Pianist Oliver Salonga: lessons from competitions

Solo recital tonight, June 11, 7 pm at the Philamlife Theater

by Pablo A. Tariman

The young pianist who shows up for pictorial looks fit and relaxed sporting a tan he got from swimming – one of the few things he does outside of piano practice.

Outside of music, he indulges in a few things to recharge. “I usually go to the movies with my friends, cook, walk in the park, go to the beach, or hit the gym.,” he says.

Now a holder of a Master of Music in Piano Performance degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music under Antonio Pompa-Baldi, (a silver medalist at the 2001 Van Cliburn Competition), Salonga is presently continuing his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music as an artist diploma candidate.

He reveals a school routine crammed with programmed activities. “When I was still doing a degree program, my days are always fully booked with classes with very little time to focus on my practicing. I value any free time I can get knowing that those are just the only time I can practice for that day. My schedule now is more flexible . I start my day going to the gym, practice three hours in the afternoon and three hours at night. There is definitely more time to refresh my mind and body.”

Eight years after twice winning the top prize of the National Music Competition for Young Artists and seven years after graduating as a music scholar of the Philippine High School for the Arts, pianist Oliver Salonga has learned to face challenges as they come.

Earlier, he won a concerto competition in Florida while studying at Lynns University as a full music scholar. Two years ago, he won the gold medal in the 2008 Joenju International Piano Competition in South Korea and last March, he emerged as one of the top twenty competitors in the 2010 Hilton Head International Piano Competition in South Carolina after screening 160 applicants.

Relates Salonga of his latest foray into competition: “I had lots of fun performing. But what I learned more was communicating with the audience. The members of the jury –for one — are very appreciative of all contestants. Some of them even approached me after my first and second rounds and I was touched when they told me that they were really moved by my performance. In my free time, my host family showed me interesting spots and hang out places in the island. It was awesome! I also had a chance to talk to the judges and listen to what they have to say — things that impressed them and things that they thought can be better. Prior to the finals, all of the competitors were given a chance to have fun and bond. It is just so amazing to see that all of us have such strong personalities and they showed in the way we express our music.”

In the jury were formidable musicians from all over the world namely John O’Connor (Chair) Ireland; Nelita True- USA (Eastman School of Music); Robert McDonald – USA (Juilliard School); Choong Mo-Kang- South Korea (Korean National University of Art); Bernard Goetzke- Germany (Hannover Hochschule); Jane Coop- Canada (University of British Columbia) and Erik Tawastjerna- Finland (Sibelius Conservatory).
Salonga has learned not to make a big deal about not emerging the top winner even as he made it to the top 20 contestants. The big lesson is to regard those competitions as a simple learning process.

Points out Salonga: “I learned that ‘playing well’ will always be a given in a high competition level. Talent will always be noticed but the amount of preparation and refinement will always be the utmost priority. I can totally understand that the jury can make it makes it easier to eliminate less than accurate pianists but there will always be exceptions to the ‘pre-conceived criteria’. Some factors also come into the picture like the personality of the pianist, how strong his musical concept and the persuasion or conviction that goes with it and the natural beauty and range of tone colors, organization of the materials or how they are put together and how they are clearly delineated. These are good points you learn in a competition which you will not get from pure classroom exposure.”

He also used that competition to reassess his musical development.

The pianist adds:”That competition also gave me an reassurance of what I can offer and what others don’t have. On the other hand, that competition is the best opportunity to learn from other pianists. I also used that experience to get better and better in your drive for perfection.”

When the top winners were announced, Salonga discovered that they were already veterans of other competitions namely Lukas Vondracek, Andrea lam, and Victor Stanislavsky who are already prizewinners from the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition and Ilya Maximov, 2008 Winner of Maria Canals Competition in Spain and Rina Sudo and Elmar Gasanov, who were alreadyd laureates of the 2003 Queen Elizabeth International Piano Competition.

At the Cleveland school, Salonga was lucky to have for his mentor pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi who was a silver medalist in the 2002 Van Cliburn Competition. But before his advance studies, he was actually discovered by Mrs. Rosario B. Licad (mother of Cecile Licad) before he moved on to Marietta Cruz and Carmencita Arambulo and on to Prof. Roberta Rust in Florida. While in New York, he was also coached by Cecile Licad who gave him good pointers on absorbing music.

He describes his present teacher Pompa-Baldi teacher thus: “Prof. Pompa-Baldi is a very accomplished concert pianist. He is very young which sometimes affects his ability to really articulate his thoughts. But he is a very great demonstrator in the sense that his guidance enables me to see what approach you should take and what sound you should try to achieve. It was an advantage that he is fresh from the competition circuit( Silver Medal of 2001 Cliburn, and first prize of Robert Casadesus and Marguerite Long International Piano Competitons to name a few). By now, he knows what the circuit juries are looking for.I will always remember what he told me before I did Florida International a couple of years ago: He said, ‘Stop blabbing about non-sense.. You worry too much. JUST PLAY WELL..’The most important thing is that I learned more from his outlook in music which is to always push oneself, and not be afraid to take risks and to
always strive for perfection. “

This should serve him well when he plays Mozart, Ravel, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev in his June 11 recital at the Philamlife Theater.
At the moment, his goal as musician is defined and that is to serve the music and nothing else. “I have learned to realize that flamboyance doesn’t serve the purpose of music and the best approach is to be always sincere and deliver music to the audience in a deeply personal level.”

Salonga’s Manila program includes Mozart’s Twelve variations on Ah! Vouz Derai Je, K.265 and Piano Sonata No.10 in C Major, K.330, Ravel’s Poem Choreographique: La Valse; Dmitri Shostakovich’s Prelude and Fugue No.23 in F Major, Op.87; Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Sonata No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.36 (1931),Alexander Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No.4 in F-sharp Major, Op.30 and Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No.7 in B-flat Major, Op.83.

Call 7484152, 3573811, 3573811 or 09065104270.