MEDIUM RARE 

A young man was playing his cello with such verve and emotion, as if he’s been doing it for ages, so I told him, “It’s like you’ve survived a whole lot of heartaches and heartbreaks. But you’re only 17.”

He replied, “Yes, ma’m, but that was in the past.” Ah, so!

Damodar Das Castillo, a musical genius true and through, leaves today to attend a masterclass in Germany. For the next 30 days the cellist will be learning more music, more about music, he will come home and make more music, even more beautiful music. (He would be too modest to make that promise, so I’m making it for him.)

As soon as he comes back, we should demand a command performance immediately, let him show us the colors of his newly acquired rainbow on four strings. Last Thursday, he swept the audience off their feet, gathered as they were in an intimate setting under a gracefully curving staircase in an old house (circa 1929) called MiraNila that’s between the city of San Juan and Cubao, Quezon City. Helen Benitez, senator, educator, once lived in this house that her descendants and the National Historical Commission now call a heritage house and library. Most, if not all, of her china and silver, glassware and flower vases big and small look to be in tip-top shape.

At sunset and in spite of the fickle weather, the best thing about the concert hall, if I may call it that, was the acoustics. Without microphones or a sound system, every note rang true on its own. Playing Chopin or Dvorak, with Mariel Ilusorio on a restored 1904 Steinway grand piano, Damodar was similarly at home with Moon River and Edelweiss, themes from two hugely popular Hollywood movies.     

By itself, the cello, shaped almost like a woman with its back held close to the player’s chest, is a sensual instrument that can be made to moan, weep, whisper, or sigh. When it sings, it’s a throaty alto. When it’s angry, it’s a brewing storm. In the hands of a talented performer like Damodar, the cello evokes nature, humanity, theater. As our eyes and ears tell us, he’s an outstanding performer, so young and so rare, so raring to go.