By Joseph L. Garcia
Concert
The Amazing Brahms
Metro Manila Concert Orchestra
Feb. 5
Little Theater, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
FOR ITS 15TH Crystal Anniversary concert season, the Metro Manila Concert Orchestra (MMCO) channels the power of Johannes Brahms with a performance of his Concerto No. 1, to be performed by Jose Artemio Panganiban III in a concert called The Amazing Brahms tonight at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Although the MMCO was founded in 2000, and thus celebrated its 15th anniversary last year, several performances for that season had to be moved to later dates due to delays: for example, The Amazing Brahms was originally slated for October, while a Tchaikovsky concert for November last year with soloist Albert Tiu was moved to August of this year. Meanwhile, a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3 follows on June this year at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Little Theater.
“This Brahms No. 1, and the Rach[maninoff] No. 3; these are considered the greatest, the grandest,” said Clarita “Laling” Ordonez, Vice-President and Trustee of the MMCO, discussing how the pieces for the anniversary season were selected. “For this 15th concert season, we reviewed the great masters… so we chose their works.”
“Normally, we ask our soloists to choose… this particular concert season, we gave them ten of the grandest,” she said. Soloists for the 15th anniversary season included Aima Labra Makk performing Rachmaninoff, Raul Sunico performing Prokofiev, and Cristine and Caitlyn Coyiuto performing Ravel and Rodrigo.
“The Rach No. 3 is one of the most formidable… it’s so beautiful, but technically, it’s very, very demanding,” she said during a Jan. 29 interview. “But so is this! This Brahms No. 1… the technical aspect, the handwork… you really need precision. In other words, it’s — a collaborative effort; it’s a dialogue with the orchestra.”
As a bonus, the Brahms No. 1 will also be performed on a date near Valentine’s Day: “It’s very romantic… in fact, all of these, even the Rach No. 3,” said Ms. Ordonez.
Mr. Panganiban, who happens to be the son of 21st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Artemio Panganiban, was described by Ms. Ordonez as, “He’s brilliant; he’s really brilliant. Every time I listen to him, when he plays… he played Lizst at the Ayala Museum.”
Ms. Ordonez describes the MMCO’s orchestra’s members with pleasure thus: “A majority of them belong to the 20 to 30-year-old age range. There is this quality of vibrance — the vibrance of youth, and also… they have a very easy time to grasp the compositions, and well… they’re very… adaptive, flexible, resilient.”
The Brahms No. 1 concert will benefit the MMCO’s advocacies, which target the youth and marginalized communities. Among its advocacies is paying the tuition of “young students who would like to have a career in music,” with an aim to have them train and then perform with the MMCO. It also runs a program called MU8: Music Under Construction, wherein compositions by young Filipino composers are chosen via a competition to be performed by an orchestra.
“Filipinos are very creative; put them in any field and they will excel, if they put their heart and mind in it. We’re a very creative race!” said Ms. Ordonez.
Some of the proceeds from these concerts also go towards performing for free for various groups, such as marginalized communities, soldiers, the police force, and the organization is currently negotiating to hold performances for various hospitals. The orchestra also embarked on a tour of various provinces, such as Dumaguete, Bacolod, Batangas, and Isabela.
“These… people will never be able to afford going, or attending… classical concerts. So we would like to bring the wonderful world of music to them. This is really for them to appreciate the beauty of classical music: to open their hearts and minds,” she said.
“It brings a on a serenity of mind, it awakens your sensibilities… it is really, so beautiful.”
She then recounted that a few days before the interview, a man had called inquiring about the prices of Brahms concert tickets for him and his family of four, later revealing that he lived far from the city, working as a farmer.
“Classical music is not just for the elite. It is for everyone,” said Ms. Ordonez.
Ticket prices for The Amazing Brahms are priced at about P3,000, with discounts applicable for students, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens. For ticket inquiries, call 216-6487 or 0917-533-5747.
