Sparkling Poulenc from Licad & son

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s recent concert, "The Next Generation," served as the Philippine debut of Otavio Licad Meneses, son of internationally renowned Filipino pianist Cecile Licad, in a performance of the Poulenc Double Piano Concerto with his mother. The occasion, as expected, was a magnet for Manila’s culturati to come out and see how the young Meneses will acquit himself.

Just turning 20 on Aug. 29, Meneses previous stage performances were in student recitals and school performances. In the program notes, he explains his decision to perform professionally in Manila: "I rarely get a chance to travel across the globe, so I plan to make the most of this trip. Maestro Eugene Castillo was kind enough to allow me to play the Poulenc concerto with my Mom here at the CCP, so I could finally have the opportunity to visit the Philippines again to see my grandmother and my family. In any case, many thanks to Maestro Castillo and everyone involved in the organization for this performance. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity."

In this, his coming out to Manila’s music society, Meneses turned in a fine performance, playing second to his mother’s first piano. It isn’t easy not to succeed in the Poulenc Double Piano Concerto, one of the French composer’s more genial and cheerful compositions. It has a number of catchy tunes leaping from one piano to the other, sweeping the whole orchestra with it in this deliriously cheerful confection. A brief nod to Balinese gamelan appears at quiet moments of repose in the first and third movements, while a tune worthy of Mozart serves as motif in the second concerto.

You never know how much of the music is shared by the two pianos until you hear it performed live. The lion’s share of the concerto still goes to the first pianist, and Licad relished the occasion for athletic playing. There’s nothing deep about Poulenc… well not in this concerto, so she just whizzed along, delivering her chops with gay abandon. Meneses followed her mother’s cue, hurtling along after her, turning in a performance worthy of his stint with the PPO. Mother and son turned in a sparkling Poulenc worthy of a second engagement. Whether we will see Meneses solo in Manila remains to be seen, although he seems to have little of the brio or bravado one often associates with legendary concert pianists. Only time will tell, and until then this joyful turn with his mom will remain in the minds of Manila’s culturati as the happy debut of Otavio Meneses.

Apart from the Poulenc concerto, the evening also saw Licad performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. Whereas the Poulenc was a happy affair, the Ravel was not. Clearly, pianist and orchestra were at odds with what many consider to be Ravel’s feminine piano concerto. (Ravel’s other piano concerto, the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, is considered by many concertgoers to be the masculine of the two.) It was heard clearly in the opening whiplash that is this concerto’s most remarkable feature. There was something sluggish about the playing; indeed, the orchestra lingered whereas it should have moved on. The whiplash that begins and ends the movement indicates that this movement should drive on. Licad careered on, urging Castillo and the orchestra to follow her. Somehow, pianist and orchestra found a comfortable speed midway the first movement, but by then Ravel’s smiling music — how can it not be, when its entire attitude emanates from the jazz Ravel imbibed from listening to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue — had already faded. The rest of the concerto cantered to a steady pace, the final movement gaining just enough pep to be moderately interesting. But the entire attitude of jazz that is the hallmark of this concerto just wasn’t there.

The concert opened with Short Ride in a Fast Machine by American composer John Adams. The piece, a fanfare commissioned for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, is a magnificent trifle. Horns blare in the opening seconds, the rest of the orchestra chugging along, until the violins pick up a tissue of a melody. Then, it’s back to the chugging horns and the music ends just when you think it should. In the hands of PPO acting resident conductor Renato Lucas, Adams’ signature repeating motifs have the brilliance the composer’s music is known for. It is as delightful as it should be.

Prefacing the Poulenc concerto was a delicate interpretation of Faure’s Pelleas and Melisande Suite. Much of this suite is so quiet and somber that it could put you down to sleep. Placed before the concert’s piece de resistance, all that subtlety was lost to an audience fidgeting in their seats for the main event.