It's all about the classical music composers and their works from the last 400 years and much more about music. Hier erfahren Sie alles über die klassischen Komponisten und ihre Meisterwerke der letzten vierhundert Jahre und vieles mehr über Klassische Musik.
Glorious operatic singing marked the culminating concert of “Progetto Puccini” (Puccini Project), thrilling the opera lovers who came in droves to the Metropolitan Manila Theater to watch recently.
Participants of the four-day master classes on operatic acting and singing took turns singing arias in the first half of the concert, which preceded the more challenging staging of “Scenes and Arias” from Giacomo Puccini’s well-loved opera, “La Boheme.”
The master classes were held daily at the Met on Oct. 1 to Oct. 4, conducted by the celebrated tenor turned conductor Fabio Armiliato; Mariano Panico, a musical director and voice teacher; and Lorena Zaccaria as diction coach. They took turns teaching vocal technique and production, diction, interpretation and stagecraft. A mini recital in the afternoon capped what had been done and learned for the day.
PPO performs with violinist Shlomo Mintz under the baton of Maestro Grzegorz Nowak --ORLY DAQUIPIL/CONTRIBUTOR
The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) recently kicked off its concert season at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati City with a bang.
Dubbed “Forte,” the show has PPO celebrating the symphonic might it has gained since it was founded some 40 years ago.
Dr. Jaime C. Laya, chairman of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) board of trustees, recalled in his welcome remarks how the PPO became the country’s premiere symphony orchestra. CCP president Kaye Tiñga, on the other hand, said the PPO has enriched the country’s performing arts scene in music by featuring both foreign as well as Filipino musical artists.
The Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) treated Manila music lovers to engaging symphonic listening recently at the Ayala Museum that featured young violinist Jeanne Rafaella Marquez as its soloist. John L. Silva of the board of trustees welcomed the audience, whom he informed of the MSO’s mission to “inspire through music, cultivate the next generation of musicians, and share unforgettable musical experiences with our audience.”
Jeffrey Solares, the orchestra’s associate conductor, announced the program and introduced Justin Texon as the concert’s guest concert master, and his better half, Jareena Inacay Texon, as guest violinist in the second violin row.
Violinist Marquez–CONTRIBUTED
The orchestra, conducted by its music director, Marlon Chen, roused its listeners in its opening number, Puccini’s “Preludio Sinfonico,” an earlier work composed during the composer’s student days. At once, the MSO bewitched the audience with its solid performance. Needless to say, the work served as an effective rousing opener.
Marquez was the toast of the evening. A winner of competitions held in Manila, Singapore, Vienna and New York, she hushed the audience, who listened intently to her playing of the formidable Brahms Violin Concerto. She surged through the three-movement work and eloquently displayed a virtuosity of high order, combining both technical prowess and mature disposition.
In the first movement, she dished out those challenging arpeggios with solid dispatch, and rendered the cadenza, written by the composer’s close friend Joseph Joachim, with flourish. The rich orchestration of the second movement, which the musicians played brilliantly, was full of aural allure from the violinist’s dynamic embellishments. The final movement was all the more absorbing as the young violinist dished out those third and sixth chords, and crafted elegantly the short cadenza before the piece came to its grand ending.
Rapport
The rapport between violinist Marquez and Chen was tight. Chen wielded his baton with solid dispatch, as he forged intimate rapport with the musicians. Together, they mesmerized the listeners with a superb playing of Brahms’ only violin concerto.
A thunderous applause greeted the violinist at the end, as she acknowledged some curtain calls. The applause only quieted with her playing of Bach’s Gigue in E major. This was followed by a duo that she did with the Germany-based Texon. They played Aleksey Igudesman “La Cucaracha” for two violins, to the delight of the audience.
In the second half of the concert, one had more pleasurable symphonic listening with no less than Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, the “Pathetique.” Chen and the MSO performed this gargantuan symphonic piece with a broad sweep, so to speak. The orchestra’s young musicians played with gusto as they surged though the four-movement work.
The familiar second theme of the adagio-allegro non troppo of the first movement, which Tin Pan Alley adopted as “This is the Story of A Starry Night” all the more moved the audience to intent listening. The musicians played with conviction, and ensemble playing among them was as its best. All the more astounding was their rapport with the conductor, who stood at the podium with dynamic poise, as the orchestra played for more than 40 minutes.
When the last note of the lugubrious last movement-adagio lamentoso was sounded, the audience froze for a while before bursting into a thunderous applause.
As the oldest orchestra in Asia, the MSO deserves the patronage of everyone, both in the private and public sectors. It is a living embodiment of Filipinos’ astounding musicality that deserves continual support. Bravo, MSO!
Successful recital
Congratulations to clarinetist Herald C. Sison for his successful recital held recently at Manila Pianos. The recital was facilitated by Richard Sy-Facunda, a true patron of the musical arts, who arranges performances at the venue.
Sison is earning his bachelor’s degree in music from the St. Paul College of Music-Manila under the Expanded Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program. He is under the tutelage of Ariel Sta. Ana, the principal clarinetist of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sison played showed virtuosity as he surged through Schumann’s Fantasiestucke, Op. 73; Michele Mangani’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano; and Carl Nielsen’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57.
Gabriel Allan F. Paguirigan provided collaboration at the piano, and Rhonnel M. Ibañez at the percussion. Congratulations!
