Manila is visited by a succession of Curtis-educated artists.
Last Nov. 15, Grammy award-winning American cellist Sara Sant’ Ambrogio debuted with Philippine Philharmonic under Maestro Grzegorz Nowak and won rousing cheers as soloist of the Elgar concerto.
The cellist told Vera Files after the concert: “The Elgar Concerto is the perfect vehicle for expressing the fullness of life. It has the depths of sadness, the heights of joy, the shimmer of ecstasy and the sparkle of playfulness. I absolutely adore performing it and especially with a conductor, Maestro Nowak, and an orchestra, the PPO, that will match me in those passionate extremes as we take the audience on that journey together. It was amazing how much I could feel the audience breathing with me and sharing in the joy and sadness! I absolutely loved performing in Manila and hope that this concert is just the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship for me with the Filipino people!”
The PPO soloist received more euphoric reaction after playing an intricately challenging encore piece, the last movement of Gaspar Cassado’s solo sonata. “I adore Cassado. Actually, the first time I ever heard the piece was when a Filipino cellist, Chino Bolipata, played his Requiebros at Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. My latest recording called Ecstasy, features Spanish and Latin American jewels including Cassado.”
Her next project is a new recording of the American Songbook. Gershwin, Bernstein, Cole Porter. among others. “I am so excited to dive into this gorgeous music. The cello is the most human of all the instruments, all the notes are in the human voice range, so it will be gorgeous played on the cello. And I may even sing some of the melodies.”
In her Philippine debut, the cellist played on a Johannes Gagliano 1800 cello.
Jonathan Biss
Another Curtis-trained keyboard artist Jonathan Biss will debut in Manila on Monday Dec. 9, 7 p.m. with an all-Schubert program at the Ayala Museum.
Biss remembers his Curtis days primarily for two reasons: “First and foremost, because it gave me the chance to work with Leon Fleisher who remains perhaps the most inspiring musician I have ever met. He was a person of extraordinary intensity and integrity, with a musical charisma of the most genuine and therefore most powerful kind. I still think about him nearly every day when I practice. Curtis was also significant for me because of the musical friendships I made there. Several of the musicians who remain most important to me, artistically and personally, are ones I met when we were students. They, along with Fleisher, have played a significant role in shaping me as a musician.”
Biss also recalls his Marlboro days where another Filipino Curtis scholar, Cecile Licad, became a star pupil of the eminent Rudolf Serkin.
He has spent summers in Marlboro since 1997 where he was co-director since 2018. “Marlboro is a kind of utopia for me. It reminds me that however thrilling it can be to play concerts, the core of a musician’s life is the attempt to get ever closer to the music that you play. That’s a life-long mission, and that’s how things work at Marlboro: there are concerts, but having the chance to study a piece of music without time limits — even if you’ve played the piece for decades — is the point.”
He admits Mitsuko Uchida (she played Chopin No. 1 with NHK Symphony in Manila in 1979) has been a major influence on him as mentor, now as a dear friend and colleague. “I feel very lucky to know her — we share so many musical values, and she continues to inspire me.”
How close can one really get to Beethoven and Schumann of whom he was always fascinated?
He thinks it’s impossible to really know. “There is something in the music of Beethoven and Schumann (and Mozart, and Schubert, and certain others) that compels me to spend my life digging deeper into their music and trying to understand them better. The scores offer many clues, but ultimately, I will never know to what extent I did or didn’t capture their essence. The important thing is that my life has been enriched beyond measure by trying.”
Biss says the composer has become central to his life in the last few years. “There is a combination of grandeur and terrible loneliness in Schubert’s music that is unique, and moving in the extreme. The more I work on his music, the more layers I see in it — at first, the sheer beauty masks some of the more complicated qualities. Living with him has been one of the great gifts to my life.”
How does performing blend with his other lives as music writer and educator?
“Music is really the obsession of my life. Playing it will also be the most important thing I do, but engaging with it as a writer and teacher is also very satisfying. When I suddenly find the words to express the central point of passage or piece of music, I understand it better. And having the chance to connect with other people through music — in the concert hall, but also in lessons, or on the page — is a joy.”
He also treasures memories of his piano idol, the great pianist Leon Fleisher.
Apart from the remarkable lessons he had with him, he was lucky to hear him perform many times.
Biss recalls: “So many of these concerts were extraordinary, but a Schubert B flat sonata in Carnegie Hall stands out in my memory; I’m quite sure I didn’t breathe for 45 minutes.”
With some distinguished recording to his credit, he finds live performance and recording vastly different. “The point ought to be the same — to communicate the essence of a piece of music, as best as one can. But when we play a live performance, it is possible to let go, and simply try to experience the music in the moment: it’s there, and then when you finish playing, it’s gone. When you record, you know that whatever you do, it will be there forever, even though you keep changing. That aspect is frustrating. But as long as you play with commitment and sincerity, you have done your job.”
At the moment, he describes his musical life as simply rich. “I have never had as much pleasure in playing the piano as I do these days. In an uncertain world, I feel incredibly lucky to get to live with these great pieces.”
Of his Manila debut, he told Vera Files: “It’s always exciting to visit a country for the first time. I know that I’ll meet music-loving people in Manila, and that makes me happy. I’m very much looking forward to my visit.”
(Jonathan Biss’ Dec. 9 program includes Schubert Impromptu in f minor, D. 935 no. 1; Impromptu in B flat Major, D. 935 no. 3; Alvin Singleton Bed-Stuy Sonata (Philippine Premier) and Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A Major D.959. For tickets, please call CAEO at 0920-9540053, 0918-3473027 or email at josephuy2004@yahoo.com. Concert was made possible through support of DZFE 98.7 The Master’s Touch and Henrietta Sydeco Tatengco Limjoco Foundation.)