Exclusive: Berlin Philharmonic appoints principal flute
NewsThe audition for principal flute of the Berlin Philharmonic was won today by the Swiss artist Sebastian Jacot, presently solo flute with the Leipzig Gewandhaus.
Jacot, 34, has already been offered principal flute in the San Francisco Symphony but will presumably take Berlin as the most prestigious and challenging post.
Jacot succeeds Mathieu Dufour, who left the orchestra suddenly last December ‘for personal reasons’.
He’s Swiss, as is his predecessor and his co-principal Emmanuel Pahud. Is there something about Swiss flute players?
I don’t know what is their secret, but there’s Aurele Nicolet, Peter-Lukas Graf, Dieter Flury (former Vienna Phil principal) and Pahud as great representatives of Swiss wind playing quality. And it’s close / well related to world famous French woodwind school which is best in my opinion!
…perhaps the Swiss school of flute playing is so fine because in many ways it combines the best of the world’s schools of flute playing…
Like with Swiss cheese it’s the holes that matter.
His predecessor? Not really: Mathieu Dufour is French – not Swiss.
Not surprice at all! He has called “The rock star of flute” and he was actually finalist in 2014 when Dufour got the job! Fun fact that his new spot is Andreas Blau’s former chair and like Blau – Jacot also prefer wooden flute (which he learn by his former techer Jacques Zoon).
Anyways congrats to him but still… my two favorites to that post would be Silvia Careddu and Pahud’s former pupil (from his sabbatical time) Clara Andrada de la Calle.
Concur with both your recommendations!
I do not. Both fine flutists but not neither would be right for this job.
Please let Clara stay at Frankfurt – we can watch the fantastic hr-sinfonie concerts free on YouTube, and enjoy her (and her excellent colleagues in the wind section).
“already been offered principal flute in the San Francisco Symphony but will presumably take Berlin”
And that’s why orchestras should make “exploding offers”: sign in 24 hours or sayonara
After you win the audition, most symphonies will ask you to sign immediately. If you do not sign that day, it goes to the next person who qualifies. They don’t wait, and they don’t mess, for the most part.
I have only had one concertmaster job where I was given a week to ponder my decision.
Looks like a little competitive bidding from SF for a 1st class candidate was just what Berlin needed to make the decision!
https://slippedisc.com/2022/04/san-francisco-swoops-for-leipzigs-principal-flute/
That’s not how it works in Berlin. In Berlin you play and the whole orchestra votes. Astonishing though, that they accepted his preference for the wooden flute, since Berlin is a very loud orchestra, quite literally.
Not astonishing at all. His predecessor in this position, Andreas Blau, played a wooden flute. Michael Hasel, in the section, plays a wooden flute. Just look at his official Berlin Phil photo – he’s holding it!
If the votes come from the orchestra, this makes sense. My experience is that other woodwind players often appreciate a wooden flute because it blends so easily with the other winds. A wooden flute is more similar to an oboe or clarinet or bassoon than a metal flute.
Modern wood flutemakers are now making flutes & head joints which can match, or at least come close to the volume & projection of precious metal flutes. Obviously, it’s a priority if they want to stay in business.
And like most flutists, Jacot also has a fine precious metal flute he plays regularly. The wooden flute is not his only flute. As I recall, he used his prize money from winning the Nielsen Competition to buy a custom gold flute by French flutemaker Michel Parmenon.
Yes, you are right. Even though Andreas Blau didn’t win his position back in the day with a wooden flute. And it’s reasonable to assume, back then he wouldn’t have had a chance with the wooden flute. He only started to use it a few years before his retirement. After Karajan.
Even after Abbado IIRC.
Yes a wooden flute is a better match usually with the rest of the woodwinds. But also challenged against a 16 chairs 1st violin section of today’s top violins and players.
Yes, if there are criticisms of a wooden flute, they invariably come from string players. But in the music where a wooden flute is most effective – Mozart, Haydn, etc. – they are not going to be using 16 first violinists. Or a full complement of strings in any section. The projection is fine.
As a note, Concertgebouw’s legendary Jacques Zoon used a wooden flute in all styles of music. He is a powerful player & he had no trouble projecting across any size of string section.
Not true, he may have had volume, but 50% of the color is lost. Wood flutes only belong in the piccolo section.
…or together with gut strings.
Having heard Zoon in the BSO, a wood flute is completely inappropriate nowadays.
Funny, I was specifically thinking of several BSO concerts I heard with Zoon when I made that comment.
The first was Bartok Concerto for Orch. It was historically incorrect, but Zoon owned it. It was splendid. I also recall his excellent Brahms 4 with BSO.
Zoon, unlike other flutists, never switches off to a metal flute. Always wood. It works now & it worked in Boston. There’s a reason BSO chose him & didn’t want him to leave.
As to your comment on color, the beauty of a wood flute is its color. The thing is, you have to listen carefully. It’s a more subtle range of colors. Seasoned players & careful listeners can hear it.
Not surprised, I first heard him when he won the Nielsen in 2014 and noted just how exceptional a player he was and at the time the thought crossed my mind that he should be a top candidate to replace the retiring Andreas Blau, and while he was a finalist, Dufour won the job. After 7 more years of seasoning, this must have been a shoe-in.
On a side note though, while I know some people just love the wooden flutes and they’ve had a bit of a resurgence among top orchestra players here and there, I am personally not a fan of the color. Nothing wrong with it, just a matter of taste, and preferred Blau’s classic tone on his silver flute before he switched over to a wood one for the last five years or so of his career.
still no woman has served as principal flute…
Right. Which is why the 2 female flutists mentioned by a reader here earlier, both with strong personalities, would be a stretch despite being fine players. Shades of Sabine Meyer.
It doesn’t strike me as the obvious choice to take the Berlin Phil over SFO. I love the Berlin Phil, watch them on the DCH and everything, but SFO is a great orchestra with one of the most creative and innovative music directors, and San Francisco a great and fascinating city. I could see upsides either way. SFSO probably pays better, though the city is a lot more expensive.
There is a lot that speaks against living in the US these days, despite the higher orchestra salaries. If you have the choice.
Interesting. Congratulations. I’ve spotted this wonderful player in the Berlin Phil subbing recently, and after noticing his playing at the 2014 Nielsen, where he was by far the most interesting and musical player against some stiff competition, am not surprised.
You quoted a few weeks ago that he was offered the San Francisco job. It surprised me as I thought he’d walk into the Berlin job. I guess it was just timing.
Also, the fabulous Matthieu Dufour left Berlin, was removed from the website, then reinstated on the site a couple of months ago. Merry go round.
In any case, the Gewandhaus’ loss, is Berlin’s gain.
The Gewandhaus has many excellent flautists:)
I thought Emanuel Pahud was the last incumbent of this post.
It’s a co / joint principal job, Pahud is still there!
Berlin has 2 Principal Flutes. Mr. Pahud is one of the 2.
They’re possibly co-principals? It would have been big news if Pahud left.
No, in germany all the big orchestras have double solo players, they are both equal and never have to play together. That means 100% salary, 50% playing. A bit of a compensation to the higher salary in the US.
When did Pahud leave? His web site still seems to refer to him as a member.
Mr. Pahud did not leave. Mathieu Dufour left. Berlin has 2 Principals.
He didn’t leave. Jacot takes the place of Andreas Blau (Matthieu Duffour).
Dufour left, Pahud did not. Berlin Phil employs several principals at some or all first desks, including no less than four concertmasters. Jacot becomes co-principal flute.
There are two principals.
There are two joint principals. Pahud is still there and is the other one.
To “John Lovatt” and “msc”: why “was” or “leave”? Look at Berlin Phil roster – that orchestra has at least two principals in almost every section.
Let’s face it.
Pahud doesn’t want a co-principal. He wants an assistant so he can go around and play solos while getting a BPO check to boot.
Mathieu probably got sick of being a glorified assistant after being principal in Chicago. Cant blame him.
That’s not how the Berlin Phil works. Every section has two principals, equal in status, though sometimes one is more visible than the others (as a clarinetist I know well Karl Leister (principal 1958-93), but have no idea who the other principals were during his tenure). And three First Concertmasters.
They alternate weeks (I assume by mutual agreement), leaving them time for other engagements (solo, chamber, teaching, etc.).
I did notice that Pahud had all the glam concerts while Dufour had all the, well, non-glam concerts. I was wondering if it was a matter of seniority, or chance, or hazing….
Dufour was off quite often too.The Berlin Phil principals have a lot of freedom to pursue other gigs.You can spot guest principals,often very well known ones from other orchestras,quite frequently.In this weeks (fabulous)concert under Paavo Järvi,they had guest principal bassoon,trumpet,and trombone.
It might have gotten a bit out of hand. Why should the Berlin tax payer fund even external extras covering for the contracted soloists? Or do the principals have to pay the extras out of their own salary, if they want to do gigs outside instead of their contracted job?
…. and horn.
… and horn.
Quad erat expectandum!
Quod..
This article ought to make it clear that there are two principal woodwind chairs for each instrument.
Interesting thing about orchestral pecking order here:
Even though some folks (including people on this site) keep saying the Berlin Phil or overrated and not even the best orchestra in Germany:
Nobody seemed to bat an eye that he would leave the Gewandhaus for San Francisco.
Same people would be shocked if he would turn down Berlin for San Francisco.
Ergo, pecking order:
– Berlin
– San Francisco
– Gewandhaus
AFAIK he never said he actually wanted to leave Gewandhaus for SF. So no, your pecking order doesn’t make sense as far as SF is concerned.
I am curious if there was an actual audition for this position. Anyone know?
I see that Berlin has had quite a parade of outstanding guest principal flutists, presumably on trial, but is that what constitutes the audition? Did they ever open it up to all applicants?
It’s interesting to note that everyone being considered for this position – those being trialed & Jacot himself – are all pretty closely tied to Mr. Pahud. At least one ex student, French speaking colleagues and ultimately a fellow Swiss. No German flutists that I could see in the running.
It makes me wonder if Mr. Pahud was choosing the candidates to be trialed, or if the orchestra weighed his wishes or style of playing as a priority in their decisions. Maybe that’s an important factor when choosing a coprincipal in such a top level orchestra.
Players with a distinguished professional history are often invited to trial without an audition.
Of course, but my question is if the position was also made available to players who were not invited to trials.
There was a regular audition. Last Friday AFAIK.
Together with Jacot, they announced a couple of other new additions to the orchestra: Bertold Stecher as 2nd trumpet (formerly solo trumpet of Deutsche Oper), Tobias Reifland as tutti viola (formerly solo viola of the Bayerische Rundfunk) and Vincent Vogel as timpanist (formerly Staatskapelle Halle and Karajan-Akademie).
Who would want to live in Berlin instead of San Francisco?
Maybe for the same reason many people like wood flutes. Personal choice. You have your opinion, the rest of the world is entitled to theirs.
Doesn’t SF pre-pick their principals, but hold “auditions” anyway?