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.

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

PPO Signature Series Concert VII

My mood during the February concert of the signature series of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra wasn't the best and I somehow had to convince myself to watch the performance. But now, things are different and I looked forward to this performance, the penultimate concert for the season, with much enthusiasm. Piero Gamba was originally announced to conduct but he had a family emergency so he wasn't able to come. And it was Aries Caces, PPO's resident conductor, who eventually led the orchestra at this performance.

The night’s programme consisted of Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, Op. 84, Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 featuring Joseph Esmilla. Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 “Classical” and lastly, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture – Fantasy.

There have also been a few changes in the programme leading into the performance. The Beethoven piece was an addition and I do welcome additional pieces than the other way around. And it was actually Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol that was originally announced, then replaced by Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Oveture before ending up with Romeo and Juliet.

Before the show started, Esmilla was hanging out at the lobby, complaining of the heat but very appreciative of the people who wished him luck at his performance. I was very much amused to see a young boy wearing a barong who eagerly had his programme signed by Esmilla even if the show didn’t start yet.

Well, the concert started with the Beethoven piece. I had to strain my ears in order to hear the earlier parts. It’s one problem that I have whenever I am seated in a not so good section. I’m quite familiar with this piece. It’s quite enjoyable especially in the end when the music gets exciting. But at this moment, I was just patiently looking forward to the Sibelius piece.

Esmilla was a delight to see perform. A few people expressed regret that I wasn’t able to catch his performance about a couple of months ago and I vowed to myself that there was no way for me to miss this. Unfortunately, it’s still a struggle for me to listen to his parts as the sound doesn’t come across as loud enough at my section. I really had to actively listen to it and if one is not familiar with the piece and didn’t know what to expect, it would be not easy for him to appreciate. But those people who told me to watch Esmilla were absolutely right. And I’m glad that I was able to see him play a romantic piece such as this. I can’t imagine him playing something like a Bach piece. He was met with thunderous applause after the concerto. Then, he treated the audience with an encore and if I’m not mistaken, it’s Tango Etude No. 3 by Astor Piazzolla. He might’ve complained of the heat earlier before the show, but he definitely raised the temperature of the hall with this encore.

So it’s no wonder that the lobby was in high spirits during the intermission. And during this time, I had the pleasure of meeting incoming PPO music director Olivier Ochanine who just arrived that day. And Esmilla went back there and was promptly congratulated by a lot of people who were very pleased with his performance. The atmosphere at the lobby was more vibrant compared to the other concerts that I’ve been to this year. I really felt the adrenaline rush which is quite usually felt during rock/pop concerts.

Violinist Joseph Esmilla

So when the concert resumed, I found it hard to settle back and listen to the Prokofiev piece. Adrenaline was still pumping and it was not easy for me to get back listening actively. And it didn’t help that I don’t like this piece to start with despite it being by Prokofiev. Also for the same reason during the first part, I was anticipating more the next piece to be played. All I can say about the performance of Romeo and Juliet was that the young couple seated beside me was all cuddled up throughout the duration of the piece. The cuddling only ended when the woman leaned forward to applaud after the final note was played. The rest of the audience clearly enjoyed this popular piece and they were really on a high.

It was such a treat when the orchestra played the very delightful Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms as an encore. That piece always brings a smile to my face and I do find the orchestra version lovelier than the piano version. And the audience was all smiles when they left the hall to socialize at the lobby.

I can’t stress it enough that the atmosphere was very different that night. I guess I really felt the contrast since I was very much troubled during the previous concert of the PPO. Right now, I’m looking forward to the final concert of the season. It’s a gala night which means that I have to think a lot longer on what to wear.

Tchaikovsky Evening

At long last, I was able to catch a performance from the UP Orchestra after missing everything the UP College of Music had in store for the past couple of months. I knew that I had to go the Abelardo Hall Auditorium when I found out that they'd be having an all Tchaikovsky programme. I really enjoy listening to the works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and some of my favorite orchestral music were composed by him.

UP Orchestra

The UP Orchestra, under the baton of Prof. Rodney Ambat first played the very popular Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 with April Dawnena Merced as the featured pianist. I commend Merced for getting through this piece despite some wild moments from the orchestra.

For the second piece, Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 was played. And it had more wild moments but somehow they got it together in the fourth movement. As an encore, they played the entire third movement again.

I was basically stunned on how half baked the orchestra sounded to me. I felt that the Tchaikovsky pieces that they played were too big for them. Although I wasn't able to write about it before, this was actually the same reaction that I had back then during the Just Mozart performance by the UST Symphony Orchestra. I wasn't expecting professional quality performances from both orchestras but what I saw was some notches below from what I expected.

Oh well, the members are still young and still studying, so I hope that they practice well in order for them to get a lot better. I wish that the next time I see them perform, I'd be blown away by their improvement. And the performances that didn't meet my expectations would just be a distant memory.