Rudolf Golez startles / Sinag marks 20th year

Last Tuesday, Rudolf Golez played for the FCCP at the poolside of Ritz Towers. The group’s aim being "to increase its exposure to and awareness of art and culture", it suggested to Rudolf a program of favorite classics.

Among those rendered, therefore, were Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu and the Heroic Polonaise which Tin Pan Alley has turned into "I’m Always Chasing Rainbows" and "‘Til the End of Time", respectively. Notwithstanding, the selections in sum constituted solid music. Take the Etude No. 3 also played that night. Like all of Chopin Etudes, it resolves a technical problem yet creates music that can stand on its own merits. Chopin composed primarily for the piano, exploiting and maximizing its technical possibilities undiscovered in his time. Rudolf made his listeners appreciate this fact marvelously while infusing subtle nuances into the lyrical content of the compositions. In the Polonaise, tonal clarity and intensity, rich coloring, admirably controlled dynamics and panache depicted visions of battle, the sounds of horses’ hooves and terrifying cannon, as also sounds from a ballroom of mazurka dancers.

Serving as his own annotator, Rudolf described the movements of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata as 1) serene, 2) simple and 3) stormy, thereafter matching these by dramatically contrasting the calm of the first two movements with the fiery vigor of the third.

Exciting technical command — bravura — was evident throughout, particularly in Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody II which required dazzling virtuosity. Schumann’s Widmung (Dedication) was poetic; Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (as transcribed by Liszt) was an eloquent reflection of majesty and grandeur.

To reveal Mozart’s mastery of music and tremendous creativity, Rudolf opened the recital with Variations in C which, starting with single notes, progressed into ingenious and complex variations. Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme from Paganini and Liszt’s Liebestraum (Dream of Love) completed the program which, in its totality, displayed Rudolf’s power, remarkable digital skill, and widely ranging artistic expressivity and sensitivity.

Rudolf startles the audience, being more impressive at each engagement. Indeed, he seems to be on the threshold of an international career.

Minerva Tanseco, the evening’s "impresario", presented Rudolf, and hosted the post-recital dinner. Madame Imelda Romualdez Marcos, Rudolf’s early patron, and Elenita Binay were the special guests. Among FCCP members present were Boysie Villavicencio (president), Lulu Castañeda (past president), Carrie Bautista, Chloe R. Periquet, Tessie Lua, Nenuca Blardony, Myrna Borromeo, Joey Soriano, Randy and Cristina Carrion, CCP President Nes Jardin, and not the least, Rudolf’s beautiful mother, Rafaelita Pelaez Golez.

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Today, the Sinag Hospital Volunteers Foundation marks 20 years since DOH Secretary Alfredo Bengzon challenged a small group of conscientious volunteers who, inspired by EDSA I, wished to contribute to nation-building. They thus committed themselves to bringing health service to the poor with compassion and respect for human dignity.

Many of these volunteers were greatly influenced by the Italian lay charity worker Chiara Llubich who, shortly after WWII, gathered 500 men and women — with special devotion to the Virgin Mary — to rehabilitate their devastated country, focusing on the poor, the sick, the hungry, the dispossessed and the homeless. Their organization, named Focolare, is still active as ever, and many members of Focolare’s local counterpart, belonged to Sinag.

Sinag volunteers assist the DOH in delivering health services to indigent patients in government hospitals which, over-crowded and understaffed, cannot adequately provide the humane nurturing and caring that patients sorely need. Sinag thus signifies a ray of light, a ray of hope, a ray of God’s love.

For those interested in joining Sinag, its headquarters are at Rm. 41, Makati Townhouse, 100 G. Puyat Ave., Makati, tel. 8436132.