Monday, October 29, 2012

40 pianos take centerstage at Forte@40 Concert


November 18, 2012, 3:00 & 7:00 PM
Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)
CCP Complex
Pasay, Metro Manila

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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