Violinist Ryu Goto, conductor Yoshikazu Fukumura fire up Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s 34th season opener

A season opening concert heralding the start of Yoshikazu Fukumura’s stint as the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s music director and principal conductor would’ve been enough of an audience draw. Yet the inclusion of violinist Ryu Goto as the evening’s guest soloist not only heightened the excitement, it also ensured that this concert would be a lock among the best in year ending lists.

Having watched Fukumura’s four previous guest conducting stints with the PPO, I am already familiar not only with his animated and entertaining conducting style but also by how he is able to bring out a unified and balanced sound from the orchestra. And at the opening night, the orchestra’s sound was raised a notch further with the addition of the new wooden floor panels that covered the drab, black weathered main theater floor. As the orchestra performed the opening piece, Hector Berlioz’ Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9, the lower strings was heard more distinctly, the changes in tempo came off as more precise, and the texture and colors, more vivid. I’ve had my regular seat for the past four seasons and the marked improvement with how the sound was projected from the stage to my seat made by these wooden floor panels was very discernible.

These panels also made for striking visuals. The fully lit stage looked brighter and the warm colored wood contrasted nicely with the black garments of the orchestra members. With this, I think that the next concerts could do away with the flowers lining up the front the stage.

On to Ryu Goto and his highly anticipated performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s immensely popular Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35. During the first two movements, Ryu stood out as the orchestra played in a noticeably scaled down manner as if it was just a chamber orchestra. These movements also went on a tad slower pace than what I am usually accustomed to. Apart from some momentary distractions when I expected the orchestra to be less subdued and a bit faster, I was completely mesmerized by Ryu and his superb articulation which never wavered even up until the end of the brisk third movement. The enthusiastic audience response prompted two encores from him. First was a free flowing, unaccompanied Meditation from Thaïs by Jules Massenet which was followed by an excerpt of the first movement Obsession from Eugene Ysaÿe’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, Op. 27 "Jacques Thibaud".

The real test of the evening for me on how Fukumura would lead the orchestra was the performance of Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68. Right off the bat, my attention was caught by how crisp the lower pitched instruments sounded particularly the contrabassoon. Never in my concert viewing experience have I heard this instrument sounding more pronounced hearing each note played clearly and it is very likely due to the new wooden floors. But these floors have possibly made the spotty moments of the horns more obvious. While the Tchaikovsky’s earlier movements went a tad too slow for me, the last movement of the Brahms went too fast. The excitement of the choral theme of the fourth movement probably got Fukumura all excited as he sped throughout the remainder of the piece. I was unable to savor fully the texture of the fugue during the second pass of the choral theme. The clarity of the strings especially the cellos and basses that was brought about by the wooden floors could’ve made for such a divine moment but it all went by like a blur. This fiery pace carried on and there was almost no time to breathe once the final brass choral theme blared triumphantly. Despite the sped up tempo, the excitement was palpable and the audience started to applaud even before the last note ended. There was more Brahms as the audience was treated to the crowd pleasing Hungarian Dance No. 5 for the orchestra’s encore.

Overall, the PPO's 2016-2017 season opening night concert was an exhilarating affair with Ryu Goto’s Tchaikovsky bringing in the crowds and Yoshikazu Fukumura making sure that they stayed until the very end of the Brahms.