Classical Champs: The Young Music Idols

Jimmy Tagala Jr., Maria Jeline Oliva
and Gabriel Allan Paguirigan

Featuring:

Maria Jeline Oliva, violin

Jimmy Tagala Jr., violin

Gabriel Allan Paguirigan, piano

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

Alexander Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia

Henryk Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22

Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

In a cruel twist of fate and a sense of déjà vu, the weather wreaked havoc once again and I almost didn’t make it to the concert of the 2011 National Music Competitions for Young Artists with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The day before the concert, heavy rains submerged most of Metro Manila especially Roxas Boulevard near the CCP and cast doubt on whether the concert would still take place. Thankfully, the skies cleared and most of the roads became passable already allowing violinists Marie Jeline Oliva and Jimmy Tagala Jr. as well as pianist Gabriel Allan Paguirigan to take center stage and perform their respective concertos with the PPO under the baton of Olivier Ochanine. Yet it was still a monumental task for me to get to the CCP since roads were still impassable in my place but some stroke of luck was on my side and I was still able to make it. Last year, a similar situation made me miss the concert entirely which was quite remarkable considering that the concert actually pushed through despite classes up to the college level being cancelled.

Violinist Maria Jeline Oliva

Considering that there was a possibility that the weather could turn nasty that evening prompting others to stay at home, the concert had a pretty decent number of people watching. The evening started with Alexander Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia, a piece that evokes images of a caravan of Central Asians protected by Russian troops. The sublime themes of this piece were clear to me but I’m not sure if the others in the audience were that attuned. The piece ended quietly with the Russian theme played by the flute which is probably not what the audience expected hence the muted response from them when this piece concluded. I think that they grew too accustomed to lively overtures that usually served as opening pieces to concerts. As I prepared to watch this concert, I made it a point not to expect too high for this considering that the soloists are still very young and not yet professionals. Although the performances didn’t completely blow me away, the three soloists showed a lot of promise and definitely lived to their billing as musicians to watch out in the future.

Pianist Gabriel Allan Paguirigan

Going to the soloists, Jeline Oliva, winner of Violin Category B, played Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22 which is a piece I’m not really familiar with. If this was the same concerto that she performed during the competition, I could no longer remember. She nonetheless has shown tremendous growth compared to the time when she competed as a finalist at Pilipinas Got Talent a few years back. During the NAMCYA concert though, her sound was a bit tentative and weak, and not able to project too well from where I was sitting. I think that the nerves possibly got in the way a bit in her performance. But still, playing a whole concerto with the PPO at the CCP would cause someone with a weaker nerve to succumb to the pressure but Jeline got through it. Piano Category B winner Gabriel Paguirigan’s concerto, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 is a piece already familiar to me. He is still a developing musician and for me, it felt like he let loose during the second and third movements of the concerto. It’s actually hard to resist since the last two movements of the piece consist of a playful scherzo and a fiery tarantella. The final piece, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 is the most familiar of all the pieces performed during this concert. Jimmy Tagala, the winner of Violin Category C, had the enormous task of playing one if not the most popular concerto in the violin repertoire. Being the oldest among the soloists, he showed onstage much finesse along with a healthy dose swagger and sounded tremendously better when I first heard him when he had a masterclass with Ray Chen months ago. At times during the third movement, I felt that he played too fast for my liking and he somehow lost some steam during the finale. But still, a fine showing from a young man who could well join the ranks of esteemed violinists in the country like his mentor Gilopez Kabayao.

Violinist Jimmy Tagala Jr.

The upbeat atmosphere during the meet and greet after the concert made me forget all the difficulty that I had to go through just to watch the performance. Jeline, Gabriel and Jimmy all relished their moment as they signed autographs and posed for photos with the very appreciative audience. I forgot the difficulty and uncertainty that I had to go through just to make it to the concert. And I felt a bit guilty for lowering my expectations coming into the concert. Now it remains to be seen how things will fare for these three if they decide to compete once again at the NAMCYA in the future.