Gerard Salonga, resident conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) and music director of the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY), will conduct the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m. at the Samsung Theater for Performing Arts at Circuit Makati.
Music Movies Magic is a special fundraising concert of the PPO Society, Inc. (PPOSI) with PPOSI chairman Anton Tantoco Huang, president Margie Moran Floirendo and vice president Nes Jardin. It will be directed by Alexander Cortez.
Said Gerard, “I can’t wait to be working with a roster of super performers such as Diomedes Saraza, Jr., Camille Lopez Molina, Anna Villonco, Lara Maigue, Arman Ferrer, Jonathan Velasco, the Philippine Madrigal Singers Music Studio and the Alice Reyes Philippines.”
The last time Gerard conducted the PPO was on Feb. 14, 2020, just before the lockdown. “I remember it was a program consisting of Lucio San Pedro’s Ang Buwan Sa Kabundukan, and with Andion Fernandez singing the Letter Scene from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, plus Jeffrey Ching’s King Kong and capped by Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (Pathetique). The energy in that concert was very good, and I really enjoyed working on Jeffrey Ching’s piece. The orchestra was very receptive to the piece. Little did any of us know that very shortly after that concert, the world would come to a halt. Those final moments of the Tchaikovsky Symphony took on a whole new meaning.”
He is happy to be working again with the national orchestra and accepted the invitation immediately for many reasons. “I have many friends and long-time colleagues in the orchestra, and there will always be a high comfort level working with musicians you know. It’s been a while, hence I am looking forward to the week with them, which is my first after the pandemic.”
For this concert, he is working with pop and classical musicians.
As a rule, Gerard has no personalized approach to dealing with performing artists, both pop and classical. “For me, there is no difference in method or expectations. We are all expected to arrive in the rehearsal well prepared, and the demands placed on everyone should be the same, regardless of background. Once everyone comes together and begins working on the music, the music takes precedence.”
The conductor recalls his journey to conducting. He remembers that he made his conducting debut at age 23 in the musical Carousel staged by Repertory Philippines in 1996 at Meralco Theater. “It was a big risk for tita Bibot (Amador) and tita Baby (Barredo). But they knew that I had a good enough work ethic to prepare for it properly. One learns a lot when thrown into the deep end for a project like that. Years later, I started conducting a lot of classical music.”
His most memorable was conducting Cecile Licad in the Saint Saens G Minor concerto and De Falla’s Night in the Garden of Spain at the Philamlife Auditorium. “I still have the recording from that concert! Learning conducting takes time, and I was very fortunate to receive lots of podium time when I really needed it, and lots of very good advice from some very good musicians, not only about the music itself, but how to rehearse it. Learning to work with the musicians can be an overlooked aspect of it, and I’ve found out that the conductors who know how to draw out the best performances are the ones who know how to work with people and are very sensitive to what’s going on in the room not only musically, but psychologically, as well. Having been able to conduct orchestras from different backgrounds has given me a deeper appreciation of how universal a language music really is.”
‘I’ve found out that the conductors who know how to draw out the best performances are the ones who know how to work with people and are very sensitive to what’s going on’
Gerard Salonga guest conducting with Lara Maigue as soloist.
For November 22, it’s not all music made for the movies, but also classical gems incorporated in films. The repertoire includes Williams’ Three Holiday Songs from Home Alone, Strauss’ Overture to Die Fledermaus. Camille Lopez-Molina and Lara Maigue will sing classical arias, while Arman Ferrer reprises the old Mario Lanza hit, Be My Love.
Saraza will play Meditation from Massenet and the violin piece from Schindler’s List.
Gerard Salonga conducting Lea Salonga and Cecile in Hong Kong.
Special highlights of his conducting career were working with Cecile Licad and sister, Lea. Said Gerard: “Both artists had a very profound influence on what I am now as a musician. Lea has always been an example to me of diligence and perseverance. Her natural talents are something everyone appreciates, but not everyone in the audience is privileged to see how she practices and prepares. Because of all the years spent as her accompanist, it feels natural for me to follow the breathing of singers, and how the syllables melt into one another, or not. She has a very innate sense of harmony, phrase, and dynamics, which is rare, and those are among the things that distinguish her from others. Cecile Licad is not only a good personal friend, but she has (perhaps not consciously) mentored me significantly. From her, I learned about character through articulation and gesture.”
CD of Gerard Salonga and Cecile Licad with South Denmark Philharmonic Orchestra
Gerard has learned mainly through the pieces he played with Licad, notably the Gershwin works they recorded with the South Denmark Symphony Orchestra. He learned from Licad not just working on Gershwin, but other works, namely Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Tchaikovsky No. 1, Bartok No. 1 and Variations on a Theme by Paganini and many others.
“We picked something up from each other. But I think I learn a lot more from her than she does from me. It is from her that I got into the mindset of delving into what a composer might have felt at the moment they committed the music to the page, how they were thinking and feeling in those few moments right before the ink hit the paper, and trying to express that to the audience through the lens of the performer. Everything she does has a justifiable musical purpose, after much thought and consideration about every phrase. She can make everything seem spontaneous, as if the music were being composed at that moment. That’s what we all strive for as musicians, and she has achieved that. It is still my wish to someday work with her on Beethoven or Mozart concerti, and after that perhaps Schumann or Mendelssohn. Even a newly-composed work. Those would be very enjoyable to do with her, because her creativity and gift of phrase would be on full display. Everybody wants to hear her play Chopin or Rachmaninoff whenever she comes home to Manila. But for me, I want to hear her play Mozart or Beethoven with a very good chamber orchestra.”
He admits it takes much time and maturity to do good as a conductor. “I’m just about where I feel like I can achieve the musical results I desire, and have the ability to help an orchestra achieve the results they also desire. I’ve also definitely reached a stage of generativity, and have a desire to help younger musicians become better.”
For the young musicians thinking of wielding the baton, he recommends that they learn the basics like reading and absorbing the scores, having a natural curiosity to discover more from music. He considers himself lucky for having mentors who are honest and generous. “I learned a lot from people like Cecile and Jaap (van Zweden), as well as my colleagues in various orchestras. The Hong Kong Philharmonic musicians in particular really opened my eyes to what is expected by musicians of that level from a conductor.”
‘Cecile Licad can make everything seem spontaneous, as if the music were being composed at that moment. That’s what we all strive for as musicians’
Some quick suggestions from Gerard for young people on becoming a conductor. “Listen to lots of music. Read a lot of scores. If you don’t like reading scores, you cannot be a conductor. If you’re not a pianist, learn piano. It’s the orchestra at your fingertips. Learn about orchestration, and learn about string playing technique, even if you’re not a string player. Strings make up the human majority of the orchestra, and their way of articulating music must be understood by the conductor, even if there is already a good concertmaster.”
More tips: “As a young aspiring conductor, one must be proactive if the opportunities are rare. Form your own small ensemble and lead that. Sing in a choir, or play in an orchestra so that you can learn about what an ensemble needs from the podium. If you’re in an orchestra or symphonic band, offer to lead sectional rehearsals. Every minute spent working with them will build your ability to conduct. You must love working with people at the same time; you must also relish the many lonely hours spent studying a score. There is a lot of collaboration involved. Bernstein once said that he loved people more than music. Indeed, the act of studying a score is a very lonely and introspective one.”
He admits conductors need more podium time as well as the opportunity to work with good musicians. “That in my opinion is one of the reasons behind the success of the Finnish pedagogue Jorma Panula, who has taught and honed, among others, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Klaus Mäkelä, and Tarmo Peltokoski. We all saw them as wunderkind who mysteriously were able to work with such maturity at such a young age. But aside from their immense natural musical and intellectual gifts, it is also because they were guided by Maestro Panula from a very young age.”
Gerard also points to the need for working with professional musicians from whom they will know what they need or do not need, and distill their method down to what matters most for the sake of music.
In this sense, he considers people like Tarmo (Peltokoski) as veterans. “They have had that level of mentoring and lots of podium experience from that early time in their musical lives. It has served them well; they are wonderful, and I look forward to what is to come from them!”
What has the conductor’s life given him? “The conducting life has afforded me the opportunity to meet and more importantly, collaborate with many great musicians, and continuously aspire to a higher level of music making. It has also positively affected the other musical activities I engage, in especially arranging. Having the sound of a good orchestra in my mind’s ear has proven very useful every time I need to sit down to write something. All in all, I feel very lucky. I did not always aspire to conduct but life has a way of leading a person down a path—perhaps not of one’s choosing. But I cannot complain. With whatever opportunities are given, all one can do is strive to do one’s best for the sake of music.”
Meanwhile, PPOSI chair Anton Tantoco Huang said the concert is a celebration of musical masterpieces from the movies. “From the elegance of waltzes to the power of opera, from stirring Filipino classics to iconic film scores, this concert, which supports a worhy cause for Filipino musicians, promises to be an unforgettable journey through music. We are immensely grateful to the Cultural Center of the Philippines for co-producing this remarkable event with us.”
For available seats for the Nov. 22 PPO concert, visit https://bit.ly/3Xs63A2.
