Violinist Bartek Nizioł, pianist Junhee Kim join PPO for Romanza concert

For this Valentine's Day weekend already overflowing with multiple concerts happening all over the Metro, try something orchestral with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra's Romanza this February 13, 2026, 7:30 PM at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit, Makati.

Joining PPO music director and principal conductor Maestro Grzegorz Nowak are violinist Bartek Nizioł and pianist Junhee Kim for an evening of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jeffrey Ching, Henryk Wieniawski, and Maurice Ravel.

Nizioł and Kim will be the soloists for Mozart's Concerto for Violin and Piano in D major, K. Anh. 56/315f. This unfinished piece from 1778 will be completed by Jeffrey Ching, the PPO's composer-in-residence. Romanza sees the world premiere of this Mozart/Ching work.

Nizioł will also have his shining moment on stage with Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22. Dedicated to celebrated Spanish violinist/composer Pablo de Sarasate, this work is one of the most enduring violin concertos of the Romantic era.

Bartek Nizioł

Violin prodigy Nizioł graduated from the Academy of Music in Poznań. He then resumed his education at the Conservatoire de Lausanne. Apart from winning the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in 1991, Nizioł has coveted awards in several international violin competitions. Nizioł has spent nearly four decades as both a soloist and a chamber musician, with over 20 albums. On numerous occasions, he has performed and recorded with Maestro Nowak.

Rounding up the program is Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé: Suite No. 2 which is music extracted from the ballet of the same name. Stravinsky calls this "not only Ravel’s best work, but also one of the most beautiful products of all French music.”

After the PPO concert, Kim will have a solo recital on February 15, 2026, 7:00 PM at Manila Pianos at Ronac Lifestyle Building, Paseo de Roxas Magallanes, Makati. Prior to that, he is also scheduled to conduct a masterclass on February 14, 2026, 2:00 PM at Pacific Plaza in Makati.

Junhee Kim

South Korean pianist Kim is known for his stage presence, tone, and refined sense of repertoire. Fusing technical mastery with emotional clarity, his musical interpretations showcase fresh perspectives on the classical piano tradition. Currently, Kim curates long-term projects for the Santa Barbara International Music Festival in Sardinia as its artistic director.

In 2025, he commissioned Ching for a reimagined version of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with piano and premiered it at a festival. He later focused on Franz Liszt’s lesser-known compositions and worked with WDR 3 to release Apparitions on Deutsche Grammophon.

Violin prodigy Chino Gutierrez in recital

November 30, 2013, 8:00 PM

Francisco Santiago Hall

South Tower, BDO Corporate Center

Makati

Featuring:

Joaquin Maria "Chino" Gutierrez, violin

Corazon Kabayao, piano 

Programme:
Eugène Ysaÿe Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 2 "Jacques Thibaud"

Cesar Franck Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano

Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano

Antonín Dvořák Slavonic Dance No. 2 in E minor, Op. 72

Henryk Wieniawski Polonaise Brillante No. 2, in A Major, Op. 21

Jose Rizal-Gilopez Kabayao La Deportacion

Maurice Ravel Tzigane 

Violin prodigy Joaquin Maria Gutierrez aka Chino will be performing at a one night concert entitled Revelry: Live Love Dance this November 30, 2013, 8:00 PM at the Santiago Francisco Hall, South Tower of the BDO Corporate Center. Pianist Corazon Kabayao will be the collaborating artist in this concert that will feature the music of Ysaÿe, Franck, Stravinsky, Dvořák, Wieniawski, Ravel, and Rizal-Kabayao.

Joaquin Gutierrez joins the emerging crop of young Filipino virtuosos who is carving a secure place in the international arena of classical music playing. A two-time winner of the National Competition for Young Artitsts (NAMCYA) in 1999 and 2002, Chino made his orchestral debut at the Cultural Center of the Philippines at the age of 10 in a performance of Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole and his first solo recital at the age of 10 to public and critical acclaim. His first violin teacher, Alfonso "Coke" Bolipata described him as "unusually gifted with a gifted ability and a sense of music-making that is uncanny for someone is age." Rosalinda Orosa of Philippine Star wrote, "Chino's performance was brilliant, manifesting an expressivity and sensitivity well beyond the soloist's tender years." Respected conductor and violinist Oscar Yatco made an assessment of Chino's gifts, thus, "Chino is the Cecile Licad of the violin."

At 12, Chino left for Germany to study with the renowned pedagogue Jens Ellermann, who instantly recognized him as "a major talent of the violin". He was admitted into the prestigious Hochschule for Musik und Theater Munchen (State Academy of Music and Theater in Munich) where he studied violin while simultaneously attending a regular German high school. He has been the recipient of German grants from the Dorian Stiftung in Stuttgart, and the Theodor-Rogler Stiftung in Munich. Multi-talented and gifted, Chino made splendid progress with the violin even as he reaped success in math, science and languages. At 14, he emerged Landdessieger (champion) in the state math competitions in Bavaria. In addition, because of his linguistic abilities, he was handpicked to co-author a book on etymology in five languages.

Chino has participated in master classes in the Philippines, Germany, Italy and USA, and has received personal coaching from noted violinists like Gilopez Kabayao, Oscar Yatco, Gina Medina, Joseph Esmilla, Alexander Tomescu, Gottfried Schneider and Weigang Li. He has performed as a soloist with the major orchestras in the Philippines under the baton of Ryan Cayabyab, Francisco Feliciano, Chino Toledo and Oscar Yatco. Currently, Chino is pursuing Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the Hochschule fur Music und Theater Munchen under the tutelage of respected pedagogues Olga Voitova-Bloch and Christoph Poppen.

Ticket prices:

P2000

P1000

P850

-40% student discount

-20% senior citizen discount

For inquiries:

218-1864, (0915) 404-1290

Classical Champs: The Young Music Idols

Jimmy Tagala Jr., Maria Jeline Oliva
and Gabriel Allan Paguirigan

Featuring:

Maria Jeline Oliva, violin

Jimmy Tagala Jr., violin

Gabriel Allan Paguirigan, piano

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

Alexander Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia

Henryk Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22

Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

In a cruel twist of fate and a sense of déjà vu, the weather wreaked havoc once again and I almost didn’t make it to the concert of the 2011 National Music Competitions for Young Artists with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The day before the concert, heavy rains submerged most of Metro Manila especially Roxas Boulevard near the CCP and cast doubt on whether the concert would still take place. Thankfully, the skies cleared and most of the roads became passable already allowing violinists Marie Jeline Oliva and Jimmy Tagala Jr. as well as pianist Gabriel Allan Paguirigan to take center stage and perform their respective concertos with the PPO under the baton of Olivier Ochanine. Yet it was still a monumental task for me to get to the CCP since roads were still impassable in my place but some stroke of luck was on my side and I was still able to make it. Last year, a similar situation made me miss the concert entirely which was quite remarkable considering that the concert actually pushed through despite classes up to the college level being cancelled.

Violinist Maria Jeline Oliva

Considering that there was a possibility that the weather could turn nasty that evening prompting others to stay at home, the concert had a pretty decent number of people watching. The evening started with Alexander Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia, a piece that evokes images of a caravan of Central Asians protected by Russian troops. The sublime themes of this piece were clear to me but I’m not sure if the others in the audience were that attuned. The piece ended quietly with the Russian theme played by the flute which is probably not what the audience expected hence the muted response from them when this piece concluded. I think that they grew too accustomed to lively overtures that usually served as opening pieces to concerts. As I prepared to watch this concert, I made it a point not to expect too high for this considering that the soloists are still very young and not yet professionals. Although the performances didn’t completely blow me away, the three soloists showed a lot of promise and definitely lived to their billing as musicians to watch out in the future.

Pianist Gabriel Allan Paguirigan

Going to the soloists, Jeline Oliva, winner of Violin Category B, played Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22 which is a piece I’m not really familiar with. If this was the same concerto that she performed during the competition, I could no longer remember. She nonetheless has shown tremendous growth compared to the time when she competed as a finalist at Pilipinas Got Talent a few years back. During the NAMCYA concert though, her sound was a bit tentative and weak, and not able to project too well from where I was sitting. I think that the nerves possibly got in the way a bit in her performance. But still, playing a whole concerto with the PPO at the CCP would cause someone with a weaker nerve to succumb to the pressure but Jeline got through it. Piano Category B winner Gabriel Paguirigan’s concerto, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 is a piece already familiar to me. He is still a developing musician and for me, it felt like he let loose during the second and third movements of the concerto. It’s actually hard to resist since the last two movements of the piece consist of a playful scherzo and a fiery tarantella. The final piece, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 is the most familiar of all the pieces performed during this concert. Jimmy Tagala, the winner of Violin Category C, had the enormous task of playing one if not the most popular concerto in the violin repertoire. Being the oldest among the soloists, he showed onstage much finesse along with a healthy dose swagger and sounded tremendously better when I first heard him when he had a masterclass with Ray Chen months ago. At times during the third movement, I felt that he played too fast for my liking and he somehow lost some steam during the finale. But still, a fine showing from a young man who could well join the ranks of esteemed violinists in the country like his mentor Gilopez Kabayao.

Violinist Jimmy Tagala Jr.

The upbeat atmosphere during the meet and greet after the concert made me forget all the difficulty that I had to go through just to watch the performance. Jeline, Gabriel and Jimmy all relished their moment as they signed autographs and posed for photos with the very appreciative audience. I forgot the difficulty and uncertainty that I had to go through just to make it to the concert. And I felt a bit guilty for lowering my expectations coming into the concert. Now it remains to be seen how things will fare for these three if they decide to compete once again at the NAMCYA in the future.

2011 NAMCYA Champions to perform with the PPO

August 2, 2012, 8:00 PM

Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)

CCP Complex

Pasay, Metro Manila

Featuring:

Maria Jeline Oliva, violin

Jimmy Tagala Jr., violin

Gabriel Allan Paguirigan, piano

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

Alexander Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia

Henryk Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22

Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

One of the coolest prizes of being a National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) 1st prize winner is being able to perform as the featured soloist at a concert with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Three of the 2011 NAMCYA winners, Jeline Oliva (Violin Category B), Jimmy Tagala (Violin Category C) and Gabriel Paguirigan (Piano Category B) will do just that at the concert Classical Champs: The Young Music Idols when they perform with the PPO conducted by Olivier Ochanine this August 2, 2012, 8:00 PM.at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

I’ve seen these three perform before but never with an orchestra. I've seen Jimmy Tagala and Jeline Oliva compete during the finals of the NAMCYA last year. I also saw Jimmy took a masterclass with Ray Chen a few weeks before he competed. I last saw Gabriel Paguirigan as one of the three recitalists from the Philippine High School for the Arts some months ago. All of their previous performances that I've seen were either solo or chamber performances so it will be very interesting to see and hear them take the spotlight performing their winning concertos in full with an actual orchestra. Jeline performs Henryk Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22 while Jimmy performs the popular Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35. Gabriel performs Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22. But before that, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra led by Olivier Ochanine will play Alexander Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia.

It’s been about three months since I last saw the PPO perform onstage and it is still more than a month before their concert season resumes. I also missed seeing last year’s concert that featured NAMCYA winners. I just hope that the weather cooperates this year so that I'll have no problems catching this concert.

Ticket prices:

P900

P700

P500

P200

-50% student discount

-20% senior citizen discount

For inquiries:

CCP Box Office 832-3704

TicketWorld 891-9999