Let the music play on

Cebu recently gave tribute to Frederic Chopin, a French-Polish composer considered one of the great masters of Romantic Music in honor of his 200th anniversary of the birth.

The Alliance Francais de Cebu, headed by Honorary French Consul Michel Lhuillier and 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 French Embassy and Waterfront Cebu Hotel, 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 one of Chopin’s greatest and most effective pieces.

 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 well-attended concert came to an end,  but not without Ciocarlie, whose talent  and experience won her numerous prizes in prestigious piano  competitions,  graciously obliged due to much applause and cheers  with several appreciated encores.

 In keeping with the times and to further promote her reach-out advocacy, Cebu born and internationally-acclaimed concert pianist, Ingrid Sala Santamaria recently uploaded on the Internet’s Youtube a four part series aptly entitled “From Chopin to the Philippines, a 200th birthday Tribute to the musical genius.”

 The selection from existing YouTube entries by Santamaria feature highlights from Chopin’s ballades, preludes, Sonata in b minor, and the Concerto No. 1 in e minor with accompaniment by the Peace Philharmonic Philippines String Quartet.

Santamaria, a multi-awarded pianist, was a prodigy of the Battig School of Music under the tutelage of her mother, Pilar Blanco Sala and a graduate of the sterling Julliard School of Music in New York, establishing a direct link to Chopin via strong educational ties.

Santamaria, who is founding chair of the Piano Teacher’s Guild of Cebu, the Cebu Youth Symphony Orchestra, the  Salvador and Pilar Sala Foundation Inc. and the Peace Philharmonic Philippines, will bring this Chopin tribute presentation electronically to selected, qualified schools, senior citizens and hospital groups and community organizations.

Enhorabuena, Ingrid.