A tour nears perfection / An Israeli's crash course, blind pianist Ibay amazes

Ingrid Santamaria and Reynaldo Reyes continued their Romantic Piano Concerto Journey at the residence of Dr. Vermen M. Verallo. Their upright pianos faced a spacious garden while rain kept falling from one side of the roof, thus giving listeners a view of a mini-waterfall. The vista deepened the romantic ambiance of the concertos by Chopin and Rachmaninoff.

Having gone on their 18th concert tour, Ingrid and Reynaldo made ideal musical partners, with mind, spirit and instinct working as one, musicianship and musicality in nearly perfect accord through each concerto.

Composing for the piano, not for the orchestra, was Chopin’s forte. He was undeniably the most original, innovative and creative piano composer of his time. His Concerto No. 2 in C Minor had long, extensive passages for soloist Ingrid while the orchestra, represented by Reynaldo remained silent. Indeed, as he observed in his prefatory remarks, many of the orchestral parts could have been rendered by the piano alone.

Lyricism, however, has always been Chopin’s supreme gift, and the audience listened with immense delight as Ingrid exquisitely expressed this characteristic quality of the composer.

The piano as orchestra possesses an entirely distinct dimension and in Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, one misses the orchestra’s tremendous power in the chords of the shattering climax, the blaring horns and the shimmering strings in the Scherzo, the lambent sounds of the clarinet, violins and oboe in the slow movement.

But there is an immediacy, an urgency offered by the piano as a substitute for the orchestra, particularly when it is played close to the select audience. Further, Reynaldo is no ordinary pianist.

Heavily romantic, the Rachmaninoff Concerto is replete with emotional content: sadness, despair, yearning, meditation. Ingrid conveyed these through technical skill and rich artistic resources.

In sum, Ingrid and Reynaldo are nearing perfection through constant repetition of the romantic pieces.

Followed a most illuminating lecture on “Music and the Brain” by Dr. Artemio Roxas who explained the healing power and beneficent effects of music.

Last Sunday, a recital held at the residence of FilFest president Vicky Zubiri featured young Israeli pianist Michael Tsalka who gave in effect a lecture-demonstration on “Five Hundred Years of Keyboard Music: A Journey through Different Times and Countries”.

His program consisted of pieces by Antonio de Cabezon (1510-1566), F. Couperin (1688-1733), a concerto by Bach (1685-1750), a sonata by Mozart (1756-1791), “Hungarian Melody” by Schubert (1797-1828), two Etudes by Chopin (1810-1849), a piece by Bela Bartok (1881-1945), a piece by Fedrico Ibarra Groth (1946-) and a Suite for Harpsichord dedicated to Tsalka by Mexican composer Leonardo Coral (1962-).

Different styles and schools eloquently surfaced in Tsalka’s renditions, each enriched by enlightening commentary. Indeed, one had taken a crash course in music from pre-classic to contemporary, the lecture accompanied by brilliant demonstration on the piano.

Vicky Zubiri announced forthwith that the blind 31-year old Carlos Alberto Ibay would play the piano. Ibay then wreaked havoc rendering Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, interpreting its bombastic, sensational, showy and stirring style, displaying tremendous, overwhelming power in the chords, and amazing nimbleness in the runs and trills. The electrified audience expressed its appreciation with deafening applause for a performance matching that of any virtuoso gifted with sight.

Liszt’s rhapsodies are more Gypsy than Hungarian, and Ibay made his selection as fiery and passionate as the Gypsies would have it.

Tenor Ibay then sang in French an aria from Massenet opera, with himself providing the piano accompaniment. The voice was clear and unwavering, the top notes smoothly scaled and sustained. “Incredible” and “Fantastic” were the comments Ibay elicited, having earlier confessed: “I just learned that aria last Monday.”

Music lovers will be in for more feats when Ibay performs on February 5 at 8 p.m. in Alabang’s Insular Life Theater with the Manila Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Molina.

Blind since birth, Ibay learns everything by ear. He has performed in five continents.