The Anthem Philatelist

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...

The Manila Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest orchestras in Asia. Founded by Dr. Alexander Lippay in 1926, the orchestra has played a major role in Philippine history. Through the years it has hosted artists Montserrat Caballé, Yehudi Menuhin, Igor Oistrakh, Eugene Istomin, Fou Ts'ong, Barry Tuckwell, Paul Badura-Skoda and Rony Rogoff, as well as conductors Andre Kostelanetz, Arthur Fiedler, Mendi Rodan, Robert Feist, Gareth Nair and Helen Quach.   MSO has instituted two main programs intended to develop Filipino musical artistry and showcase Filipino musical talent, the "Young Artists’ Competitions" and the Luneta Concerts (known as “Concert in the Park”).    The Manila Symphony Orchestra today has young musicians who are trained by the Philippine Research for Developing International Soloists (PREDIS), which was founded by Basilio Manalo and Sister Mary Placid Abejo at St. Scholastica’s College. Filipino conductors have taken the helm of the MSO, including Franci...