Under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra celebrated the birthday of HM Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana recently at the Thailand Cultural Centre, once again generously supported by B.Grimm and directed most expertly by resident conductor Dr Vanich Potavanich.
The first half of the concert belonged entirely to Franz Liszt, that most imposing of 19th century composer-virtuosos, whose Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 C-sharp Minor (here in its popular C minor Müller-Berghaus orchestration) got proceedings off to a rousing start. The lugubrious, brooding opening Lassan section immediately showcased brilliant principal clarinetist Yos Vaneesorn, whilst the fiery Friska was a veritable whirlwind of relentless energy.
Piano soloist Phu Koanantakool began studies at the remarkably mature age of 17, which makes his catalogue of achievements all the more remarkable.
Following initial studies at Silpakorn University, he received the highest level of international musical training, including at the Mozarteum University Salzburg and the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. In 2023, he founded the Thailand International Piano Festival and this year became the first Thai recipient of Hungary's prestigious Pro Cultura Hungarica award for his dedication to promoting the music of Franz Liszt.
Hence his choice of repertoire for this special concert -- Liszt's Piano Concerto No.2 In A Major. Utterly unique in every respect, this intriguing opus constitutes one single, lengthy movement divided into six sections that are connected by transformations of several themes.
The composer referred to it as a concerto symphonique, likening it more to his own specialised field of symphonic poem rather than the traditional concerto form per se. Moreover, completed many years after Liszt's own touring-virtuoso period, it was in fact premiered in 1857 by his pupil Hans von Bronsart (the composer himself conducting).
That is in no way to detract from the considerable technical demands, however, and Phu negotiated this challenging score with formidable keyboard mastery and unshakable confidence.
His debut with the RBSO was warmly received by the audience and after numerous curtain calls he further delighted Bangkok's musical community with a fascinating encore -- Chopin's Study No.13 In E-flat Minor, transcribed for left hand alone by Godowsky. It was indeed a spellbinding performance.
Zoltán Kodály fashioned his delightfully humorous Háry János Suite in 1927, providing the modern orchestral canon with one of its most imaginatively conceived scores. The notoriously famous opening tutti "sneeze" effect set this fairy-tale narrative in motion -- in Hungarian folklore this arresting gesture denotes the telling of honest truth, however fantastical the content might be!
Viennese Musical Clock was rendered to absolute perfection by the woodwind, brass and percussion sections, whilst the following, deeply nostalgic Hungarian folk-like Song featured an isolated, well-controlled viola solo by Atjayut Sangkasem.
Superb alto saxophonist Supat Hanpattanachai then enjoyed the spotlight in The Battle & Defeat Of Napoleon, before the audience was further treated to certainly the rarest of timbral joys in Intermezzo. This movement utilises the spine-tingling effect of the cimbalom (a Hungarian hammer dulcimer), brought fully alive here in all of its sparkling wonder by Wachirapa Srisutham.
It was then left to the entire RBSO and Dr Vanich to revel in the exhilarating finale Entrance Of The Emperor & His Court, rounding off yet another accomplished evening of music-making at the Thailand Cultural Centre.
