Interview
Where and when was your first concert with the MCO?
My first concert with the MCO was in September 2018, in Lisbon, during a European tour with Gustavo Dudamel.
What is your most memorable moment with the orchestra?
There are many memorable moments but I would say the tour with Teodor Currentzis and the MusicAeterna choir for Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem – especially the two concerts in Moscow and Dortmund – were very special moments. These two concerts were particularly intense in every way. These are the moments when you feel very lucky and they remind you why you chose to be a musician.
What do you do before a performance?
Usually, I try to have a "normal" day, but on tour it's different. You travel a lot, playing different programs, sometimes with jetlag, so I try to rest a bit before a concert, even if sometimes we don't have enough time because of travelling.
If you could play another instrument, what would it be?
I have always loved the sound of the oboe and the French horn, and they always have nice parts to play. Also, oboe is like bassoon, we need reeds and this is not the most fun part of our job, so I would probably choose the French horn.
The first piece you fell in love with?
When I was 15, I did a summer academy and we played Beethoven’s violin concerto with the orchestra. That was my first "big orchestra experience", and I really enjoyed it (also maybe because there is a very nice bassoon part in this piece!) Since then, I have played it many times, and every time I love it.
It's actually this piece that made me realize that I would like to be a musician.
Biography
Born in Angoulême, Pierre Gomes studied in Lyon, Mannheim and Saarbrücken. In 2012 he was appointed solo bassoon in the Orchestre national de Metz (France) and, in the same year, became a member of the Orchestra Mozart Bologna with Claudio Abbado.
In 2008 Pierre won second prize of the G. Rossini competition in Pesaro.
He played regularly with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and Verbier Festival Orchestra; he has been a member of the Verbier Chamber Orchestra since 2011.
Pierre has also played with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, Münchner Kammerorchester, SWR Symphonieorchester, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Orchestre de chambre de Paris and Opéra de Lyon, as well as in chamber music with partners such as François Leleux, Martin Fröst and Christian Zacharias.
Pierre Gomes has been teaching at the Conservatoire de la ville de Luxembourg since 2016.
