Paris, La Belle Epoque
Robert Langevin, Margaret Kampmeier
BRIDGE 9555

ClassicsToday.com (10/10)

New York Philharmonic principal flutist Robert Langevin in a charming and sumptuous feast of Parisian music of the golden age. Flute playing of the highest order!

Music of Widor, Mouquet, Fauré, Enesco, Gaubert, and Debussy

Reviews:

"Throughout, Langevin’s flute seems a living thing, a “magic flute” with a mellifluous voice and amazing acrobatic agility, yet always exquisitely graceful. Bravissimo!" - theWholeNote

"Fantaisie for Flute and Piano (1898) was composed by Gabriel Fauré expressly as a demanding and brilliant concours piece that has, in addition, a great deal of real musical substance. In many ways a crowning piece in this recital, it opens with a brief sicilienne of considerable charm, which soon gives way to a winsome tune whose flowing measures are rippled by pyrotechnics based on scales and arpeggios. Jules Mouquet (1867-1946)...represented by a sonata in three movements, La Flûte de Pan...evokes the mythological figure of Pan using his invention the pan flute to interact with shepherds, birds, and nymphs, each class of avid enthusiast being represented with its own distinctive themes, colors,and flowing rhythms." - Phil's Classical Reviews

"Thee easy elegance he brings to the Gaubert pieces makes these works sound like deep masterpieces rather than “flute fluff”. His prodigious breath control and sustained lightness of tone lifts Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun from the forest to the clouds, in a manner of speaking. Langevin’s stellar rendition of Debussy’s unaccompanied Syrinx matches the fluid perfection of Doriot Anthony Dwyer’s reference DG recording, in contrast to Emmanuel Pahud’s affectionate lingering. Margaret Kampmeier’s alert and sensitive support is what you’d expect from one of the best collaborative pianists on Planet Earth. A must-have for flute fans and Francophiles alike." - ClassicsToday.com (10/10)