Japan-Philippines Friendship Contemporary Music Festival Part 1

Pianist Ayumi Hirahara

Featuring:

Ayumi Hirahara, piano

Hiroshi Shibayama, oboe

String Quartet I

     Takashi Hamano, violin

     Naoru Komiya, violin

     Go Tomono, viola

     Ken’ichi Nishiyama, cello

PPO Wind Quartet

     Rosemarie Poblete, flute

     Ariel Sta. Ana, clarinet

     Jose Jerry Samonte, bassoon

     Ernani Pascual, horn

PPO String Quartet

     Dino Decena, violin

     Joanna Ruth Livioco, violin

     Joy Allan de la Cruz, viola

     Herrick Ortiz, cello

Programme:

Yasushi Akutagawa La Dance: Suite for Piano

Francisco Santiago Nocturne in E flat minor

Maki Ishii North-Silver-Night, Op. 93 Winter

Francisco Buencamino Maligayang Bati

Hal Goodman Woodwind Boogie

Astor Piazzolla Violetango

Toru Takemitsu Entre-Temps for Oboe and String Quartet

Tadashi Kubo String Quartet Elegy

Manuel Maramba String Quartet

Chamber music that included two pieces having their world premiere performances was what the first night of the Japan-Philippines Friendship Contemporary Music Festival held at the Philam Life Auditorium had in store. Japanese and Filipino musicians from the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra shared the stage as they played contemporary music from composers from their respective countries (with a couple of exemptions).

First up that evening was Japanese pianist Ayumi Hirahara. She played Yasushi Akutagawa’s La Dance: Suite for Piano, Francisco Santiago’s Nocturne in E flat minor, Maki Ishii’s North-Silver-Night, Op. 93 Winter and Francisco Buencamino’s Maligayang Bati. These pieces, with the exception of Ishii’s composition, were very Western in character and in line with the compositions from the Romantic era. It made me wonder if I was indeed at a concert that would showcase contemporary compositions.

Oboist Hiroshi Shibayama

After Hirahara’s solo piano part and before the interval, composers Tadashi Kubo, Manuel Maramba, Masashi Ishida and Herminigildo Ranera took to the stage to briefly discuss their works which had yet to be premiered. I appreciated this section since it gave me an idea and much needed background information regarding the pieces that would have their world premiere.

The PPO wind quartet composed of flutist Rosemarie Poblete, clarinetist Ariel Sta. Ana, bassoonist Jose Jerry Samonte, and horn player Ernani Pascual got the second half going by playing Hal Goodman’s Woodwind Boogie and Astor Piazzolla’s Violetango. I found the music selection for this section truly odd since they were not written by either Japanese or Filipino composers.

Violinist Naoru Komiya, violist Go Tomono, composers Tadashi Kubo and
Masashi Ishida, violinist Takashi Hamano and cellist Ken'ichi Nishiyama

Then the String Quartet 1, composed of violinists Takashi Hamano and Naoru Komiya, violist Go Tomono, and cellist Ken’ichi Nishiyama joined by oboist Hiroshi Shibayama played Toru Takemitsu’s Entre-Temps for Oboe and String Quartet. It was only during this time when I felt that the concert finally ventured into contemporary music territory. Piercing harmonics, atmospheric oboe passages weaving dissonant textures characterize this Eastern sounding piece which some might have found grating and unpleasant sounding.

Finally, the concert ended with the two world premiere performances, Tadashi Kubo’s String Quartet Elegy and Manuel Maramba’s String Quartet. Kubo’s work was performed by the String Quartet 1 and it was again very Eastern in flavor. The structure of this piece was very interesting as the first part featured long sustained notes which greatly contrasted to the pizzicato from all the instruments towards the end. The PPO String Quartet, composed of violinists Dino Decena and Joanna Ruth Livioco, violist Joy Allan de la Cruz, and cellist Herrick Ortiz played Maramba’s new work for the String Quartet. Maramba’s work was about the year 2013 coming out from the remains of 2012. I admit that it was difficult to connect that concept with the music that I was able to hear during the performance. But I think that it was very easy to connect with their encore which was Nicanor Abelardo’s Nasaan Ka Irog performed by both string quartets along with oboist Hiroshi Shibayama.

Conductors Herminigildo Ranera and Tatsuya Shimono

The new works that were performed at this concert really did sound contemporary and they might not be in tune with most listeners’ tastes. I would be very surprised if any among that audience went out of the concert humming the themes, if any were discernible at all, from these pieces. It remains to be seen if these works will be performed again in the future.

Japan-Philippines Friendship Contemporary Music Festival Part 2

Chamber music concert opens Japan-Philippines Friendship Contemporary Music Festival

Pianist Ayumi Hirahara

February 8, 2013, 7:30 PM

Philam Life Auditorium

UN Avenue, Manila

Featuring:

Ayumi Hirahara, piano

Hiroshi Shibayama, oboe

String Quartet I
     Takashi Hamano, violin

     Naoru Komiya, violin

     Go Tomono, viola

     Ken’ichi Nishiyama, cello

PPO Wind Quartet
     Rosemarie Poblete, flute

     Ariel Sta. Ana, clarinet

     Jose Jerry Samonte, bassoon

     Ernani Pascual, horn

PPO String Quartet
     Dino Decena, violin

     Joanna Ruth Livioco, violin

     Joy Allan de la Cruz, viola

     Herrick Ortiz, cello

Programme:

Francisco Santiago Nocturne in E flat minor

Maki Ishii North-Silver-Night, Op. 93 Winter

Francisco Buencamino Maligayang Bati

Yasushi Akutagawa La Dance: Suite for Piano

Hal Goodman Woodwind Boogie

Astor Piazzolla Violetango

Toru Takemitsu Entre-Temps for Oboe and String quartet

Tadashi Kubo String Quartet Elegy

Manuel Maramba New Work for String Quartet

In celebration of the Japan-Philippines Friendship Contemporary Music Festival and the 40^th year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, the Orchestra Nipponica Tokyo will hold two concerts here in Manila with the first happening on February 8, 2013, 7:30 PM at the Philam Life Auditorium.

Violinist Takashi Hamano

Solo piano pieces and chamber music highlight the first concert that feature Japanese musicians like pianist Ayumi Hirahara, oboist Hiroshi Shibayama and a string quartet composed of violinists Takashi Hamano and Naoru Komiya, violist Go Tomono and cellist Ken’ichi Nishiyama. Several members of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra participating in the concert include the PPO Woodwind Quartet composed of flutist Rosemarie Poblete, clarinetist Ariel Sta. Ana, bassoonist Jose Jerry Samonte  and horn player Ernani Pascual. Also included in the concert is the PPO String Quartet composed of violinists Dino Decena and Joanna Ruth Livioco, violist Joy Allan de La Cruz, and cellist Herrick Ortiz.

Violinist Naoru Komiya

Pieces to be performed in this evening are Francisco Santiago’s Nocturne in E flat minor, Mak Ishii’s North-Silver-Night, Op. 93 Winter, Francisco Buencamino’s Maligayang Bati, and Yasushi Akutagawa’s La Dance: Suite for Piano for the solo piano. Woodwind Boogie by Hal Goodman, Violetango by Astor Piazzola, Entre-Temps for oboe and strings by Toru Takemitsu, String Quartet Elegy by Tadashi Kubo and String Quartet by Manuel P. Maramba will be performed by the string and woodwind quartets. If I’m not mistaken, the String Quartet pieces by Kubo and Maramba will be having their world premiere performance during this concert.

Violist Go Tomono

The Orchestra Nipponica Tokyo concert event is endorsed by the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Japan, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, the Japanese Association Manila, Inc., the Daily Manila Shimbun and South Japan Broadcasting (Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan).

Cellist Ken'ichi Nishiyama

Ticket prices:

P1000 Loge Center

P800 Loge Side

P500 Orchestra Center

For inquiries:

CCP Box Office 832-3704, 832-3706

TicketWorld: 8919999

2012 Philippine International Guitar Festival and Competition: Tomonori Arai and Gen Matsuda

Featuring:

Tomonori Arai, guitar

Gen Matsuda, guitar

Programme:

Jacques Ibert

     Paraboles 1 and 2

     Bajo la mesa

Enrique Granados 6 Spanish Dances

Joe Hisaishi Summer

Teiichi Okano Furusato Fantasy Hometown

Kazufumi Miyazawa Shima Uta Island Song

Fernando Sor Fantasy Op. 54 bis

Toru Takemitsu To the Island

Sergio Assad Invitation

The 2012 Philippine International Guitar Festival and Competition’s schedule was a case of  bad timing for me since this festival always fall under the same weekend as the fiesta in my neighborhood. Getting out of the neighborhood is almost impossible at around this time. So just being to see a single concert is already an achievement for me. And that was just I did during this year’s edition when I caught the performance of Japanese guitarists Tomonori Arai and Gen Matsuda at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) on the first night of the festival.

The pair prepared a programme consisting of pieces by western and Japanese composers that were specially arranged by Tomonori Arai for a guitar duo. The concert started with Jacques Ibert’s Paraboles 1 and 2 and Bajo la mesa (Under the Table), and 6 Spanish Dances by Enrique Granados. This kind of pieces are the ones I now come to expect whenever I watch classical guitar concerts. However on the second half of the concert, the duo played pieces by Japanese composers which are more contemporary since it included Joe Hisaishi’s Summer which is the popular theme from the movie Kikujiro. The piece, with its memorable theme done originally with pizzicato strings, sounded well with just two guitars since it guitar strings are plucked in the first place. Another Japanese composition that the duo played was Furusato Fantasy by Teiichi Okano which is a very popular tune in Japan. It was refreshing to hear these Japanese tunes which are so familiar to me but done in an unfamiliar arrangement for two guitars. It made me appreciate the tone and the texture that the classical guitar can actually produce. Another piece that was performed was Shima Uta or Island Song by Kazufumi Miyazawa which is actually a popular song in Japan by the band The Boom. Fernando Sor’s Fantasy Op. 54 bis was also played which was a last minute addition to the programme. The pair also played To the Island by Toru Takemitsu and Invitation by Sergio Assad as their final pieces.

Guitarist Tomonori Arai

The concert was a nice mix of the traditional and the modern. While the duo played with classical guitars, they still did some pretty nifty moves like tapping the body of the guitar and slapping when playing some bass notes. The duo seemed to be suffering from colds (as did so a lot of the members of the audience as well) but this didn’t seem to affect their performance. The turnout wasn’t as spectacular as I thought it would be but it was a weekday and just the first day of the festival. I would’ve wanted to come back during the succeeding days but it was not possible for me to travel all the way to CCP because of the fiesta in our neighborhood. But I’m still glad to catch at least one concert during the festival’s entire run.

Guitarist Gen Matsuda

The 2012 Philippine International Guitar Festival and Competition did have a competition which I unfortunately missed. But here are the ones who came out on top after two intense days of competing:

Franco Maigue, Takashi Endo, Worrapat Yansupap and Roneil Santos

1st Place: Franco Raymundo Maigue (Philippines) 

2nd Place: Takashi Endo (Japan)

3rd Place: Worrapat Yansupap (Thailand) 

Special Prize: Roneil Santos, Best Filipino Guitarist