Wednesday, July 18, 2012

MSO II: The MSO with Regina Buenaventura

Arturo Molina conducts the Manila Symphony Orchestra

Featuring:
Regina Buenaventura, violin
Manila Symphony Orchestra
Arturo Molina, conductor

Programme:
Paul Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Samuel Barber Violin Concerto, Op. 14
Zoltán Kodály Háry János Suite

After many months, the Manila Symphony Orchestra’s 2012 Concert season resumed for me when I watched the second night of their Magic, Fantasy and Ambition themed concert at the Philam Life Auditorium. During this evening, the orchestra, under the baton of Arturo Molina performed pieces by Paul Dukas, Samuel Barber and Zoltán Kodály. The concert also featured violinist Regina Buenaventura who is back in the country while she is taking a summer break from her studies in the US.

The Magic of the concert was represented by Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. This piece was made immensely popular by the Disney animated film Fantasia and it was really a challenge for me not to conjure images of the film in my head while the performance was going on. But my focus paid off as I was able to gain a new insight regarding the piece since I got to focus on the musicians, especially the bassoonists. I wouldn’t hold it against any member of the audience if they envisioned Mickey Mouse, the brooms and the sorcerer while the orchestra was playing since the music did tell the story that was brought to life by the film.

Next to be performed was Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto which represented the theme Ambition. Violinist Regina Buenaventura told me weeks earlier that she was actually practicing Sibelius but had to go back to practicing Barber since this piece suited the theme of the evening more. It had been two years since I last saw Regina perform and I wasn’t completely satisfied by that performance owing to the poor acoustics of the performance venue. This time around, with the superior acoustics of the Philam Life Auditorium, I was finally able to hear and appreciate the nice, clear and expressive tone of Regina’s violin. Throughout the first two movements of the piece, she deftly played with finesse and an effortlessly sublime vibrato. And during the notoriously difficult third movement (which I think was where the ambition theme came from), she showed no signs of strain which made me believe that she’s one of the most relaxed violinists out there. Regina doesn’t dazzle audiences with fireworks or overt showmanship, but she mesmerizes instead with her elegance and restraint.

The last piece of the concert, the Háry János Suite by Zoltán Kodály represented the Fantasy theme. Like many members of the audience that night, it was my first time to see this piece performed live. I’ve listened to a recording prior to the performance and I took note of the cimbalom, an instrument used in this piece which is popular in Hungary but almost unheard of in this part of the world. For practical reasons, a keyboard simulating the sound of the cimbalom was used instead. I personally don’t like it when this happens since the mechanical sound that the keyboard generates doesn’t fit with organic, live orchestral sound. But I did enjoy the folk tunes that were featured in this suite. I think that if I’d known better the story of the opera where this suite was taken from, I would’ve appreciated this piece a lot more.

Concertmaster Gina Medina, violinist Regina Buenaventura
and conductor Arturo Molina

Regina didn’t have an encore and the audience would’ve been left unsatisfied if the orchestra didn’t play an extra piece. The concert duration was already relatively short compared to their previous performances so I think it was wise for the orchestra to play a bit more. And they did play more folk music by performing the orchestral version of Romanian Folk Dances by Béla Bartók. I don’t know how this piece fit with the Magic, Fantasy and Ambition theme that evening but no one complained. I’ve waited some months before the orchestral season resumed and now that they’re back, I couldn’t be any happier.

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