Adobe Acrobat PDF complet (18 MB) - La Scena Musicale

Honnêtement, je ne souhaiterais
pas être reconnaissable du premier
coup. Je préfère servir la
musique, la rendre vivante telle
qu’elle pourrait avoir été voulue
par le compositeur plutôt que
signée ou “griffée” par moi. »
Quand on le presse de révéler
les ingrédients du concert idéal, il
répond en riant: «Il n’y a pas que
les ingrédients à considérer, mais le
cuisinier aussi!» Après un instant
de réflexion, il ajoute, plus
sérieusement: «C’est un instant
privilégié, auquel tout le monde
participe, qui permet de partager
un même moment de vie; cela
peut être très fort. Sur scène, l’interprète
doit offrir quelque chose
de très intime, doit se laisser toucher,
autant que le public. La
démarche reste différente tous les
jours, selon les salles. Il faut essayer
de demeurer le plus personnel, le plus
individuel possible, même quand on joue
pour 2500 personnes.» Contre les sceptiques,
il avance un parallèle avec le tribun qui sait
enflammer une foule en quelques phrases bien
senties ou les partisans qui vibrent à l’unisson
après un jeu remarquable ou un but de leur équipe:
«L’expérience de concert n’a rien à voir avec
l’écoute chez soi et continue de fasciner les gens
par son immédiateté.»
Sur le coup, Pahud ne réalise pas toujours que
la magie s’est installée à un moment précis d’un
concert. Le souvenir lui revient parfois par bribes,
à l’écoute d’une plage radiophonique dans un taxi
ou en évoquant un lieu. « La musique est un langage
codé, qui permet de mettre de l’air en vibration,
suggère les émotions, offre la possibilité à
chacun de réaliser son propre film, avance-t-il.
Elle reste beaucoup plus suggestive dans ce rôle
que la littérature, le cinéma, devient jardin secret
de chacun : compositeur, public, interprète. » Le
rôle de ce dernier devrait d’ailleurs être pris selon
lui au pied de la lettre : celui qui traduit une
langue, la pensée de quelqu’un d’autre, avec sa
compréhension, son langage, sa sensibilité
propres.
Conscient de l’étroitesse du répertoire pour
flûte, il passe régulièrement des commandes
d’œuvres à ses contemporains : « Notre mission est
de maintenir la musique vivante, car sans création,
on parlera d’un musée, d’une langue morte,
comme le grec ancien ou le latin, plutôt que d’une
langue vivante. Après avoir fait connaissance avec
le compositeur, toutefois, il ne faut pas influer sur
le contenu de sa pièce, restreindre son champ
d’action. » Lors de plusieurs créations, la réception
immédiate, très enthousiaste du public, salue le
travail du compositeur et de l’interprète. « Cela ne
veut pas dire que l’œuvre aura une postérité, tempère
Pahud. Un classique va au-delà des modes,
devient une part importante de notre patrimoine
culturel, un legs pour les générations à venir. »
Si le musicien apprécie les défis que la création
pleasure in resuming, almost
instantly, friendships born during
one of his previous sojourns, as if
his absences were mere parentheses.
“It’s important to transmit
accumulated experiences, and I
have a lot to tell the students,” he
affirms. “Being obliged to express
ideas in ways we’re not accustomed
to, taking a new look at certain
difficult aspects of playing, or
being surprised when a young
musician plays an arduous passage
with ease, facing situations
we hadn’t anticipated: all these
unexpected moments are inspirational.The
process is fundamentally
an exchange, equally enriching
on both sides.” Pahud confesses a
preference for young musicians of
fiery temperament, whose energy
has been patiently channelled during
their first years of training and
who are primed to develop a unique expressive potential.
Music has dominated Pahud’s life from his earliest years. This child
of travelling parents was born in 1970 in Geneva (he shares a birthday
with the celebrated Wolfgang Amadeus), took his first steps in Baghdad,
and at five years old was hooked when he heard Mozart’s Flute Concerto #1
being played by a young neighbour in Rome. A few months later, his parents
presented him with a flute and lessons, although he admits today he had
never imagined the importance the instrument would have in his daily life, or
that it would become “an extension of breathing” for him. In 1978, the family
moved to Brussels, where he studied under Carlos Bruneel, principal flute of
the orchestra of the Théâtre royal de la Monnaie. At 14, he won the Concours
national de Belgique and played, for the first time with an orchestra, the concerto
that had been a key factor in shaping his destiny.
The young Emmanuel continued his studies at the Conservatoire de
Paris under Michel Debost, Alain Marion, Pierre-Yves Artaud, and
Christian Larde, graduating with that institution’s first prize. He went on
to study with Aurèle Nicolet, a major figure among 20th-century flutists.
Competitions and awards followed each other at a dizzying pace. In September 1992 he
won first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition; in October, Claudio
Abbado offered him the position occupied by Nicolet from 1950 to 1959 (and held by Sir
James Galway from 1969 to 1975): principal flute of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Save for an 18-month sabbatical before 2002, Pahud has happily held the position since
then.
By 1992, Emmanuel Pahud was already giving about 50 concerts per year; this number
has since exploded and he can now be heard more than 160 times annually in the
major concert halls of the world (about 75 times with the Berlin phalanx and the others
as a soloist or chamber musician).The flutist is convinced that the balance between genres
keeps him from being limited to one style or locked into a musical corner. While he
recognizes that his technique and virtuosity stem from the French school and the versatility
of his tone is more German in quality, he likes nothing better than to surprise the
audience. He elaborated further in the French magazine, Traversières:“I don’t want to be
placed in a category, designated a soloist or an orchestral or chamber musician. I’m simply
a musician and I try to embrace all forms of music through the flute. Frankly, I wouldn’t
like to be recognizable from the first note. I prefer to serve music and make it come
alive the way the composer had in mind rather than putting my signature or brand to it.”
Pressed to reveal the ingredients of the ideal concert, he laughs.“Not only the ingredients
should be considered, but the cook too!” But after thinking for a moment, he
answers more seriously:“It’s a special setting that everyone is part of, that allows us to
share the same moment of life. It can be very intense. On stage, the performer must
offer something very intimate, and allow himself to be touched as much as the audience.
The process is different every day, depending on the hall. You must try to stay as
personal, as individual as possible, even when playing for 2,500 people.” To those who
doubt the likelihood of winning over such a large mass of people, he fires back by draw-
PHOTO : LOU DENIM
10 Juin 2010 June