The principal flautist of the Berlin Philharmonic returns to Australia with Mozart, Bach and an exciting premiere.

When he was four years old, Emmanuel Pahud heard his neighbour playing the flute. He was so enchanted by the sound drifting through his window that he told his parents, “I want to play the flute, I want to play the Mozart concerto the boy next door is practicing”. He recalled that decisive moment when he premiered the same concerto, K313 in G Major, with the National Orchestra of Belgium at the age of 15.

More than 20 years and countless concert engagements later, the Swiss flautist is still enthralling audiences with Mozart. This time he will perform the Second Concerto, K314 in D Major, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in a program entitled Pahud’s Magic Flute.

Over the phone from Berlin, he tells me how his view of Mozart has changed and grown since his adolescent debut. “Recently I was listening to a radio broadcast in the car and thought, ‘Oh, this is nice playing of the Mozart Concerto.’ I tried to guess who was playing and then they announced it was me! It’s proof that I’ve been evolving without even knowing,...