The formidable O. Ochanine, The startling D. Saraza, 19 / Vienna in our very midst

Musicologists divide Beethoven’s symphonies between the epic odd numbers and the lyrical even ones. Actually, all Beet-hoven’s symphonies are epic as only he can compose them, and Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, one of his best, is also the most frequently rendered.

At the recent CCP concert, the deceptively fragile-looking PPO conductor Olivier Ochanine magnificently conveyed, with tremendous energy and dynamism, the magisterial and majestic qualities of the outer movements: pianissimos, in the finest nuances, alternating with overwhelming fortissimos and tuttis.

The second movement, an andante with effulgent variations, contrasted with the third, the latter’s vigorous scherzo highlighting a spritely passage by the bass violins. (Incidentally, the violins were placed beside the cellos for better auditory blending.)

At the other end of the pendulum was the modern “Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture” arranged and orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett who based his work on the melodies of Gershwin’s folk opera “Porgy and Bess”.

The story is told that when Gershwin first composed a symphony, he crossed the street to buy from a music store a book on symphonic music. Gershwin’s music education, in other words, was spasmodic and sporadic. What he had was musical instinct with   genius to guide it.

Having immersed himself in the various forms of music, to a degree sufficient for his own standards, he decided to compose an opera in the American-Negro idiom. Living in a shack on the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, he soaked in Negro life and music along with its cries and spirituals.

Russell’s ingenious and imaginative orchestration has totally captured the flavor and substance of Gershwin’s folk opera, its brisk rhythms, intense vitality, its syncopations and touches of jazz. Ochanine in his turn relayed to the listeners the opera’s songs — their charm, piquancy, wistfulness — in rousing, colorful, uniquely infectious manner. His masterful baton-wielding drew fevered applause throughout the program.

Tchaikovsky composed his Violin Concerto in D Minor for virtuosos, judging by its intricately daunting, challenging, strenuous passages; further, academicians concede the concerto to be one of the best in the genre. The 19-year old Diomedes Saraza immediately arrested attention for interpreting those diabolic intricacies vigorously, skillfully, passionately in the swiftest possible tempo. Indeed, the breath-taking speed allowed the soloist only the briefest moments to wipe the sweat off his brow! Poised and deeply focused on the work at hand, he met its tricky rhythmic changes with brilliant audacity, playing the opulent melodies with moving lyricism, infusing them with sensitive coloring.

The finale was marked with compelling dynamics, the listeners delighting in their joyous spirit. The uproar and standing ovation led to Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2 (second movement). With the clamor unabated, Saraza obliged with Paganini’s unaccompanied Caprice No. 5. In a few more years, the applause will come thundering from international audiences.

In sum, it was a highly gratifying concert that featured a most formidable conductor and a startling, teen-aged violinist.

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Since its founding 13 years ago by Kay Siazon, wife of Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon, Jr., and Letty C. Syquia, the Johann Strauss Society has been primarily offering the music of Johann Strauss and his sons. The benefit concerts are held at the Mandarin Oriental ballroom; the soirees, at the residences of Eddie Yap and Letty Syquia. The events, attended by ambassadors, musical artists and the elite, also present debutantes and their escorts to society.

Last week, the lobby of Makati Shangri-la became the counterpart of Vienna’s Musikverein the Manila Symphony Orchestra, that of the Vienna Philharmonic under Ernest Hoetzl. Prior to the concert, chairperson Fortune A. Ledesma and president Olga S. Martel welcomed the guests; Agnes Huibonhua delivered the invocation; Austrian Ambassador Wilhelm M. Donko gave the main address.

Austrian Hoetzl was in his element, conducting light classics thoroughly familiar to him: Strauss’ waltzes with their distinctive lilt, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 1, feathery polkas, Strauss the Elder’s Radetzky March, with the audience clapping on Hoetzl’s cue. Familiarity, ‘tis said, breeds contempt but Hoetzl’s conversance with the music brought immense delight. Gabrielle Mueller, wife of German Consul Klaus Mueller, whispered to me as she listened, “I’d like to dance!” Evelyn R. Garcia, Aussie Consul Hubert and Georgette Wilson must have felt the same way.