The Taipei Symphony Orchestra Concert Experience Part 2

Violinist Ray Chen

Taipei Symphony Orchestra Concert

Featuring:

Raul Sunico, piano

Ray Chen, violin

Taipei Symphony Orchestra

Hubert Soudant, conductor

Programme:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Overture from “Titus” (La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621)

George Gershwin Piano Concerto in F major

Max Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26

Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88

A concert featuring the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Raul Sunico, Ray Chen and Hubert Soudant is something that doesn’t normally happen in here. When I found out that the Federation for Asian Cultural Promotion will make it happen at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, I know that I had to be there and witness it no matter what. And I wasn’t the only one thinking of the same thing since the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) was teeming with a diverse audience composed of the FACP delegates, music students, professional musicians and classical music lovers when the concert did happen. There were several events that happened before the concert that I was able to attend and they, especially the rehearsal, made me anticipate the actual performance more.

The concert finally started with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Overture from “Titus” La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621 and I did find it very hard to appreciate it. I’m not really familiar with this overture and it didn’t help that my focus during this performance was more on how the orchestra sounded and I totally failed to take note on how the music was. What can I do? I was so enamored by the high standard of the TSO especially the very solid strings section that was so precise, crisp and exhibited top notch articulation made possible by the impeccable conducting of Hubert Soudant.

Fortunately, I was able to let the music sink in during the next piece which was George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F with Raul Sunico as the featured pianist. Sunico is very much associated with Gershwin especially Rhapsody in Blue so I think that this piece was a good choice for him. I still wonder where he finds the time to practice considering that he’s the CCP President and also the Dean of the University of Sto. Tomas Conservatory of Music. I did find this performance satisfying although the piano wasn’t able to match the intensity of the orchestra and got drowned out in the orchestral tutti passages. But I’m still pleased that I was able to hear this Gershwin piece, with a sublime clarinet duet accompanying the trumpet in the second movement, instead of the more popular Rhapsody in Blue.

The second half of the concert continued with Ray Chen playing the Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 by Max Bruch. I felt like a spoiled child witnessing an astonishing performance from someone so young and yet possessing phenomenal technique and musicality. And how could I forget the 1721 “Macmillan” Stradivarius that he is using adding to the magic of the evening? The people who were present at the masterclass had a tease of what he and this violin were capable of and we were able to see them in full force during the concert. He not only played the notes cleanly but more importantly, he was able to convey a story and different moods throughout the piece. And to do that with the Bruch concerto instead of say the Mendelssohn just delighted the romantic out of me. And the rest of the audience was delighted as well since he was given a standing ovation after the performance. For an encore, he played Niccolò Paganini’s Caprice No. 21 in A major and I wondered if he finds this piece musically rewarding.

The final piece was Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88 with the TSO under Hubert Soudant taking the spotlight. I saw the orchestra rehearse this piece a few hours before but they didn’t do a complete run through back then. I admit that this symphony isn’t one of my favorites from Dvořák since this sounded happy and cheerful and I am more drawn to the dark, melancholy, ominous and tragic symphonies. Nonetheless, the TSO’s performance made me appreciate this piece to the point that I didn’t mind the flute bird calls which I never liked in any piece. But I did love the clarinet duet (which is the case in any piece as well) during the second movement. This was also the time when I really noticed and appreciated the balance that TSO Director Wei-Ming Hwang worked on during the rehearsal since from my seat, the viola, cello and bass parts were clear and distinct. And I was still able to hear the violins even when the horn section was blaring. Right after the last note ended, the audience immediately showered Soudant and the TSO with generous applause and yet another standing ovation. Too bad that there wasn't any encores from the orchestra. The TSO really set a high standard and probably reminded the local musicians that they have to work hard to attain their level.

After the concert, Hubert Soudant and Ray Chen were mobbed by the audience who wanted to take photos and have autographs at the lobby to the point that it felt like it was Cinemalaya all over again. There are still a couple of months before the year ends and I think that it’s difficult to top this concert which is poised to be the classical music event of the year in my opinion.

Special thanks to the TSO's staff and its director Wei-Ming Hwang, the CCP PR and Linkages Division and the FACP for making my experience more than just the concert.

The Taipei Symphony Orchestra Concert Experience Part 1