Filfest and Jiovanney/Dia del Español at IC

Filfest in Alabang aims to make that part of Metro Manila the cultural mecca of the south. Filfest’s prime mover is eminent pianist Jiovanney Emmanuel Cruz who, for the last few years, has been organizing concerts by some of the finest instrumentalists, Filipino and foreign. Filfest has also brought to our shores pedagogues who, along with our own, hold competitions to determine the year’s most outstanding pianists.

Vicky Zubiri, one of Filfest’s hard-working supporters, has provided me with the Filfest schedule of concerts for the rest of the year.

Fil-AmeriKA concert on June 20 at the regular venue, Insular Theater, features Marian Liebowitz, clarinet, and Dena Fernandez, marimba, with Jeffery Meyer conducting the FIL-harmoniKA. Dena Fernandez was not able to perform at the concert recently held in the Makati U. auditorium where she was seen with her right arm on a sling, having been victimized by a bag snatcher. Hopefully, she will be well by June 20.

The program follows: Copland’s “Appalachian Spring Suite”, Paul Creston’s “Concertino for Marimba”, Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”, Copland’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra” and Bernstein’s “Three Dance Episodes from On the Town.”

Pluck and Struck Concert, Aug. 8, will feature guitarists Perfecto de Castro and Ruben Reyes, pianists Aries Caces and Jiovanney, with Agripino Diestro conducting the Filfest Festival Orchestra. The program follows: Saint-Saens’ “Africa, Op.89”, Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez”, Leo Brouwer’s “Concerto Elegiaco for Guitar and Orchestra” and Liszt’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major”.

Muzika concert on September 20 will feature the Clarion Chamber Ensemble led by flutist David Johnson, and the Nuevo Flamenco Manila. The program follows: B. Martinu’s “Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano” and “La Revue de Cuisine” Astor Piazzolla’s “Tangos” and “Flamenco” by various composers.

“Harana” on Sept. 26 will feature the Philippine Opera Company singers who will have returned from their Netherlands tour.

Alabang is quite a distance from Makati and Quezon City but Jiovanney’s determination and persistence have led to Filfest’s success, his administrative and artistic abilities being both equally remarkable. Here are some notes on Jiovanney as performer.

When he was five, his mother asked him to play for a small gathering, but as he did a guest started to talk. The little boy stopped abruptly, and no matter how much his mother begged him to continue, he refused adamantly. That early, he taught his audience how to listen to music. (Let this be a warning to Filfest patrons to turn off their cellphones as soon as Jiovanney starts to perform.)

Twenty five years or so after that home incident, Jiovanney has had various audiences – in New York, Italy, Venezuela, Spain, Hong Kong, Indonesia – listening to his repertoire of over a hundred solo works, from baroque to contemporary, and over a dozen concertos by Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Prokofieff and Dohnanyi.

Jiovanney studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York under Solomon Mikowsky, and conducting under David Gilbert and Gianpaolo Bracalli. In master classes, his mentors included Gary Graffman (who performed in Manila years ago), Arkady Aronov, John Browning, Byron Janis among others.

As for piano competitions, including those at Filfest, Jiovanney says: “There isn’t anything unusual about them, you either win or lose.” He regards the contest in Sicily (1991) the most fulfilling, although he lost. Why? After the six-member jury announced its verdict, the audience to a man walked out because everyone thought Jiovanney should have been given the first, not the second, prize.

On June 20, Instituto Cervantes will hold an Open House featuring exhibits, music concerts and other cultural activities relating to Spanish, a language of “connectivity and diversity”.

“Dia del Español” aims to convince visitors to IC that Spanish is emocionanate, exitante, elegante, estupendo and especial.