Countdown to a Century

Featuring:

Nita Abrogar-Quinto, piano

UP Orchestra

Rodney Ambat, conductor

Edna Marcil Martinez, conductor

Programme:

Ludwig van Beethoven

     Coriolan Overture, Op. 62

     Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21

Nicanor Abelardo Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor

Benjamin Britten Simple Symphony, Op. 4

Antonino Buenaventura By the Hillside

The UP Orchestra returns to the Cultural Center of the Philippines for Countdown to a Century, a concert which signals the countdown to the UP College of Music’s 100^th Anniversary happening in 2016. The concert, a fund raiser for the UPCMUAA Student’s Recital Fund, was also a nice comeback for pianist Nita Abrogar-Quinto who has recovered from a serious illness.

For the first half of this concert that was held at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater), the orchestra was conducted by Rodney Ambat and they played a couple of pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven: the Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 and Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21. Even though these pieces aren’t my favorites from Beethoven, I was still able to notice that the orchestra was playing a lot better than the last time that I saw them.

The concert's second half, with Edna Marcil Martinez conducting this time, was more interesting for me. It included the highlight of the evening for me which was Nita Abrogar-Quinto’s performance of Nicanor Abelardo’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor. The audience that night was made up mostly of UP students, faculty and alumni so they knew the story of how a year before, a concert was held to raise funds for Quinto while she was still undergoing treatment for cancer. And now with her fully recovered, she was put into the spotlight as she played a piano concerto with the orchestra. That’s probably the reason why the orchestra had an inspired performance in which the audience responded with by giving them a standing ovation. After this piece, most members of the orchestra exited the stage until a trimmed down strings section was left. And then they played Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony, Op. 4, a very delightful piece that the orchestra clearly enjoyed especially the second movement which was all done in pizzicato. It was an easy, light and very entertaining piece that was a nice break from all the seriousness of the previous number.

The last piece of the evening was By the Hillside by Antonino Buenaventura and it was a bit strange to hear this piece just a few days after it was also played by the Manila Symphony Orchestra during their latest concert. Because of this, the concert ended not on a high note as I hoped it would be since the UP Orchestra’s performance paled in comparison compared to the MSO's rendition which was still fresh in my mind back then. But this was just a minor detail since the orchestra did have a competent overall performance and I did feel that they worked hard in preparation for this evening and it did show. I do hope that as the UP College of Music’s centennial approaches, the UP Orchestra will be better every time that I see them.