Cebu Celebrates Chopin's 200th Anniversary

CEBU, Philippines - Frederic Chopin was born on February 22, 1810 near Warsaw, Poland. At an early age, he displayed many artistic talents. He was an artist, wrote poetry and played the piano without any formal instruction. He began composing his own music and had his first piece published when he was just seven years old.

In 1831, he moved to France and his first Paris concert the next year thrust him into the realm of celebrity. The vast majority of his compositions were written for the piano as solo instrument but included a small number of works for secondary instruments, including violin, cello, voice and orchestra.

In honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederic Chopin, a Polish-French composer considered one of the great masters of Romantic music, the Alliance Francaise de Cebu headed by Honorary French Consul Michel Lhuillier, ably assisted by director Louis Thevenin and Alice Gauny , and the Arts Council of Cebu led by its driven and dedicated president Petite Garcia in cooperation with the Embassy, Cultures France and Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino presented an evening of Chopin masterpieces as interpreted by the world class concert performer Dana Ciocarlie. 

The program started with Rondo a la Mazur for piano in F major which was the second of the four rondas that Chopin wrote during his student years at the Warsaw Conservatory. This was followed by Mazurkas, op. 59 whose melodies are unusual in comparison to the melodies of European art music and Polonaise no. 7 in A-flat major which remains as one of Chopin’s greatest and most effective pieces.

The fifteen minute interval enabled the guests to share their impressions with fellow classic music enthusiasts. The second part included Nocturne in D flat major, Nocturne in E minor, Ballade No 2 in F, Valse du petit chien and Grandes Valses Brillantes.

All too soon the concert came to an end but not without Ciocarlie whose experience and talent won her numerous prizes in prestigious competitions, graciously obliging a couple of encores with what seemed like a never-ending applause.