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.

PPO VII: Gerodias and Bruckner

Soprano Rachelle Gerodias

Featuring:

Rachelle Gerodias, soprano

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

Johann Strauss II Overture from Die Fledermaus

Giacomo Puccini Sì, mi chiamano Mimì from La Bohème

Gian Carlo Menotti Hello, Hello from The Telephone

Georges Bizet  Les Dragons d’Alcala & March of the Toreadors from Carmen

Nicanor Abelardo Nasaan Ka Irog

Angel Peña Iyo Kailan Pa Man

Lucio San Pedro (arr.) Lulay

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E flat major Romantic

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra returns to its regular performance venue at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) for its latest season concert. Since previous concert was held at a different venue and featured a guest conductor, it seemed ages ago when I look back at their last performance when everything seemed normal with Olivier Ochanine, PPO’s principal conductor/music director at the helm.

I arrived at the Cultural Center of the Philippines when the pre-concert lecture given by Herminigildo Ranera, PPO’s associate conductor was about to begin. He surprised me when he mentioned Die Fledermaus since I had no idea at first where that came from. To my surprise, additional short pieces were included in the first half of the concert: the overture from the aforementioned Die Fledermaus and a couple of pieces from the opera Carmen. I didn’t know about the inclusion of these pieces before but I didn’t complain since I’d rather have additional pieces than having something cut from the programme.

For me, the main draw of this concert was soprano Rachelle Gerodias whose one night as Violetta in the recent production of La Traviata wasn’t enough for me. I knew that she would sing arias and kundimans for this evening but it wasn’t until almost a week prior to the concert that I knew what her specific repertoire would be. And I was glad that there was a Puccini aria (Sì, mi chiamano Mimì from La Bohème) which basically made everything else just a bonus. I’ve always wanted Gerodias perform in a Puccini opera and hearing her sing Mimì’s most beautiful (and flirtatious) aria in the concert still wasn’t enough. Another side from her which I’ve never seen before was humor and this she exhibited via her next number which was Hello, Hello from Telephone by Gian Carlo Menotti. I’ve never heard of this work before but it was a fun piece that even had Olivier Ochanine playing along at the beginning. Then after the short Carmen pieces, Gerodias returned with a change of clothes to a terno (Filipino formal wear) which was fitting for the kundimans that followed. Showing the affinity for kundimans more than the operas which she is more known for, Gerodias sang Nicanor Abelardo’s Nasaan Ka Irog, Angel Peña’s Iyo Kailan Pa Man and Lulay from an arrangement by Lucio San Pedro. She gave a heartfelt performance especially with Iyo Kailan Pa Man which she did exquisitely. There were foreigners among the audience and I believe that they were moved by this piece despite not understanding the lyrics. Gerodias’ performance that evening made me want to see her in a full length opera once again but I had to wait some months for that to happen.

Rachelle Gerodias and Olivier Ochanine

Finally, it was time for Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 in E flat major which is subtitled Romantic by the composer himself. Ochanine had been very enthusiastic about this piece leading to its performance so I’ve had high hopes. And since the previous PPO concert featured very familiar pieces, I’ve had more time to get acquainted with this piece realizing that I wasn’t familiar with it at all in the first place. My first impression of the piece was that it was a horny one with the horns and the rest of the brass section figure prominently throughout the piece. Unfortunately, there were multiple hiccups by the horns (always a problem in orchestras here) that made me a bit bothered. I guess I’ve learned to like the piece because I’ve already listened to it many times that the horns faltering at times let me down. I’m really glad that I studied this piece since it would’ve been very difficult for me to sit through the performance that lasted for about an hour or so if I hadn’t done so.

After this long piece, the orchestra as well as Olivier looked very tired and exhausted. Most of the audience probably felt exhausted as well even if they just watched and listened. So there were no encores again this time. One point of interest during this concert was the presence of several audience members who belong to the blind and deaf community. I could imagine the blind still appreciating the music that they were able to hear but it was difficult for me to figure out how the deaf were able to take in the performance. Yes, they were able to see the orchestra moving and someone did the sign language for them during Gerodias’ performance. I think that it would’ve been better for them if a special concert was held for them that incorporated a more visually engaging element like video/light projections along with the orchestra playing. It was very nice to see them experience the show and I do hope that they come back again in other performances.