In French heaven of winds

The high-ranking ensemble with predominantly French roots showed in the well-filled Tonhalle the level at which chamber music can be performed by experts of woodwind instruments: [...] outstanding individualists with soloistic qualities, including flawless intonation, virtuosity and a highly cultivated tone, which never lost its accuracy and brilliance in the almost two-hour, energy-sapping programme. [...] The way the sometimes four, sometimes five wind players - supplemented when necessary by pianist Éric Le Sage - merge into one instrument in terms of sound is truly great art.

Rheinische Post Düsseldorf, Heiko Schmitz, 24.04.2024

Album: Hindemith Sonatas

These sonatas have rarely been heard in such a perfect interpretation.

FonoForum, June 2021: Star of the month

Not only the concept of the new CD from Les Vents Francais works very well: Hindemith's recorded pieces are also convincing in terms of interpretation across the board.

WDR 3 Tonart, Jan Ritterstaedt, 19.04.2021

Album: Romantique

Was die famosen französischen Bläser mit delikatester Tongebung, klanglicher Raffinesse und musikalischer Gestaltungskunst daraus hervorzaubern, sucht seinesgleichen. […] Gemeinsam findet man zu einem wunderbar warm-timbrierten Ensembleklang, schafft es jedoch gleichzeitig, das individuelle Klangkolorit der einzelnen Instrumente zu erhalten. Éric Le Sage brilliert im virtuos-kniffligen Klavierpart des Spohr-Quintetts ohne die kammermusikalische Grundkonzeption zu sprengen.

Fono Forum, Holger Arnold, 08.07.2020

Les Vents Francais sind allesamt Einzelkünstler erster Güte. Das hört man sofort, wenn Flötist Emmanuel Pahud, Klarinettist Paul Meyer, François Leleux an der Oboe, Fagottist Gilbert Audin, Radovan Vlatkovic am Horn und Eric Le Sage am Klavier Quintette von George Onslow, August Klughardt und Louis Spohr interpretieren. Dafür gibt es Höchstpunktzahl!

SWR2 Treffpunkt Klassik, Manuel Brug, 10.08.2020

Les Vents Francais at Mozartfest Würzburg

The members of Les Vents Français showed at the Mozartfest what Mozart meant: flutist Emmanuel Pahud, who also plays the oboe part, offers a rich spectrum of timbres. Paul Meyer, who juggles transparent and slim with all the expressive possibilities of his clarinet. Gilbert Audin, bassoon, joined confidently, sometimes sonor, sometimes singing. And Radovan Vlatkovic, whose horn conjures up romantic longings and floating lightness.

Mainpost, Ursula Düring, 27.05.2019

CD: Concertante with Münchener Kammerorchester

These five high-caliber performers have a musical ambition they want to fulfill themselves - and an enormous desire for entertainment. The programme includes light-hearted concertante symphonies by Mozart, Devienne, Pleyel and Danzi. This music is neither obtrusive virtuoso, nor does it just splash away like that. It lives on sophisticated, parallel wind sections and on the fact that the soloists, as well as in jazz, also make passages solo, and for that the listener would like to give them an additional applause.

NDR Kultur, Margarete Zander, 18.05.2018

These five works are fine examples of the form, none of them plumbing any particular depths but each providing pleasant diversion. Virtuosity too, and it would be hard to find a more able, agile and fluent ensemble than Les Vents Français to do full justice to them. Paul Meyer’s clarinet, especially, gurgles, giggles and dances through works by Danzi, Devienne and Mozart, and Radovan Vlatkovic´’s horn-playing ranges from eloquent cantabile to breathtaking acrobatics. Both Mozart and Devienne spin sets of variations in their finales, allowing each instrument its turn in the spotlight.(…) The Munich Chamber Orchestra provide attentive accompaniment but it is the performances by this unparalleled group of soloists that mark out this exquisite pair of discs.

Gramophone, David Threasher, 15.06.2018

Les Vents Français, who already released several excellent albums, are a crack ensemble of distinguished solo performers in their own right.(…) This group is in magnificent form. They give us radiant, stylish and focused playing of impeccable musicality and elevated technical assurance, with instinctive feel for the works. One notes the subtle nuances and the delightful precision; nothing feels self-conscious. With playing of such evident relish, one never becomes satiated with wind tone.(…) This vivid exploration by Les Vents Français of fascinating Sinfonia Concertante music is entirely convincing.
<link http: www.musicweb-international.com>www.musicweb-international.com, Michael Cookson, June 2018

Les Vents Francais at Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival

Les Vents Francais form a remarkably well-balanced, clean and fascinatingly powerful unity. How various values are produced as if by magic in Milhaud's La cheminée du roi René and the middle movement in Hindemith's Small Chamber music seems to be dubbed delights the listener. Emmanuel Pahud and Paul Meyer meet in Jolivet's duo sonata as crazy chirping birds. Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin is also very speaking.

Kieler Nachrichten, Christian Strehk, 06.07.2017

CD of the Month: Beethoven Chamber music for winds

Les Vents Francais stand for subtle wind chamber music. They recorded a pure Beethoven album, which sounds impeccably fine, spontaneous, accurate. The variations for oboe, clarinet and bassoon are examples. The fact that musicians who have experienced chamber music are joined here is heard throughout. A Beethoven album of the other kind.

www.concerti.de, Christian Lahneck, May 2017

Les Vents Francais, the all-star troupe around the flautist Emmanuel Pahud, approaches Beethoven's early work sportingly and expresses it expressively, but leaves it the youthful aura.

www.deutschlandfunk.de, Johannes Jansen, 07.05.2017

Highly gifted players

The formation Les Vents Francais with Pahud, Leleux, Meyer, Audin, Vlatkovic and Le Sage
astonished with a homogeneity of the overall effect (...).The interplay works perfectly in the 
transfer of phrases and in the melodic imitation as in the Tutti and also humorous effects 
with the desired drastic. All of them can "sing" wonderfully, without being sentimental.

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, MaS, 27.04.2017

Winds & Piano

The marvelous woodwind quintet Les Vents Francais again demonstrates brilliant ensemble playing of the highest level, perfectly complemented by pianist Eric Le Sage.

FonoForum, February 2015

Humorously, lively, elegant and perfectly played.

Hr2, November 2014

CD review: 20th Century Wind Quintets

Especially the subtle play of timbres captivates.

BR Klassik, February 2014

Not only for woodwind aficiados an absolute recommendation.

hr2 Kultur, February 2014