Patrick Gallois - Rodrigo, Khachaturian: Flute Concertos (1992)

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Patrick Gallois - Rodrigo, Khachaturian: Flute Concertos (1992)

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The flute playing of Patrick Gallois epitomizes several of the prime virtues of the French flute tradition; fine-spun liquidity of tone, delectable phrasing and exemplary breath control, and, when required, the ability to project and capture the attention of the listener, even across full blown orchestral tuttis. But these qualities aside, Gallois is an artist of evident distinction and innate musicality, and I have no hesitation in commending this new recording of works by Rodrigo and Khachaturian to any collector, who, like myself, may have only a limited appetite for the flute!

Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto pastoral was written for James Galway in 1978. Regardless of its title, this work is no mere exploration of rural byways, but is a probing investigation of every bravura technique which falls even remotely within the potential of the instrument. The central B minor slow movement, however, carries all the elegiac intensity of the Concierto de Aranjuez's celebrated Adagio, effectively juxtaposed with a lighter Scherzando episode and cadenza. Patrick Gallois meets every technical challenge effortlessly, and his performance is more idiomatic than that of Jennifer Stinton with the ECO under Steuart Bedford on Collins Classics. Stinton is fractionally underpaced in the outer movements, and her playing is less articulate and convincing as a whole, when compared to the crystalline brilliance of Gallois. That said, of course, the Collins disc also offers Carlos Bonell's distinguished accounts of the Concierto de Aranjuez and the Fantasia para un gentilhombre, and is a useful Rodrigo compilation.

Also in the key of D major, Khachaturian's socalled Flute Concerto is in fact a re-working of the Violin Concerto written for David Oistrakh in 1940. The concerto works far better in its intended form, but the idea of such a transcription is by no means new, and I suppose one would have to admit that this is better than some. The notes tell us that Gallois has arranged the solo part himself, with, I imagine, close reference to Jean-Pierre Rampal's performing edition derived from the original text. It would be churlish to pretend that Gallois's performance is anything less than superb, and his energy and zeal ensure that the end result is certainly exciting. He has the able support of the Philharmonia, under Ion Mann, a fine and sympathetic accompanist. To sum up, this is an excellent disc, gloriously recorded and played, although the Khachaturian arrangement may well arouse the justified misgivings of the more zealous puritans amongst us. – Michael Jameson

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Patrick Gallois - Rodrigo, Khachaturian: Flute Concertos (1992)

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