Ingrid, Rey: Matchless duo/Okinawa-RP dance concert

On the 16th Romantic Music Journey of Ingrid S. Santamaria and Reynaldo Reyes, the A. Molina Hall concert had gone over the 300th mark, the duo having just completed seven concerts in Mindanao.

Their Sunday program alone in Molina Hall was a formidable feat. At 3 p.m., Ingrid as soloist and Rey as orchestra played Liszt’s Concertos No. 2 in A Major and No. 1 in E Flat Major. At 4 p.m. the duo continued with Tchaikovsky’s No. 1 in B Flat Minor and Rachmaninoff’s No. 2 in C Minor.

After a brief intermission during which the audience was treated to merienda — this in addition to free admission to the concerts — Ingrid and Rey interpreted Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsodie on a Theme by Paganini, Saint-Saens’ Concerto No. 2 in G Minor and finally, the Concerto No. 1 in G Minor which Mendelssohn composed when he was only 15.

The three programs entailed an unprecedented musical marathon still to be matched. Yet, the programs did not even include the romantic concertos of Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Grieg, Buencamino and Santiago which the duo interpret in the far reaches of the archipelago, as also in other Asian countries, with Ingrid performing sans any score!

At the final concert in Molina Hall I attended, Ingrid and Rey were conveying more power than ever before. Practice makes perfect and both pianists were evincing deeper artistry and sensitivity as well as more striking dexterity. Ingrid breezed through the concertos with fluid ease, grace, tremendous fire, with Rey giving splendid and vibrant support.

The brisk, zestful staccato rhythms and verve of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsodie were brilliantly rendered. The melodious, ineffably exquisite mid-section seemed too brief, but it pointed up the marvelously structured outer sections whose bristling pace was kept with remarkable consistency.

Initially, Rey accorded mostly chordal assistance in the Saint-Saens Concerto, but he was fully and admirably engaged for the rest of it. Runs, glissandos, trills as also massive chords were executed by Ingrid with electrifying dispatch.

In the three concertos, there were no brasses, woodwinds and strings. But the second piano, which served as orchestra, deepened, augmented and enriched the pianistic dimension, thus doubling the acoustical pleasure, in a manner of speaking. Rey showed his own outstanding pianism — his quivering artistry, passion and glowing tonal colors.

For the nth time, Ingrid and Rey proved to be an unmatched virtuosic duo, delineating the individual and distinctive characteristics of each composer masterfully.

Ambassador Makoto Katsura, in his opening remarks at the Philamlife auditorium, said that the traditional Okinawan dances were launching the month-long RP-Japan Friendship Month. He also acknowledged “the invaluable support of Mayor Alfredo Lim for inviting a Filipino dance troupe to grace the evening’s program.”

Accompanied by a Japanese music ensemble, the Okinawa Buyo performed classical and popular dances, garbed in ornate, artistic and elegant costumes. Generally in pairs, and holding fans, hats, a garland, etc., the dancers moved with striking precision, restraint and discipline in highly controlled, extremely slow tempo. A prancing walk was the common denominator of the dances — the elderly people’s dance, a dance of a woman in love, of a woman villager, of a high-class courtesan, of a karate practitioner, of one praying for rain, of a couple in love, a choreographed karate, a dance inspired by objects (a seashell).

After a folk song, the dance of friendship, the lively kachashi, served as climax during which members of the audience joined the visiting group onstage. Lusty, resounding applause ensued.

In-between, the sparkling Sining Lahi Dance Troupe under Dodge Contreras considerably enlivened the concert while illustrating the dramatic contrast between two cultures and peoples: the disciplined, reserved Japanese and the carefree, outgoing, joyful Filipinos.