A violinist offstage

MANILA, Philippines - It all began with an invitation from Ching de las Alas Montinola seeking support for a benefit concert of a young, yet talented Filipino classical violinist, who as the letter proudly stated “is the only Filipino to be accepted in the prestigious annual Keshet Eilon International Summer Master course for violin — a program may be considered an Olympics of sorts for strings” and has been described by the renowned Filipino conductor Oscar Yatco as the “Cecile Licad of the violin.”

After several persuasive text messages, followed by a number of phone calls, I soon found myself headed to the Francisco Santiago Hall of BDO Tower One in Makati City, to attend Passion, a solo violin concert featuring Chino Gutierrez.

As the impressive repertoire progressed, the audience sat in absolute rapture as musical notes of beautiful music filled the hall.

The amazingly brilliant performance touched many hearts including mine. Silently, I was sincerely looking forward to another memorable concert of the ever-so-accomplished musician.

Little did I know that within a week he was having another recital at the Ayala Museum. Like several of his previous audiences, I watched and heard him play once more, the second time around.

Luck comes in threes, they say. A magical opportunity soon knocked on my door. On one rainy night, I found myself with the virtuoso himself, as we shared a late dinner in the company of Loleng Arguelles Panlilio, his parents, Lambie and Bambi, Rosa Dolor Panlilio, Susan Calo Medina, and the Kabayao couple, Gilopez and Corazon, before a scheduled rehearsal.

Before long, the 24-year-old fiddler, who is currently taking up Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the Hochschule For Musik Und Theater Munchen, while simultaneously attending to his classes and rehearsing with his sheet music, he unceremoniously took his all-time partner in crime — the violin — and immediately transformed the entire huge living room into one big concert hall. The rehearsal was more of a command performance, as he passionately played on and on.

For more of our discovery-filled chat with Chino, let’s turn the spotlight on the virtuoso and listen in to what he has to say on…

On himself: Funny and nerdy, intense and passionate, I am easy to get along with, but difficult to figure out — or so some people claim. A risk-taker and an out-of-the-box thinker, I am curious and inquisitive, introspective, a complete person with simple joys, family-oriented and spiritual, earnest in my work and dealings with people, a survivor and definitely a work in progress.

On family background: My mom who danced ballet for 12 years is a psychologist and taught some courses for years. She likewise had an excellent ear for music — in fact, Prof. Jens Ellerman, my first mentor in Germany, liked having her around because of her special gift. My dad’s work is in troubleshooting computers. He introduced me to technology and kindled my interest in electronics and gadgetry. I have one brother, 11 years older than me. He is a visual artist with a strong background in oil and watercolor and he’s branching out to digital art as well. We were born years apart, that we both exhibit qualities of being an “only child” — thus, there is no sibling rivalry.

On ideal audiences: I always love a responsive audience, one that is respectful but spontaneous. The applause coming from a discriminating audience is especially heartening. However, I likewise enjoy playing to “first timers” — persons with no pre-conceived notions, but with an open mind and heart ready to appreciate what they hear. Whichever the case, as long as the attendees radiate acceptance and warmth, I similarly feel inspired and energized and I can go on playing for hours and hours.

On inspirations: I’ve drawn inspiration from sources as wide-ranging as the cadence of T. S. Elliot’s poetry or the vibrancy of Franz Marc’s paintings or Neil Garman’s perfectly-crafted stories or even such mundane things as quotes on a T-shirt and even pop songs. I guess the common factor is the interestingness — doing something new with something odd. It shows your possibilities and motivates you to try out similar analogous things with your music.

On hope to perform with: Let’s see, I would, however, eventually like to perform as soloist with the great orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic or the New York Philharmonic while their equally accomplished conductors, such as Zubin Mehta or Simon Rattle are still active.

On wish to perform for: The person I would wish to perform for would be the Pope. It doesn’t matter where, for as long as he is there.

On a bad concert day: Thankfully, I’ve been spared from bad concert days, so far! If and when I didn’t approve of the way I played a portion during a certain performance, I accept it, forgive myself and make a mental note not to repeat the same mistake. It doesn’t help to get fixated and berate oneself over small slip-ups. It only fosters fear and nervousness. I tell myself that it happens even to the best, so learn from it and rightfully move on.

On missing most from home: I miss my mom’s spaghetti, adobo, daing na bangus and bibingka. Likewise, I also long for my Lola’s perfectly fried saging na saba. Though I have good friends in Munich, I sorely miss the company of my family and of close old buddies — especially having dinners together, late nights spent laughing over corny jokes, board games, afternoon walking around the neighborhoods or in the malls. I come from a rather small family and I have a grandmother and a grandaunt, who are both very advanced in years and are unwell. I try to come home twice a year to spend some time with them for life is so fragile and so short.

On favorite meals: In addition to the Filipino dishes I mentioned earlier, I like Spanish cuisine to include morcon, lengua estofada and paella. I also absolutely adore Italian and I tend to look for pasta and pizza. Chinese food is also on my list — sweet and sour pork and yang chow fried rice, and lastly, Wiener schnitzel followed by a scoop of mint ice cream.

On biggest frustration: That there aren’t more hours in the day. There are so many things I want to do, but being mortal, I can’t do them all at the same time. Maybe in the future, people will come up with a way to grow new arms — like a starfish — and sleep with different parts of your brain — like a dolphin. But here and now, I have to make do with time management.

On favorite holiday destination: My favorite vacation can be anywhere — as long as my family is with me and the weather is cool make that cold — whether it’s in Tagaytay or Munich or Salzburg.

On bucket list: Probably doing the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage through Spain on foot. I fancy I’ll be stopping in every town and playing the fiddle for food. Two other things I want to do are visit the majestic stone temples such as Borobudur in Indonesia, Mrauk U in Myanmar and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and visit the great geologic and volcanic landmarks of the world, to include the Grand Canyon in the US, the Caldera de Taburiente in Spain and the flat-topped Mount Roraima in South America, bordered by Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. And let’s not forget our very own Chocolate Hills in Bohol.

On future plans: So much can happen in a year. Well, for one thing, I expect to have graduated from college by then. I also expect to be finishing or to have finished my master’s degree and take up further studies. Hopefully, I’d have achieved some measure of success in competitions and in concertizing as a soloist and chamber musician as well. I also have pet projects that I would like to undertake, but I leave those up to God. I go where He leads me.