The indomitable French pianist Jean Bernard Pommier performed last Wednesday with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra at the Thailand Cultural Centre, under the baton of Wolfram Christ, the renowned German conductor and former principal violist of the Berlin Philharmonic. The result was a luminous performance of the third piano concerto by Beethoven.
Pommier's performance proves one important point to us: no matter how many times the same piece of music is performed, there will always be new revelations and a spontaneity that can only be grasped in the moment of a live performance. With great support from the conductor, the orchestra achieved a rare and special contrast in its dynamics, moving from very loud to very soft; Christ insisted heavily upon the importance of Beethoven's style of "Sturm und Drang". This meant Pommier could express a wider range of emotional intensity and take it to the highest level.
In the first movement, the orchestra's dark and soft sounds never lost their sense of fire even when played at low decibels. The 71-year-old Pommier sounded like a young pianist, fired up by such passion and energy. He was really taking charge of the instrument and handling all the difficult passages with ease and flexibility. His lyrical themes were well phrased, eloquent and tasteful. Both the orchestra and the soloist maintained the drama and momentum throughout the whole movement. Every sound that Pommier produced was never harsh, consistently filled with beautiful golden tones.
Pommier started the Largo movement in the spirit of a calm meditation and the orchestra responded to him sensitively. It was an enlightening experience that comprised more than mere beauty. It was as if the music was speaking by itself and we were all there to serve it. He maintained his slow tempo throughout and never lost the sense of direction.
Pommier woke the orchestra up from deep reflections to a fiery third movement. He played it with such cunning wit and all the cadenzas were well executed. The orchestra deserves praise for the precision of their rhythm; they were very focused and at the same time flexible. The clarinet solo was beautifully played and filled with melting expressiveness. The success of this concert lies in the fact that the dynamic range of the orchestra and soloist were widened. Pommier finished off the virtuosic ending with brilliance and triumph. His technical capability was unmatched and this performance commanded such attention that it warrants a consideration for being one of the best performances of Beethoven's third piano concerto ever performed in Bangkok. In the second half, the audience witnessed the challenging performance of Dvorak's Symphony No.7. This was the first chance for a Bangkok audience to hear the piece live. Maestro Christ showed that he had a mature structural understanding of the piece in which his reading was coherent and expressive. The transitions of tempi between the movements were flexible. The slow movement flowed warmly with beautiful phrasings. Each signal that he gave was full of musical purpose. The overall performance was filled with freshness and directness of expression. Mr Christ has brought such powerful leadership along with charisma to the orchestra. In this expansive work, the music was driven and full of vitality. At the end, maestro Christ and the players received a tremendous ovation from the audience.
Pianist Jean Bernard Pommier entralls the audience.
