The awesome Tomescu / Fast-rising virtuoso / Rachel in Italy / UPCC

For the second time, I heard Rumanian violinist Alexandru Tomescu play at the Philamlife auditorium. There were no avant-garde compositions, the program consisting mostly of easily identifiable favorites such as Meditation from Massenet’s Thai, Kreisler’s Liebesfreud and Sarasate’s Gypsy Airs.

The recital opened with Leclair’s Sonata in D Major, with Tomescu using a score which, however, he hardly looked at. The refinement, beauty, and fullness of tone, the flowing cadences were by now familiar characteristics of the violinist in the andante-allegro, sarabanda largo and tambourine presto movements.

Tomescu did away with scores for the rest of the program, asserting tonal intensities, widely-ranging colors and profound sensitivity in Beethoven’s Sonata in F Major (Spring). Paganini’s Dance of the Witches demonstrated pure wizardry, as did the highly descriptive and amusing Banjo and Fiddle by Kroll, furiously fast bow strokes predominating. Luminous tonal hues shone in Tchaikovsky’s Melody, auras of elegance and sparkle in Kreisler’s Lieberfreud, and absolutely dazzling finger work and bowing in Sarasate’s Gypsy Airs which left the audience breathless with the violinist’s awesome delivery in the swift changes of tempo and rhythm.

Each number garnered lusty, prolonged applause, but there were two particular pieces which drew thunderous approbation – the Beethoven sonata with its mind-boggling cadenza and Bayan Ko (De Guzman-Romero) which stirred every Filipino present to the depths of his being. Music is indeed a universal language: although Tomescu is Rumanian, he interpreted Bayan Ko as though it were the music of his own country, infusing it with such sentiment and soul, the piece moved many to tears. Tomescu’s movingly plaintive rendition sent listeners lamenting the disarray and disunity among our people today.

The collaboration of pianist Mary Anne Espina as assisting artist was seamless and impeccable. How admirably she contributed to the excitement and fascination of the over-all performance!

Heading the audience at the Philamlife auditorium that evening were Rumanian Ambassador Radu and Geta Homescu. It was a proud occasion for the Rumanians to have shared with Filipinos the rare magnificence of their violinist.

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Rudolf P. Golez’s touch is ideal for Mozart and it is just as well, his recent recital "A Mostly Mozart Evening" marking the 250th birth anniversary of the Austrian genius.

The Sonatas in A Major, D Major and B Flat Major demonstrated varied differentiations in dynamics, light and soft initially but gradually progressing to heavier textures and louder volume. Golez used the pedal sparingly, producing exquisitely subtle pianistic effects.

The annotator Russell Brandon, musicologist and pianist, and professor at the Royal Welsh College, commented that Mozart’s music was perfect. Well, to my mind, Golez’s interpretation of it was near perfect. Brandon added that the movements of the opening Sonata in A Major – Andante Gracioso, Menuetto, Alla Turca (the Turkish March often played in student recitals) – were dances that provided pure entertainment.

Golez’s finger agility was evident in every piece, the left hand exhibiting as much admirable nimbleness as the right.

Ligeti’s Etude (Study) Stairway of the Devil covered the entire range of the keyboard, the fingers repeatedly running back and forth in rapid and vigorous staccato, making the rendition a tour de force.

There was finger dexterity likewise as also power in Chopin’s Scherzo in C Minor and the encore, Revolutionary Etude with its diabolic runs and thunderous chordal thrusts.

Throughout the recital, the young Golez displayed no flashy or distracting mannerisms. He was totally immersed in his playing, concerned only with the music at hand, with the clarity, meaning and required interpretation of each piece. Possessed of a solid technique, Golez combined the lyrical and dramatic, building up to impressive, brilliant climaxes as he did in Etude in A Minor, Liszt’s bravura arrangement of Paganini, and in the other encore, Schumman’s Dedication which, incidentally, Van Cliburn also played as an encore when he visited Manila years ago. In both compositions, Golez conveyed remarkable elan and grace in the lyrical passages, power and brio in the complex technical configurations.

In sum, Golez’s recital at the F. Santiago Hall under the auspices of the MCO Foundation was that of a supremely confident, fast-rising virtuoso.

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Tony Pastor, pianist, music patron and impresario who attended the ordination of Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales in the Vatican, received the following information on leading soprano Rachelle Gerodias. She recently took special studies under M. Frenelli in Florence, Italy, and has been recruited as Musetta for the opera La Boheme in the forthcoming Puccini Fest. It is very likely Rachelle will participate in Opera Roma’s Asian tour for 2007.

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The invitation to UPCC’s farewell concert arrived late, having been sent to The STAR office rather than to my residence.

In any case, it is gratifying to know that the University of the Philippines Concert Chorus is the only choir in the world that has been invited a record dozen times to Scotland’s Aberdeen International Youth festival in August. The event features the best choirs, orchestras and dance groups.

The UPCC will also participate in the Concorso Internazionale in Goriza, Italy, and tour 50 cities in Europe, the US and Asia. I am sure the ensemble will assert its presence marvelously as it has done in the past. Soprano Janet Sabas Arcama has replaced the late Rey Paguio as chorale director.