Michaël Cousteau leads tribute to French composer Hector Berlioz in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Last Oct. 25 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, French conductor Michaël Cousteau and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra offered a grand tribute to the legendary French composer, Hector Berlioz.

French Embassy Cultural attaché Martin Macalintal, Patrick Jacinto, French Embassy Cultural counsellor Jean-Jacques Forté, Michaël Cousteau, National Museum of the Philippines assistant director Ana Labrador, Rustans Group chairman and CEO Zenaida Tantoco, French Ambassador Nicolas Galey, Benilde Center for Campus art director Gerry Torres, Ayala Museum director Mariles Gustilo, EON Group chief executive Junie del Mundo, Sandra Forté, Zhang Ling, French Embassy Political counsellor Quentin Biehler and Alliance Française de Manille director Jean-Pierre Dumont

Entitled “Berlioz and Friends,” this concert commemorated the 150th death anniversary of Hector Berlioz, who was widely regarded as the inventor of the modern orchestra.

To officially open the event, Soprano Rachelle Gerodias and baritone Park Byeong-in performed an exceptional rendition of the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise,” arranged by Hector Berlioz for orchestra.

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra soloist Rey Casey Concepcion and conductor Michaël Cousteau.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Cousteau and featuring soloist Rey Casey Concepcion on viola, performed a selection of works of Hector Berlioz and his contemporaries through a program that included “Harold in Italy, op. 16” and “Romeo and Juliet: Love Scene,” as well as Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod” and Lizst’s “Les Preludes.”