Dvořák's Cello Concerto

Last February, I was geared up to watch the Symphonic Inaugural Gala of FILharmoniKA. But a death in the family at that time meant that I had to miss out on this concert. I still have the ticket for that date and it serves as a reminder of what could’ve been. Fortunately, I was able to watch parts of the concert when it was broadcast on television but it’s still not the same as being there live.

So it’s no surprise that I was very glad to have made it to FILharmoniKA’s second concert for this season entitled Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. So after attending a convention in another part of Metro Manila, I traveled towards the Philamlife Auditorium to see for the first time this orchestra and their conductor, Gerard Salonga. And for this night, the main draw was Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s principal cellist, Richard Bamping. Obviously, he was the featured soloist in Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191. But before that, the orchestra was to play Scheherazade Op. 35 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

As I’ve said previously, I’ve never seen this orchestra perform live so I tried not to expect too much. That was easier said than done since their opening piece, Scheherezade, is one of my favorites and my eyes and ears would be on their concertmaster playing the solos representing the title character of the piece.

The orchestra played this piece well and I felt very nostalgic since there are a lot of moments in this piece that I associate with personal moments. I did get goosebumps during my favorite part in the third movement highlighted by the clashing of the cymbals amidst that lovely melody played by the strings. But I admit that I felt nervous for the concertmaster at the end. Overall, it was a fine performance and I was glad that it was a familiar piece that they played on my first time to see them.

The next piece that they played is the part a lot of people paid for to see. Proof of that is that people from the second and third PREDIS Young Artists Series that happened hours before this concert rushed to see Richard Bamping play this popular cello concerto by Dvořák. Popular this concerto may be for cellists, but for someone whose primary instrument is the piano, I’m not really familiar with this.

But despite this, I enjoyed this performance more than the previous Rimsky-Korsakov piece. And the orchestra seemed to be more pumped up and inspired by having Bamping as their soloist. I felt a bit silly when I recognized the second movement and finally associated it with the right title and composer. I did feel a bit bad about not trying to listen to this piece a few times before this concert despite having the long holiday break. I would’ve really appreciated the performance more if I did just that. Then again, I felt really relaxed during the cello concerto and I wasn’t nervous at all for Bamping.

For an encore, Bamping played Hindi Kita Malimot and the orchestra accompanied him in this piece. As I’ve said before, if you’re a foreign musician and you take the time to learn a Filipino piece, you’re automatically loved by the local audience. Too bad that he tried to jeopardize it by playing another encore, a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach whose works for the keyboard I’m not totally fond of. Fortunately, I was really in good spirits so I was able to appreciate this encore.

Right after the concert, I went backstage to do my usual stuff of getting my souvenir programme signed. And he seemed very happy with his performance and the outcome of the concert. As for me, I can state it enough that I was extremely glad to see FILharmoniKA and Gerard Salonga perform live. Their next concert is still a few months away but I am already looking forward to it.

Cellist Richard Bamping