The new musical director of the Orchester symphonique de Montréal, Rafael Payare, is back in the metropolis after an absence of two and a half months for three concerts with Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan. That of Saturday afternoon, which we attended, generated frustrations of various kinds, but fortunately ended in the most beautiful way.
Getting into the room was rather laborious at first. The verification of vaccine passports has been moved from the Urban Salon, where it has been done fairly smoothly for a few months, at the bottom of the stairs leading to the foyer in the parterre. Suddenly, the line stretched to the entrance on Sainte-Catherine Street. The concert therefore started 15 minutes late, with around 100 spectators having to wait for the end of the first movement of the Piano Concerto by Tchaikovsky to take a seat in the room. A method to review, therefore.
But let’s talk about music. According to New York Times, Inon Barnatan is said to be “one of the most admired pianists of his generation”. His preachers, however, probably never heard it in Tchaikovsky.
The first movement is not far from the sinking. The pianist is like a mad horse which no longer has any control over itself. The movement is marked “Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso”, that is to say “fast, but not too much, and very majestic”. Rafael Payare got it right, as evidenced by his first-class accompaniment, both singing and imperious.
Barnatan is more in a constant “precipitando”, at the expense of the text and the subtlety of the expression. Why go downhill at full speed when you can’t afford it? In some lines, about half of the notes are missing (especially in the end octaves). And the piano-orchestral tone and synchronicity is often to match.
The other two movements are nevertheless going a little better. The central movement is well done in a “simple” way, as requested by the composer. Wonderful solo from cellist Brian Manker in addition. The final movement often remains rough on the piano side, but its character “con fuoco” (“with fire”) is more in line with the temperament of the performer.
We breathe a lot more afterwards in the First symphony in E minor, opus 39, by Sibelius. Eminently Tchaikovskian, it turns out to be an ideal complement to the first work on the program.
The “energico” indication of the first movement is taken literally by Payare. Others may prefer the more relaxed approach of a Bernstein, for example. But that of the head of the OSM is just as convincing. Payare is not a mad horse, but a formidable artist in full possession of his means. The theme played by the harp and the woodwinds, for which the conductor finds the right character, remains one of the beautiful moments of the concert.
The two central movements flow naturally, imposing themselves with obviousness. The orchestra is one of the best days, with opulent sonorities of strings, among others in the final movement.
The concert will air on April 23 at 8 p.m. on ICI TÉLÉ and ICI MUSIQUE