The Anthem Philatelist

3. Ai ma Maria Labra-Makk . I first met this world renowned Austria-based Cebuana pianist and educator four years ago when she had a solo concert presented by the Arts Council of Cebu and St. Theresas' College , where she is an alumni. A few days before I attended the concert, I had a chance encounter with her in an elevator at Club Ultima. I ask her a question in English, but she answered fluently in Cebuano that she was here for the STC reunion and for the concert.   I told her that my wife was also an STC alumni and will be joining in some of this events. The CD collector in me urged to inquire if she had some with her, and if they were selling discs at her concert. "No. I didn't bring any", she answered smiling. My regret is that I did not ask any autograph or had myself pictured with her. She has the most impeccable rendition of Jeno Takacs' works especially the Toccata , in fact, she is the only artist to rec ord the complete discogr aphy of the Austr...

For the closing concert of the 28th concert season of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) theater, Maestro Olivier Ochanine and the orchestra welcome pianist Poom Prommachart, 1st Prize winner in the 2010 Isidore Bajik International Piano Competition to perform Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto. Also on the programme, which rounds up Maestro Ochanine inaugural season with the orchestra, the First symphony of Gustav Mahler will be performed. Mahler was nearly thirty years old by the time he finished his very first symphony, and the work shows musical maturity and expertise at orchestration quite well. This work is a rousing finale for the end of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra season. Gustav Mahler (7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was a late-Romantic Austrian-Bohemian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer, he acted as a bridge between the 19th century Austro-German tradition and the mo...

Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras (also Spyros / Spiro Samara) (17 November/29 November 1861 Corfu – 25 March/17 April 1917 Athens) was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas who was part of the generation of composers that heralded the works of Giacomo Puccini. His compositions were praised worldwide during his lifetime and he is arguably the most internationally lauded Greek composer before Dimitri Mitropoulos. As a young man Samaras studied with Spyridon Xyndas in Corfu. From 1875-1882 he studied at the Athens Conservatory with Federico Bolognini, Angelo Mascheroni and Enrico Stancampiano. His first opera Torpillae (now lost) premiered in Athens in 1879. He went to Paris in 1882 to study at the Paris Conservatoire and became a favorite of Jules Massenet. His other instructors included Léo Delibes, Théodore Dubois, and Charles Gounod. He worked successfully as a composer in Paris for three years and then migrated to Italy in 1885. Samaras quickly became an important figure in ...

I love traveling to exotic places, and for someone from Southeast Asia, Nepal definitely fits the bill. As a young boy, I was fascinated by this mountainous, landlocked kingdom with a weird-shaped flag, and dreamt that someday I'll be able to visit the place- my dream came true. I pity that Nepal is unable to take off in tourism. They surely can be great tourist destination if the government will only strengthen their efforts by improving infrastructure and lessening corruption. There is only the Department of Roads in Nepal because there are only roads-- no highways exist. The Nepalese are a beautiful and friendly people. My hope is for their Tourism Year 2011 to be a success. Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a country in South Asia located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a popu...

Thailand, the darling of tourism in Asia with over 15 million visitors yearly, surely knows how to tickle the fancy of its visitors. Anything the tourists wants, they can surely offer. Where can one see stamp shops inside a mall- only in Bangkok. In fact I was able to see two of these shops in the four malls I visited. These were located in the Pratunam district- the MBK Mall and the Siam Discovery Mall. The small but compact stamp shop of MBK mall was located at the first floor.    I was here seven years ago a nd I was glad and relieved that it was still there after all these years. It has all the issued Thai stamps. Here, I met an Australian stamp collector specializing stamps from Thailand and Nepal. I was able to purchase the World Congress of Gastroenterology stamp and first day cover issued in 2002 and the block featuring a Thai violinist. At the fourth level of the Siam Discovery Mall, one can seen the House of Stamps. They had several stamps from other cou...

There are no stamp shops in Nepal - this is what I learned in my 3 day stay in this mountain kingdom. There are many souvenir shops selling stamps but not a dedicated stamp store. I saw the anthem stamp I was looking for Durbar market but unfortunately it was not mint so I did not buy it. However, I was able to buy native Nepalese stuff like the meditation bowl- which emits a resonant tone when properly "stimulated", the "Lucky wheel" and the "shape-shifting" metal wire puzzle . The seller claimed it can be formed into more than 60 shapes, but I was only able to make half of the number. Nepal is a beautiful country...the mountain flight to Everest alone was worth the visit. " Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka " ("Made of Hundreds of Flowers") is the national anthem of Nepal. It was officially declared as the national anthem of Nepal on August 3, 2007 amid a ceremony held at the conference hall of National Planning Commission, inside the ...