Emmanuel Pahud

French & Swiss flutist Emmanuel Pahud began music at age six in Rome, studied further in Brussels, and graduated in 1990 with the 1er Prix from the Paris Conservatoire. His last mentor, Aurèle Nicolet, lead him to winning 1st Prize at the Duino, Kobe and Geneva International Competitions, and joining the Berliner Philharmoniker as Principal Flute under Claudio Abbado at age 23. He still holds this position today next to his extensive international career as soloist and chamber musician. He appears at prominent concert series, festivals & orchestras worldwide, as a soloist with conductors such as Abbado, Antonini, Barenboim, Boulez, Fischer, Gergiev, Sokhiev, Harding, Järvi, Maazel, Nézet-Séguin, Yamada, Gabel, Pinnock, Rattle, Rostropovich, Zinman. Emmanuel regularly tours with pianists Le Sage, Bax, Bronfman, Grimaud, Kovacevich, also jazzing with Jacky Terrasson. Since 1993, Emmanuel leads the Music Festival in Salon-de-Provence together with Eric Le Sage and Paul Meyer. In 2000 they found “Les Vents Français” together with François Leleux, Gilbert Audin and Radovan Vlatkovic. Commited to expanding the repertoire, he has commissioned over 50 new works to composers such as Carter, Dalbavie, Escaich, Hosokawa, Jarrell, Manoury, Pintscher, Rivet, Hersant, Francesconi, Tüür. Since 1996, he has recorded over 40 award winning albums exclusively for EMI / Warner Classics. 2024 Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, HonRAM of the Royal Academy of Music.

Languages spoken: French, English, German, Italian, Spanish

Photo credit: Josef Fischnaller