Cecile Licad, ABS-CBN Philharmonic get standing ovation

MANILA, Philippines - The music event of the month is the coming June 29 third team-up of pianist Cecile Licad and conductor Gerard Salonga of the ABS-CBN Philharmonic at the CCP Main Theater.

The perfect rapport between these two artists was once more tested last May 10 when they received a standing ovation at the Glorietta Mall after a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

After her first encore, Buencamino’s Mayon Fantasy, Licad got a second standing ovation and many Bicolanos in the audience thought they heard another eruption of Mayon Volcano in the mall.

The Steinway grand piano used by Licad for the Glorietta concert happened to be the wedding gift of pianist Van Cliburn to former presidential daughter, Irene Marcos-Araneta.

“It is a good piano,” said Licad when the instrument was trucked from Forbes Park to the Glorietta Mall. “I didn’t have to force a good sound in that piano. It is just there and of course, I made the most of it. A pianist cannot do without a good instrument.”

Dr. Charito Esquela Buban — who happens to have a class reunion in the mall when Licad performed — said it felt like the Mayon exploded with Licad’s rendition of Mayon Fantasy. “We had a great time listening to her.”

“It was a fantastic treat,” said Alma Cruz Miclat who dashed to the mall activity center when she heard Licad was the soloist of the ABS-CBN Philharmonic. “I love Tchaikovsky and Licad’s interpretation was a gem indeed. I was shouting, ‘Bravo!’ from where I was and my daughter, Banaue Miclat-Janssen, was quietly shedding tears of sheer joy.”

By coincidence, Licad has a long association with Van Cliburn who passed away last March 6.

When Cliburn arrived in Manila in the early ’70s for fund-raising concert for the benefit of young talented Filipino musicians, the one who gave him the welcome bouquet at the airport was no other than Licad, then Imelda Marcos’ favorite piano prodigy.

That Cliburn concert raised funds for the Young Artists Foundation which funded other aspiring musicians, among them Rowena Arrieta, Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz, the Bolipata brothers and tenor Noel Velasco.

It may be noted that among those impressed by Licad’s talent was Cliburn’s own mother.

When Licad first performed in Cliburn’s home state, Texas, his mother — Rildia Bee O’Bryan Cliburn — was so impressed that she slipped $100 in the prodigy’s concert gown after her performance with the Forth Worth Symphony.

If Licad won that mall crowd with the Tchaikovsky opus, Cliburn also got instant fame by winning the First Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 with the same classical warhorse.

It is now common knowledge that for that feat, Cliburn was given a ticker-tape parade in New York normally reserved for beauty queens and rock stars.

The 1958 Time Magazine cover story on Cliburn read: “The Texan who conquered Russia.”

 Meanwhile, Licad who left for New York Sunday morning said she had very good vibes about that mall audience in Glorietta. “I felt the good audience response from the very beginning,” she said.

Licad returns to CCP with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic on June 29, playing Liszt No. 1 and Totentanz for Piano and Orchestra. For details, call 576-3132 or 0906-5104270.