Sunday, March 10, 2013

Japan-Philippines Friendship Contemporary Music Festival Part 2

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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