Fantaisie: Mathieu Dufour

Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal flutist, Mathieu Dufour, conceived this smartly programmed disc of late 19th/early 20th-century flute fantasies from his native France. He performs with the highly regarded Chicago-based pianist Kuang-Hao Huang.

Fantaisie combines CD rarities, such as Phillippe Gaubert’s Fantaisie and Albert Franz Doppler’s Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise, with flute enthusiast-favorites including Gabriel Fauré’s Fantaisie, Op. 79, and Francois Borne’s Fantaisie Brillante on Themes from Bizet’s Carmen.

The CD combines virtuosic pieces written for the annual, competitive Concours examination at the Paris Conservatory — the fantasies by Fauré, Gaubert, and Georges Hüe — and works that elaborate on opera themes and folk tunes: the fantasies by Doppler and Borne plus Paul Taffanel’s Fantaisie on Themes From Weber’s Der Freischütz, one of the greatest opera fantasies for any instrument.

Mathieu Dufour, principal flute of the Chicago Symphony since 1999, is “one of the world’s most admired — and coveted — flutists” (Chicago Sun-Times). He was appointed CSO principal at age 25, making him one of the youngest players ever to hold such a position. Before that, he was principal flutist of the Paris National Opera and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.