The remarkable Rudolf / Forthcoming concerts / Coyuito recital re-set

Currently, there is a proliferation of outstanding young pianists, and Rudolf Golez, beyond doubt, is one of these. He proved his mettle at a piano recital in the CCP Little Theater by demonstrating not only his digital skill but also his sensitive artistry.

Like so many musicians paying obeisance to Mozart on his 250th birth anniversary, Golez interpreted the Sonata in B Flat Major, doing Mozart proud with his light, airy, spirited and sparkling touch that seemed to lift the listener to a wonder land of nymphs and fairies. Rudolf’s notes were crisp and clear, pointing up the perfect symmetry for which Mozart is particularly known.

One was totally aware that great music was being rendered as the pianist essayed Beethoven’s Sonata in F Minor (Appasionata) while exhibiting an intuitive as well as a logical understanding of it. He infused dramatic fervor in the turbulent passages of the first movement (allegro assai) and of the third movement (allegro ma non troppo-presto), showing remarkably nimble fingers while evenly playing the swift, double runs of the latter.

Elegance and grace characterized the inner section (andante con moto-attacca). That Golez had established a sharp dichotomy between the style of Beethoven and that of Mozart was not lost on the listeners.

Ligeti’s Etude, ‘Stairway of the Devil’ was an electrifying study on how to keep "attacking" the piano on opposite extremes at a considerably fast pace. From the symbolic, musical description of the Devil at his weirdest and most grotesque, one derived a strange kind of enjoyment – attraction, even – from the auditory experience created by uncommon experimental devices.

The young pianist used a score for Msgr. Rudolf Villanueva’s Toccata which, in a less dramatic but, nevertheless, equally intriguing fashion, sounded atonal and experimental. Clusters of notes, despite the score, leaping chords gave the impression of an aleatory, extemporaneous composition.

Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor, consisting of one movement, seemed to take more time than the three-movement sonata of Mozart or of Beethoven. In Liszt’s typically bravura manner, the Sonata was a repetitiously continuing musical ebb and flow, ebb and flow, with lyricism characterizing the ebb (here the melodic themes kept coming back), and vigorous, turbulent and thunderous chordal passages identifying the flow. Golez injected into the symphonic poem for the piano an exciting panache although perhaps the forceful sections deserved the power of a Raul Sunico. Nevertheless, the interpretation left such a compelling impact on the audience it gave Golez a rousing ovation.

This led to three encores, one of them Chopin’s familiar warhorse. The piece is a huge canvas depicting, besides a grand polonnaise, images of a battlefield, thundering horses’ hooves, the echoing roar of cannons (brought on by the basses) and in the midst of the sound and fury, the return of the polonnaise.

As Golez made his audience see, sense and feel all that the tremendous epic offered, he was the picture of poise, of assurance. Again, the applause was deafening.

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Golez’s recital was part of the CCP’s Filipino Artists Series which will have for its final event the voice recital of tenor Randy Gilongo on Nov. 15.

The announcement of his recital includes the following background: He earned his Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at the Elizabeth U. of Music in Hiroshima, Japan and his Bachelor of Music degree at the UST Conservatory. His passion for art songs has taken him to performances in Japan, Austria, France and Germany.

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The MCO Arts Festival will present soprano Joanna Go and pianist Jonathan Arevalo Coo in a concert entitled "A Musical Meandering through Mozart’s Masterpieces" on Oct. 14 at the F. Santiago Hall at 6 p.m. The program will include vocal works – lieder, sacred songs and arias – and Mozart’s Piano Sonata K 330.

Joanna Go, a graduate of the U. of British Columbia Opera Performance program in Vancouver, Canada, has been a guest soloist of various orchestras here and abroad. She and pianist Coo have had several collaborations, most notably in concerts at the Canadian and German embassies.

Jonathan Coo graduated with a gold medal from the National Arts Center’s Philippine HS for the Arts, after which he received a Bachelor of Music degree from The Harid Conservatory Division, Lynn U. School of Music and a Master of Music and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music of Rochester U. NY.

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As earlier announced in this column, the opera Eugene Onegin, a presentation of the UST Conservatory, has been re-set for Oct. 5 and 6 at 8 p.m., and Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the CCP main theater. All corresponding tickets will be honored.

The piano recital of Cristine Coyuito has been re-set for Oct. 8, Sunday, 4 p.m. at the CCP Little Theater.