By ELIZABETH LOLARGA
Photos by ALMA CRUZ MICLAT
MARC Grauwels is no ordinary flutist. This virtuoso is so loved by contemporary composers that they have written music with him in mind and for him to play. The list of esteemed composers and the works dedicated to him makes the skin on one’s arms crawl: Astor Piazzolla’s The History of Tango that includes “Bordel 1900,” “Café 1930,” “Night Club 1960” and “Concert d’aujourd’hui”; Frederic Devreese’s “Butterfly”; Karen Young’s “Ode to Nature”; Ravi Shankar’s “The Enchanted Morning.”
His concert at the Ayala Museum had little publicity with just a text brigade that organizer Ray Sison of ROS Music Center and his staff kept going. Music reviewer Pablo Tariman’s Monday announcement in a national daily also attracted the hard-core classical music aficionados who revised their Wednesday evening schedules. It was well worth the juggling because a quality crowd came, except for some unruly children on the front row who weren’t given a prior briefing on proper concert deportment by their elders.
The longish Sonata in A Minor by Cesar Franck, Grauwels’ fellow Belgian, instantly captivated the crowd. The flutist showed two sides of himself. Not only was he in top performance form, with more than competent assistance from pianist Corazon Pineda Kabayao, he was an effective communicator who showed his passion for and learnedness in music through the least boring mini-lectures punctuated with humorous asides.
Like a grandfatherly story-teller with his shock of white hair and rimless eyeglasses, Grauwels told of how Franck presented this now legendary sonata as a wedding gift to violinist Eugene Ysaÿe. It had its premiere in the evening after the vows were made when everyone was near drunk from the celebrations.
This format is most effective as concert organizers like Sison, the Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation, even Gerard Salonga of the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra push on with the good fight involving building and developing a bigger audience for classical music.
Sison, a flutist himself who used to play for the Manila Symphony Orchestra, heard of Grauwels’ Asian tour through the music company Miyazawa whose flutes his store carries. When he learned that the itinerary included China, Singapore, Korea,Thailand, his immediate reaction was: “Grauwels must come here!” He emailed the flutist who said he would gladly add Manila to his stops.
When he arrived on June 30, he went straight to rehearse with Kabayao in the home of flutist Tony Maigue. They all got along right away, and Grauwels was able to satisfy his curiosity about Filipino food.
The appreciative audience also had their own stories about how they learned of Grauwels’ visit. Kathryn Carpenter Perlas, a Waldorf School founding teacher, read about it in the newspaper, took the train and ensured she was in Makati as early as 5 p.m. She said after the concert, “The virtuosity of Mrs. Kabayao and Mr. Grauwels was truly amazing! Truly, ‘music alone shall live, never to die!’ Brava, bravo!”
She continued, “For me it was such a privilege to be present with such angelic company. Musicians like Kabayao and Grauwels are from heaven! I may be illiterate in music so they are angels to me. I also appreciate that the older I get, I see the importance of the arts in countering the evil that holds sway in the world. Art is healing when it raises one up toward God. I like that Mr. Grauwels includes the audience in the performance as well as his accompanist. This is a creation over and above the musical virtuosity of both musicians last Wednesday night. It demands an active listening. When we practice mindfulness, this is refreshing to weary souls. I loved the way it was a conversation between the piano and the flute.”
She sighed and said, “The evening was truly priceless!”
Alma Miclat, executive director of the Maningning Miclat Art Foundation, agreed: “It was a delightful, edifying and beautiful night of heavenly music. Grauwels is a virtuoso, and so is our own Kabayao! To think that I heard from her that she had only rehearsed the pieces twice—on Monday and Tuesday before the concert.”
Another text receiver was retired Ambassador Alejandrino Vicente who was detailed as second secretary and consul at the Philippine Embassy in Brussels. He said, “Grauwels is an accessible artist—warm, spirited, eager to explain his art. He and Mrs. Kabayao made a perfect tandem. There was synergy; the connection was palpable.”
Before Grauwels flew to Bangkok for his next engagement, he told Sison he wanted to return to the Philippines in May next year to perform and to also visit the country’s renowned beaches. He said he enjoyed his brief visit “immensely” and was touched by “the kindness of the people.” For music lovers the anticipation of his return will require nothing but a loving patience.