Fukumura, PPO deliver exceptional Tchaikovsky

Ray Wang, Yoshikazu Fukumura, and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

An exceptional and emotionally charged Tchaikovsky symphony gave the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of music director/principal conductor Yoshikazu Fukumura, one of their finest performances to date.

Expectations were set high even before the first note sounded as news I've gathered from some musicians about their rehearsals speak highly of the scheduled Tchaikovsky piece. And there was a different kind of buzz felt at the lobby too as hundreds of high school students all the way from Laguna trooped to the Cultural Center of the Philippines for this concert. As someone who rarely missed a PPO season concert, there was indeed a feeling that this had the making of an unforgettable night.

Yoshikazu Fukumura and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

These students were actually in my thoughts when the first piece, Toshiro Mayuzumi's Bacchanale was performed. Bursts of vigorous sound and rhythms, with a couple moments of breathing space via romantic violin solos is how I would describe this work. And for the students who were watching an orchestra performance for the first time, I thought that this music was an awesome introduction to the symphony for them.

I did worry about them a bit when it was cellist Ray Wang's turn with Robert Schumann's Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129. During his previews visits here, Wang performed concertos that demanded full attention from the audience like the Lalo which he did the last time. The Schumann may not be as cerebral as the Lalo, but still, the structure and the introverted nature of the piece made for a challenging listening experience. And just like the last time, he involved the whole cello section with his encore which was Pablo Casal's Song of the Birds.

I will just be brief with how Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 turned out. I said last month that I couldn't recall applauding the horn solo so enthusiastically before. Let me just say that I very much outdid myself in applauding enthusiastically this time around. And this divine horn solo was responsible for making the person seated to my right tear up starting from the second movement and continued to wipe tears at the lobby even after the concert was done.

With two, back to back outstanding performances in the bag, the PPO sets up for a very highly anticipated season finale concert next month.

Cellist Ray Wang returns for PPO's March concert

Cellist Ray Wang

Cellist Ray Wang returns once again and joins the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and music director/principal conductor Maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura at their upcoming season concert happening on March 15, 2019, 8:00 PM at the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo. 

The music lined up for this evening includes Toshiro Mayuzumi’s Bacchanale, Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 with Wang as the soloist, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64.  This upcoming performance will be Wang's third time to perform with the PPO.

An international cellist and music professor, Ray Wang has performed in different cities in Asia, North America and Europe. Ray has performed as soloist with conductors and orchestras such as Yoshikazu Fukumura, Yang Yang, Krysztof Penderecki, Macau Orchestra, Soloistas de La Habana. Cellistra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Manila Philharmonic Orchestra and the Guang Zhou Symphony Orchestra.

Ray currently serves as Head of Junior Music Department and Senior Lecturer in Strings at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and also serves as a music faculty member of the Baptist University and Chinese University of Hong Kong.

RAd's Playlist | Mayuzumi: Samsara, Phonologie Symphonique & Bacchanale

The next Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra concert happening a week from now will feature my favorite symphony of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and a romantic cello concerto by Robert Schumann. But the music on that night that intrigues me the most is Bacchanale, a piece of 20^th century music by Japanese composer Toshiro Mayuzumi.

This is by far one of the most adventurous of Fukumura's programming since he became the PPO's music director and principal conductor. But he is no stranger to this work since he has recorded it along with a couple of other Mayuzumi compositions with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra almost 35 years ago. And this record has been re-released by Naxos last June 2018.

It would serve me well to give this album a listen prior to the concert to give me an idea about what to expect from Bacchanale. I might as well go on and give the other two pieces, Phonologie Symphonique and Samsara, a spin to get acquainted with Mayuzumi and also widen my music horizons.