Will Mathieu Dufour become the next Emmanuel Pahud? Both won coveted principal chairs of major orchestras at extremely young ages, possess amazing techniques and beautiful sounds, and, most critical for marketing purposes, they strike languorous poses on their album covers that wouldn’t be out of place in a J. Crew or Banana Republic catalog. They also seem to share a lack of adventure in programming, and for his debut disc Dufour clearly has played it safe in choosing these three pillars of the 20th-century flute repertoire. As these pieces have been recorded numerous times (although who can get enough of the Martinu?), this disc’s main purpose is to introduce Dufour, the Chicago Symphony’s principal since 1999, to audiences beyond those who monitor orchestral rosters.
Dufour’s signature trait throughout these works occurs mainly in pianissimo sections, where he achieves a sort of “sotto voce” sonority that can sound almost other-worldly but requires expert control and an open, relaxed throat to pull off without sounding contrived or weak. Listen to the introductions of the slow movements in the Prokofiev and Martinu to get the full measure of this ability, which makes hearing these flute warhorses more of a captivating experience than you might first expect.
Dufour also impresses in the evenness of his tone from the top to bottom of his register. In the Prokofiev, while he does not demonstrate the astonishing power of Pahud in the lowest regions, his higher register is sweeter and less breathy than most modern players (for instance, in the lightly-tongued high As in the second subject of the Scherzo). Naturally, he decisively hits all the treacherous high Ds in the first movement and gives a robust reading of the final movement. Similarly, he sings the lyrical Martinu with warmth and the Hindemith receives a customary by-the-notes interpretation, just the way the composer would want it.
Credit also goes to Dufour’s excellent accompanist Aleksandar Madzar, whose bright piano tone enlivens the proceedings at all times but never loses a sense of interplay in the more atmospheric passages (such as the triplet motifs in the third movement of the Prokofiev). In sum, an auspicious debut that makes you eager to hear more from this talented flutist in more daring, less familiar repertoire.
