Pianist Inna Montesclaros performs solo recital for a cause

London-based Filipina pianist, Inna Montesclaros will give a solo piano concert for a cause this July 28, 2019, 4:00 PM at the Francisco Santiago Hall, BDO Corporate Center, in Makati. The concert, billed as Classics for a Cause, is presented by the Lamdag Foundation for Women’s Project, Inc. in cooperation with BDO. 

Inna is a leading concert pianist of the country who is hailed for her expressive ability to communicate her passion for music through warm, articulate musical tone. She finished her Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London, with Ian Jones as her mentor. She pursued her Master of Arts degree in piano at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London and Advanced Diploma in Piano, graduating with a First (Distinction) under the tutelage of Ian Fountain.

In Manila her teachers were Prof. Cecile Basilio-Roxas and Prof. Dr. Raul Sunico. The latter was her mentor at the UST Conservatory of Music where she spent two years of study, enjoying the Sto. Domingo Scholarship before going to London on a scholarship grant. 

She garnered major awards in Manila and international piano competitions in Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, and Germany. She performed in London, Chile, Italy, Netherlands and the US, apart from giving regular concerts in Manila.

Her program for this evening will include Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, George Enescu's Piano Suite No. 2 in D major, Op. 10, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Dumka in C minor, Op. 59, and Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

Sally C. Monteiro, President of the Davao Development Board Manila Chapter of the Lamdag Foundation, said the concert is a fund drive earmarked for the construction of its Dayao Center in Davao City. It will house the foundation’s activities for the total development of female students, young women professionals, housewives, and women helpers (kasambahay)—not only in Davao but in the nearby Southern Mindanao provinces as well.

For tickets and other inquiries, contact Elsie at (0917)523-6646 and Ditas at (0917)862-7100. Tickets will also be available at the gate prior to the performance.

Festive music cap Olivier Ochanine stint as PPO music director.

Featuring:

Odin Rathnam, violin

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

Jules Massenet

     Suite for Orchestra No. 6 Scènes de Féerie

Erich Wolfgang Korngold

     Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

George Enescu

     Romanian Rhapsody No.1 in A major, Op. 11

Alberto Ginastera

     Four Dances from Estancia, Op. 8a

Encore:

Francesco Maria Veracini

     Allegro from Sonata No. 1 in A Major, Op. 7

Aram Khachaturian

     Lezghinka from Gayaneh

Capping his six year stint, Olivier Ochanine took to the podium for the very last time as the music director/principal conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at a concert with music that toned down the drama and amped the festive mood instead.

The concert also featured returning violinist Odin Rathnam as the featured soloist in Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35. At times, the orchestra felt anemic, a bit bland during the quiet moments and also not swelling enough during the romantic climaxes of the first movement. After an unsettling disconnect at the start, Odin and the orchestra eventually clicked during the latter part of the first movement and both were in their element during the exhilarating jig of the third movement. It was a bit of a letdown that the opening movement, which was my favorite, didn’t pan out perfectly as I hoped it would. Also in between movements, Odin cracked some jokes and while the audience found it funny, I thought that it broke the mood that should've been kept until the end of the piece. My anticipation to hear the Korngold performed live again after almost six years set such a high expectation that it wasn't easy for me to let pass the things that have gone awry no matter how small they were.

During Odin’s encore, when he was left on his own to play the Allegro from Francesco Maria Veracini’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op. 7, he was absolutely phenomenal and was able to make the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Main Theater acoustics sound divine. It didn’t matter that this was the same encore he did when he performed the Brahms a couple of years ago.

While the orchestra struggled with the long, sweeping passages during the Korngold, they had no problem with the very pronounced rhythms of the other pieces in the program namely Jules Massenet’s Suite for Orchestra No. 6 Scènes de Féerie, George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No.1 in A major, Op. 11, and Alberto Ginastera’s Four Dances from Estancia, Op. 8a. These pieces, mostly taken from ballets, didn’t feature that much contrast in mood and dynamics and didn’t have much drama. Instead, the music went on to build and build, ultimately snowballing into an exciting climax which was evident during the percussion frenzied Malambo, the final dance from Ginastera’s Estancia that ultimately ended the concert And the dancing fever didn’t stop there as the orchestra did Aram Khachaturian’s Lezghinka from the ballet Gayaneh as their encore. They performed this as an encore years ago too, but this time, it was at a tempo that I am satisfied with.

What left me a bit unsatisfied in this concert was the lack of a symphony. For a milestone concert, marking the end of a memorable run, one would expect a major symphony to be part of the program. In the end, the night felt like there wasn't enough meat in it. Also, the previously announced performance of the PPO Composition Competition winner didn't happen due to the entries not meeting the criteria that were set. 

Olivier Ochanine came to the PPO at the time when the orchestra lacked a clear direction, and the Manila Symphony Orchestra and FILharmoniKA started having their respective season concerts also. Being the youngest music director of the PPO to date, Olivier took advantage of social media (and also his cameo roles in a couple of television series) and successfully used it as a promotional tool to entice younger audiences to watch the concerts.  Music wise, he was able to introduce to the Philippine audience works by Carl Nielsen, Alan Hovhaness and Steven Stucky while also accommodating audience requests for the more popular fare like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

Personally, I am grateful that throughout the years, Olivier has been very kind in entertaining (and enduring) my numerous requests, suggestions, complaints, and brutally honest views. Our discussions about the PPO, the music scene here in the Philippines, and almost anything under the sun have always been animated with a lot of stuff not suitable for print. Olivier may not be the PPO’s music director/principal conductor anymore, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve already seen the last of him.

Olivier Ochanine conducts final PPO season concert, violinist Odin Rathnam returns

April 22, 2016, 8:00 PM

Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)

Cultural Center of the Philippines

CCP Complex

Pasay, Metro Manila

Featuring:

Odin Rathnam, violin

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

     PPO Composition Competition Winner

Erich Wolfgang Korngold

     Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

Jules Massenet

     Suite for Orchestra No. 6 Scènes de Féerie

George Enescu

     Romanian Rhapsody No.1 in A major, Op. 11

Alberto Ginastera

     Four Dances from Estancia, Op. 8a

Olivier Ochanine, the outgoing music director/principal conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra takes to the podium for his last season concert with the orchestra this April 22, 2016, 8:00 PM at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’s Main Theater. Special guest for the evening is violinist Odin Rathnam.

Music to be performed at the concert include Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, with Odin as the soloist, Jules Massenet’s Suite for Orchestra No. 6 Scènes de Féerie, George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No.1 in A major, Op. 11, Alberto Ginastera’s Four Dances from Estancia, Op. 8a, and the winning piece of the PPO Composition Competition.

Odin is no longer a stranger to the PPO audience as he was the orchestra’s featured soloist for Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.77 at their February 2014 season concert held at the Meralco Theater. He was very kind enough to grant me an interview leading up to his performance here.

RAd: It was initially announced that you were to play Nielsen's violin concerto. I've heard a few people get disappointed when they learned of the change to Korngold. How can you convince those disappointed few to come see you perform the Korngold?

Odin Rathnam: Korngold is a better piece, no offense to my fellow Danes.

I love the Nielsen Concerto too, but sorry, Korngold is better architecturally, melodically and in terms of the harmonic language, at least for MY TASTE!

And I am half Danish.

I love Nielsen. But there is a reason why he is Nielsen and not Brahms. In Korngold’s case, the direct connection to the Viennese tradition is very strong. His biggest enemy is how players interpret him, biased on their perception writing for Hollywood somehow cheapened or compromised his art.

RAd: What do you mean by Nielsen not being Brahms?

Odin Rathnam: I guess what I was saying is that Nielsen is a wonderful, second tier composer, to me, who wrote a few things that touch greatness and timelessness. A couple of the symphonies, some chamber works, some of the concerti. I LOVE HIM, biased on being half Danish, proud and biased, but I also know he isn't Brahms.

Brahms is an infinitely more complex and satisfying composer for my ears. Nielsen has a wonderful and unique "Nordic" vocabulary of melody and harmony, but I don't see it ever grabbing the masses the way Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky, and others do.

Personally I love Nielsen. I don't expect everyone else to though. His sounds for me are Danish, familiar, and tied to my upbringing and childhood memories. So I am the wrong one to ask. I am very biased, and proud of him.

Dominicans and Puerto Ricans love salsa and merengue.

Argentines, the Tango. I could go on… but rating all these different things??? Perhaps they are all great, but DIFFERENT.

RAd: I do think that it’s silly to rank these things. I mean, 5 people will react differently to the same piece of music, literature, artwork, etc. And that is what makes art so great.

Odin Rathnam: Exactly! So we can love a composer, for specific things, regardless of whether critical scrutiny would make him or her generally rated as ok, good, very good or great. And the ratings are always somehow biased or subjective.

But in the end, something has to grab you, by the throat, in your gut, or in your loins, or in the depth of your HEART.

If it does that, there is no need to compare to anything else. It is ART.

RAd: Lastly, how does it feel to be part of the final season concert of Olivier Ochanine with the PPO?

Odin Rathnam: It is an absolute honor to be invited back. I love his musicianship, character and how he WORKS. PERIOD. That is the starting point. Interpreting scores with him is always honest, uncompromising and inspiring. My favorite Brahms Concerto was with HIM. So I am truly excited to present Korngold with him and the PPO on the 22^nd. I think it will be an important collaboration, at least in my life.

Aside from the upcoming concert, Odin will also conduct a workshop on Galamian principles at Coke Bolipata’s Casa San Miguel in Zambales. And the concert with Odin may be the Olivier’s last season concert with he PPO but he is not yet finished with the orchestra. This June, he and the orchestra will embark on a US tour including a concert at the famed Carnegie Hall.

Ticket prices:

P1500 Orchestra Center

P1200 Orchestra Side

P800 Extreme Orchestra Side

P500 Balcony I Center

P400 Balcony I Side

P300 Balcony II

For inquiries:

CCP Marketing Department 832-1125 local 1806

CCP Box Office 832-3704

TicketWorld 891-9999