Yefim Bronfman
by Adam | Sunday 16 January 2011
No, I did not catch Yefim Bronfman playing the formidable Rach 3 in some European concert hall, but I did see him play Brahms No. 2 at the New York Philharmonic this past weekend at Lincoln Center.
If I can just say (since this is my blog n' all), the Schumann before he took the stage was a little dull, but the Brahms piece really blew my mind. There was a little tête-à-tête between cello and piano at one point during the andante movement that made me hold my breath. Why is it so difficult to type that without laughing at myself?
Anyhow, Bronfman is the man. In addition to being a great musician, he also made this classic appearance on The Daily Show, playing the straight man to a story about one "super-endowed" man's search for an acting job that didn't include porn.
On Friday night, a few (obviously uncouth) attendees began clapping after the first movement instead of waiting until the end of the performance. Bronfman seized upon this to quickly rise from his bench, smile, and perform a little bow as to say "okay, you can clap for me if you must." All of Avery Fisher Hall broke into laughter and applause.