Franco-German treaty‘sealed’ by RP pianist

It was an evening of choices: French Ambassador Renée Veyret and German Ambassador Herbert D. Jess were marking the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Treaty of Friendship between their countries. This they did by jointly presenting at the Philamlife auditorium internationally-awarded Filipino concertist Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz in a unique recital of predominantly French and German piano compositions.

That same night, the 30th anniversary of Phil-Bulgarian diplomatic relations was being celebrated by the DFA headed by Secretary Blas Ople and the Consulate of Bulgaria represented by Consul Rene Ledesma with a recital by Bulgarian pianist Georgi Trendafiloof. A week earlier, the young Canadian pianist Stephen Ham performed under the auspices of the Canadian Embassy and newly arrived Ambassador Peter Sutherland.

Understandably whatever invitation came first had to be honored by the recipient, and this reviewer found herself listening to Cruz who, to stress the theme of Franco-German friendship, played mostly French and German works.

In marvelous form, he delineated with remarkable clarity and eloquence the style and substance of Scarlatti, Bach, Chopin, Albeniz, Ravel and Schumann, distinctly differentiating one from the other to the immense gratification of music lovers, the cognoscenti in particular.

Serving as cryptic annotator, Cruz noted Bach’s heavier texture. Indeed, after he played Scarlatti’s Two Sonatas in F Major – his fingers light and dexterous – Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A Minor sounded denser. Inevitably, one deduced from the rendition that Scarlatti, the intellectual composer who had written his fugues much earlier, was not only a worthy ancestor of Bach but also a complete master of form. What an intriguing study in similarities and contrasts Cruz presented!

Then, too, there were the romanticists Chopin and Schumann. Fully realizing the piano as his forte, Chopin devoted nearly all his energies and talent to it as incomparable composer and pianist. Infinite delicacy of style, subtle nuances, exquisitely melodious (recurring) themes, and widely ranging dynamics characterize his Ballade No. 1 in G Minor. In general, the very same qualities infuse the Symphonic Etudes of Schumann, "the voice of romanticism" no less. Yet, to Cruz’s considerable credit, there was no mistaking one composer for the other through his phrasing, accentuation, filigree pianissimos, varying tonal hues and a heightened series of the lyrical and the dramatic.

The ultimate impression of the listener painted was that Chopin’s romanticism has tended at times to feminism. Schumann’s not at all!

Cruz tried to justify his choice of Copland’s El Salon Mexico, a pivotal work composed on and off from 1932 to 1936, and arranged by Bernstein, by observing that both Americans had studied piano under Nadia Boulanger in Paris.

Copland’s music reflects a vivid portrait of a Mexican popular night-spot, drawing from it a mixture of Mexican folk themes and vigorous rhythms rendered even more spirited by Bernstein’s introduction of jazz with its abrupt changes of rhythm and syncopation. Cruz never missed a beat, taking the audience into an excitingly new world.

The strong Spanish flavor so evident in Albeniz’s Granada from Suite Española, and its quaint folk themes and rhythmic thrusts were followed by Ravel’s descriptive Jeux d’eau whose impressionistic devices are so near and yet so far from Debussy’s own. Through Cruz’s deft, fleet fingers, how the piece looked cascading waters, flowing fountains, gurgling brooks and streams!

The program, which spanned centuries in its variety of styles, techniques and content doubtless signified the vast musical background and versatility of the pianist who betrayed no slackening of stamina, no diminution of inspiration.

It was a proud occasion for Ambassadors Veyret and Jess who, in commemorating a significant event, gave Cruz an opportunity to prove to the foreign audience a Filipino pianist’s tantalizing mastery of their own musical idioms.

Ccp Art Auction Today Eminent painter Sid Gomez Hildawa, director of CCP’s cultural resource department, has announced this afternoon there will be a live bidding at the main lobby for the works of the country’s most prominent sculptors and painters. Bidding prices will start as low as half of their market value. Boy Abunda and Ces Drilon will be the auctioneers.