The riveting “Mostly Mozart” concert at the Tektite Tower Auditorium featured fast-rising Singaporean conductor Darrel Ang, leading pianist Cristine Coyiuto and internationally celebrated tenor Arthur Espiritu.
Superlatives have been so lavished on Beethoven’s Third Symphony “Eroica” — “the first movement alone should have been played by giants led by demigods,” declared Bernard Shaw — that Ang drew the latent resources of the Manila Symphony Orchestra to the fullest degree. Each movement was rendered with such intensity it reached its own climax, gripping the audience. Every section, particularly the percussions and the winds, responded to Ang’s firm, authoritative baton. The second movement was solemn; the scherzo, vibrant; the finale, allegro molto, gloriously triumphant, conveying the richest tonal hues.
To the very end, Ang had molded passages into dynamic, fiery expressions appropriate to the most complex passages.
In Mozart’s Concerto K488, Coyiuto gave fullest value to the composer with her distinctive refinement, delicacy of touch, restraint and subtle artistry. Her runs, of the utmost fluency and fluidity, seemed to overcome all resistance offered by the keyboard. With what sparkle and spirit she opened the second movement! The cadenzas were pure enchantment. As interpreted by Coyiuto, the finale was the ultimate in lyrical virtuosity, with the MSO, under Ang’s baton, admirably complementing it.
Mozart’s opera “Il Sogno di Scipone” from which the aria “Se vuoi te raccolgano” was taken is not regarded among Mozart’s best works. But Espiritu turned the aria into a gem with his superb technique which brilliantly sustained top notes with glowing expressivity. The same technique was applied earlier to the aria “Misero, O Sogno, o so desto?” which Mozart meant to be sung only at concerts.
The musical event closed with clangorous audience acclaim.
Prior to the program, Antonio G. Marty, Tektite condominium chairman, announced that the Tektite Tower Auditorium of the Philippine Stock Exchange would be named Juan Antonio O. Lanuza Hall after the revered music critic, businessman and art lover, this change was acted on upon the suggestion of James Coyiuto.