Tanghalang
Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)
CCP
Complex
I’ve
seen 10 grand pianos onstage whenever I get to see the annual Sampung Mga Daliri concert presented by
the UST Conservatory of Music. One might think that having 10 grand pianos
onstage is already an undertaking of great magnitude. But the Piano Teachers’ Guild of the Philippines (PTGP),
Cultural Center of the Philippines,
Lyric Piano and Organ Corp. and Kawai take it several notches higher as they
present 40 pianos on stage for Forte@40
happening this November 18, 2012 ,
3:00 & 7:00 PM at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main
Theater).
This
special concert is in line with the PTGP's
40th anniversary celebration, hence the 40 pianos on stage. The
number 40 also figures prominently in the concert as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550
(arranged for 40 pianos) and Frédéric Chopin’s Polonaise in A major, Op. 40 No. 1 Military (arranged for 40
pianos) are some of the pieces included in the programme. These and the other
pieces lined up for the concert represent five genres of music namely Baroque,
Classical, 20th Century, Pop and Filipino music. Conducted by
Herminigildo Ranera and Daniel Bartolome, this historic concert will feature over
300 pianists ages 8 to 80 comprising of students, teachers/members, past and
present PTGP board members, festival participants and competition winners on 40
pianos (10 Shigeru Kawai grand and 30 upright pianos).
 |
| Forte@40 Participants |
The
mix of grand and upright pianos will be an interesting aural experience as the
sound projection from each type of pianos will be different. This proved to be
exciting for one of the arrangers whose works are featured in the concert,
composer Kabaitan Bautista. Not only does he have 40 pianos in his sandbox, but
he also gets to play around with which piano and pianist will play a certain
part. This also enables him to decide from which part of the stage the music
will come from. The result is comparable to having a surround sound speaker
system just like in the cinema. Kabaitan arranged two pieces for this concert: the
Harry Potter Fantasy and Super Mario Capriccio
Based on a Theme by Koji Kondo and Contagion
on a Theme by Nirvana. He mentioned that what’s interesting in the Harry
Potter/Super Mario piece is that the players will range from little kids to
college students while the Nirvana piece will feature pianists whom one will
never expect to play Nirvana like UP Madrigal Singers choirmaster Mark Anthony
Carpio and UST Singers conductor Fidel Calalang.
One
of the main highlights of the concert will be the world premiere of Mga Gintong Pamana by Augusto “Agot”
Espino, commissioned by the Piano Teachers' Guild of the Philippines
which will showcase 40 pianos with 80 players: two per piano playing the parts.
This easily eclipses Sampung Mga Daliri’s maximum of 20 pianists onstage. The
piece pays homage to renowned Filipino composers like Nicanor Abelardo, Dr.
Francisco Santiago, Francisco Buencamino, Sr., Dr. Antonio Molina, Rosendo
Santos, Jr., Lucio San Pedro, Felipe De Leon, Sr., Ramon Tapales, Dr. Lucrecia
Kasilag, and Rodolfo Cornejo. All of them are the who’s who in the field of Philippine
music and piano literature.
Other
notable performers in this concert are CCP President Dr. Raul Sunico, concert
pianists Della Besa and Annie De Guzman, Fr. Manuel Maramba, OSB, Carmen
Padilla, Nita Abrograr-Quinto, Najib Ismail, Mary Anne Espina, and many more.
 |
| Pianist Lorenzo Medel |
The over-all
production team of Forte@40 is led by Dennis Marasigan (Artistic Director and Lighting
Director), Eric Cruz (Set Designer), Antonio Africa (Video Documentary), Ave
Asuncion Uy (Stage Manager), Toots O. Tolentino (PR & Publicity) and Mari
Yuda (Marketing). Forte@40 is also
supported by media partners Business World, Herword.com, Chinoy TV and The
Manila Bulletin.
Ticket
prices:
P2000
Orchestra Center
P1500
Orchestra Side
P800
Balcony I Center
P500
Balcony I Side
P350
Balcony II
For
inquiries:
PTGP askptgp@yahoo.com
Ticketworld 891-9999
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