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| Violinist Ray Chen |
Taipei Symphony Orchestra Concert
Featuring:
Raul
Sunico, piano
Ray
Chen, violin
Taipei
Symphony Orchestra
Hubert
Soudant, conductor
Programme:
Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart Overture from “Titus” (La
Clemenza di Tito, K. 621)
George
Gershwin Piano Concerto in F major
Max
Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor,
Op. 26
Antonín
Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88
A
concert featuring the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Raul Sunico, Ray Chen and
Hubert Soudant is something that doesn’t normally happen in here. When I found
out that the Federation for Asian Cultural Promotion will make it happen at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines,
I know that I had to be there and witness it no matter what. And I wasn’t the
only one thinking of the same thing since the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP
Main Theater) was teeming with a diverse audience composed of the FACP
delegates, music students, professional musicians and classical music lovers when the concert did happen. There were several events
that happened before the concert that I was able to attend and they, especially the rehearsal, made me
anticipate the actual performance more.
The
concert finally started with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Overture from “Titus”
La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621 and I did find it very hard to appreciate it. I’m
not really familiar with this overture and it didn’t help that my focus during
this performance was more on how the orchestra sounded and I totally failed to
take note on how the music was. What can I do? I was so enamored by the high
standard of the TSO especially the very solid strings section that was so
precise, crisp and exhibited top notch articulation made possible by the
impeccable conducting of Hubert Soudant.
Fortunately,
I was able to let the music sink in during the next piece which was George Gershwin’s
Piano Concerto in F with Raul Sunico as the featured pianist. Sunico is very
much associated with Gershwin especially Rhapsody in Blue so I think that this
piece was a good choice for him. I still wonder where he finds the time to
practice considering that he’s the CCP President and also the Dean of the University
of Sto. Tomas Conservatory of
Music. I did find this performance satisfying although the piano wasn’t able to
match the intensity of the orchestra and got drowned out in the orchestral tutti passages. But
I’m still pleased that I was able to hear this Gershwin piece, with a sublime
clarinet duet accompanying the trumpet in the second movement, instead of the
more popular Rhapsody in Blue.
The second half of the concert continued with Ray Chen playing the Violin
Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 by Max Bruch. I felt like a spoiled child
witnessing an astonishing performance from someone so young and yet possessing
phenomenal technique and musicality. And how could I forget the 1721
“Macmillan” Stradivarius that he is using adding to the magic of the evening? The people who were present at the
masterclass had a tease of what he and this violin were capable of and we were
able to see them in full force during the concert. He not only played the notes
cleanly but more importantly, he was able to convey a story and different moods throughout the piece. And to do that with the Bruch concerto instead of say the Mendelssohn just delighted
the romantic out of me. And the rest of the audience was delighted as well since he was
given a standing ovation after the performance. For an encore, he played Niccolò Paganini’s Caprice No.
21 in A major and I wondered if he finds this piece musically rewarding.
The
final piece was Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88 with the TSO
under Hubert Soudant taking the spotlight. I saw the orchestra rehearse this
piece a few hours before but they didn’t do a complete run through back then. I admit that this symphony isn’t one of my favorites from Dvořák since
this sounded happy and cheerful and I am more drawn to the dark, melancholy,
ominous and tragic symphonies. Nonetheless, the TSO’s performance
made me appreciate this piece to the point that I didn’t mind the flute bird
calls which I never liked in any piece. But I did love the clarinet duet (which
is the case in any piece as well) during the second movement. This was also the
time when I really noticed and appreciated the balance that TSO Director Wei-Ming Hwang worked on during the rehearsal since from my seat, the viola,
cello and bass parts were clear and distinct. And I was still able to hear the
violins even when the horn section was blaring. Right after the last note ended, the audience immediately showered Soudant and the TSO with generous applause and yet another standing ovation. Too bad that there wasn't any encores from the orchestra. The TSO really set a high standard
and probably reminded the local musicians that they have to work hard to attain
their level.
After
the concert, Hubert Soudant and Ray Chen were mobbed by the audience who wanted
to take photos and have autographs at the lobby to the point that it felt like
it was Cinemalaya all over again. There are still a couple of months before the
year ends and I think that it’s difficult to top this concert which is poised
to be the classical music event of the year in my opinion.
Special thanks to the TSO's staff and its director Wei-Ming Hwang, the CCP PR and Linkages Division and the FACP for making my experience more than just the concert.
