Russian Romantics, the sax, and the Manila Symphony Orchestra

I went to the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) Music Academy in Glorietta 5 one Wednesday afternoon to interview their music director, Professor Arturo Molina. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the commute from quiet QC to busy Makati; the malls still had their average troop of goers, majority of which were merely window-shoppers, students on vacation, and passersby. To make the scenery even more normal, the MSO Music Academy was located at the mall’s third floor, beside a driving school, a pawnshop, and two textile stores. I was welcomed at their waiting area by a man seated in front of a computer, his desk piled with forms and folders, an anxious teenager, and a yaya taming a little boy who kept nagging for his “achi.” I had to wonder where the music was.

Professor Molina came out of his tiny cubicle at precisely 5:30 p.m. The first thing he told the man at the front desk was to schedule another session for the following Monday, which was election day — a non-working holiday. At that point, all my illusions of conductors being wildly magical characters with a wand (i.e. Disney’s Fantasia) vanished. Arturo Molina wore a blue collared shirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of slip-ons. I wondered if this was the same man who played the orchestra and blew me away just a few weeks earlier at their Shakespeare-themed “rush hour” concert at the Ayala Museum.

I started my interview by asking him how the rush hour concerts came about. Why the inconvenient time slot?

“Magandang strategy siya, eh,” he told me to my surprise. “Pag umuwi ka ng oras na ito, kung isang oras ka lang magba-biyahe, magiging dalawang oras. So, sasabihin mo instead, ‘Ay, manonood na lang ako ng concert kasi gano’n din naman tatagalin ko sa biyahe, eh.’”

And was it effective? “I guess it was. Kasi laging maraming nanonood ng concert na ’yun, eh. Most of the time full-house, standing room only.”

And before I could get a word in, he said, “Ngayon siguro tatanungin mo rin, bakit ‘yung venue na ‘yun? Well, number one, dito kami sa Glorietta 4 nag-eensayo, eh. Malapit lang ‘yung Ayala Museum, mga 10-minute walk. At, ’yun na nga, gusto rin talaga ng Ayala do’n. Kasi nga, minsan, lumulungkot nang husto sa museum. Walang taong pumupunta, eh. So pag may concert, sumasaya ro’n.”

Professor Molina was giving me a dream interview: Not only did he fill in the blanks easily, he also held nothing back. He proceeded to tell me how, due to the venue’s small capacity — only 300 persons — they were unable to profit so much from ticket sales, and that it was only through sponsorships that they were able to earn enough. Their space for the MSO Music Academy and their use of the multi-purpose area were both leased to them by Ayala for free, and they are grateful for that.

“Ang hindi nila minsan naiisip ay ‘yung rehearsal hall, it’s just not a place na mero’ng apat na pader atsaka may bubong,” he continued. “Tulad do’n sa may multi-purpose, that’s not conducive for rehearsing. Masyadong ma-echo. Minsan, hindi ko marinig ‘yung mga nando’n sa malayo. How can I correct mistakes kung hindi ko naman marinig? So, napapabayaan. Ang sabi ko nga, parang mero’n kang surgeon na nag-oopera sa toilet.”

“Sana maisip din nila na hindi ito lang ‘yung gusto namin,” he added. “We need to have a proper place to rehearse. MSO needs a home.”

The interview had veered far from the task at hand: their upcoming performance and season opener on June 4 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight titled Director’s Choice: Russian Romanticism. How could we proceed to talk about the blooms, the swells, and the fires that burn in the Russian Romantics with all this baggage?  Aha! I thought of asking him about the saxophone — something I never heard in all the Swan Lake recitals I’ve been to — which they say will be this show’s centerpiece.

“I think ‘yung typical Filipino, mas kilala niya ‘yung saxophone, right? Kasi madalas niya na ‘tong makita sa mga banda. So, maku-curious siya — saxophone, tutugtog sa Russian orchestra? Maiintriga siya kasi sa’n ba laging ginagamit ang saxophone? Sa mga sexy music, ‘di ba? Tapos, papasok ngayon ‘yung saxophone dito sa classical. Papa’no ‘yun?”  It seemed that with Professor Molina, there was no need for sugarcoating, pretending, or euphemizing.

He then talked about their repertoire for the upcoming show, a mix of popular and rarely played pieces, from Alexander Glazunov’s piece for the saxophone to Alexander Borodin’s (who happened to be a chemist) Polovtsian Dances, better known as the theme from Stranger in Paradise. American saxophone artist Brian Howrey will be their guest artist, essaying the solo part in this season opener.

Professor Molino proceeded to talk about how it was their job to make classical music available to everyone — to bring classical music to the people. “Our theme is ‘Music Everywhere.’ Tumutugtog kami maski saan. Sa museo man, sa ospital man, sa palengke man — lahat. Alam mo ba na itong orchestra namin ang pinakamaraming performances sa isang taon? Nung isang linggo lang, nasa Baguio kami.”

After our interview, I walked with Professor Molina for 10 minutes to the multi-purpose-hall-turned-rehearsal-room. We went down four flights of escalators, crossed through the basement parking, and went up another five stories. I asked him what his violin was, and he said it was made by Amador Tamayo, a Filipino educated in Germany. I asked him what his pre-rehearsal rituals were. He said he tunes his instruments. We passed through the food court, went up to the cinemas, walked to the passage in between the comfort room and the videogame arcade, and entered a heavily lit room, walled with concrete, glass, and plastic blinders. With a tap of his baton and a brief instruction on which measure they’d begin, I finally heard music. Pure, layered, heartwrenching music.

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For tickets, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.