Marc Pantillon’s sensitively executed, thoughtful Brahms interpretations offer much to savor. In the first Op. 10 Ballade, he plays the “Edward” theme’s recapitulation slightly slower than the marked Tempo I in order to underline how the left-hand staccato notes more or less imitate the right-hand theme. While the pianist makes less of No. 2’s dramatic contrasts than many others do, his softer-grained approach still convinces. However, No. 3 lacks the vitality, the marked dynamic contrasts, and virtuoso sheen you hear from Arrau, Michelangeli, and Katchen. Much as I understand what triggers Pantillon’s poetic impulses in No. 4’s central Piu Lento section, I’d prefer a stronger melodic focus and a steadier basic pulse.
If more individual, finely honed accounts exist of the Intermezzi Op. 117 (notably Vogt and Pogorelich), the third piece acquires a rare urgency via Pantillon’s rather unorthodox, headlong rendition. His rounded phrasing and introspective delicacy work best in Op. 118’s last two pieces, yet sometimes I miss the firmly etched linear clarity both Kempff and Vogt bring to Nos. 1, 3, and 4, or how Stephen Kovacevich’s cumulative power leaves few felicitous details by the wayside. As you can gather, Marc Pantillon is up against formidable Brahmsian competition, yet his serious musicianship deserves admiration and respect.
