Right hand holding the baton, energetically beating the time. The left, with palm open, inviting and gathering. Which one will ultimately lead the Nice Philharmonic? As he prepares to take over the musical direction at the Nice Opera House and its Philharmonic Orchestra, Philippe Bender conducted the Regional Orchestra of Cannes Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur at the Cimiez Cloister on Tuesday, July 28. The program for this “Grand Classical Evening” included the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven, the Overture from “Prometheus”, Op. 43, and, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K. 482.
In the three-movement Beethoven piece, first performed in 1806, the maestro confirms the two modes previously mentioned: at the very start of the first movement, with precise attacks interspersed with broad syncopations while, in the following two, he suggests an infinite gentleness marked by the fluid waves of his left hand. As he leans forward as if to invest the space and further enrich a harmony already evident with his musicians, violinist Patrice Fontanarosa tirelessly doubles the themes—a characteristic of this Concerto—striving not to be perturbed by the rather recalcitrant sounds coming from a string affected by the ambient humidity. It would take much more to unsettle this violin professor at the Paris Conservatoire, whose virtuosity easily overcomes in his struggle against the adverse effects on the instrument due to nature’s whims.
The intermission hardly influences this osmosis between the conductor and his orchestra, also noticeable in the almost electric impulses given by Philippe Bender for the Overture of “The Creatures of Prometheus,” the only ballet written by the German composer. As for Mozart’s Concerto No. 22, pianist Jean-Claude Pennetier delivers a very moving interpretation, barely altered by the admiring recognition of the audience for a third movement made famous by Milos Forman’s masterpiece, “Amadeus.”
The musicians of the Nice Philharmonic hence await Philippe Bender, tasked with bringing together the Cannes and Nice orchestras: as he explained in an interview for Nice Premium, “Pooling is not merging,” as is too often believed. The maestro takes great care to “separate the economic aspects” inherent in bringing these two orchestras together from the “artistic project,” about which he willingly elaborates. Since France is organizing the “Russian Year,” the Nice Philharmonic will tune itself, so to speak, to the occasion: honoring Sergei Diaghilev, who died in 1929, and commemorating Tchaikovsky “who lived in Beaulieu.” But Philippe Bender ensures wanting to “respect the identity of the Nice Philharmonic,” highlighting the “two major moments in its history: those under the leadership of Pierre Dervaux and Klaus Weiss.” “We must,” he specifies, “rediscover the style of programming” that made this ensemble’s great moments. “With the help of the new Artistic Advisor of the Opera, Alain Lanceron, Nice should be able to host the greatest names in singing and music,” he says. The maestro has indeed “heard the concerns of the Nice musicians” regarding a potential reduction in forces. “The artistic success of the Philharmonic must prove and guarantee the necessity to maintain the Nice orchestra as is,” assures Philippe Bender. In the wings, one of the musicians confides: “You know, he’s a humanist.” A quality that will undoubtedly be invaluable in establishing trust with the Nice instrumentalists.
