Fingerdance

Now, it’s back to the regular entries involving my experiences in watching classical music performances. There have been a few performances that happened over the last few weeks but I wasn’t able to see them. But now, I’m back with an entry about the performance of Gerry Graham Gonzales whose recital during the PREDIS Young Artists Recital Series I also failed to see. Since then, I made it a point to somehow make it up to him and that I did when I caught his latest performance entitled Fingerdance which was held at the GSIS Museum.

As I’ve said before, I’m not that knowledgeable about the cello and I wasn’t jumping for joy when I saw his first pieces for the concert: Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 by Johann Sebastian Bach and Rondo in C Major by Luigi Boccherini. I admit that these pieces are unfamiliar to me. The same could be said by the third piece which was David Popper’s Gnometanz, Op. 50 No. 2. I felt that he started a bit cold during the Bach but somehow got his pace with the Boccherini and the Popper piece which has a more upbeat tempo. By the way, except for the first piece, Gonzales was accompanied by Jourdann Petalver at the piano.

For the second half of the program, Gerry was joined by Sara Maria Gonzales on the violin for the piece Passacaglia duo for violin and cello by Georg Frideric Handel and Johan Halvorsen. This was followed by Antonin Dvořák’s Rondo in G Minor, Op. 94 and lastly by Peter Tchaikovsky’s Pezzo Capriccioso and accompanying him on the piano was Petalver once again.

I was glad to finally see Gonzales perform but this performance was light weight compared to his recital a month before where he had an orchestra backing him up. The performance in this intimate setting was very relaxed compared to the other performances that I’ve been too. And I guess that things actually got too relaxed that some mistakes were made especially at the Passacaglia. But overall, this is one of the concerts where one just could sit and relax, get away from the summer heat and enjoy a music performance. And a nice bonus is a chance to view the art pieces on display at the museum which I did before the performance started.

Fingerdance is actually a part of the GSIS Museum Thursday Concert Series which is held every second and last Thursday of the month from January to November. Surprisingly, this was my first time to see a concert from this series but this certainly won’t be my last.

Cellist Gerry Graham Gonzales

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

PREDIS Young Artists Recital Series Rey Casey Concepcion

It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated this blog. There weren’t any notable concerts for the past two weeks since there was this Holy Week/Easter weekend which meant that people were on a break. And I am glad that there was this break since I need to recharge from all the concerts that I’ve seen the previous month. And there were also a handful of student recitals that I’ve watched last month but I purposely didn’t write about them.

But this entry is about a student recital and yet I made an exception with the PREDIS Young Artists Recital Series. I wouldn’t normally write about student recitals whether they are junior or graduation recitals but this recital series staged at St. Cecilia’s Hall at Scholastica’s College had quite an impressive promotion for just a student recital. And this recital is a PREDIS 25th Anniversary Presentation so it’s a milestone to be celebrated. By the way, PREDIS actually stands for Philippine Research for Developing Instrumental Soloists.

So the first recitalist in this series was violist, Rey Casey Concepcion. He is currently the principal violist of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. I’ve seen this orchestra perform before but I haven’t seen him play before as a soloist. But he’s the 2008 First Prize Winner of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) for Viola and aside from that; he was also a delegate of the Asian Youth Orchestra back in 2009.

Yet despite these achievements, I was still at a loss when I watched this recital because I am totally ignorant of the usual viola repertoire. The programme consisted of Suite No. 2 in C Major, BWV 1009 by Johann Sebastian Bach, Märchenbilder, Op. 113 by Robert Schumman, Romanze in F Major, Op. 85 by Max Bruch and Der Schwanendreher by Paul Hindemith. I recognize all these composers but the pieces were unknown to me. And I’m still quite mystified with the viola and its appeal. But as I’ve said before when I started this blog, I’ll be open to new things and I should just be grateful that I’ve had this opportunity to see a viola recital.

Concepcion started the recital by playing the Bach piece unaccompanied and then he was joined by Greg Zuniega at the piano for the Schumann and Bruch pieces. And right from the start, I noticed that he had a presence on stage. He may have displayed a few signs of nervousness as he entered the stage but when he started playing, he seemed like he was in a world of his own and went into a performance mode. It didn’t feel like a junior recital at all since he performed like someone who has done this for years. I can’t say much about the pieces played since it’s no secret that I’m not the biggest fan of Bach’s music and it was my first time to ever listen to the other two pieces.

For the last piece which was played after the intermission, Concepcion was now accompanied by members of the Manila Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Molina. I know Hindemith but his pieces aren’t the most accessible for me. And Der Schwanendreher was no exception. It was quite interesting though to have neither violins nor violas in the orchestra for this piece but it did make the viola stand out. But one instrument also did stand out for me although for the wrong reasons. It felt odd hearing an electronic keyboard play the part of the harp. I know that it’s not that easy to procure a harp in here and having the keyboard play its part was quite distracting and I never got used to it throughout the performance.

Despite the pieces being strange to me coupled with my lack of knowledge with the viola itself, I enjoyed watching this recital. Concepcion performed with heart and he never made me feel anxious and nervous like some of the student recitals that I’ve seen recently. And if this recital sets the tone for the entire series, then it’s extremely unfortunate that I have to miss the next two recitals due to conflict of schedule.

Violist Rey Casey Concepcion