PPO IV: Ariel Dechosa’s Return

Pianist Ariel Dechosa

Featuring:

Ariel Dechosa, piano

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

Maurice Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin

Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 68

Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

The programme lineup that principal conductor and music director Olivier Ochanine prepared for the December concert of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the Cultural Center of the Philippines wasn’t the usual holiday fare that one would expect at this time of the year. Instead, a delicate and restrained orchestration of a piano suite dedicated to fallen friends, an intimate piano concerto that broke new ground during its time and a symphony that vindicated a composer’s return to form after a disastrous previous outing were the pieces that got performed. The PPO didn’t stray at all from their theme of epic evenings for their 29^th Season in this concert but five musicians from the brass section played a handful of Christmas tunes at the lobby before the doors to the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) were opened prior to the concert.

Some members of the PPO brass section

I think that it’s good that they’ve let the audience have a bit of Christmas cheer before the concert started since the programme was a bit exhausting and emotionally heavy. The opening piece, Maurice Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin wasn’t the usual opener like an overture that can easily hook a listener and put him in high spirits right away. This piece, starting with an exquisite oboe solo accompanied by wispy string passages, was elegiac and hinted of lament and of grief. Not necessarily epic in scope, it was in fact somber and devoid of any heavily emotive and sweeping strings and actual fireworks. Even the end of this piece didn’t have that triumphant note that eliminated grief and finding happiness in the end. I did find this piece very understated and that it actually took me more than just one listening to fully grasp how deftly the orchestration was done.

After the Ravel piece, I was glad that it was finally time for Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 68. As someone who plays the piano, I always look forward to piano concerto performances although I do admit that this piece didn’t excite me at all when I first heard it. The intimate and more refined nature of this work initially turned me off. And it didn’t help that the numerous times that I’ve seen this piece performed were done by music students who weren't able to sell this concerto. But throughout the years, the piece eventually grew on me which I hoped is a sign of maturity and I yearned to see this played by a competent pianist. And I couldn’t be happier this evening when Ariel Dechosa delivered an excellent rendition of this piece. Despite playing on a piano that was less than ideal, his mastery and proficiency with this shone through especially during the tender moments in the first and second movements. And the third movement with the playful dialogue between the piano and the orchestra was such a delight to hear that I finally managed to enjoy a live performance of this piece. And this is coming from me who had an aversion for the fourth concerto since I actually preferred the third and the fifth.

Conductor Olivier Ochanine

The last piece of the night was Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 and it was a test of endurance not just for the orchestra but also for the audience as well. Many people love the theme of the Adagio in the third movement but they had to wait patiently for the first two movements to end in order to get there. The first was not just a long one, but it was  brooding and gloomy as well like how the weather was during the previous week before this performance. Ochanine told me before that they were playing the uncut version of this piece and yet they eventually had to shorten the first movement. But the wait was worth it once the third movement came and it was another moment when I wished that I've taken my clarinet playing seriously. The sweeping strings, familiar to many people, immediately followed by a sublime clarinet solo brought out the Romantic in me. And I fully understood once again why this piece was requested by a lot of people when Ochanine asked for what they wanted the PPO to play this season. It wasn't easy to listen to since I couldn't just skip over to the movement that I prefer but it felt like a badge of honor being able to sit through this piece.

I found it amusing that I tried to guess what the orchestra was going to play for an encore. I knew that they already prepared something since the tubular bells were already set up although none of the pieces in the programme required that instrument. So I knew right away that they would be using that for the encore just like the last concert with the piano. And it was Leroy Anderson's Christmas Festival that they played which was also part of their during their Christmas concert at the Peninsula Manila a couple of weeks before this. To be honest, I wasn't too thrilled with this piece since it didn't match the excitement of their encore pieces from the previous concerts. But I did understand the need for a Christmas piece and also an easy one to perform since the orchestra was already very tired after the grueling Rach symphony.

Finally, despite being already exhausted, Oli Ochanine was very kind and still managed to give a very brief message for the readers of this blog.