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Manila Bulletin devider Lifestyle devider Arts and Culture devider PPO marks 41 years of musical flexibility in 'Versatile'

PPO marks 41 years of musical flexibility in 'Versatile'

By MBrand
Published Sep 4, 2025 09:51 pm
After an excellent display of Filipino artistry in its recently concluded tour in the United Kingdom, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) exhibits its adaptable musicality for its 41st concert season, dubbed “VERSATILE.”
With the commanding presence of conductor Maestro Grzegorz Nowak, this concert season serves as a brilliant reminder of the PPO’s four decades of musical prowess.
Welcome the music season with CONCERT I: OUVERTURE on September 12, 2025. With acclaimed pianist Andrey Gugnin, the orchestra opens with Antonin Dvořák’s Carnival Overture, op.92, Sergei Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony no. 4, op.98, E minor.
On September 19, 2025, a reprise of the PPO’s repertoire for its UK Tour is in store for the audiences with CONCERT II: LE RETOUR. The celebration continues with Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite Waltz and concludes with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony no. 5, op.67, C minor. Catch PPO’s very own guest concertmaster and artist-in-residence Diomedes Saraza Jr. on violin for Georges Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1 and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.
CONCERT III: CONCERTO beautifully sustains the momentum on October 17, 2025.
World-renowned cellist Tomasz Strahl, together with the PPO, plays Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto, op. 129, A minor and Witold Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra. Also catch the world premiere of Creation Fugue and Arctic Chase (from opera Frankenstein) by PPO’s composer-in residence, Jeffrey Ching.
Wander through the classical and romantic period in CONCERT IV: VIRTUOSO on November 14, 2025. Witness famed pianist Mark Bebbington and the orchestra travel back in time with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni Overture, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 “Emperor” and Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Gorchakov).
CONCERT V: PRELUDI astonishes with majestic melodies on January 16, 2026. With Spanish-Filipino singer Andion Fernandez and piano prodigy Szymon Nehring, welcome the new year with Ching’s Fenghuang Singing, Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto no. 1, op. 11, E minor, and Franz Liszt’s Les Préludes.

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