By Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer

How pianist Yefim Bronfman had any energy left after his punishing performance of Prokofiev's fiendishly difficult Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Thursday night is a mystery.

But after his astounding tour de force, he followed it up with another: the pummeling final movement of Prokofiev's Sonata No. 7.

The symphony's season finale under Paavo Jarvi was an evening in which each moment seemed more electric than the last and which had the audience on its feet, cheering, three times.

From the orchestra's first performance of Lutoslawski's Symphonic Variations, which opened the evening, to a rewarding performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, which concluded it, the musicians were energized and inspired.

Prokofiev's Concerto No. 2 in G Minor is, in Bronfman's own words, "a symphony for the piano." A true endurance test, its pounding rhythms and staggering technical demands are relentless - yet there are also moments of melting lyricism.

A bear of a man, Bronfman, 46, met the challenges with both power and finesse. His softer phrases had beautiful tone and were intensely romantic. He controlled the mounting crescendos with mesmerizing power, navigating fistfuls of chords, diabolical runs and leaps as if he had 20 fingers.

The scherzo was a propulsive perpetual motion; he flung back his arm at the end, and nearly flew off his bench. The cadenzas were like mini-concertos, building in mystery, tension and brilliance like a rubber band about to snap.

It was an extraordinary display of stamina and bravura. Jarvi and the orchestra were superb partners, and echoed the intensity.

Beethoven's Seventh, in the second half, exuded a different kind of energy. It crackled with precision, freshness and momentum, with Jarvi barely pausing between movements.

The slow movement evolved as one seamless arc; the scherzo was light and exceedingly quick - with accents outlined in bold relief.

Basses and cellos dug in for a dark sound, and the winds phrased warmly.

Jarvi urged on his players with great feeling, and they responded vibrantly.

Lutoslawski's Symphonic Variations, full of brilliant orchestral flourishes, was a rousing curtain-raiser.

In the audience: James Jolly, editor of Gramophone magazine, for a symphony feature story to be published next fall.

E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com