UST Chamber Orchestra in Concert

This concert, featuring the UST Chamber Orchestra conducted by Renato Lucas, was the culminating performance of the UST String Department Week. And it was made extra special with the inclusion of guest soloist, cellist Iñaki Etxepare. This was held at the Main Gallery of the UST Museum which was a rather intimate setting if one ignores all the preserved animals around.

Cellist Iñaki Etxepare

Etxepare is one half of the Pik Nik Dúo that performed during the Music and Poetry Concert a couple of days before this concert. His presence was made possible by Instituto Cervantes and the Spanish Program for Cultural Cooperation. And despite not being slated to perform, the other half of the duo, Marta Roma was present at the concert to lend her support.

Just like the duo’s previous concert, I only got incomplete information regarding the programme for the concert. I was only aware of Etxepare’s scheduled performance of Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob VIIb: 1. I only found out about the rest of the programme once I got into the venue. It makes me uncomfortable not knowing the programme beforehand and I wasn’t prepared at all for the Entrance of the Queen of Sheba by George Friedrich Handel and the Suite in the Olden Times (Holberg’s Suite) by Edward Grieg. But I had no choice but to sit through it before the familiar Haydn cello concerto.

Fortunately, the first two pieces were pretty accessible. The Handel did have a delightful oboe duet amidst the strings and no longer was I uncomfortable. And the Grieg piece was based on dances so there was no need for esoteric knowledge of this piece at all. I just let myself relax and enjoy since it was lively music after all. But I also liked the Air (Andante religioso) part since it was a nice slow change of pace which made me appreciate more the fast Rigaudon that featured a violin solo.

Finally, it was time for what I came to UST for: the cello concerto. I prepped myself up for this by listening to a recording featuring Rostropovich. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not really an avid fan of Haydn’s music but this concerto is very accessible even for the unitiated. I’ve always thought of this piece as clean, pure, lively and not really heavy on the drama but Etxepare surprised me with his cadenza when nearing the end of the first movement. There was unexpected tension and drama in it which I wasn’t prepared for at all. There weren’t any surprises like that during the second and third movements. And I just let myself enjoy the final movement which could probably make an emo’s head explode because of the inherent joy in that part. Fortunately, it was the audience’s applause, instead of exploding heads that filled the gallery after the performance.

For an encore, Etxepare played a lullabye which he said is a song for small children in a place at the north of Spain. It was lovely hearing him play pianissimo in such an intimate setting. It was just a bit creepy when I remembered all those preserved animals around. After finishing the lullabye, he got a bit cheeky pretending that he had fallen asleep.

To everyone’s delight, food was served outside the museum and it offered me the chance to have a brief chat with some of the orchestra members as well.

Music and Poetry with Miguel Hernández

When this concert featuring the Pik Nik Cello Dúo was first announced, the programme initially included just the music of Luigi Boccherini and poetry by Miguel Hernández. I wasn’t too thrilled with that since I’m totally unfamiliar with works of Boccherini and I was at a loss on how I would understand the poetry part since my Spanish is extremely limited. But I still decided to give this concert a shot since I told myself to be open to new and unfamiliar things especially when it comes to music.

So on to the Salón de Actos of Instituto Cervantes I went to see the duo composed of cellists Marta Roma and Iñaki Etxepare who are both from Spain. Amazingly, the venue was fully packed and some unfortunate ones had to settle seeing the performance via a projection screen at the wall at the hallway. Lucky for me, I was able to find myself a very good seat inside. And when I got my hands on the programme, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was another set after the fugues. And this second part was what interested me more.

Honestly, it wasn’t easy for me to enjoy the performance during the first part which was made up of 6 Fugues for 2 Cellos by Luigi Boccherini and the poems Las Manos, Por tu Pie, Vientos del Pueblo by Miguel Hernández. As I’ve said earlier, I’m not familiar with Boccherini’s work and unfortunately, I’m not even a fan of fugues. But I told myself to consider the performance as a new experience and it proved to be just that with the inclusion of the recited poetry.

They started the concert by playing together the first fugue and after the piece, one started to recite a verse of the first poem while the other plucked broken chords in accompaniment. I couldn’t recall if the arpeggios played were part of the actual fugues or passages played pizzicato. There were times when they stopped playing altogether to give way to the poetry and then resumed back to the music where they left off.

I didn’t understand the poetry at all. And early on, I already abandoned any efforts trying to get the meaning of the poems but instead focused on how the two cellists recited them. The changes in tempo, rhythm, dynamics and pitch in the recitation somehow gave a certain musicality to something I initially thought that I wouldn’t appreciate at all. But I admit that I was drawn more to the music and was more attentive to the one playing than the one reciting. It was an odd feeling when I noticed people around me reacting to the words that they heard while I was absolutely oblivious to what was being said. The audience gave a polite applause when the duo finished all of the six fugues.

After a brief intermission, the second part started and this was the redeeming part of the concert for me. The duo played contemporary music by composer Samuel Maynez and with titles like Huapango, Minueto, Marchata, Tango, Elegía del Recuerdo, Danzón con un Poco de Tango y Salsa, I already got an idea on how the music would sound.

This was when the evening got more exciting and the playing more passionate. Most of the music in this set was based on dances so there was a more relaxed atmosphere in this part compared to the more serious first part. The Tango was very sensual in which Etxepare played the melody often hitting the high registers of the cello and gliding from one note to the other. Roma played the accompaniment along with the syncopated bass line and provided a nice contrast to the fluid melody. After this piece was a total change of pace and mood. Although I understand very little Spanish, I knew that the Elegía del Recuerdo would be a mournful piece in line with the other elegies in music literature. And I savored this performance with utmost interest.

I haven’t said too much about the poetry in this second part. The poems recited were Un Son para Ninos Antillanos, Son 6, El Negro Mar and Mulata by Nicolás Guillén. By this time, I was completely engrossed by the music and only managed to get quick glimpses on whoever was reciting the poem.

The second part really entertained the audience and they clamored for more from Roma and Etxepare after they were done. And they did perform two encores: the first was Danzón and the second one was Fandango both by Maynez. After the concert, the two met with the very satisfied crowd who gathered at the lobby.

Cellist Marta Roma

Cellist Iñaki Etxepare

Overall, the concert was a bit too short for me and it ended when the audience was just getting warmed up. But it’s not yet over for me since Etxepare is set to perform a cello concerto by Haydn a couple of days later. It’s too bad that Roma will not be playing as well but she told me that she will when she comes back again.