INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed Filipino pianist Raul Sunico will try to reprise a historic feat when he plays at “A Rach Concert” with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra on January 26 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
Sunico, 70, will again perform all four pieces of Rachmaninoff for piano and orchestra in one evening. He did it first in 2003. Since then, nobody else has ventured in duplicating his landmark achievement.
A Russian pianist managed to do all four pieces—but in three nights.
Sunico told the BusinessMirror: “It’s a demanding marathon performance that can stretch to 2.5 hours long. Now, at my age, I hope to do them all in one evening.”
He said his main keys to success are constant practice and good health. There’s no magic formula involved.
It’s also his good fortune that his accomplishments are founded on a life-long pursuit of excellence.
Raul Sunico graduated from the University of the Philippines with the degrees of Bachelor of Music (cum laude), Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, and Master of Statistics. A scholarship from former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos through the Young Artists Foundation of the Philippines enabled him to finish his Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York and a Doctor of Philosophy degree, Major in Piano Performance from the New York University.
The virtuoso pianist won the silver medal in the 1979 Viotti International Piano Competition in Vercelli, Italy. In the same year he was a finalist in the Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy, and received the Henry Cowell Prize in the 1980 University of Maryland International Piano Competition in the United States.
He had also served on the juries of various piano competitions here and abroad.
Prolific classical artist
SUNICO has recorded around fifty compact albums, including his piano transcriptions of Filipino folk songs and kundimans. His interpretations of Filipino love songs in a classic piano mood are constant sources of easy listening pleasure.
Some of his more celebrated versions are George Canseco’s “Ngayon at Kailanman”, Ernani Cuenco’s “Bato Sa Buhangin” and Resty Umali’s “Saan Ka Man Naroroon.”
He shared, “It started when my late aunt Conchita Sunico was the Executive Director of the The Manila Metropolitan Theater. They were thinking of a fund-raising project for the renovation of ‘The Met.’ I happened to remember a piano recording of The Beatles, where the artist interpreted the songs of the Fab Four the classical way. He would play, for example, Michelle, in the style of Bach.
“I thought to myself: I could do that also with Filipino songs. So we did the first couple of recordings based on classical themes that would also serve as introductions to classical music.”
From 2002 to 2016, Sunico was dean of the UST Conservatory of Music, which remains as the biggest music school in the country. During his term, the Conservatory was the training ground for 700 aspiring musicians.
He said, “There’s really a lot of opportunities for musicians. In my time in UST, there had been a number of students who, even before they’ve finished their course, would drop out of school because there’s already a job waiting for them.”
The former UST Conservatory Dean continued: “Normally, our graduates go into education. They teach in schools. Some of those who graduated on orchestral instruments like oboe and trumpet get employed not in symphony orchestras that are limited in number; they get to gig abroad in bands onboard ships, in hotels, or commercial establishments.”
Filipino vs foreign audience
ASKED about the difference between playing for Filipinos and before a foreign audience, Sunico replied, “There’s more pressure playing for local audiences, given our colonial mentality. I feel people expect more from me, especially since I studied in New York, etc.”
“In countries abroad where people do not know where the Philippines is on the map, I go like, ‘Okay, There’s nothing to lose.’ I even think in Europe, where most of the composers of the classical period came from, the audiences there are quite amused of me being a person from some ethnic country playing their classics.”
He further stated, “That’s one aspect of the bright future of classical music for homegrown talents. The other is the fact that the trend points to Asia as an emerging hotspot for classical music.”
Sunico explained, “Even if classical music originated in Europe, there are more classical artists now in Asia, particularly in Korea and Japan. China is an upcoming powerhouse. Nowadays, it’s not a rarity to see Asians performing classical music. In fact, we Orientals are now being seen more in the limelight.”
In the local music scene, Sunico sees that appreciation for classical music continues to be an uphill mission. He served as president of the CCP from 2010 to 2017. From his experience as an executive of the institution, he enumerates a lot of lessons.
He says, “Sometimes, our orchestra goes to far-flung communities, and we see that some of the people there are interested. I’m just not sure they know what they are listening to, since they’re seldom exposed to the classics, if at all.”
“In general, classical music is not a popular genre for many of our countrymen. What we want is for mass media to provide a little more coverage for classical music so our people will be more exposed to this kind. We’re hoping with regular exposure, Filipinos will do their own further research and gain a better understanding of [the genre].”
Better understanding will go a long way in also appreciating musicians in Sunico’s classical playlist. His current top three are Russian pianists Vladimir Horowitz and Daniil Trifonov, as well as Italian pianist Benedetti Michaelangeli.
Right now, the piano master has his hands full preparing for an extraordinary reprise of his singular Rachmaninoff coup fifteen years ago.
Prepare the red carpet for the triumphant return of a Filipino musical giant.