The third concert of the Chopin Manille 2010 Bicentenaire series was the fifth show that I’ve been to in seven days. Travelling to watch all these shows coupled with very little sleep and not to mention the intense summer heat has made me very tired and weary. But that didn’t stop me from going to the Philamlife Auditorium to catch this performance that featured pianist Raul Sunico. Besides, this is a celebration of the music of Frédéric Chopin.
Sunico is no stranger to me since I see him a lot at the Cultural Center of the Philippines since he is the Vice President and the Artistic Director there. Aside from that, he is also the Dean of the UST Conservatory of Music. It’s a wonder how he is able to find the time to practice and prepare for performances such as this.
I was a bit thrown off when Sunico didn’t follow the format of the previous two concerts of talking a bit before performing the pieces. But then, this is usually how recitals are. Unfortunately, as I’ve said earlier, I was already feeling very tired and not having this small talk didn’t make it easy for me to get into the zone. And it didn’t help that he started the night with Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60. I have nothing against this piece, in fact I really like this but it was too sedate, ethereal and flowing for me with not too much tension, agitation or drama to jolt me out of my seat. I was just glad that he didn’t start with a Nocturne or that would’ve lulled me to sleep! I vowed to myself that I had to rest big time so that this wouldn’t happen to me again.
The next piece Sunico played was the three Mazurkas, Op. 56. Unfortunately, these pieces aren’t really familiar to me. I tried to listen to it and appreciate it but it was difficult. And like what I’ve said before, it’s tough when a piece preceded something else that I was really looking forward to. And the next piece after this, Sonata No. 2 in B Flat Minor, Op. 35 was the one that I was really waiting for.
This Sonata is one of my favorite Chopin pieces which meant that I was all ears when he played it. Sunico always has a restrained way of playing the piano. Some might call if stiff and uninteresting but I think that his playing is devoid of possible distractions like exaggerated facial expressions or unnecessary body movements. That is why I was able to really watch and listen to his interpretation of this Sonata. And by this time, the urge to sleep because of exhaustion was gone.
My favorite movement in this piece has always been the second one which is the Scherzo. But the movement that I appreciated most in Sunico’s performance was the third: the popular funeral march. I was a bit amused when there were some whispers among the audience when they heard the familiar melody of this movement. I guess that a lot of them weren’t aware that Chopin composed this tune since if they knew and read the programme before the concert; they wouldn’t have been surprised at all. But at least now they know! But what really worked for me wasn’t the main theme which is the popular funeral march. It was rather the Lento that I liked more. This piece ended the first half of the concert.
The concert resumed with Sunico playing the four Scherzos. The beginning of Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 20 leaves a lasting impression with the surprising outbursts following the chords that start the piece. And when he played this part, the audience realized that this piece is indeed a heavyweight. I was surprised when he decided to play all four without any pause. When he finished the first, some people in the audience wanted to applaud but they were stopped from doing so when he then started to play Scherzo No. 2 in B Flat Minor, Op. 31. This Scherzo is my favorite of the four since I like the contrasting themes and it has tension, drama, a very nice lyrical secondary theme and ultimately, a triumphant finish. Again, it was very interesting to see the differences in Sunico’s playing from what I had in mind. He gave me a new perspective on how this piece is played.
As expected, Sunico then played Scherzo No. 3 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 39 right after. This piece is the one with the delicate descending arpeggios that is like the flowing of water down a gentle stream. This is my second favorite among the four. And it’s very obvious that he ended this set with Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, Op. 54. This last piece is my least favorite among the four and for me it was somehow anticlimactic to end the concert with this piece. But that wasn’t the case for the rest of the audience since they applauded generously after the last piece ended since they had to wait until all four were finished.
I would’ve appreciated it more if he switched the order of the pieces like with what he did when he played the four Rachmaninoff concertos years ago. And I also wished that he didn’t play all four Scherzos in just one sitting. He could’ve taken a bow after finishing a piece, let the audience applaud and to also let me breathe for a while so that I could prep myself for the next piece to be played.
Sunico finally got the chance to be humorous during his encore. He played Etude No. 1 in A Flat Major, Op. 25 and joked to the audience that he would not be naming the composer of this piece. And somehow, this lighthearted moment continued on after the show as people eagerly went backstage to congratulate Sunico for his performance.
Pianist Raul SunicoIt was nice seeing Rudolf Golez again whom I also saw during the Ashkenazy concert. He has read my entry about his performance and I am extremely glad that he liked what I wrote.
0 comments:
Post a Comment