Significant events fill 2013 cultural calendar / Pen concerts thru 29 years

Wagner, Cayabyab in concert

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Olivier Ochanine opens its 5th season on Jan. 25, 8 p.m. at the CCP main theater with PPO’s associate concertmaster Dino Decena as soloist in Ryan Cayabyab’s expressly composed “New Work for Violin and Orchestra.”

Decena, who started his formal studies at five, was a PREDIS scholar who trained under Basilio Manalo. In 1986, he won a NAMCYA award and played as soloist assisted by the PREDIS Orchestra under Manalo.

In the PPO  concert, Ochanine will conduct Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 “Spring”.

Next PPO concert on Feb. 22 will feature tenor Arthur Espiritu, who has sung at La Scala in Italy, and Korean soprano Hyunah Yu.

Phl, Korea dance “rivals”

Ballet Manila and South Korea’s Yewon Dance Co. will be friendly “rivals” on Jan. 26, 5 p.m. at Aliw Theater, the former dancing Principe ng Mga Ibon (from Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang); the latter, a traditional Korean fan dance, Tarantella, a traditional mask dance, and a dance with hand drum.

On Jan. 27, 5 p.m. at Star Theater, Ballet Manila will perform Reve and Le Corsaire Pas de Deux. The Koreans will stage variations of classic and modern dances. Self-assured and totally secure, Lisa, Ballet Manila’s lead ballerina and artistic director, says: “We welcome collaboration because both groups can interact, with the audience seeing two cultures united by dance.”

Young composers featured

The Metro Manila Concert Orchestra and Miriam College will launch the MMCO’s 13th season with new works for orchestra and piano by young Filipino composers: Abo by Kabaitan Bautista, Araw-Araw by Michael Bulaong, Disymphonization by Ireneo Orio III, and A Sketch for Orchestra and Piano by Robert Sarreal.

Belgium-based Filipino pianist Michael Cu will highlight the concert with Chopin’s Concerto No. 1. Cu, 24, has a diploma with distinction from Brussels’ Royal Conservatory and is preparing for a Doctorate on “Indigenous Artistic Traditions in the Context of Western Aesthetic Principles” which will raise international awareness and accessibility of Filipino classical music through concerts, lectures and piano pieces.

Previously, Cu as scholar was mentored by Reynaldo Reyes in Towson U., Maryland, where Cu graduated summa cum laude. He further trained in Berlin U., the Mozarteum in Austria, and Indiana U., and in chamber music masterclasses under European masters.

Cu has received numerous grants and awards. His 2008 recital in Washington DC was very well received by the press; the one in Brussels’ Palais des Beaux-Arts had many standing ovations and was described by critics as “world class”. In his 2009 debut with the MMCO under Toledo, he rendered Ravel’s Concerto in G and Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini.

Phl Art in Paris Museum

From April 9 to July 14, France’s National Day, Paris' prestigious Quai Branley Museum will host  “Phl: An Archipelago of Exchange”. The grand exhibit  will be a panorama of the Philippines’ Austronesian roots and maritime culture prior to the arrival of the Europeans, thru pieces of art selected from collections in the Philippines, US, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain and Austria.

Quai Branley Museum president said: “The arts of the Philippines are little known in France  and rarely shown in their entirety and diversity. Through unique objects, each of which conveys a particular meaning, we pay homage to multiple expressions.”

The Museum, among Europe’s premier showcases dedicated to the arts and civilizations of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, displays a collection of over 400,000 objects, 700,000 photographs, 3,500 artworks, and 10,000 musical instruments. The Museum receives an average of 1,400,000 visitors annually.

Pen Concerts thru 29 Years

A tradition observed for 29 years, the Peninsula Manila ushered in the holiday season with its two-hour concert featuring top ensembles and artists: the PPO, the UST Singers, the Mandaluyong Children’s Choir, tenor Arthur Espiritu, sopranos Karina Balajadia and Nenen Espina and PPO’s principal clarinetist Ariel Santa Ana. Italian Ruggero Barbieri wielded the baton, as he had done for the past seven years.

More than 800 delighted patrons and guests filled the hotel, from the lobby  to the third floor gallery.

Rendered were native carols, Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, the Flower Duet from Delibes’ Lakme, The Lord’s Prayer climaxed by the rousing Hallelujiah Chorus with the audience and Pen employees joining the singing.

Special guests were Sir Michael Kadoorie, chairman of HK and Shanghai, Ltd., Lady Betty Kadoorie, and Pen’s second GM Felix Bieger who had thought of the first “Concert at the Pen”.