 |
| Conductor Tastuya Shimono |
Featuring:
Kohei
Nishikawa, yokobue
Irene
Quiso-Ednave, soprano
Orchestra
Nipponica Tokyo
Tatsuya
Shimono, conductor
Programme:
Maki
Ishii Symphonic Poem for Yokobue and
Orchestra
Masashi
Ishida Symphony No. 1
Herminigildo
Ranera Philippine Symphonic Folk
Songs
Antonino
Buenaventura By the Hillside
Akira
Ifukube Sinfonia Tapkaara
After
the chamber music concert held at the Philam Life Auditorium, the
Japan-Philippines Friendship Contemporary Music Festival hopped over to the
Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines
on the following night for the second concert of the festival featuring the
Orchestra Nipponica Tokyo led by conductor Tatsuya Shimono.
This
concert, a part of the celebrations for the 40th Year of ASEAN-Japan
Friendship and Cooperation, showcased contemporary music written by
both Japanese and Filipino composers. Two of the pieces, Masashi Ishida’s
Symphony No. 1 and Harminigildo Ranera’s Philippine Symphonic Folk Songs had
their world premiere performances during that evening.
 |
| Yokobue player Kohei Nishikawa |
The
concert started with Maki Ishii’s Symphonic Poem “Gioh” for Yokobue and
Orchestra, Op. 60 featuring Kohei Nishikawa at the yokobue and local soprano
Irene Quiso-Ednave. The Yokobue is a Japanese traditional transverse flute and
this piece of music gave the spotlight to this traditional instrument. The music
which is unmistakenly Eastern in character tells the story of Gioh, a young and
beautiful dancer who falls in love with Kiyomori, the head of the Heike clan.
It seemed to me that soprano Quiso-Ednave’s vocals represented Gioh but it was
the Yokobue that dominated the piece.
The
next piece, Masashi Ishida’s Symphony No. 1 was definitely patterned after the
western model. While the opening piece could’ve alienated some audience members
due to its exotic nature, this symphony was very approachable and enjoyable.
The same could be said of Herminigildo Ranera’s Philippine Symphonic Folk Songs,
another accessible piece of music that was based on folk tunes from various
parts of the Philippines .
 |
| Soprano Irene Quiso-Ednave |
Having
a Japanese orchestra perform Antonino Buenaventura’s By the Hillside gave this
piece, which I think has been played too often, a new and fresh perspective. The
last piece of the night, Akira Ifukube’s Sinfonia Tapkaara finally gave the
orchestra the chance to show its muscle. Most of the works performed during
this evening transported the audience into an otherworldly experience,
especially with the Ishii symphonic poem. But this Ifukube composition,
containing such aggressive rhythms as well as a divine lyrical section, combined
ethnic influences with a European sound. It wouldn’t be surprising the audience
found this piece the most appealing. The orchestra performed as an encore, Mike
Velarde, Jr.’s Dahil Sa Iyo that
displayed guest concert master’s Kazuhiro Takagi’s exceptional skills.
 |
| Violinist Kazuhiro Takagi |
I
learned during the cocktails after the concert, that the Orchestra Nipponica
Orchestra is not really a professional orchestra like the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra or Manila Symphony Orchestra. I did notice that Takagi
really stood out as concert master and the other violinists in his section didn’t
even come close in matching his ability. There were a scattering of fine
sounding musicians, but they were still very uneven as a whole. While it was
interesting to see a foreign orchestra perform, I was a bit surprised and a
little disappointed that the orchestra’s level wasn’t as high as I hoped it
would be. I find it fortunate that they had a dynamic conductor in Tatsuya
Shimono who was able to bring out something in them. I couldn’t imagine how
they would sound like with a less than capable conductor. I guess that the last
foreign orchestra to perform here in the Philippines ,
the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, made me set my expectations too high.
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