Symphony for the Spirit

Nothing nourishes the spirit more than a well played symphony. It puts one at peace with himself and the world around him. It is so true in my case. It heals me from all that ails me even for a few hours, and that is well worth its weight in gold. Well dahlings, everybody who's anybody was there on the evening of September…the best, the best dressed, the brightest and the richest of Dumaguete and environs.

They filled Luce Auditorium at Silliman University to the brim. The occasion was the cultural event of the season, perhaps of the year - a concert of major works of music by the Manila Symphony Orchestra under the direction/baton of world renowned conductress Helen Quach, along with the proud presence of piano soloist Cristine Coyiuto.

The program consisted of the works of the three, all of them known to any lover of serious music, but not too difficult for an ordinary audience to understand: Beethoven's "Leonore Overture No. 3" the Grieg "Piano Concerto" and Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony. The Manila Symphony performed all these pieces with verve and clarity, the wild applause at the conclusion of each piece. The "Leonore Overture" under Ms. Quach came across as a rousing opening piece, played with force and precision. This is not one of Beethoven's most important pieces; after all it's only his third try at an overture for his opera "Fidelio." He wasn't happy with it for the opera, but he saved the music for occasions like this, and here it served its purpose well.

The Grieg concerto is certainly an occasion for a pianist to shine, and soloist elegant Cristine Coyiuto not only SHONE, but positively RADIATED, with a matchless performance. She deliberately took the first movement of the piece at a slower than normal tempo in order to give greater articulation and clarity to the music; a wise decision it turned out - it made the high speed finale more thrilling!

The Tchaikovsky 5th is one of the great symphonies of all time, a huge difficult piece for any orchestra to play, and Ms. Quach and the Manila Symphony never faltered throughout; but they were perhaps too polite with it. Ms Quach seemed reluctant to let the music speak with all the heart-wrenching sorrow and violent intensity that it demands. There is nothing polite about Tchaikovsky! Even so, it was a grand and powerful climax to a great concert - an evening the likes of which we will probably not see again for some time.

A million thanks to James Coyiuto, Monet Kilayko and the "Prudential" family for taking us down the music wonderland. Most specially to former mayor Ipe Remollo for always treating us here with such special events like this. Come back soon…NOUS!