Startling Medel recital an augury of int'l career / Michelline Syjuco exhibit

’Tis said that comparisons are odious. After having listened to Oliver Salonga’s piano recital recently, I wrote: “He virtually turns every selection into a virtuoso piece.” After listening to Lorenzo “Enzo” Medel’s recital the other evening, I thought he virtually turned every selection into a virtuoso piece. There is a difference, however: Oliver is 26; Lorenzo, only 16. Ten years separate them.

Medel’s program consisted of familiar works by Beethoven, Chopin, Molina, Debussy and Liszt, interpreted with technical brilliance now familiar to those who were present at the pianist’s recital in the Filipinas Heritage Library when he was only 14. Since then, his vast improvement has led to the foregoing comparison.

Beethoven considered his Sonata in F Minor his best, and Lorenzo’s astonishing interpretation was in the obvious belief it was the composer’s best. He delineated every movement with tonal clarity and richness; how the electrifyingly swift runs in the third movement demonstrated such nimble fingers!

The work and, indeed, the rest of the pieces were infused with an inherent sense of drama that arrested and sustained attention throughout the recital. The widest range of dynamics — from the softest pianissimo to the loudest fortissimo, its power leading the pianist to rise a little from his seat — characterized the Chopin Scherzo in C Sharp Minor whose original, innovative devices were well within the pianist’s firm grasp.

Molina’s Malikmata was the piece National Artist Leonor Orosa Goquingco used for her creation “Maria Clara and the Leper” based on an episode in Rizal’s Noli, with the choreographer employing artistic license to change the locale to a church interior. Lorenzo made the piece so descriptive, as he shuttled from romantic to impressionistic passages, that I “saw” the leper tugging at Maria Clara’s skirt to call her attention, or weakly following her as she turned around and around in front of the altar before giving the wretched beggar her locket. It was an eloquently dramatic choreography as it was an eloquently dramatic piano rendition.

Debussy’s Feux d’artifice (Fireworks) led to pianistic fireworks: fiery chords, mind-boggling runs, trills, chords, glissandos, the mind’s eye envisioning sparks brightening the sky, explosions shattering the midnight silence, as Lorenzo conveyed rapidly changing tonal hues and rhythms with admirable ease.

Lorenzos tremendo energy, vitality, vigor and vast technical resources matched the diabolic demands of Liszt’s three pieces: La Campanella, Un sospiro and Hungarian Rhapsody in D Flat Major. Lorenzo’s rendition of La Campanella, incredibly enough, was at a faster clip than Ignaz Paderewski’s own, as a record of it (which I have kept all these years) proves. In Lorenzo’s hands, even the melodious Sospiro was technically challenging; in the Rhapsody, Lorenzo drew all his pianistic resources, his riveting performance leaving a catch in the throat and sending the pulses beating faster.

Years ago, a piano teacher of mine, a graduate of Sr. Battig, played the same Rhapsody for her students at the end of their recital, and Lorenzo’s interpretation of it, again incredibly, was much more impressive. Listening to it, I often feared he would break a piano string with his tremendous power, as the late Ben Tupas did during a concert.

Responding to a stand ovation, Lorenzo played Liszt’s Liebestraum (Dream of Love), prosaic but well-loved, with depth of feeling.

In sum, Lorenzo exhibited a striking comprehension of diverse musical forms and a sensitivity astounding for his years. Readers might assume I have over-praised this young pianist, but given his astonishing technical prowess and his gift for keen expression, I don’t think so. With Lorenzo having apparently learned all he can from his mother, Mauricia Borromeo, further studies abroad, with perseverance and proper guidance, should end in an international career.

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The recital venue, the Cory Aquino Hall of SSC, which accommodates 150 persons, is acoustically excellent.

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Another daughter of Cesare A.X. and Jean Marie Syjuco, Michelline, has proven to be richly talented — as to be expected. Michelline’s exhibit at the New Gallery, Ecoplaza building on Pasong Tamo, Makati, ended July 31. Surprisingly, the invitation reached me only yesterday!