More than just music to the ears in Odin Rathnam, Mariel Ilusorio concert

Violinist Odin Rathnam and pianist Mariel Ilusorio

While heavy rain poured over Metro Manila, I found myself delighted by the music performed by violinist Odin Rathnam and pianist Mariel Ilusorio at a benefit concert that was held recently at the St. Cecilia's Hall in St. Scholastica's College, Manila. 

The concert, billed as Music & Healing, served as a fund raiser for the World Surgical Foundation Philippines whose founder, Domingo Alvear, happens to be friends with Odin for around two decades already. During his opening remarks, Alvear revealed his surprise upon learning that Odin has already performed here a few times in in here including a couple of guests stints with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. This meant that having Odin back in the country once again all for a good cause was a no-brainer.

Violinist Odin Rathnam

Annotations from both Mariel and Odin provided superb introductions to each piece which was of great use for those who aren't familiar with the music. As for those who knew their music, the information provided not just context but added layer to the music and the performance.

This was why while listening to the performance of Jean-Marie Leclair's Violin Sonata in D major, Op. 9 No. 3 "Tombeau", a piece from the Baroque era, made me imagine how it was back then being a court musician playing for the enjoyment of royalty. The following piece, Claude Debussy's Violin Sonata in G minor L. 140, which was quite a departure from the Leclair, fascinated me knowing each note was written by a man who knew that his end was near. Those who know me can attest to my unusual interest in last compositions especially those written with the knowledge that this was going to be their final work before dying.

There was a sense of reverence when Odin performed Eugène Ysaÿe's Violin Sonata in D minor, Op 27 No. 3 "Ballade", a fiendishly difficult piece that Odin considers himself to be a grandson of some sort since one of his former teachers, Josef Gringold, premiered this work.

The marital life of Richard Strauss got me curious with his Violin Sonata in E flat major, Op. 18, especially the 2nd movement that expressed his feelings towards Pauline de Anna who would later one become his wife. I also appreciated knowing that this was his last chamber work before composing solely larger, orchestral works afterwards. The contrasts between the intimate, tender moments with the heroic ones made up for a stimulating listening experience. And this was made possible by the wonderful annotations by Mariel that complemented Odin's extensive program notes.

Pianist Mariel Ilusorio

To the delight of the audience, the duo performed two encores, Nicanor Abelardo's Cavatina and Debussy's Claire de lune. I wondered how much awareness did Mariel have while accompanying Odin with the Debussy encore. With the violin taking on the melody, I would've struggled having to accompany on the piano a stripped version of a popular piece.

A nice bit of trivia is that this concert saw the Asian debut of the "Lady Caren" violin, a bench copy of a 1755 Calvarola crafted by master American luthier Scott W. Hershey.

The concert was indeed a night filled not just with music to the ears, but also information that enriched my brain as well. Most importantly, the event raised funds for the World Surgical Foundation Philippines benefitting the needy who couldn't afford surgical procedures that can vastly improve and even save their lives.

Violinist Odin Rathnam and pianist Mariel Ilusorio reunite for benefit concert

American Violinist Odin Rathnam and Filipina pianist Mariel Ilusorio reunite for a benefit concert happening this July 27, 2019, 6:00 PM at the St. Cecilia's Hall in St. Scholastica's College, Manila.

Billed as Music and Healing, this event is presented by the Philippine Chapter of World Surgical Foundation in close collaboration with Defending Family Values Foundation, Inc. with the mission to enhance the surgical healthcare capacity in the Philippines in an equitable manner and to help establish its sustainability focusing on the marginalized Filipinos.

At the concert, the pair of Rathnam and Ilusorio will perform a selection of violin sonatas rarely heard at the Manila concert scene namely Jean-Marie Leclair's Violin Sonata in D major, Op. 9 No. 3 "Tombeau", Claude Debussy's Violin Sonata in G minor L. 140, Eugène Ysaÿe's Violin Sonata in D minor, Op 27 No. 3 "Ballade, and Richard Strauss' Violin Sonata in E flat major, Op. 18.

I was able to correspond with Mariel Ilusorio and got a few words from her regarding her working experience with Odin Rathnam and more.

Pianist Mariel Ilusorio

You first collaborated at a recital in Casa San Miguel, Zambales back in April 2016. How was working with each other like? And how did this upcoming repeat collaboration come about?

MI: If I remember correctly, that was a last minute plan, as Odin had come to perform the Korngold Violin Concerto with the PPO. Coke Bolipata called me on short notice to play a short light program with Odin in Casa San Miguel. It was too short, but there was not much time, and I thought how wonderful it would be if we could play together again!

You will be playing pieces that are rarely performed at concerts in here. What made you decide to choose these pieces?

MI: Odin already asked me to play this set of pieces many months back and I found it exciting. Leclair and Debussy are new works for me. I played the Debussy cello sonata many years ago and it belongs to the same set as the violin, having been composed just before Debussy died. In fact, it is the last composition Debussy wrote. It is very different from how we normally perceive Debussy to sound like. But it is a beautiful work! I was excited to relive the Strauss as I performed it in my senior year at Oberlin. I was so scared of this great piece then, and never found the opportunity to work through this wonderful music again until now. It is a wonderful way to grow as a musician to be able to work on this repertoire with a violinist like Odin.

The upcoming concert is billed as Music and Healing and will benefit the World Surgical Foundation and Defending Family Values Foundation. Can you recall any experiences wherein music has healed you in some way?

MI: Music heals me everyday. It is my therapy. It is my way to self-express. It is my way to see the beauty in life. I believe music can heal people in every level, physically, emotionally, spiritually, also intellectually.

The World Surgical Foundation was established by renowned Filipino surgeon, Dr. Domingo Alvear in Pennsylvania in 1997 and is committed to providing charitable surgical health care to the world’s poor and under served in developing nations regardless of race, color, religion, or creed. The foundation's Philippine chapter was established in 2017 with a commitment to regularly conduct free surgical missions, educate and help surgical capacity building in the poorest provinces in the country.

Defending Family Values Foundation, Inc. (DFVF) a PCNC and DSWD accredited non- government organization, established in 1994,  serves thousands of poor families and individuals through various socio-educational, nutrition and health programs and projects. DFVF currently assists handicapped (blind, deaf-mute) students to gain a better future through varied skills training programs and in improving their school’s facilities.

Music and Healing with violinist Odin Rathnam and pianist Mariel Ilusorio happening on July 27, 2019, 6:00 PM at St. Cecilia's Hall, St. Scholastica's College, Manila is sponsored by World Surigcal Foundation, Manila Bulletin, 98.7 DZFH, Baguio Country Club, MBLife, PE Capital Investment, Lin and Albert Bildner Foundation, Josie Cruz Natori, and EEI Corporation.

For concert inquiries, contact Sugar Ferre at wsfphilippines@gmail.com or (0995)954-5368. Tickets are also available for purchase at ticket2me.net.

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

PPO VI: Romantic Brahms

Violinist Odin Rathnam

Featuring:

Odin Rathnam, violin

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture

Richard Wagner Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

Claude Debussy Clair de Lune from Suite bergamasque

Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra welcomed violinist Odin Rathnam during their Romantic Brahms concert held at the Meralco Theater. For this evening, the orchestra led by its principal conductor and music director Olivier Ochanine, prepared a lineup that brought out the romantic in everyone.

The first two pieces performed that night were inspired by tales of ill-fated lovers. First was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture which was based on the William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and the second one was Richard Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod from the opera Tristan und Isolde. This opera was inspired by Gottfried von Strassburg’s tale of Tristan which was adapted from the Tristan and Iseult legend. The Tchaikovsky really set the mood for the night as Ochanine deftly weaved the themes, making the violent section of the Montagues and Capulets seem as if swords were actually clashing before things eventually lead to the climax of the extremely popular romance theme. But everybody knows how Romeo and Juliet ends and the music reflected that, with a funeral march almost at the very end before the romance theme took over telling everyone that love conquers all, even death. While the Tchaikovsky piece was more accessible and familiar, Richard Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod was more esoteric. I think that one had to know what a Tristan chord is and to put it into context on how revolutionary that ambiguous chord was at the time of the work’s premiere to fully appreciate the music far beyond of what one just hears. But for me, the piece sounds incomplete without a soprano singing the Liebestod.

Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune from Suite bergamasque was a nice and fitting, late addition to the evening but the theater’s acoustic inadequacies didn’t bring out the brilliance of the piece’s orchestration by André Caplet. The beauty of the melody as it gets passed on from one solo instrument to another was lost in the dryness of the theater.

Odin Rathnam and conductor Olivier Ochanine

Then, it was time for Odin Rathnam to take to the stage with Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77. Odin, an imposing figure, made a full sized violin look like a ¾ model in his hands. And probably also because of this, it looked like he made easy work of the Brahms concerto which is known as one of the war horses in a violinist’s repertoire. And his performance of this concerto gave me another opportunity to deconstruct the work’s complex first movement. As expected, the audience seeing how Odin made a concerto performance look like a walk in the park, showered him with thunderous applause which were actually calls for him to do an encore. And Odin obliged with the Sarabande from Violin Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004 by Johann Sebastian Bach and the Allegro from Sonata No. 1 in A Major, Op. 7 by Francesco Maria Veracini.

During the meet and greet after the concert, I asked Odin if he performed with the now infamous Bartolomeo Calvarola violin, worth around $100,000 that he had lost (and was eventually recovered) in a bar almost a decade back. He said in good humor that he brought a different and less inexpensive violin with him this time. But the way he sounded that night didn’t betray any signs that he played with a lesser valued instrument.

Romantic music in Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s post-Valentine concert

Violinist Odin Rathnam

February 21, 2014, 8:00 PM

Meralco Theater

Ortigas Avenue

Pasig City

Featuring:

Odin Rathnam, violin

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture

Richard Wagner Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, led by its principal conductor and music director Olivier Ochanine, presents Romantic Brahms, a post-Valentine concert featuring music about love and tragedy happening this February 21, 2014, 8:00 PM at the Meralco Theater. American violinist Odin Rathnam will be the evening’s guest soloist.

The romantic music for this evening includes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture that has a popular love theme commonly used in movies and even in the PC game The Sims. Also included is Richard Wagner’s revolutionary Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. The ambiguous Tristan chord, heard in this piece and confounded earlier listeners, paved the way for music to break away from the tried and tested harmonic tonalities of that time. Lastly, guest violinist Odin Rathnam will be the soloist for Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, considered as one of the top concertos in the entire violin repertoire.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

According to the press release Rathnam has established himself as one of the most passionate and versatile artists of his generation since his critically acclaimed Lincoln Center debut in 1993,. He has received unanimous praise from critics and audiences for his "captivating temperament," "brilliant technique" and “recalling the legendary violinists of the past.” He is a veteran performer at many major European and American festivals including the Algarve International Music Festival in Portugal, Denmark's Tivoli and Vendsyssel Festivals, Deia International Festival in Mallorca, Boswil Festival in Switzerland, Aspen, Caramoor and Endless Mountain Music Festivals. He has also appeared in recital on the Market Square Concerts series, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Recital Hall, where he first appeared at the age of 15. As a soloist, he has performed with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Colombian National Symphony, the Harrisburg Symphony, the Lancaster Symphony, the York Symphony, the EMMF Orchestra, The New Amsterdam Symphony and the Randers Chamber Orchestra, to name a few.

Rathnam is extremely committed to the development of young musicians, and his numerous students have been accepted at major conservatories throughout the United States and abroad, several going on to win prizes in national and international competitions. Rathnam performs on a late 19th century violin crafted by an unknown maker, in the manner of Guarnerius Del Gesu’s middle period, and on an Italian violin by Bratolomeo Calvarola, built in 1755.

He received his early training at Juilliard Pre-College and Mannes College of Music with Sally Thomas.  He continued at Juilliard School as a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki.

Conductor Olivier Ochanine

Ticket prices:

P1500 Orchestra Center/Loge Center

P1200 Orchestra Side/Loge Side

P500 Balcony

-50% student discount

-20% senior citizen discount

For inquiries:

CCP Marketing Department 832-1125 local 1806

CCP Box Office 832-3704

TicketWorld 891-9999