Concert information
At the invitation of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Info
Both create music through the flow of air, and yet they could hardly be more different: the powerful, large organ and the intimate, modest flute. In this concert, Thomas Ospital, organist of St Eustache Church in Paris, and Emmanuel Pahud, principal flautist of the Berliner Philharmoniker, demonstrate how well the two instruments go together – with dreamy, often highly virtuosic works by Jehan Alain, Camille Saint-Saëns and Frank Martin. The full splendour of the organ’s sound comes into its own in the transcription of Saint-Saëns’ Danse macabre as well as in Liszt's Consolation and his variations on Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen”.
Artists
Thomas Ospital organ
Emmanuel Pahud flute
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach
Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004, movement 5: Chaconne (arrangement for organ by Henri Messerer)
Jehan Alain
Trois Mouvements, AWV 66 (arr. for organ and flute by Marie-Claire Alain)
Camille Saint-Saëns
Danse macabre, op. 40 (arr. Louis Robilliard)
Camille Saint-Saëns
Romance in D flat major, op. 37 (arr. for organ and flute )
Franz Liszt
Consolation No. 4 in D flat major (Version for organ)
Franz Liszt
Variations on Bachʼs “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen”
Frank Martin
Sonata da chiesa for flute and organ
Main Auditorium
22 €
Series Z: Organ
Biographies
Thomas Ospital
Titulaire of great organ of Saint-Eustache in Paris since 2015, Thomas Ospital was born in the French Basque country. He began his musical training at the Bayonne Conservatory, and continued at the Paris Conservatoire with Olivier Latry, Michel Bouvard and Thierry Escaich, among others. He has enjoyed success at numerous international competitions, including the Concours international de Chartres 2014, where he won several prizes.
His work as a concert organist, chamber musician and soloist in orchestral concerts has already taken him to many European countries, Russia and the USA. Improvisation plays a major role in his musical practice; Thomas Ospital is committed to preserving this art, and his activities include the accompaniment of silent films. He has taught at the Paris Conservatoire since 2017, and has became organ professor there in 2021.
Emmanuel Pahud
Geneva-born Emmanuel Pahud has been principal flautist of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 1993. He studied at the Académie d'Uccle in Brussels and with Peter-Lukas Graf in Basel. He completed his studies in 1990 with the Premier Prix of the Paris Conservatoire; Aurèle Nicolet was subsequently his teacher. He won first prizes at the competitions in Duino, Kobe and Geneva before taking his principal flautist position with the Berliner Philharmoniker during the Abbado era at the age of just 22.
Emmanuel Pahud also pursues an international career as a soloist and chamber musician. He regularly performs with the wind ensemble Les Vents Français, among others. He also founded the chamber music festival in Salon-de-Provence in 1993 with Eric Le Sage and Paul Meyer. To expand the flute repertoire, he regularly commissions new works from composers such as Thierry Escaich, Toshio Hosokawa, Matthias Pintscher and others. Emmanuel Pahud was honoured with the 2024 Léonie Sonning Music Prize.
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