Why is Licad missing in book of int'l pianists?

By actual count, outstanding pianists outnumber any other group of outstanding instrumentalists. Leading flutists are Enrique Barcelo, Tony Maigue, Caitlin Alisa Coyiuto and Raymund Sison. The eminent cellists, off-hand, are Ramon Bolipata, Renato Lucas, Wilfredo Pasamba and, not the least, Wellington Coo.

A random listing of top pianists will be headed by Cecile Licad who has the widest international exposure, having played and who continues to play with major orchestras under leading conductors in the US and often in Europe.

Raul Sunico holds the record, unmatched here or abroad, of having rendered (in 2003) all four concertos of Rachmaninoff without a score in a single evening. He has some 500 works of both foreign and local composers in his repertoire. Despite his tremendous administrative duties as UST Conservatory dean and CCP vice-president and artistic director, he still concertizes abroad, most recently in the US and Germany.

Jiovanney Emmanuel Cruz’s c.v. states that he is the country’s most internationally awarded. The late Regalado Jose was likewise multi-awarded. NY-based Rowena Arrieta is the only Filipino laureate (fifth prize winner) in the Moscow International Tchaikovsky tilt.

Reynaldo Reyes, Jacques Thibaud-Marguerite Long prix winner in Paris and Paris Conservatory scholar, devotes each concert to a single composer or theme, thus demonstrating his vast repertoire. He teaches at the Townsend School in Maryland, and until recently, joined Ingrid Santamaria on the yearly “Romantic Journey” throughout the country, with Santamaria as soloist and he as orchestra in works by Romantic composers.

Nena R. Villanueva, a former prodigy, played two full-length concertos when she was only ten with the MSO under Zipper. Jaime Bolipata is NY-based. So is Rene Dalandan. Younger pianists include Cristine Coyiuto, the pianists’ pianist, Greg Zuniega who studied at the Moscow Conservatory, the Vienna-based Aries Caces who conducts besides, the Singapore-based Albert Tiu.

Younger than the above are Rudolf P. Golez, Mary Anne Espina and Jonathan Coo. More known as an assisting artist but likewise a fine concertist is Najib Ismail.

Appearing in duo-piano programs are Carminda Regala, Della Besa, Menchu Padilla, Amelita Guevara, Annie de Guzman and Mary Ann Armovit.

Cecile Licad should have been included — owing to her noteworthy international career — in David Dubal’s book “The Art of the Piano” (already on its third edition as of 2004) which lists international pianists and describes their careers.

Early greats included are Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Clara Schumann, and later Camille Saint-Saens, many of whom are composers as well. Among scores more are the following: Ignaz Paderewski (whose records my father bought), Gabrilowitch, Friedman, Leschetizky who taught Anton Rubinstein, father of Russian pianism; Carl Tausig, Vladimir de Pachmann, Federico Busoni (whose 176-page work Raul Sunico memorized in a few days), Rachmaninoff, Lhevine who was later to teach at Jiulliard and Hofman, at Curtis; Myra Hess, Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein.

(My one regret while I was studying at Harvard U. was missing a concert of Horowitz. It meant only a short subway ride to Boston. However, I did attend a recital of Arthur Rubinstein.)

The book lists the pianists alphabetically. Under “A” comes Martha Agerich who I heard in Germany. (I rated Licad better.) Of those listed, I heard the following in Manila: Rudolf Serkin (principal mentor of Licad), Claudio Arau, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Solomon, Ruth Slencynska, Jose Iturbi, pianist-harpsichordist Wanda Landowska, Andre Watts, Van Cliburn, Gary Graffman, Philippe Entremont (who appeared in concert here with Licad).

Dubal’s book includes the following Asians: the Korean Tong-Il Han and Kun Woo Park, the Japanese Hiroko Nakamura, Yuji Takahashi and Mitsuko Uchida, and the Chinese Lang Lang.

Racial discrimination has probably nothing to do with Cecile’s exclusion; more likely, it is her lack of an aggressive propagandist. I draw this conclusion because Dubal writes in part of Lang Lang: “Extravagantly hyped by more than a dozen publicists worldwide working for his celebrity, Lang is the newest sensation to the world of serious piano playing.” Most of Dubal’s write-up of Lang, in fact, is derogatory.