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Once again, Emmanuel Pahud plans to give Utah Symphony fans their money's worth. The well-traveled flutist made a sensational Abravanel Hall debut at the beginning of the 2013-14 season with his performances of three pieces — concertos by Mozart and Elliott Carter, plus his own arrangement of Lenski's aria from the Tchaikovsky opera "Eugene Onegin." He's back this week to play two works: "Carmen Fantasie Brillante," composer François Borne's arrangement of themes from the Bizet opera, and Marc-André Dalbavie's Flute Concerto, which Pahud premiered in 2006.
The upcoming program is "very different music" from the works he played here a couple of years ago, Pahud said in a phone interview from Berlin. "This time it's brighter," he said. The Dalbavie concerto is "incredibly fast and virtuosic and light-spirited. It's a totally French composition from beginning to end — so many colors, but always very light in spirit." He said he's been pleased to see the concerto catch on with younger musicians, in part because the composer also made an arrangement for flute and piano to make it more accessible to students.
Accessibility never has been an issue for Carmen, the mercurial Gypsy immortalized in Bizet's opera.
"I heard it as a kid at the opera house," the flutist said. "Usually kids fall asleep at the opera, but with 'Carmen' I watched and listened to every detail in the music from beginning to end." Like the popular violin showpiece arranged by Pablo de Sarasate from the opera's most popular melodies, Borne's fantasy is "a great piece with brilliant themes," Pahud said.
He enjoys collaborating with Utah Symphony music director Thierry Fischer, who was a professional flutist before becoming a conductor. "When we started making music together, we connected really well because of our common background," Pahud said. "He knows exactly why I have to breathe where I do and how far I can take a crescendo."
Last time he visited Salt Lake City, Pahud said, he was impressed at the landscape and its central role in the life of the community. This time, unlike last time, the area's ski resorts are open, and he plans to take advantage; he also hopes to hit the Sundance Film Festival.
Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Pahud had lived in six countries by the time he was 8 thanks to his father's employment with an American corporation, and he's fluent in French, German, English, Italian and Spanish. (He said he has particularly fond memories of his time in Rome.) So it isn't surprising that he takes his bifurcated career — as a soloist and as co-principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic — in stride. "It leaves me with quite a bit of flexibility," he said of his Philharmonic schedule. "I try to serve all the continents, all the places where I know I can make great music."
'Carmen' and more
Flutist Emmanuel Pahud will perform François Borne's "Carmen Fantasie Brillante" and Marc-André Dalbavie's Flute Concerto with the Utah Symphony. Music director Thierry Fischer also will lead the orchestra in two pieces that will be featured on the orchestra's upcoming Carnegie Hall appearance: Haydn's Symphony No. 96 ("Miracle") and Bartók's Suite from "The Miraculous Mandarin."
Ogden • Thursday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m.; Weber State University Browning Center; $16-$37; symphonyballet.org
Salt Lake City • Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30, 7:30 p.m.; Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple; $18-$64; utahsymphony.org