Soloist
One of the most important voices internationally for the oboe solo repertoire, Emily has recorded and performed extensively as a soloist.
Her most recent recording - of the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Martyn Brabbins - was Guardian Choice of the Week.
Emily's playing has inspired many composers to write for her, including Paul Patterson, who wrote his Phoenix Concerto for her, and Richard Blackford who wrote The Better Angels of Our Nature for her. Emily gave both the world premiere (UK, 2009) and US premiere performances of Patterson’s Phoenix, the world premiere of Richard Blackford’s The Better Angels of Our Nature in Los Angeles in 2013 and the UK premiere with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Martyn Brabbins in 2015.
As part of the BBC celebrations to mark International Women’s Day 2016, Emily was invited to perform Thea Musgrave’s virtuosic Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra Helios with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the concert was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. Her recordings – amongst them English oboe concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra and chamber music of Poulenc, Loeffler, Thuille, Balakirev, Ravel, Dutilleux, Mozart, and Beethoven – have received many accolades. Her recording of the Bach Oboe d’Amore Concerto became Classic FM’s CD of the month.
Click here for Discography.
“Pailthorpe’s playing is characterised by a full, appealing sound which modulates seamlessly between soft reticence and poised incisiveness.
The phrasing is effortlessly eloquent and accommodates both individuality and naturalness...innate musical intelligence.”
Emily recording with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
“... Pailthorpe’s long lines sing out with no hint of strain, her tone just the right side of full-bodied. She’s superb in the Andante’s aria-like melody, sweetly accompanied by Martyn Brabbins’ BBC Symphony Orchestra.”