CD, with extra time-length readily available, this coupling of the two Mozart flute concertos with that for flute and harp becomes an ideal package. Where RCA record the superstar of the flute, James Galway, in the latest of his many versions (including three previous ones with Robles in the flute and harp work), EMI turn to his current successor as Principal Flute of the Berlin Philharmonic, with the current Music Director, Claudio Abbado, following up his recent emergence on this label in a disc of Hindemith (12/96).
Both discs can be warmly recommended, with the balance of advantage very even. One principal contrast can be deduced from the information above on the total timing for each disc, with the Galway performances taking over six minutes longer. While Galway’s cadenzas are consistently longer and generally more elaborate than Pahud’s, the difference of tempo in fast movements is relatively little, at least in the solo concertos. Where there is a significant contrast is in the slow movements, of which Galway takes a far more expansive view, characteristically warm in his expressiveness, observing the marking Adagio in the two solo concertos, rather than the reservation ma non troppo, and taking a very broad view of Andantino in the Concerto for flute and harp. None the less, with Marisa Robles once again an equally characterful partner, the result could hardly be more hauntingly persuasive, and I love their bouncy account of the finale, with Robles’s harp given clearer, sharper focus than that of Marie-Pierre Langlamet in the Berlin performance.
In that final Rondeau I certainly prefer the RCA performance, when the very fast Allegro that Abbado sets is in danger of sounding breathless, even when the soloists are wonderfully agile. Otherwise, the marginally faster speeds in the Berlin performance are a degree more in tune with latterday taste, and generally in the outer movements Pahud’s touch is lighter than Galway’s, well-matched against a modest-sized Berlin Philharmonic, no larger in its string section, I imagine, than the Academy. Many will feel that the more flowing speeds for the slow movements are more apt, for Pahud, like Galway, is a natural soloist, pointing phrases and rhythms with poetic individuality, never just a conformist orchestral player. Not helped by the recorded balance, the harpist has a harder time establishing her musical personality, playing with less verve than Robles. The RCA recording is more forward than the EMI, which has more air around the sound. My own preference would be for Galway and Robles in the Flute and Harp Concerto and for Galway in the solo concertos, but either disc will give much enjoyment.'