My Dreams for My Children

Despite a having a busy day hopping from one place to another within the metro, made worse by the uncooperative weather, I still managed to arrive on time despite being wet at the FEU Auditorium in Manila to catch a concert entitled My Dreams for My Children.

This concert featured two very promising violinists: Diomedes Saraza Jr. and Regina Buenaventura. Accompanying them was the Manila Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Arturo Molina. Either of these violinists could've carried the whole show by themselves so when a concert featured these two, it should be no surprise that people would flock to the concert hall. And people did arrive at the FEU Auditorium despite the lousy weather and it was a full house with some people standing at the back of the hall.

For this concert, Saraza Jr. played the 1st movement of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 and Camille Saint-Saëns' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. But before that the Manila Symphony Orchestra started the concert with their rendition of Antonino Buenaventura's By the Hillside.

For the second half of the concert, it was Buenaventura's turn with another Tchaikovsky piece: Souvenir d'un lieu cher (Memory of a Beloved Place). And then she played the 1st movement of another concerto, Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77. And just like the preceding part, the orchestra performed first a handful of Happy Birthday Variations by Mildred Hill/arr. Peter Heidrich. And the two soloists performed Navarra by Pablo de Sarasate which capped the concert.

The Manila Symphony Orchestra is a competent orchestra and I've heard them play well numerous times. But their sound somewhat felt a bit dry during this night. I guess it had something to do with the less than stellar acoustics of the FEU Auditorium. This place is aesthetically beautiful and full of history but I do hope that they improve the acoustics soon. I wasn't able to fully appreciate the Buenaventura piece because of this. And their Happy Birthday variations was very entertaining especially when I considered the amusing reaction of the audience for the more popular variations presented.

The soloists were impressive and Saraza Jr. earned points for playing two of my favorite pieces in the violin repertoire. Unfortunately, the concerto being limited only to the first movement was not enough. But he did show flair and mastery of technique with his pieces. Buenaventura, on the other hand was more expressive with her Tchaikovsky piece. Again, the Brahms concerto being just the first movement wasn't enough. I guess that this was the compromise for having two great soloists in just one concert. Playing the full concerto would've made the for a much longer show and for some people, it might be too tiresome.

After the concert, I had a blast catching up with a few friends whom I haven't seen for a while. And it helps a lot when cocktails were served. Also, I always take advantage of having the opportunity to have a brief chat with the artists. Thanks once again to Martin Lopez for the invite.

Italian National Day Concert: Uto Ughi

Uto Ughi

When word got out that in line with the Italian National Day celebrations, the Italian Embassy would be bringing in violin virtuoso Uto Ughi to perform at the CCP Main Theater, I immediately secured tickets for myself and convinced friends to do the same. Events like this, especially if admission is free, are always a hit with people and reserving them later would only cause the disappointment of being informed that tickets are no longer available.

And there were indeed a lot of people who attended this concert. There was a very diverse mix of people: members of the diplomatic corps, key figures in local classical music scene, concert regulars and other people who grabbed at this rare opportunity. So even before the concert started, there was already this energy and buzz that made the atmosphere in the lobby very exciting.

So what can I say about the performance? Well I got a bit distracted at the start since there was an announcement that there would be a change of program and I tend to get a bit disappointed about things like that. And the piece that would be replaced was one of the pieces that I’ve been looking forward to that night so. So I wasn’t able to listen that well to the first piece that was played which was Fritz Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Paganini. I do admit that it’s hard for me to get settled at first during concerts and sometimes it takes a familiar work for me to finally get into the mood. And it was difficult for me this time since the Kreisler piece is an unfamiliar work for me. But I do like to point out that the violin had a very lovely tone and if I’m not mistaken, he was playing with the Guarneri del Gesú violin. And throughout the concert, Ughi was accompanied by Alessandro Specchi on the piano.

And because he played with the Guarneri, he opted not to play with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 also known as the Kreutzer Sonata which he does with his other violin, the Stradivarius of 1701. Well, that was what I was told but I’m not too sure if that was indeed his reason. And he replaced it with the Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major Op. 24, which is also known as Spring. Although I am a lot more familiar with this Spring sonata, I was really looking forward to another performance of the Kreutzer sonata since I’ve learned to like it in recent weeks. Yes, Ughi played splendidly, especially the very familiar first movement but I was really hoping that didn’t have that change in the programme.

The disappointment of the first half was nullified by another change in the program at the start of the second half. Instead of playing Henryk Wieniawsky’s Fantasy on Faust Theme, Op. 20, he played Pablo de Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25 which is one of my favorite violin pieces. And Ughi certainly didn’t disappoint especially during my favorite parts of the piece: the Seguidilla and the Gyspsy Dance. The only thing that could’ve topped this performance was if he played it with an orchestra instead of just having Specchi accompany him on the piano.

I guess that the Sarasate piece had a way of relaxing him since he loosened up a bit and started to talk more to the audience introducing the piece and giving a bit of background about the composer before playing. He explained that the next piece, La Campanella by Niccolo Paganini was from the Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 7. And he got a bit cheeky, pausing midway through a performance to tell the audience that the section where the bells would come in was already next. If this was a regular concert, I would’ve been aghast by this but I didn’t mind at all since he played Carmen Fantasy after all.

And then came the last piece of the night’s programme which was what I was originally waiting for until the Sarasate piece stole its thunder. I really love Camille Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28 and I’m glad that this piece wasn’t replaced by another. At this point, Ughi already owned the stage and again, the only thing that could’ve made this performance better was having an orchestra playing alongside with him.

The night was still young after he finished this piece and people had some glasses of wine so they thought that Ughi needs to play more. Fortunately, he gave about four encores. The two pieces weren’t really familiar to me but I was told that one of them was The Dance of the Goblins (La Ronde des Lutins), Scherzo fantastique, Op. 25 by Luigi Joseph Bazzini. The last two encores I knew. First was the latter part of Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20. And the last was the very popular Meditation from Thaïs by Jules Massenet. I wish that he’d played the entire Sarasate piece but I guess that they didn’t have enough time. And I felt that he went a bit too fast with the Massenet piece.

Even after the concert ended, people still hung out at the lobby and enjoyed the food, wine, coffee, gelatto that was served. I’ve had too many espresso shots that night which didn’t help me sleep at all. It was nice bumping into familiar faces many of whom I haven’t seen for the past couple of months. But it was very nice seeing groups of people who, judging from the excitement that they exuded that night, aren’t regular concert goers and are quite new to this. They may be unfamiliar faces to me for now but I do hope that get to be regular concert goers too since they looked like they were having a grand time. And if this actually happens, then it’s mission accomplished for Uto Ughi, Alessandro Specchi and the local arts and culture scene.

Too bad I wasn't able to take any photos since the two musicians immediately had dinner after the performance.

PPO Signature Series Concert V

The fifth concert of the 27th Season of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines was the first concert of the year for me. Included in the programme lead by conductor Oscar Yatco were Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber; Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68. The featured pianist for the Chopin piece was Albert Tiu.

As I settled into my seat about 10 minutes prior to the start of the concert, I heard the usual tuning of the instruments backstage. From the discordant tones stood out a clear passage played by a lone violin. It was from Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68. But I had to wait since that was the last piece of music to be played that night.

I admit that I wasn’t too familiar with the Hindemith work so I can’t really comment on how the orchestra played it. I did find the second movement quite interesting with the main theme repeated over and over as it got passed on from one group of instruments to another only to end up abruptly with a loud chord. And then what came next was a variation of that same theme but done with a jazzy feel to it by the trombones. And add to it the use of several lesser known percussion instruments like the tubular bells that added another facet to this very interesting movement. But during the end of the fourth and final movement, the brass section completely overpowered the strings and I could barely hear a sound from them despite their frantic bowing.

The next piece to be performed was the Chopin which is one of my favorite pieces of classical music. And I am glad that Albert Tiu delivered. He absolutely made the piano sing despite a few missed notes at the end of the difficult passages during the first and third movement. The second movement though was divine and the bassoon responded beautifully during the solo parts that supported the delicate and clear sounds from the famous slow section of this concerto. Again, I noticed that the brass section, particularly the horn was too loud. And unlike the bassoon solo which complimented the piano well, the horn sounded harsh which didn’t go well with the soft piano passages from this movement.

The audience responded well to the Chopin with some already applauding even when the last note was still being played. Tiu then treated the audience with an encore of a piano transcription of Le Cygne by Camille Saint-Saëns. He was later mobbed by adoring fans at the lobby during the intermission.

Pianist Albert Tiu

The Brahms started out nicely with the ascending and descending tunes of the introduction accompanied by the steady beat of the timpani setting the mood for this heavyweight work. The solo parts were remarkable especially the oboist during the second movement. I wish that I could say the same for the sweet yet haunting violin solo but as I’ve noticed earlier, the horn was too loud again for me to appreciate this wonderful tune. But the horn finally delivered at the fourth movement during the famous horn call. The flute that immediately followed echoing this call was up to the task and he also played his part well.

It seemed like it was all coming together as the final movement comes to a triumphant end but somehow it didn’t turn out as well as I would’ve expected. A flute noticeably stuttered, a horn had a very cautious entry, and in a strange turn, during the second brass chorale that usually sends a shiver down my spine, the brass section was somehow underwhelming. This was the part where the hair at the back of my neck was supposed to rise but it didn’t. I’m not sure if the orchestra ran out of gas at the end. It’s not like they crashed and burned and had it all wrong in the end but it was more like it didn’t end right. The applause at the end which should’ve been the loudest was a bit restrained compared to the audience’s enthusiastic response to the Chopin piece.

Overall, it was a satisfying performance by the orchestra. The Chopin alone was worth it. I still feel a bit overwhelmed by the brass section but it made me think if adding a few members to the string section would’ve improved their sound production. Speaking of the strings section, during the orchestral tutti at the beginning of the Chopin piece, a member from the 2nd violin section stood up and left the stage. He came back after the first movement and exchanged instruments with the Associate Concertmaster. I think that the Associate broke a string or something and had to have it fixed. Fortunately, the one who left returned during the pause between the first two movements and everything went well during the rest of the performance.