2012: Outstanding Performers: A partial summing up

Olivier Ochanine, music director and conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, wielded the baton  with unwavering authority and vibrance, expressing the distinctive characteristics of each composer he interpreted. Further, the training and discipline he imposed on the PPO members were very much in evidence.

Hermenigildo Rañera, PPO assistant conductor and Arturo Molina, conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra also distinguished themselves. The young MSO players were consistently enthusiastic and spirited under Molina.

Gerard Salonga was a most dynamic conductor of Filharmonika.

The recitals of teen-aged violinist Jimmy Tagala Jr. conveyed virtuosic dexterity and interpretive  sensitivity.

Pianist Lorenzo Medel, 16, likewise already virtuosic, awed listeners with his prowess and expressivity in full-length concertos.

Violinist Joseph Esmilla and pianist Rudolf P. Golez made a tremendous impression with their joint concert.

Filfest’s “Tribute to Angel Peña” shone as interpreted by cellist Renato Lucas, pianist Jonathan Arevalo Coo, violinist Gina Medina, pianist Sheryle Ann de Dios, trumpet player Nestor Gonzaga and saxophone player Tots Tolentino.

Cristine Coyiuto, “the pianists’ pianist,” her startling flutist daughter Caitlin, violinist Michael Emery and cellist Ann Alton gave a formidable performance. So did soprano Camille Lopez.

The awesome flamenco concert of 29-year-old Spanish Eduardo Guerrero seemed to capture and express the soul of Spain more dramatically than its music or theater.

A high point in the musical scene was “La Traviata” which starred soprano Rachelle Gerodias as the courtesan Violeta, tenor Arthur Espiritu as her suitor Alfredo, and baritone Andrew Fernando as Germont, Alfredo’s father. Vocally and dramatically, how magnificent they were!

Abroad, the internationally renowned Jeffrey Ching presented mind-boggling compositions described as “works of genius”. Concerto da Camera was a quintiple concerto for five nationalities: German, Lithuanian, Brazilian, Spanish for the Spanish ancestry of the composer’s wife Andion Fernandez and Chinese for Ching’s own roots.

Ching made his debut in Hong Kong with Horologin sinica (“Chinese Clocks”) for soprano and large orchestra of Chinese instruments commissioned by the HK Chinese Orchestra for the 50th anniversary of HK’s City Hall. The soprano part for Andion involved 20 minutes of continuous singing. The incredible number of ancient and archaic instruments moved one reviewer to write of the work’s “tremendous acoustical breadth and wealth of sensuous color.”

Ballet Manila and the Philippine Opera Co. are featured separately on my page in Starweek magazine.

In “Mama Mia!”, dances to pounding rhythms were fiery, dynamic, propulsive and flawlessly precise. The dancers were terrific.

Russian pianist Sofya  Gulyak masterfully rendered Russian selections; further, she  proved beyond doubt that a woman could duplicate a man’s power.

Paradoxically, a woman – Blanca Li – choreographed “Electro Kif”, an overwhelmingly virile, vigorous program that combined street, modern and break dancing, hip-hop, popping,  acrobatics and all other possible rhythmic movements executed electrifyingly by eight men from Paris attired in everyday clothes.

In Laurice Guillen’s debut as opera director in Carmen, she focused on the dramatic, thus fortifying and fusing action and song in a uniquely cohesive manner. Anna Feleo as Carmen was persuasive both as singer and actress. Baritone Noel Azcona, the virile toreador, was moving in his aria. Arturo Molina conducted the MSO in his usual authoritative fashion.

“Cats” set the pulses beating from start to finish. The unmatched stage opulence of “Phantom of the Opera” also had the soaring voice and magnetic presence of Phantom Jonathan Roxmouth and the poignant, crystalline voiced Claire Lyon as his love.

Cocoy Laurel was the year’s most enthralling pop-classical singer.

Richly talented teen-aged flutist Caitlin Coyiuto, a student of Wellesley College, performed at a concert of the Wellesley Chamber Music Society.