Violinist Iskandar Widjaja's passionate display in Philippine debut

While the protest rallies were happening in various parts of the country, I took solace to music as a way to distract my weary self from all the political drama by catching Passion Flight that featured violinist Iskandar Widjaja and pianist Itamar Golan who were both making their Philippine debuts.

Thoughts of the tense political climate took a back seat right away once the opening act, a dozen Suzuki kids, took to the stage for their rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Variations. And while the intonation was a bit all over the place, there was still cuteness overload with the kids beaming on stage as if they were the main act.

The main acts, Berlin based Iskandar, sporting a recent tan and dressed more like movie star rather than a classical musician and Itamar, looking dapper in a sleek suit quickly eased the audience with an appetizer of a piece, Fritz Kreisler’s Tempo di Minuetto in the style of Pugnani. Then following right after was Cesar Franck’s Sonata in A Major, a large scale work that showed the breadth and depth of Iskandar’s capabilities. Instinctively, I got drawn to the pianist Itamar, who exuded confidence giving me the feeling that he and Iskandar were communicating telepathically and that they will be in sync all throughout the concert.

I finally got to focus on Iskandar as the spotlight was solely on him when he tackled Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne from Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004. Very commendable was his clarity and consistency making each line and layer sing distinctly and smoothly. In less capable violinists, the result is usually a muddled jumble of notes without any direction. My only gripe with Iskandar’s take was that it had too much attack and it sounded too aggressive.

Refreshed after the interval, the duo gave a more relaxed George Frideric Handel’s Violin Sonata in D Major HWV 371, brilliantly fleshing out the melodies with a bit more restraint compared to that of the pieces of the first half. My most eagerly anticipated moment in this concert was hearing Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel live for the first time. With lights dimmed for a bit of theatrics during this portion, it was hypnotic and haunting to hear such music, sparse on paper and yet so difficult to play effectively. I initially wondered how the audience would react to music that is devoid of any fireworks but the applause that followed soon after just allayed my fears.

And because of this, I admit that I wasn’t able to focus much on the piece that followed, the Fantasie for Violin and Piano in C Major, Op. 131 by Robert Schumann. And through most of this time, my mind was already preparing to hear the final piece that featured the music from George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess.

I was really expecting Jascha Heifetz’ transcription of Porgy and Bess to be performed but hearing the short piano introduction told me that this was not the case. Instead, what I heard was a single movement fantasy work that showcased loads of virtuosic moments from Iskandar that was accompanied by Itamar playing jazzy chords that sounded so deliciously rich. It was only later on that I learned from Iskandar that this piece, the Concert Fantasy on Themes from Porgy and Bess, Op. 19, was actually by Igor Alexandrovich Frolov. I also learned that one violinist who was among the audience was planning to give the Philippine premiere of this piece sometime next year. Too bad for him that Iskandar and Itamar already beat him to it. But I would definitely want to hear this Frolov piece again.

For encores, Iskandar and Itamar performed William Kroll’s Banjo and Fiddle, a highly entertaining piece that had Iskandar plucking the violin as if it was a banjo. This was followed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovksy’s Valse Sentimentale, Op. 51 No. 6 which was a sweet, relaxing way to cap the concert. The concert made me more energized to face the world outside where one cannot escape the tense political climate.

Overall, the first half felt to me that Iskandar pushed too much, too overt, and almost going over the top in both the Franck sonata and the Chaconne. This made the restraint he exhibited at the second half a much welcome change of pace. Ultimately, this effectively built the momentum towards a dazzling finale.

Passion Flight featuring violinist Iskandar Widjaja and pianist Itamar Golan was presented by the Philippine Suzuki Association in cooperation with St. Paul University, Manila.

An Evening of Bel Canto

Tenor Arthur Espiritu

Featuring:

Arthur Espiritu, tenor

Elainne Vibal, soprano

Myramae Meneses, soprano

Stephanie Aguilar, soprano

Najib Ismail, piano

Programme:

George Frideric Handel Tornami a vagheggiar from Alcina

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ruhe Sanft from Zaide

Gioachino Rossini

     Ah come mai non senti from Otello

     Sombre forêt from William Tell

Vincenzo Bellini

     Qui la Voce from I Puritani

     Vieni,vieni  fra questa from I Puritani

     Prendi, l’anel ti dono from La Sonnambula

     Si, fuggire a noi non resta... Ah, crudel, d'onor ragioni from I Capuletti e i Montecchi

Gaetano Donizetti

     Quel guardo, il cavaliere from Don Pasquale

     Tornami a dir che m’ami from Don Pasquale

     Chacun le sait from La Fille du Regiment

     Ah! Mes amis from La Fille du Regiment

Bel canto, or beautiful singing in English, is a term that I often encounter whenever I dabble into the world of opera. But being the opera newbie that I still am, my idea about bel canto is still somewhat vague and I still couldn’t say if a certain aria was sung bel canto or not. Thankfully, the MCO Foundation, together with the Ayala Museum, came up with the concert, An Evening of Bel Canto that served as a great way for me to familiarize myself with this singing style.

Performers during this evening were Arthur Espiritu, possibly the most celebrated Filipino tenor today and promising young sopranos Elainne Vibal, Myramae Meneses, and Stephanie Aguilar. Accompanied by pianist Najib Ismael, they performed arias that are rarely heard during concerts in here. The MCO Foundation felt that it was time to steer away from the usual arias, offer something new and also have Arthur Espiritu tackle some challenging material.

I learned that bel canto may be an Italian term but it’s application isn’t limited to operas from Italy or in the Italian language, or by Italian composers. The opening number, Elainne Vibal’s Tornami a vagheggiar from Alcina was by George Frideric Handel who was born in Germany but flourished in Britain during the Baroque era. Ruhe Sanft, performed by Stephanie Aguilar, from the unfinished opera Zaide by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was in German. And the final couple of numbers from Gaetano Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment were in French. I initially thought that bel canto came to be during the Romantic period but based on the two opening numbers, it seemed that bel canto already existed during the Baroque and Classical period.

Honestly, the unfamiliar program, taken out of context, meant that the meaning of the songs were lost in me. But I was able to relish the various tones, textures and colors of the sopranos especially Myramae Meneses who stood out with her solo Quel guardo, il cavaliere from Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti. I felt bad for missing her solo concert a while back and I was pleased to be able to have another chance to hear her again.

The most highly anticipated part of the concert was the last song, Ah! Mes amis from Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment in which Arthur Espiritu was awaited to hit the nine high C’s of this very challenging piece. During that night, I heard that Arthur was struggling with colds (not surprising considering the freaky weather at the time) but despite some barely noticeable strain, he was able to hit those C’s. After this number, he humorously let out a huge sigh of relief while basking in the applause of a very appreciative audience.

Arthur along with Elainne Vibal, Myramae Meneses, and Stephanie Aguilar then sang an encore, Libiamo ne' lieti calici from La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, which he explained is not bel canto. Several members of the audience at the back joined in as the chorus giving this number a sort of surround audio experience.

An Evening of Bel Canto was made possible in partnership with the Ayala Museum, BusinessWorld, HighLife, 98.7 DZFE The Master’s Touch and Lyric Piano and Organ.