Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra sets next season with new conductor

Kristofer Purnell - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) gears up for its 39th season under the leadership of a new music director and principal conductor Maestro Grzegorz Nowak.

Nowak previously worked with the PPO in the previous season in a concert held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Main Theater last October before the main building was closed for renovations.

In a press conference held last September 5, Novak said the musicians in the PPO responded well to his raising demands during their practices and sessions, something he found very encouraging.

"It's a big change and move, but the main thing is to build something to be recognized [globally] and we are on our way to achieve that," Nowak added.

Prior to joining the PPO, Nowak was the principal associate conductor of London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the music director of the Polish National Opera, and worked with other orchestras in Germany, Switzerland, the United States, and his native Poland.

For its 39th season bearing the theme "Switch," the PPO will move temporary homes from Manila's Metropolitan Theater to Makati's Samsung Performing Arts Theater while the CCP main building finishes rehabilitation.

All seven concerts will be at 7:30 p.m. with ticket prices ranging from P800 (Balcony 1) to P3,000 (Orchestra Center).

'Switch' rundown

The season begins with "Roman Carnival" on September 15 with Hecot Berlioz's overture of the same name, Edvard Grieg's "Piano Concerto, op.16, A minor," and Ottorino Respighi's "Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome)" featuring British pianist Mark Bebbington as a guest performer.

On October 13 will be "Italian Night" with Felix Mendelssohn's "Italian," Antonín Dvorák's "Cello Concerto," and selected Filipino composition, accompanied by guest Switzerland-based cellist Wen-Sinn Yang.

The third concert "Russian Masters" on November 17 is composed of Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin: Polonaise," Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto, no. 2, op.18, C minor," and selections of Serge Prokofiev's "Romeo & Juliet."

The PPO's holiday performance is "Ode to Joy" on December 8 with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Piano Concerto no. 21, K 467, C major" and Ludwig van Beethoven's "Symphony no. 9, op.125, D minor" — the composer's famous work that adapted Friedrich Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy" — featuring the Philippines' own Raul Sunico on the piano.

The 39th season carries on into 2024 with "Fate" on January 12 consisting of Johannes Brahms' "Piano Concerto no. 1, op.15, D minor," Tchaikovsky's "Symphony no. 4, op.36, F minor," and one commissioned Filipino work, with pianist Jerome Rose as a guest soloist.

The penultimate "Piano Rapture" concert on February 9 will have Poland's Krystian Zimerman as a guest soloist to help perform Stanislaw Maniuszko's "The Fairy Tale Overture," Beethoven's "Piano Concerto no. 4, op.19, Bb major," and Rachmaninoff's "Symphony no. 2, op.27."

As a Valentine's treat, there will be special performances on February 14 and 16 where Zimmerman will be conducting, performing as a soloist, and be part of an ensemble.

Wrapping up PPO's 39th season is "Fete Francaise" with a performance of Gaetano Donizetti's "Don Pasquale." Since it will be a semi-stage opera, auditions for the stage roles will be held in January.