From Big Ben to H’wood / Australian Festival 2006 / Bing Pimentel’s musical

The concert "From Big Ben to Hollywood" at the CCP main theater opened with PPO conductor Eugene Castillo rendering Mark Anthony Turnage’s "Three Screaming Popes". To describe a painting in words is difficult enough; to describe music that describes a painting is doubly so.

The painting "Three Screaming Popes" by Francis Bacon is based on Velasquez’s Pope Innocent X. Bacon, according to the composer, had distorted and restated Velasquez, thus making the music even more daunting.

Of his work, Turnage writes: "What I hope comes across is the coloristic intensity and emotional immediacy of the paintings." What the listener derives from the music are indeed three screaming popes signifying not so much evil but ugliness, through a "screaming" orchestra of taut, screeching strings and the almost defeaning blasts of the winds, particularly of the brasses.

Castillo hewed closely – precisely and incisively – to Turnage’s own evaluation of his work, and the over-all impression was that of "exuberant and brash" music. Ultimately, the audience became aware of the grinding, exhausting preparation that went into making the saxophones, bassoons, harp, celesta, piccolos, tuba, trumpets – the whole range of instruments – produce "exuberant and brash" sounds.

Following the tuttis, a "funereal coda" ensued, after which the orchestra again evoked spine-tingling "screams".

The bubbly personality of the tall, blonde Canadian pianist Sara Davis Buechner was obvious from the half-running manner in which she entered and exited from the stage.

Playing with a score the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Miklos Rozsa, composer for Hollywood films, Buechner thundered from start to finish except in the Adagio which contrasted with the outer Allegro energico and the Vigoroso. She dazzled with her fiery command of the keyboard, proving she was more than equal to the piece. Her tremendous power in the chordal passages, her digital flexibility in the fleet runs, which covered the entire length of the piano, shone in the awesomely percussive composition. What fascinating and astounding virtuosity!

Castillo, for his part, showed mastery of the modern idiom with its sharp, abrupt accents, dissonances and abrasive rhythms. The over-all impression both orchestra and soloist conveyed was that of intense concentration, with fire meeting fire, the convergence releasing to the utmost the music’s raw power.

Prior to giving an encore in response to the prolonged and resounding applause, Buechner announced that she had studied for some years with our own outstanding pianist Reynaldo Reyes, and was in fact going to play an excerpt from a Reyes composition. The gently lyrical, exquisitely langorous piece was a refreshing departure from the booming Concerto.

Unrelenting vigor, vitality and brisk pacing characterized Castillo’s interpretation of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2), its passages delineating the bustle of the city, while more subdued, reflective lines drew images of the countryside. Richly varied tonal colors suffused the entire rendition of the programmatic music which included the tolling of Big Ben in the city, awake or asleep. What a vast contrast to "The Three Screaming Popes"!

The ebbing of the solo violin ended the earlier robustness and exuberance of the final movement, the music fading away.

In sum, Castillo again demonstrated his overwhelming command of modern music which he insists on introducing with valid reason. His persistence may turn away many of the old guard from his concerts; on the other hand, these unique concerts are slowly but steadily gaining new adherents.

* * *

To celebrate Australia’s National Day on Jan. 26, the festivities begin with the Australian group Sirocco fronting the 1st Philippine International Jazz and Ethnic Festival from Jan. 20 to 23. Sirocco consists of performers using exotic instruments – Middle Eastern and Celtic flutes, Irish and Turkish drums and modern synthsisers which evoke the thrill of contemporary Australia. The group is joined by leading aboriginal performers who will inject an indigenous heritage into a unique blend of cultures.

The Festival opened with a street party at the Podium yesterday. It then moves to the Harbour Square at the CCP from Jan. 21 to 22, then heads off to the Greenbelt 3 fountain area for the highlights on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. The group will also conduct master-classes at the UP on Jan. 24 at 10 a.m.

From Jan. 24 to 28, critically acclaimed films directed by Rolf de Heer will be shown at the UP Film Institute, opening with his psychological thriller "Alexandra’s Project".

There will be a one-of-a-kind exhibition by renowned Australian artists at Ayala Museum from Jan. 26 to Feb. 10.

To be featured is "Akira Isogawa: Primtemps-Eté", a fashion exhibition which explores the creative process of designer Akira Isogawa whose sensibility draws upon the costume and textile traditions of his native Japanese heritage, and reinterprets them according to Australian influences. On Jan. 27, Ayala Museum will feature works of young Australian designers.

Simultaneously, an art exhibit will give art lovers a chance to purchase rare works of leading Australian artists.

* * *

Tonight at 7:30, Bing Pimentel’s musical play "Pag-ibig sa Bayan", based on the martial law experience of Sen. A. Pimentel, and written and directed by Nestor Torre, will be staged at the Meralco theater.