Maramba honors Battig

The concert Homage at St. Cecilia’s Hall was a tribute to Benedictine nun Sr. Baptista Battig who, in 1907, introduced formal music education in the Philippines, and who was marking her 124th birth anniversary.

In a real sense, the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Schumann, Schubert, Liszt, etc. goes back to Sr. Battig, and features soloist Fr. Manuel Maramba, former student of Sr. Battig, was returning a favor by playing Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor and Liszt’s in E Flat, assisted by the Manila Symphony Orchestra II under Arturo Molina.

The Schumann Concerto was dedicated to the composer’s wife Clara who was happy she could finally play a "bravura" piece by her husband. It is a fantasia for piano and orchestra, the opening allegro rich in melodies, subsequent passages demanding brio and, indeed, bravura which Fr. Maramba conveyed. Clarity, precision, fluency were combined with considerable spirit and grace.

Restrained and subdued, the Intermezzo was followed by varied rhythms, the finale rising to a robust paean. In sum, the work, the quintessence of romanticism, was very eloquently expressed by Fr. Maramba.

The Liszt Concerto has been described as "showy, clever, effective, even stirring music built up of sharp dramatic contrasts of mood, color, rhythm". Brilliant and often virtuosic, without being bombastic – though bombast is inherent in Liszt – Fr. Maramba made an impact with chords, runs, arpeggios in compellingly accelerating tempo. Occasionally, power seemed wanting but the overall rendition, particularly the rousing martial finale, was tremendously impressive. At 68, Fr. Maramba is still a concertist to reckon with.

Incidentally, the piano itself was marvelous – full-tone and resonant, thus making Fr. Maramba’s performance even more appealing.

The prolonged, thunderous applause and standing ovation were rewarded with Schumann’s Widmung (Dedication) which closes with the opening of Schubert’s Ave Maria. How expressively, sensitively interpreted was the piece!

The MSO II consists of amateurs, the youngest being 14, yet it played extremely well, demonstrating solid training and discipline. Although the ensemble is relatively small, Molina maximized its volume, producing massive sounds.

In Verdi’s Overture to Vespri Siciliani, as also in the two concerti, the strings were cohesive; the woodwinds and brasses, secure; the percussions, thoroughly dependable. The orchestra breezed through Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 with the energetic enthusiasm, zest, verve and gusto of the young, especially in the rhapsodic passages under Molina’s firm, authoritative cueing.

The MSO members have trained under PREDIS which was established for fledgling musicians by Billy Manalo and Dean Sr. Mary Placid.

Honoring Sr. Battig by their presence were, among others, Pacita Zaragoza Araneta, an early graduate of Sr. Battig, pianist-music and acclaimed international concertist Raul Sunico, SSC Music Alumnae president Menchu Padilla, and Alliance Francaise Director Philippe Normand and PPO Conductor Eugene Castillo.