Rowena Arrieta to perform with PPO

Way back when the 32nd Concert Season of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014-2015 was announced, one of the most anticipated soloists in the lineup was celebrated Filipino pianist Rowena Arrieta. But performer and program changes typically occur in a season for a myriad of reasons and Arrieta's initially scheduled performance with the PPO didn't materialize then.

Rowena Arrieta

Now, a little over a decade later, Rowena Arrieta, the Fifth Prize winner for Piano at the VII Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1982, will finally make her much awaited performance on March 14, 2025, 7:30 PM at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit, Makati.

Under the baton of Maestro Grzegorz Nowak, Arrieta take audiences to a journey to the underworld with Franz Liszt's technically challenging Totentanz S.126.

The concert, billed as Homecoming, will also commemorate Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis's 150th birth anniversary with a performance of the Lithuanian composer's  Miške (In The Forest).

Diomedes Saraza, Jr.

The PPO's Concertmaster and Artist in Residence, Diomedes Saraza, Jr. also gets featured as the soloist in Ralph Vaughan William's The Lark Ascending.

Rounding up the evening's packed program are familiar tunes from the opera and ballet stages with Georges Bizet's Carmen Suite No. 1 and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Suite.

Maestro Grzegorz Nowak and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Reprinted below is the CCP press release.

Filipino pianist Rowena Arrieta returns for PPO Concert VI: Homecoming this March 14

Laureate pianist Rowena Arrieta makes a triumphant return to her homeland with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) for the highly anticipated sixth installment of its 40th concert season. Dubbed “Homecoming,” PPO Concert VI shares the warmth of home through musical brilliance on March 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater.

ECHOES OF LITHUANIA IN PPO CONCERT VI: HOMECOMING

The PPO Concert VI: Homecoming opens with Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis’ Miške (In The Forest), commemorating the Lithuanian composer’s 150th birth anniversary. When the Nazis occupied his hometown in Lithuania, he turned to art. Čiurlionis created approximately 400 compositions and 300 artworks, blending music and visual arts.

The Lithuanian cultural hero composed his first symphonic poem, “Miške (In The Forest),” for a competition in Warsaw in 1901. It was introduced in the first concert season of the war period, cementing Čiurlionis’ status as one of Lithuania’s patriotic figures.

AN ARIA OF LOVE

The PPO Concert VI: Homecoming continues its melodic journey with George Bizet’s Carmen Suite no. 1. Drawn from the composer’s celebrated opera “Carmen,” this suite’s vivid orchestration conveys the tragic destiny of a free-spirited gypsy woman who had an affair with a young soldier.

THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED COMEBACK OF ROWENA ARRIETA

Arrieta will be playing Franz Liszt’s Totentanz (Dance of Death) in PPO Concert VI: Homecoming. Composed in 1849, the dramatic piano and orchestra work is based on “Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)” from the Requiem Mass. Arrieta will showcase her world-class technical skills through the piano variations of “Totentanz”.

TRULY A PINOY PRIDE

Arrieta was hailed the “youngest and most promising of 82 contestants” in the prestigious Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow. After winning the competition’s Fifth Prize and Special Prize in 1982, she received the title “Laureate”. To this date, Arrieta is the only Filipino to attain this honor.

Arrieta began playing the piano at age two, learned to read notes at age three, and wrote her first composition at age five. She received her first musical training in the Philippines under the tutelage of Philippine Women’s Conservatory of Music’s Leonila Celino, the University of the Philippines College of Music’s Regalado Jose and Reynaldo Reyes, and Carmencita Arambulo of Greenhills Music Studio.

One of the first graduates of the Philippines High School for the Arts (PHSA), Arrieta received her Master’s Degree from the renowned Moscow State Conservatory. She received the highest honors under the tutelage of Russian National Artist Yevgeny Malinin in 1985. While in Russia, she also earned a degree in Russian Language Pedagogy. She later pursued Professional Studies at the Manhattan School of Music as a student of Dr. Solomon Mikowsky and as a recipient of the Elva Van Gelder Memorial Scholarship.

Arrieta’s accolades include being one of the Ten Outstanding Women in the National Service (Philippines, 1989), Presidential Awards in Performance (Philippines, 1978–1979), and Second Prize as a songwriter in the 1979 Metro Pop Music Festival (Philippines).

Since 1990, Arrieta has been a faculty member of the National Piano Teachers Guild (USA). She was then inducted into the Hall of Fame of the U.S. National Piano Teachers Guild in 2009.

PPO CONCERT VI: HOMECOMING TAKES FLIGHT

The PPO Concert VI: Homecoming unfolds with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, a renowned violin and orchestra work inspired by George Meredith’s poem of the same title. Composed in 1914, the piece portrays the image of a lark in flight. In “The Lark Ascending,” Vaughan Williams makes use of sweeping melodies to evoke a sense of freedom.

PPO guest concertmaster and artist-in-residence Diomedes Saraza Jr. will perform this exquisite work, highlighting its emotional depth.

PPO’S ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE DIOMEDES SARAZA JR. JOINS CONCERT VI: HOMECOMING

Before becoming PPO’s guest concertmaster and artist-in-residence, Saraza Jr. was a 3-year-old playing the violin with his father. His formal training began at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila. Through a full scholarship, Saraza Jr. received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School in New York.

At 19 years old, Saraza Jr. was the first Filipino Outstanding Academic Achievement awardee of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s Education Awards Program. He then pursued a Master of Musical Arts degree as a full scholar at Yale University. At Yale, he received the Brodus Erle Prize and successfully debuted at Carnegie Hall with the PPO.

But aside from being a concert violinist and chamber musician, Saraza Jr. is a dedicated educator. He served as associate and assistant concertmaster of The Juilliard Orchestra and Juilliard Lab Orchestra. He was also a former faculty member of St. Scholastica’s College Manila and the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra.

MUSICAL TALES OF HOME

The PPO Concert VI: Homecoming concludes with Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite, an orchestral arrangement of unforgettable moments from the composer’s ballet “Swan Lake”.

An evening of exquisite musical storytelling, PPO Concert VI: Homecoming holds a diverse repertoire that transcends time and borders. Under the baton of Maestro Grzegorz Nowak, this unmissable concert harnesses music’s power to shape and preserve cultural identities.

Tickets for PPO Concert VI: Homecoming on March 14 are priced at Php 3,000, Php 2,500, Php 2,000, and Php 1,500. They are now available online via TicketWorld. To enjoy up to a 25 percent discount, be a PPO subscriber. You may also email salesandpromotions@culturalcenter.gov.ph or call the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Box Office at +63931-033-0880 for ticket concerns.

For updates on PPO’s future performances and CCP events, follow the CCP and PPO’s official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Visit the CCP website at www.culturalcenter.gov.ph for updates on future masterclasses, performances, and other events.