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| Joshua Dos Santos and the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra |
Conductor Joshua Dos Santos led the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of two Beethoven symphonies that not only delighted the predominantly young audience that filled the Dolphy Theater, but also served as further education for a more enjoyable concert experience.
Before the performance began, Joshua gave the audience a brief background on Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60 and the more popular and frequently performed symphonies that preceded and followed it. He stressed the importance of thinking the fourth as a transition to Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, undeniably the most popular symphony out there. And that whatever baffles the audience with the fourth with its less than dramatic and majestic music will fall into place and finally make sense once he/she gets listens to the fifth
As for me, this was a new way of approaching the fourth since I always regarded it as an unusual follow up to the epic, revolutionary third symphony. Instead of further revolutionizing the symphony, it seemed to harken back to the second. So in this concert, I had the fifth in mind (instead of the second and the third) while listening to the fourth.
Joshua conducted the orchestra with such vigor as if he had a Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra sized battalion of strings at his disposal. Despite the small number of the strings, he was able to bring out a full, robust sound from them without sacrificing precision.
After the concert, an audience unaccustomed to how applause is usually done was "conducted" by Joshua. He said that while it is not cool to applaud in between movements, it is definitely cool to clap loudly during the curtain call and while the soloists from the orchestra are acknowledged. And proving how effective of a conductor he is, the audience was able to pick this up and I am confident that they will applaud in a cool way when they watch their next concert.
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| Conductor Joshua Dos Santos gives a pre-concert talk |
As for me, this was a new way of approaching the fourth since I always regarded it as an unusual follow up to the epic, revolutionary third symphony. Instead of further revolutionizing the symphony, it seemed to harken back to the second. So in this concert, I had the fifth in mind (instead of the second and the third) while listening to the fourth.
Joshua conducted the orchestra with such vigor as if he had a Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra sized battalion of strings at his disposal. Despite the small number of the strings, he was able to bring out a full, robust sound from them without sacrificing precision.
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| Joshua Dos Santos "conducts" the audience on how to applaud |
After the concert, an audience unaccustomed to how applause is usually done was "conducted" by Joshua. He said that while it is not cool to applaud in between movements, it is definitely cool to clap loudly during the curtain call and while the soloists from the orchestra are acknowledged. And proving how effective of a conductor he is, the audience was able to pick this up and I am confident that they will applaud in a cool way when they watch their next concert.
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