Szymon Nehring's Chopin dazzles at PPO's 2026 opener

Jeffrey Ching, Glober, Calambro, Andión Fernandez, Diomedes Saraza Jr.
Grzegorz Nowak, Szymon Nehring, Jonathan Velasco, and Dennis Marasigan

Back in October 2025, music lovers had their fill of Frédéric Chopin's music while the XIX International Chopin Piano Competition was underway. The devoted were glued to the livestreams during unholy hours while those valued sleep opted to watch the uploaded videos later on. But nothing still beats watching a well performed Chopin, especially one of his piano concertos, live. Thankfully, Polish pianist Szymon Nehring was recently in town for the latest concert of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), thus able to fulfill that craving for a live Chopin performance.

For his stint with the PPO, Nehring harkened back to his days as a finalist at the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition back in 2015 by performing Chopin's Piano Concerto in E minor, Op. 11, the same piece he played at the competition's final round. Under the baton of Maestro Grzegorz Nowak, Nehring dazzled with his familiar and comfortable take on Chopin. He generated excitement through his impeccable musicality especially with his elegant phrasing of the second movement Romanze. His technical mastery was also on full display at the third movement Rondo that prompted some audience members to applaud even before the final note of the orchestra ended.

An étude or any of Chopin's miniatures would've sufficed for an encore, but Nehring felt very generous performed Chopin's Grande polonaise brillante, Op.22 instead. This felt like received a belated Christmas gift even though it's halfway past January already.

Fortunately, the PPO stepped up to the plate and kept up with Nehring. Gone are the tiny slips that occasionally plague the orchestra and ultimately distract from the overall performance. There were no indications that the PPO came from the long holiday break.

The PPO were on top form probably because they were kept on their toes by the Jeffrey Ching piece that opened the concert. Ching's avant-garde works, to put it lightly, have challenged audience and orchestra members alike with their complex musical language that local audiences aren't used to. Surprisingly, the Ching work that opened the concert, Fenghuang Singing, is one of his more accessible works.

Grzegorz Nowak and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

The piece had soprano Andión Fernandez and trumpeter Glober Calambro, positioned among the audience at the orchestra section, engage in a musical conversation while accompanied by atmospheric strings. Both Fernandez and Calambro then moved, always in symmetry, to different parts of the orchestra section, as their conversation continues. A handful of musicians were also positioned at the upper boxes and their interwoven flourishes gave this piece a more spatial, immersive experience.

More interesting was the second part that had a fugue played by muted strings. The muted sound combined with an ever lingering but faint dissonance gave the music an incorporeal quality. This was made more evident with the unexpected beats from the drum set that felt a lot more palpable.

Overall, the visual element provided by the soprano and trumpeter, coupled with the discernible architecture of the fugue, made this Ching work a lot more palatable compared to the ones that have been performed by the PPO for the past couple of seasons.

Fernandez performed an encore, Wuxingming lao huashi an aria from Ching’s soon to be premiered opera The Butterflies which is based on the Chinese legend The Butterfly Lovers. Sung in Chinese, the aria was surprisingly tonal for a Ching work.

All of this made up for a front loaded program with only Franz Liszt's Les Préludes S.97 listed for the second half. While the PPO performed this symphonic poem competently, it eventually felt like an afterthought. But after Nehring's splendid Chopin, as well as a surprisingly accessible Ching, there was no reason to complain.

Szymon Nehring performs Chopin with PPO

Back in 2017, the Chopin Institute livestreamed a concert by the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century under the baton of Gustavo Gimeno that included a performance of Frédéric Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 with Szymon Nehring as the piano soloist.

This live broadcast made me stay awake way past my bedtime but that's a price I was willing to pay to see a performance by Nehring, a first prize winner at the 15th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition (2017) and also a finalist at the XVII International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition (2015) when he was just only 19 years old.

Never did I imagine at the time that almost nine years later, I will have the chance to see Nehring perform the same concerto live here in the Philippines. 

Come January 16, 2026, 7:30 PM at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, Polish pianist Szymon Nehring joins the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) and Maestro Grzergorz Nowak in Preludi, the fifth concert for the orchestra's 41st Versatile concert season.

Szymon Nehring
Photo ©Bartek Barczyk

Jeffrey Ching's Fenghuang Singing, a work commissioned by the IMPULS Festival für Neue Musik in Sachsen-Anhalt to commemorate the 30th anniversary of German unification, will also be performed. Through music, this work describes the destruction and eventual rebirth of the cities of Magdeburg and Braunschweig while blending motifs from East and West German hymns. The piece also paints the image of the fenghuang or the phoenix bird from the Chinese ideographs in Mao Zedong’s calligraphy.

Andión Fernandez

Fenghuang Singing will also feature soprano Andión Fernandez. A soloist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Fernandez was last seen with the PPO performing in Ching's opera Before Brabant at the CCP's Children's Biennale back in November 2024.

Capping the concert is Franz Liszt's Les Préludes, his third and most popular symphonic poem. Initially conceived as an overture to the choral cycle, Les quatre élémens, Liszt later reworked this into his most familiar symphonic poem inspired by French poet's Alphone de Lamartine's Ode from Nouvelles méditations poétiques.

Tickets to PPO Concert V: Preludi, priced at P3,000, P2,500, P2,000, and P1,500 are available at TicketWorld. Subscription packages, where one can enjoy a 20% discount for the remainder of the PPO's 41st Concert Season, are still available. E-mail  salesandpromotions@culturalcenter.gov.ph or call the CCP Box Office at (+63)931-0330880 to be a subscriber.

Cecile Licad holds solo piano concert at Gallery MiraNila on October 1

Whenever world-renowned pianist Cecile Licad performs piano concertos with an orchestra, the final note is always greeted by deafening applause by a dazzled and enthralled audience. The combination of a large theater packed to the brim, a full symphony orchestra, technically demanding pieces, and Licad's larger than life stage presence all add up to a grand experience.

The above paragraph is mainly why the switch to a solo concert, with Licad and just a piano, at an intimate venue surrounded by the garden of an historic heritage house, make Cecile Licad Up Close, happening on October 1, 2025, 6:30 PM at the Gallery MiraNila, a must see.

Presented by the MiraNila Heritage House & Library in partnership with the Erehwon Center for the Arts and the P. Ilusorio Foundation and in collaboration with Gallery MiraNila by The Blue Leaf, Cecile Licad Up Close sees Licad performing Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 Quasi una fantasia or more popularly known as the Moonlight Sonata, Robert Schumman's Carnaval, Op. 9, Franz Liszt's St. Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves, a handful of Scott Joplin's ragtime pieces namely The Entertainer, Rose Leaf Rag, Stoptime Rag, and Easy Winters, and Frédéric Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23.

A recipient of the Leventritt Gold Medal, Grand Prix du Disque, and Pamana ng Pilipino Award, Ms. Licad has also worked with esteemed orchestras and distinguished conductors, including the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Claudio Abbado, as well as Sir Georg Solti, the National Symphony Orchestra under Mstislav Rostropovich, the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, the London Symphony Orchestra under Kurt Masur, the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Andre Previn, and the Russian Academy State Orchestra (Moscow) under People’s Artist of Russia Mark Gorenstein.

Cecile Licad
Photo ©Patrick Diokno

She continues to captivate audiences at the Carnegie Hall and, most recently, on tour with famed Wynton Marsalis and his brass band playing alongside Louis, a modern silent film based on the early years of the legendary trumpetist Louis Armstrong.

The Gallery MiraNila concert offers a rare opportunity to hear this most decorated of Filipino classical artists in the intimate setting of the hall.

Tickets for her one-night-only solo concert in Metro Manila are priced at P3,500 (premium) and P3,000 (regular).

For tickets, text Bern at 0906-547-8268 or email miranilaheritage@gmail.com.

Apart from the concert, guests can avail of pre-concert cocktails and post-concert dinners on offer. The pre-concert sunset cocktail hour from 5:00-6:00 PM, serving cocktails and charcuterie with panoramic sunset views is priced at P1,000 per guest. While the post-concert dinner, a curated late dinner under the stars by Bizu on the rooftop cost P2,000 per guest.

Spots can be booked at: https://bit.ly/3JvaG9q

Other guests can avail of the Bizu pasta station and light snacks for sale during the intermission and after the concert.

MiraNila Heritage House & Library is located at 26 Mariposa Street, Brgy Bagong Lipunan Crame, Q.C. Facebook: MiraNila Heritage House Events.

Cecile Licad Up Close is presented by the Benitez-Tirona MiraNila Foundation in partnership with the Erehwon Center for the Arts, P. Ilusorio Foundation, and Gallery MiraNila by The Blue Leaf.

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.

A thoughtfully woven program in PPO's tribute to Hector Berlioz

Violist Rey Casey Concepcion, conductor Michaël Cousteau,
and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra paid tribute to French conductor Hector Berlioz in the occasion of the French composer's 150th death anniversary through a concert led by guest conductor Michaël Cousteau.

Conductor Michaël Cousteau and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Embassy of France, and Stores Specialists, Inc, the concert featured a thoughtfully woven program consisting of music by Berlioz and some of his contemporaries.

French Ambassador Nicolas Galey, soprano Rachelle Gerodias, conductor Michaël
Cousteau, violist Rey Casey Concepcion, baritone Byeong-In Park,
and CCP Board Member Baltazar Endriga

Right off the bat, Berlioz presence was felt with his orchestration of the French National anthem performed by the PPO (that included three timpanists) and sung by real life couple Rachelle Gerodias and Byeong-In Park.

The program started with Wagner's Prelude from Tristan und Isolde WWV 90. This piece is usually followed by the Liebestodt but in this evening, it surprisingly segued to Berlioz' Harold en Italie, Op.16 H. 68 instead that had me double checking the souvenir program to see if there hadn't been any mistake. The entrances and exit of violist Rey Casey Concepcion throughout the piece provided a bit of theatricality in the performance which is quite melancholic and relaxed as opposed to the explosive concerto. But Concepcion still delivered a display of technical virtuosity with his encore of Capriccio in C minor, Op. 55 'Hommage à Paganini' by Henri Vieuxtemps.

The second half of the concert consisted of Berlioz' Scène d'amour from Roméo et Juliette, Op. 17, H. 79 and Franz Liszt's Les préludes, S. 97. It was not easy listening to these pieces which aren't really my cup of tea. And being program music, it would've helped greatly knowing the context of the pieces. But I was later told Cousteau had a lecture at the Les Jeudis Culturels the night before explaining the musical connection between these pieces. It made me regret not attending the lecture so that I would've had a greater understanding and appreciation of the PPO's performance in this concert.

Pianist Yury Shadrin's musical Liszt at PPO concert

Pianist Yury Shadrin and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Despite being one of the more popular piano concertos out there, Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124 never really appealed to me. I find it emotionally lacking and it doesn’t grip me at all. That’s why it surprised me when I found myself glued and in all ears at a performance of this piece during the opening night of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s 35^th concert season. Billed as Romancing the Classics, this season also marks the sophomore year of Yoshikazu Fukumura as principal conductor and music director.

Responsible for my reaction with the Liszt was the guest artist of the evening, the Russian pianist Yury Shadrin. His take on the concerto was not about the dazzling fireworks nor the boastful display of virtuosity although he was extremely precise. His Liszt, if I may say, was very musical if one can believe that. Most important for me, he was able to make the Fazioli grand piano sing, and with the Liszt at that. Acquired by the Cultural Center of the Philippines almost a year ago but only used a few times since then, the much talked about Fazioli’s potential was finally realized. Shadrin was able to bring out shimmering, crystal clear notes especially on the piano’s higher registers. And the piano’s lush tones were highlighted in his sublime encore of Frédéric Chopin’s Étude Op. 25, No. 1 in A-flat major. Prior to the Liszt concerto, the orchestra played Gioachino Rossini’s Overture to Il viaggio a Reims which meant that the triangle (and its respective player) had a major workout during the first half of the concert.

Pianist Yury Shadrin

The second half of the concert satisfied my much needed desire for a strong emotional punch as Fukumura led the orchestra with a sweeping rendition of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27. For almost an hour, the orchestra showed not only the discipline and focus evident under Fukumura’s helm but also unfaltering energy that I think is probably fueled by a sizable number of young guest musicians in this concert. I am extremely pleased that Fukumura wasn’t swayed by too much excitement and kept at the expected tempo through most of the symphony, although I wished that he went just a tad slower during the third movement Adagio. Some audience members being jolted by the “surprise” at the Allegro molto second movement told me that either the Rachmaninoff symphony is still not familiar to most concert goers here or that there were newbies among the audience that night. Either case, it brought me a moment of amusement that almost 110 years after the symphony’s premiere, that surprise is still making audiences jump off of their seats.

With a piece such as the Rachmaninoff, I usually have some worries that the audience might find it too long or too heavy. But the resounding and enthusiastic response from them dissipated my fears that they aren’t yet ready for music like this. Like what I’ve said earlier, this season was billed as Romancing the Classics, the next step after Fukumura’s debut season of going back to basics. And with the PPO’s performance during the opening night, it looks like the audience got swept on its feet and got caught up in the romance already.

Pianist Zsolt Bognár journeys home in concert

Featuring:

Zsolt Bognár, piano

Programme:

Franz Schubert

     Impromptu No. 4 in A-flat major, D935/Op. posth. 142

     Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946

          No. 1 in E-flat minor

          No. 2 in E-flat major

          No. 3 in C major

Edvard Grieg

     Selections from Lyric Pieces

         Arrieta from Book I, Op. 12, No. 1

         Butterfly from Book III, Op. 43, No. 1

         To Spring from Book III, Op. 43, No. 6

         Solitary Traveler from Book III, Op. 43, No. 2

         Wedding Day at Troldhaugen from Book VIII, Op. 65, No. 6

Franz Schubert/Franz Liszt

     Der Doppelgänger S.560/12

Franz Liszt

     Après une Lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata S.161/7

Encore:

Robert Schumann

     Arabeske in C major, Op. 18

Arvo Pärt

     Für Alina

An air of melancholy and a sense of yearning for one’s hometown echoed inside the CCP Little Theater in pianist Zsolt Bognár solo concert. But the concert, billed as Der Wanderer: A Musician’s Journey, was far from being a downer as Zsolt was able to make mostly introspective music fascinating.

Zsolt started the concert with Franz Schubert’s Impromptu No. 4 in A-flat major, D935/Op. posth. 142 and Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946. Right off the bat, the poetic, song-like melodies coupled with the repeats driving the said tunes firmly in my head finally enabled Schubert to penetrate through me. Schubert has been one of the major composers whose works never really resonated with me before. But Zsolt’s rendition of just a handful of pieces, was able to convince me to think otherwise.

A selection of Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces (Arrieta from Book I, Op. 12, No. 1, Butterfly from Book III, Op. 43, No. 1, To Spring from Book III, Op. 43, No. 6, Solitary Traveler from Book III, Op. 43, No. 2, Wedding Day at Troldhaugen from Book VIII, Op. 65, No. 6) that followed suit took the audience on a journey of different moods. Familiarity with these pieces aren’t necessary at all since the titles perfectly match the character of the music that were at times tender, tranquil, somber and eventually, festive.

The musical journey went into a chilling turn as Zsolt tackled Franz Liszt’s transcription of Franz Schubert's Der Doppelgänger S.560/12. This piece somewhat served as a short prelude as it was immediately followed by Liszt’s Après une Lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata S.161/7 or more commonly referred to as the Dante Sonata. This work, inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, was clearly the evening’s pièce de résistance. Starting from the descending chords, one couldn’t help but imagine plunging to the depths of hell. A moment of brilliant, clarity introduced the second theme which cannot be mistaken for any other than the heavens above. Despite the length and seemingly lack of structure, Zsolt’s rendition and shaping of the piece, kept me glued all throughout.

For his encores, Zsolt played Robert Schumann’s Arabeske in C major, Op. 18 and Arvo Pärt’s Für Alina, two pieces that solidified the thematic link of the night that of composers who were out on a journey away from home and their loved ones. And just like these composers, Zsolt is also on a journeying musician and the concert stop in the country allowed him reconnect with his Filipino roots.

With Zsolt choosing a more quiet and introspective program, the mood was generally more subdued and contained. And for me, this was a very welcome change of pace that was able to wash away the ferocity that I experienced during the concert that I saw prior to this. As I said earlier, the concert also made me want to listen and learn more about Schubert’s piano works and Zsolt’s debut CD Franz & Franz, that includes most of the pieces he performed in the concert, is a good way to start.

More of Zsolt can also be seen online as the host of Living the Classical Life, a program featuring interviews with classical musicians like Yuja Wang, Daniil Trifonov, and Joshua Bell among many others.

Raul Sunico concert in the spirit of Philippines-Germany friendship

Pianist Raul Sunico

Featuring:

Raul Sunico, piano

Programme:

Robert Schumann

     Fantasiestücke, Op. 12

Isaac Albéniz

     Iberia Suite, El puerto and Triana

Richard Wagner/Franz Liszt

     Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

Nicanor Abelardo

     Nocturne in C sharp minor

Antonio Molina

     Malikmata

Franz Liszt

     2 Légendes, S.175

Johann Strauss/Adolf Schulz-Evler

     An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 The Blue Danube

World renowned pianist Raul Sunico showcased his vast repertoire at a concert held recently at the residence of German Ambassador Thomas Ossowski. Less than a month after setting a record by playing three Tchaikovsky piano concertos in a single concert, Sunico performed a totally different lineup of solo piano pieces in front of an intimate audience of selected guests.

German Ambassador Thomas Ossowski and Raul Sunico
Photo courtesy of the German Embassy

After welcome remarks by Ambassador Ossowski, the concert commenced with Sunico performing Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 12. A suite made up of eight short pieces that made for quite a hefty concert opener as the music journeyed through the realm of dreams and possibly nightmares. Sunico followed it up with two pieces from Isaac Albéniz’ Iberia Suite which were El puerto, a lively depiction of a busy fish port and Triana, named after a gypsy quarter in Seville and infused with the dances paso doble and the sevillana. There was no mistaking the Spanish character and flair of the Albéniz’ music. It was indeed a revelation to hear these Albéniz pieces performed by a solo pianist since the more often performed orchestral arrangement is more familiar to me. A soaring Franz Liszt transcription of Richard Wagner’s Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde was brilliantly rendered by Sunico right from the unsettling “Tristan chord” at the beginning up to the piece’s stirring climax with the piano resonating as if there was a symphony orchestra inside the living room.

DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo and wife Rowena, Raul Sunico, and Luisa Zaide

Filipino music was also represented that night through Nicanor Abelardo’s sublime Nocturne in C sharp minor and Antonio Molina’s mysterious Malikmata. Sunico was able to conjure images with his rendition of Franz Liszt’s 2 Legendes, S.175.

The lightness of St-François d'Assise La prédication aux oiseaux made me imagine that it was the small, friendly birds and not the birds of prey that he was preaching to. But the weighty and grand chords of St-François de Paule Marchant sur les flots brought imagery of turbulent waves that he was able to sail through via an improvised raft and sail after getting denied by a ferryman to carry him.

Diether Ocampo and Raul Sunico

For the finale, Sunico went for the crowd pleasing Adolf Schulz-Elver’s transcription of Johann Strauss’ An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 more popularly known as The Blue Danube. While the popular waltz melody takes centerstage, 20^th century harmonies and dissonances included by Schulz-Elver gave it modern sensibilities. Not wanting the concert to end, one of the guests requested a certain Franz Schubert piece which Sunico unfortunately didn’t know. To satisfy the lady’s Schubert request, he played the composer’s lyrical Impromptu in G flat major, Op. 90 No. 3 instead for an encore.

RAd and Ambassador Thomas Ossowski

Raul Sunico’s concert was organized by Ambassador Thomas Ossowski and the German Embassy to promote cultural dialogue and also to celebrate the friendship between the Philippines and Germany. Among the guests in this evening included NCCA Chairman Felipe de Leon Jr., DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo, Swiss Ambassador Ivo Sieber, Monaco Consul Fortune Ledesma, eminent music critic Rosalinda Orosa, actor Diether Ocampo and equestrienne Michelle Barrera, and of course, members of the German community residing/working in the Philippines.

Pianist and tenor Carlos Ibay triumphantly opens concert tour

Pianist Carlos Ibay

Featuring:

Carlos Ibay, piano

Programme:

Franz Liszt

     Liebesträume No. 3, S.541

     Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D flat major, S.244/6

Andrew Lloyd Weber, T.S. Eliot and Trevor Nunn

     Memory from Cats

Andrew Lloyd Weber and Charles Hart

     Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera

Isaac Albéniz

     Tango in D, Op. 165, No. 2

Frédéric Chopin

     Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60

Salvatore d'Esposito and Tito Manlio

     Anema e core

Ernesto de Curtis

     Non ti scordar di me

Pianist and tenor Carlos Ibay kicked off his Triumphant Spirit concert tour with a performance coinciding with the launch of the papal stamps at The Block in SM City North EDSA. Blinded due to complications stemming from his premature birth at only six months, the US-based Ibay provided inspiration aside from the music that managed to stop an impressive number of shoppers on their tracks inside the busy mall.

The concert lineup he prepared for that afternoon was a mix of standard piano repertoire along with some show tunes and arias. He introduced each piece before playing, providing a brief background and even showing some of his humor in the process. But even without his annotations, the audience would’ve noted the contrast between the two pieces by Franz Liszt in which he opened the program: the lyrical Liebesträume No. 3, S.541, and the virtuosic (and very flashy) Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D flat major, S.244/6.

Ibay then changed genres and went for a couple of show tunes by Andrew Lloyd Weber. The audience was totally taken by surprise as they heard an operatic tenor voice coming out from Ibay during the opening lines of Memory from Cats. He then followed it up with Music of the Night from the Phantom of the Opera.

Since this performance was in line with the release of the papal stamps and Pope Francis’ visit to the country, Ibay dedicated the next piece Isaac Albéniz’ Tango in D, Op. 165, No. 2 to his eminence. Albéniz hailed from Spain, but the current pope is fond of tango which originated in his home country, Argentina. When he performed Frédéric Chopin’s Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60, I feared that the audience might felt it too long or too “classical” and inaccessible. But he allayed my fears when he prepped the audience by telling them to imagine being on a boat ride as he played this piece.

Ibay acknowledged a couple in the audience who were celebrating their 50^th golden wedding anniversary and dedicated his next song, Anima e core (With All My Heart and Soul) by Salvatore d'Esposito and Tito Manlio to them. He then paid homage to the great tenor Luciano Pavarotti by ending his performance with Non ti scordar di me (Never Forget About Me) by Ernesto de Curtis.

The audience gave a standing ovation and didn’t let Ibay leave the stage just yet. For his first encore, he performed Francisco Santiago’s Pakiusap which was his first performance of this song in public since he has only heard it only three days prior. To thank the very appreciative audience, he also gave another encore which was a notched up version of Chopsticks (The Celebrated Chop Waltz by Arthur de Lulli) that was interspersed with snippets of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, S.244/2 which I think was the version originally arranged by Liberace.

A classical music performance at a mall atrium always makes me a bit uneasy since the surrounding noise could easily distract me and it entails me to concentrate a lot harder. And the use of microphones to amplify the sound means that a lot of the nuances will be lost. The members of the audience during that afternoon didn't nitpick about all these and were nonetheless very pleased with the whole of Ibay's performance especially with the song numbers.

After the performance, I had the pleasure of joining Carlos Ibay, along his parents Carmencita and Roman, and organizers from SM and SinagTala Management for Filipino Performing Arts for dinner over at Mary Grace. I learned there that when Chuckie, as he is fondly called, first heard Chopin back when he was still around seven or eight years old, he wouldn’t want to listen to anything else since he thought that every other music aside from Chopin’s was trash. I was also able to practice with him my Italian while helping ourselves with pizza, pasta and of course, the famous ensaymada. I found out that he learns new music by listening to it although I failed to ask him how he manages to figure out which keys/notes are to be played with which hand and how he tackles whenever one hand needs to cross over the other. I still find it hard to imagine myself in his situation in which sight is completely out of the equation when learning/playing with music. He said that he was encouraged by his former teacher to conduct masterclasses here in the country. And that I would need to prepare my Chopin since I would be one of the first takers of his masterclass here.

There are still quite a lot of things I want to learn about Carlos Ibay. Thank goodness that there are still chances for me, and for everyone else for that matter, to catch his performances as the Triumphant Spirit concert tour resumes on January 19, 2015, 8:00 PM at T.E.A.T.R.I.N.O. in Promenade, Greenhills. The tour continues on January 21, 2015, 4:00 PM at the Samsung Hall SM Aura Premier and will finally wrap up with a performance on January 29, 2015, 7:00 PM at the FEU Auditorium. For those wanting more information regarding these remaining performance dates can call or text 0918-XINTALA (0918-9468252).