Alexandre Desplat is the composer of numerous film scores both in his native France and in Hollywood, where his score for Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs is arguably the most charming. Yet he's not a household name like other film composers of his caliber. Airlines is perhaps an attempt to raise his profile with an album devoted to his music, and it may well succeed in this respect. The album includes extracts from Desplat's film scores, arranged to offer a prominent solo flute part; these include the well-known music for The Shape of Water as well as one selection from The Grand Budapest Hotel (the whimsical quality of Desplat's orchestration seems to fit Anderson's aesthetic perfectly). There are also lesser-known Desplat film items in a variety of moods and original concert works, including a three-movement Pelléas et Mélisande, in much the same vein as his film music. The title track, Airlines, is not the soaring orchestral work that might be imagined but an engaging and virtuosic solo flute work for Emmanuel Pahud. Desplat himself conducts the Orchestre National de France and achieves an impressively homogeneous sound. Those who have enjoyed Desplat's film scores will likely already be customers for this release. The thing is that it may attract those who are less aware of his talents. ~ James Manheim, Rovi

1		[Excerpt] [Live]
2		Comme un oiseau pourchassé
3		Ils regardent la lumière
4		Fosée de plomb, inexorables ténèbres
5		[Excerpt] [Live]
6		[Excerpt] [Live]
7		[Excerpt] [Live]
8		Airlines for solo flute
9		[Excerpt] [Live]