Sunico, Arrieta and world-class Filipino music at the Met

 For one magical evening Filipinos were reminded that we do have musicians who can stand toe to toe with the best that the world has to offer.

After 13 years, pianists Raul Sunico and Rowena Arrieta performed together again on two pianos in Ritmo at Romansa, a concert presented by Musika Pilipinas, directed by Monino Duque and held at the Metropolitan Theater last Saturday, Sept. 30.

Sunico and Arrieta are two of our dwindling number of pianists with immense talent who were trained by excellent teachers in New York and Moscow. After Julliard, Sunico got his doctorate in piano performance from New York University and is one of the very few named a Steinway Artist.

Arrieta was a Laureate at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition at the age of 18 and graduated Summa Cum Laude at the Moscow Conservatory of Music where Russian National Artist Yevgeny Malinin was among her teachers.

Therefore there was no way, they would not impress. And that was just what they did. This was most evident in their duets of western war horses. To open, there were the Italian Polka by Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Libertango by Astor Piazolla.

These were followed by the Gayane Ballet Suite by Aram Kachaturian, which left the audience agape at their brilliance and technical prowess. It was a good thing that the cathartic Blue Danube Fantasy by Johann Strauss ended the portion or we would have stayed open-mouthed throughout the show.

That was the middle part of the concert. The bookends were varied fare that ranged from late 19th century pieces, some of which were performed for the first time to current Pinoy pop tunes.

About the latter, I say that it is about time that Filipino compositions that were introduced to us as hit songs earn a place on the concert stage alongside classical music. Why not, the affecting melodies that made them big sellers are there and they do sound more beautiful when arranged for the piano.

Tanging Yaman, Hindi Kita Malilimutan and Sa ‘yo Lamang by Manoling Francisco, arranged by Rica Arambulo; my songs co-written with Willy Cruz, Kapag Puso’y Sinugatan and Sana’y Maghintay ang Walang Hanggan arranged as a Fantasia by Danny Tan; and Ikaw by Louie Ocampo and George Canseco with Ngayon at Kailan Man by Canseco, as arranged by Sunico. Then for the encore, the light-hearted Ewan by Ocampo which has Arrieta as lyricist.

As for the classics, those were truly the wonderful surprises of the evening. Here comes that world-class description again. Those pieces brought the realization that there were Filipino musicians turning out compositions that were at par with those by foreigners during those early times. Some of them like Jose Estella studied music in Spain while others like Julio Nakpil amazingly had no training at all.

Thanks to the pieces they published and which they even made available abroad, their works have been discovered and are now still around for us to enjoy. These were not only performed by Sunico and Arrieta with so much feeling but have now also been recorded and preserved for the ages.

The Simoun Overture and Romanza Appasionata by Juan Hernandez, who also did the arrangement for two pianos; Sayaw (Festival Dance) by Antonio Regalario; Mandolina by Estella; Danse Compestre, ob.11a by Nakpil; La Fuerza del Amor by Diego Perez; and the Maranao-inspired Kandingan by Rodolfo Cornejo. Poeme of more recent vintage by Carmencita Arambulo is also included.

I want to hear more of these classical compositions. I want the world and most important of all, I want Filipinos to find out about this wealth of talent we should all be proud of. Hopefully, Sunico and Arrieta will include those works in their performing repertoires. Likewise, our other pianists.