Cellist Damodar Das Castillo excites in Strings of Gold series opener

Mariel Ilusorio and Damodar Das Castillo

With a remarkable combination of youthful vigor and artistic maturity, cellist Damodar Das Castillo continues to excite as he and the ever reliable pianist Mariel Ilusorio officially christened the MiraNila Heritage House and Library as Metro Manila's newest classical music performance venue.

The concert also served as the unveiling of the newly restored Steinway 1904 grand piano.  With its dark brown finish and various ornate accents like the rococo-styled feet, the rare piano is a welcome change to the dominant stark black concert grand pianos that have dominated the scene for decades. 

But the audience had to wait a bit to hear the piano as the program began with a solo by Damodar performing the Prelude from Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Right off the bat, Damodar, exuded a level of confidence and security that is beyond his 17 years.

And when joined by the seasoned Ilusorio in Frédéric Chopin's Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65, he held is own and the two played as equals as if longtime collaborators. The meaty Chopin sonata could've served as the concert finale piece but this just wrapped up the first half.

The second half was a mixed selection of pieces starting with Faye Miravite's Transcendence that uniquely incorporates Damodar's meditative chants. This was followed by Nicanor Abelardo's Cavatina, Henry Mancini's Moon River, and Richard Rodgers' Edelweiss, a trio of pleasant tunes. The familiarity of the latter two pieces unfortunately prompted some audience members to hum along with a few doing so severely off key.

To close out the program, Damodar performed the first movement of Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191. With such aplomb, Ilusorio showcased the newly restored Steinway's brilliance effectively, laying aside whatever misgiving an audience member who longed for an actual orchestra might've had. The longing would've been for the complete concerto being performed instead.

Post performance Q&A

The MiraNila audience couldn't get enough of the duo and they were rewarded with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Pezzo capriccioso, Op. 62 and Ennio Morricone's Gabriel's Oboe from The Mission as encores that kept the mix of standard classical repertoire with the more recent, crowd-pleasing music presented in the concert.

The high ceiling of MiraNila house provided natural amplification and reverb, but making it very unforgiving even with the slightest intonation error. Thankfully, Damodar was very secure with his cello, showing no signs of hesitation. The only hesitation he had was during the post-performance Q&A section wherein he responded with just brief words compared to the more Ilusorio who gave eloquent answers as well as annotations throughout the evening.

The MiraNila Heritage House's inaugural Strings of Gold concert once again proved that Damodar Das Castillo is one of the country's most exciting young artists who has the potential to be a headliner on the international stage. And that Mariel Ilusorio remains one of the most reliable pianists who let her collaborators be at ease and truly shine on stage as well.