Now that the tenure of Maestro Eugene Castillo as PPO regular conductor and music director has ended, the CCP is looking for his replacement. CCP President Nestor Jardin says there are some 19 candidates to choose from.
Castillo’s programs had a distinctive character; each introduced a new, avant-garde work which was combined with traditional or standard classics. His successor will doubtless inject his own predilections into his concerts.
Through decades, I have heard several local conductors do their thing, some more competently than others. I was then a very young girl when I heard Alexander Lippay conduct the Manila Symphony Orchestra at the pre-war Metropolitan Theater; consequently, I could not form any opinion of his performance at the time.
Herbert Zipper took over from him and though Zipper was a fine conductor, I think in retrospect that he seemed rather over-rated. He wielded the baton sans score and I recall an eminent musician recounting that once, Zipper finished conducting a symphony with both hands raised way above his head; forthwith, he slowly and sheepishly brought them down.
The late impresario Ralph Zulueta thought very highly of Prof. Ramon Tapales as a conductor and I share that impression. Bernardo Custodio was a solid MSO conductor, if an under-rated one. Col. Antonino Buenaventura headed the Philippine Constabulary Orchestra which he ably directed.
Other conductors have since assumed their share of baton-wielding. To my mind, the least competent of these was Luis Valencia, the earliest to conduct what is now known as the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. Oscar Yatco, the mighty mite, conducted the MSO, to which he introduced vast hitherto unperformed classic masterpieces. He is now PPO’s conductor laureate, a title he richly deserves. Agripino Diestro, the current PPO resident conductor, has impressive credentials. Josefino “Chino” Toledo conducts the Metro Manila Community Orchestra; Rodel Colmenar, the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra; Herminigildo Ranera, the UST Symphony Orchestra; Arturo Molina, the Manila Symphony Orchestra II — conductors who demonstrate varying degrees of inspiration and authoritativeness. Castillo’s immediate predecessor Ruggiero Barbieri directed a number of noteworthy concerts.
From one of the many books I have read on music, I have gathered distinct notes on what makes a musician qualified to conduct an orchestra. The following guide comes from Sir Adrian Boult’s list of qualifications for a practising conductor.
(1) He should be a master of four or five orchestral instruments.
(2) He should have played in an orchestra for some years, perhaps on different instruments.
3) He should have had a similar experience in a choral society.
4) He should have a very full knowledge of the whole classical repertoire from the point of view of orchestration, structure, phrasing, etc.
5) He should have a clear pattern in his mind of necessities of style in performance in regard to the many different schools of music which the normal conductor must tackle.
6) He must have a power of leadership, an infinite capacity for taking pains, unlimited patience and a real gift of psychology. He must have a constitution of iron and be ready to appear good-humored in the face of the most maddening frustrations.
7) He must be a master of the actual control of the stick. This may look easy but needs a good deal of thought and hard practice.
8) He must also have knowledge of musical history and of all great music: songs, organ, chamber music, piano-forte, etc.
9) He should be a connoisseur of many other forms of art.
At this juncture, it should be valid and justifiable to ask: Just how many conductors — actual or aspiring — can come up to the standard set by Sir Adrian? It is to be presumed that the CCP jury will choose the best qualified from the 19 or so who are being considered to succeed Castillo.