AS the year draws to an end, we find ourselves going back to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), where we are frequently treated to masterful performances delivered by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO).
Established in 1973, it was initially intended to accompany performing artists at the CCP, but it is now widely regarded as one of the top musical ensembles in the Asia-Pacific region, in keeping with its vision to rank among the best in the world
Having reaped laurels from the historic concert in Carnegie Hall, the PPO, fully recharged, delivers in the first part of the concert Luigi Cherubini’s Medea Overture, Gioacchino Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra Overture and showcases Philippine Portraits by well-known Filipino conductor-composer, the late Redentor Romero.
Maestro Ruggero Barbieri, visiting Italian conductor for this event, ably lends his expertise in directing the orchestra. Incidentally, he was a well-respected music director and principal conductor of the PPO for several years in the past, under whose guidance the PPO successfully toured Europe in 2001 and performed in Tokyo for the Asian Orchestral Festival, 2002 edition, as well. He is currently the principal guest conductor of Bergamo Musica Festival Gaetano Doninzetti Orchestra and lends his baton to the traditional Christmas Concert at the Pen since 1997.
In the second part of the concert, Maestro Fermo Roscigno, piano soloist, performs Muzio Clementi’s Concerto in C Major for Piano and Orchestra (Cadenzas by Fermo Roscigno) on a Fazioli, the newly acquired Italian piano of the CCP and the first of its kind in the Philippines.
Considered among the finest instruments in its class today, it enhances the virtuosity of Roscigno, befitting the occasion as the concerto he performs happens to be a premier in Southeast Asia.
In Barbieri’s words: “The concert is intended as a tribute to Italian music and also a recognition of the distinguished Italian composer Muzio Clementi, who is noted for his symphonic music and concertos for soloists and orchestra.”
Roscigno, the older brother of Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Roscigno, studied piano under the tutelage of Maestro Vincenzo Vitale at the Conservatorio di Musica di Santa Cecilia in Rome and took specialist courses in Italian music in Venice.
His many performances include recitals and concerts with orchestras in Italy (Rome, Milan, Naples, Venice, Trieste, Bari, Lecce, Bergamo, Arezzo, Matera), as wellas in several other countries: Malta, Yugoslavia, Hungary, the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Belarus, the Ukraine, Latvia, Russia, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Lebanon and China.
This concert was made possible by the CCP, Rustan’s, Philippine Italian Association, Calata Corp., and under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy to the Philippines and The Peninsula Manila as the sponsoring hotel, particularly through the organizing efforts of Dr. Raul Sunico, president of the CCP; Nedy Tantoco, president of the PIA; and the PIA cultural committee, headed by Silvana Diaz.