A grand programme by a Grand master
Jean-Bernard Pommier
The Chamber Music Society of Colombo was proud to present the world famous French concert pianist Jean-Bernard Pommier, who thrilled local audiences with a selection of monumental piano sonatas. The project was sponsored by airline partner SriLankan Airlines, and hotel partner Hilton Colombo Residencies.
The recital was at the Goethe Institute (German Cultural Centre), 39, Gregory’s Road, Colombo 07, on Saturday, 13 March 2010, at 7pm, during a thunderstorm.
The programme for the evening included Beethoven’s Sonata no. 23 in f minor, op. 57 “Appassionata”, flanked by Mozart’s Sonata no. 18 in D major, K. 576 and Liszt’s only, mighty Sonata in b minor, S. 178.
Born in 1944, Mr. Pommier began piano classes at the age of four with the Russian pianist Mina Koslova, and gave his first piano recital at the age of 7. He went on to study piano at the Paris Conservatoire with Yves Nat and Pierre Sancan, as well as conducting with Eugène Bigot. In New York, he worked with Eugene Istomin. He won first prize at Berlin’s Young Musicians’ International Competition in 1960. He became the youngest finalist at the 1962 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, even winning first honourable mention from the chairman Emil Gilels (the year that it was won by Vladimir Ashkenazy and the late John Ogdon). At the same time, he began recording with EMI. Ten years later, he began a long collaboration with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, in Berlin and at the Salzburg Festival. He has since embarked on a career which has taken him to all of the world’s leading concert halls, to rave reviews by audiences and critics alike.
More recently, his concerto partners have included Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim, Bernard Haitink, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Michel Plasson, Georges Prêtre, Semyon Bychkov, Charles Dutoit, Riccardo Muti, Lawrence Foster and Sir Simon Rattle. His recital and concerto appearances have included major centres such as London (with all 5 major orchestras), Amsterdam (with the Royal Concertgebouw), Tokyo (with the NHK Symphony), Leipzig, Dresden, Chicago, Paris and Moscow; as well as the Philharmonic Orchestras in Los Angeles, Vienna, Berlin and New York.
He also enjoys an active career as a conductor working with major orchestras in Europe and America. He also frequently takes up the dual role of pianist and conductor with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Northern Sinfonia (England), the Sinfonia Varsovia (Poland), the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra (Switzerland), the English Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
His chamber music partners have included Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Leonard Rose, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Paul Tortelier, Jaime Laredo and the Guarneri and Vermeer Quartets. He has given master-classes in Chicago, London, Lausanne, Durham and Melbourne.
Recent recital highlights include a complete cycle of the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas in London in 2008/09.
His native France has bestowed the title of Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.
March 6th, 2010 | Concert Archive