Tiu in formidable marathon/ Medel’s pianistic marvels

Still looking boyish at 45, Albert Tiu interpreted Brahm’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor at the CCP Little Theater. Marking its 88th year, the Manila Symphony Orchestra assisted under Arturo Molina.

Brahms himself played the concerto in 1859 in LeÏpzig and was “roundly hissed,” five years later in Hamburg, he was greeted with “icy silence.” Yet, the themes are clear and distinct; bravura passages abound.

In the extensive, 40-minute marathon, Tiu showed no flagging, no slackening of pace, no diminishing power in the thunderous initial Maestoso and final Rondo: allegro non Troppo. He conveyed vivid contrasts between the vibrantly rhythmic and serenely slow. How splendid but effortless was the performance.

The MSO was spirited, the strings resonant and flowing cohesively, the ensemble intense in the tuttis. Rapport between soloist and conductor was total.

The “Italian Symphony in A minor,” among Mendelssohn’s best works, was characterized by spontaneity in the outer allegro and presto. However, the inner movements tended to be dull (despite Molina’s remarkable effort to draw out the orchestra).

The first and last movements were robust and rousing as underlined by Molina’s fiery baton.

San Pedro’s tumultuous Lahing Kayumanggi, relieved midway by melodic folk strains, ended the concert.

Of the country’s current young pianists, Lorenzo Bueno Medel, 19, seems to stand the tallest. He repeated some of the formidable, prodigious pieces he played in his recent recital playing them again over DZFE, the only classic music radio station.

Expectedly, Medel startled and amazed listeners in his rendition of Filipino compositions as announced by anchorman Bert Robledo: Abelardo’s First Nocturne, Buencamino’s Mayon Fantasy which depicts a fiesta at the foot of Mayon interrupted by the volcano’s mighty eruption, and the Spanish song La Bella Filipina (taught me as a young girl by my mother) arranged by Buencamino.

Medel fairly took one‘s breath away with his astonishing dexterity and deeply moving expressiveness in Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 and Paganini Etude following Chopin’s bravura pieces Winter Wind Etude, a Scherzo and another Etude.

Medel will be on his second year in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, major in piano performance, at NY’s Eastman School of Music. With persistence and determination, he will in due time join the ranks of international pianists.