By Elizabeth Lolarga VERA Files Richard Merk, jazz singer, comic singing host and owner of Merk’s Bar and Bistro at Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati…
Making life worth living.
Category: Arts and Culture
A major piano and cello event promises to take place on October 10 (next Sunday) 7:30 p.m. at the Philamlife Theater wih the first Manila team-up of Chinese-born Australian cellist Li-Wei Qin and Filipino pianist Albert Tiu in an evening of Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninoff sonatas.
Li-Wei is a silver medalist in the 11th Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and a first prize winner of the Naumburg Competition in New York while Cebu-born Albert Tiu is a first prize winner in the UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria, South Africa and a laureate of international piano competitions in Calgary, Santander and Helsinski. (Li Wei is the next season soloist of the Berlin Philharmonic to replace an ailing Misha Maisky.)
A product of the Juilliard School where he was honed by pianist Jerome Lowenthal, Tiu is also recipient of the 1998 Juilliard William Petscheck Award that led to an acclaimed recital at the Lincoln Center’s AliceTully Hall.
Another classic test of Tiu’s brilliant feast as a chamber musician is the release of the recent album “Beethoven: The Sonatas for Piano and Cello” where he shares equal billing with Li-Wei in what sounds like a breath-taking interpretation of the German master’s sonatas.
Video produced by elementary school classmates of Arthur:
I went with Charmaine Deogracias of NHK TV and we were so happy to experience a great performance by Filipino artists. (The 34-year old Espiritu is now Filipino-American, having migrated to the United States when he was 14 years old.)
It was a joy to watch Espiritu, the second Filipino to perform before a passionate and demanding audience at the hallowed halls of La Scala di Milan. His voice has a pristine quality and he moves with aplomb.
Soprano Rachelle Gerodias and pianist Najib Ismael completed the trio that gave the unusually big crowd at Philamlife Theater a memorable evening of fine music. Showing their appreciation, the crowd gave them a rapturous, standing ovation.
Update, Aug. 15: Arthur Espiritu was fantastic last night at the Viva Bel Canto concert. His voice has a pristine quality and he moves with certain savvy. It’s such a joy listening and watching him on stage.
One of the rare times that the Philamlife theater was full. Thanks to Klassikal Music Foundation (Donald Yang), ROS Music Center (Rey Sison) and Pablo Tariman for an evening of fine music.
Lovers of classical music should not miss “Viva Bel Canto” on Aug. 14, 8 pm at the Philamlife Auditorium on U.N. Avenue, Manila.
It features Arthur Espiritu, the first Filipino tenor to perform at La Scala di Milan since 1928. Before him in 1928, Filipino bass baritone Jose Mossessgeld- Santiago performed at the hallowed La Scala the role of Sparafucile in Mefistofele.
Espiritu is visiting the Philippines and it would be a rare opportunity for Filipino music lovers to enjoy his performance.
At a pre-concert press conference at the Mandarin Hotel, Arthur mesmerized newsmen with a few numbers together with soprano Rochelle Gerodias and pianist Najib Ismail, who will be performing with him in this Saturday’s Philippine debut.
The expected question was “How was it performing in La Scala?” where even musical greats experienced being booed (Maria Callas and Luciano Pavarotti) by a demanding audience.
From Yahoo News:
by Teresa Cerojano, Associated Press Writer
MANILA, Philippines – Baby-faced teen singer Charice says she prepared for her debut on the hit Fox TV show “Glee” by getting Botox and an anti-aging procedure “to look fresh on camera,” but her publicist said the Botox was for muscle pain, not for cosmetic reasons.
The 18-year-old Filipino singer with a booming voice, who recently released her self-titled debut album, saw her career skyrocket after appearing on Ellen DeGeneres’ and Oprah Winfrey’s talk shows. She underwent a 30-minute Thermage skin-tightening procedure and Botox injections to make her “naturally round face” more narrow, celebrity cosmetic surgeon Vicki Belo told ABS-CBN television.
However, Charice’s publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said in an e-mail Monday the Botox was “absolutely not cosmetic,” and added said the treatment was for muscle pain in her jaw.
Belo did the Botox procedure in front of the cameras.
“You chew gum and it turns out to be a favorite super-exercise for these muscles, your chewing muscles. So we will show you, this muscle here it’s a bit protruding,” Belo said as she touched Charice’s face. “It’s like a ball, so we are going to Botox that in order to get it flat so she will have a cuter face … we want to give you the apple cheek look because it’s cute, right?”
Charice, in the same interview, said last week’s face makeover was part of her big preparations for her appearance on the hit show’s second season. She starts filming at the end of this month.
I have not been to the Kiss the Cook Gourmet restaurant in UP Village but I’m told that aside from good food, they also offer…
Nakahabol pa rin ako sa buntot ng summer dito sa aming baryo sa Guisijan sa Laua-an, Antique.
Natutuwa naman akong marami pang bulaklak ang aming tanim na mabangong rosal.
Paborito ko ang rosal. Marahil dahil dala nya ang ala-ala nang bata pa kami at yan ang aming ina-alay sa birheng Maria.
Performance: June 15 and 17 at PETA Theater in Quezon City
Paris-based dancer and choreographer Lin Yuan Shang brings his dance company Eolipile to the Philippines to perform two pieces known for their hypnotic display of movement and energy: ‘Kung Fu Dancing’ and ‘Kung Fu Commandos’.
Through the support of the French Embassy, Alliance Française and KLM, Filipino theatergoers can now witness a rare Kung Fu and contemporary fusion as the French company performs at the PETA Theater Center this June.
The Eolipile Dance Company, whose name comes from “Aeolus” – God of the Winds, was founded in 1996 by Taiwanborn, Lin Yuan Shang who had attended the Beijing Opera School, before expanding his dance knowledge in France with founder of Théâtre du Soleil Ariane Mnouchkine and choreographer Maguy Marin.
Solo recital tonight, June 11, 7 pm at the Philamlife Theater
by Pablo A. Tariman
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.”
That’s why the yearly French film festival in Manila is an event film lovers look forward to. That’s why it has lasted this long and still going strong.
In last Tuesday’s preview of the film “La graine et le mulet” (The secret of the grain), Martin Macalintal, head of the audio-visual section of the French Embassy, said in selecting movies to be shown in the festival they always make sure that they are the latest releases. Although there are a number of historical or period films in past festivals, the bulk of the films showcase French contemporary society.
“La Graine et le mulet” is about a 60-year old divorce who was retrenched from his job at the shipyard. In relating how the main character copes with the crisis in his past mid-life (putting up a restaurant that offers couscous , a grain dish, on a junk ship), the film also shows family relationships in today’s France.
Another admirable thing about French films is that their stars are not always the usual young ,handsome and pretty actors and actresses. They stress more on character. And yes, seductive scenes, are part and parcel of French movies.
Screening schedule of La Graine et let mulet: June 4, 6 p.m.;June 6, 3 p.m.;June 9, 3 p.m.;June 11, 9 p.m. and June 13, 9 p.m.
Another film I will make sure not to miss is ” L’immortel” (22 Bullets) starring Jean Reno and directed by Richard Berry. The synopsis says “Charly Mattei has turned over a new leaf and left his criminal past behind. For three years now he has been leading a peaceful existence dedicated to his wife and their two children. However, one winter morning, he is left for dead in a parking lot in the old port of Marseille, his body riddled with 22 bullets. To everyone’s general astonishment, he doesn’t die. Based on real life, the story has been reinvented within the Marseille gangster underworld.”
Screening Schedule: June 10, 12 noon;June 12, 6 p.m.;June 13, 3 p.m.