Regarded as a titan on the podium, Oscar Yatco, who died on July 1, 2014, from a heart condition in Hannover, Germany, is a byword in symphonic music. Long-time conductor of Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, he was given a tribute last December by the Cultural Center of the Philippines honor.

 

The phrase “Yatco touch” was coined to refer to the debonair symphonic sound he produced on the podium. Under his baton, musicians would always play with great inspiration, and together they would always make beautiful symphonic music to the great admiration of the audience.

 

His concerts were well attended, and would always get raves from both critics and common listeners alike.

 

Performing artists associated with the maestro at one time or another paid homage to his greatness. Music excellently expressed the inadequacy of words to convey a collective salutation for the maestro’s legacy. Taking turns to pay him musical tribute were cellist Renato Lucas with pianist Heliodoro Fiel; marimbist Aimee Mina-de la Cruz, violinist Joaquin Maria Gutierrez with pianist Greg Zuniega; violinist Alfonso Bolipata and pianists Carminda Regala, Erlinda Velasco, Raul Sunico and Zuniega; and of course, the PPO under the baton of its incumbent conductor Olivier Ochanine.

 

The performance was interspersed with brief eulogies beamed through videos of persons who knew him well, among them former CCP president Baltazar Endriga, former Manila Chamber Orchestra executive director Armando Baltazar, music critic Rosalinda Orosa, cultural administrator Chinggay Lagdameo, conductor Rodel Colmenar and pianist Bonnie Armacost.

 

In his brief remarks, CCP president Raul Sunico cited Yatco for the inspiration and the sterling leadership he afforded the musicians in the great task of developing the symphony orchestra.

 

Ochanine meanwhile recalled his brief acquaintance with the maestro and said the PPO, under his stewardship, continues to cherish the legacy that Yatco had left.

 

Prestigious contest

 

In the mid-1950s, Yatco won the prestigious ARD competition in violin, organized by a broad consortium of public broadcasters in Germany, which gave him the opportunity to play as soloist for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, North German Radio Orchestra, and Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. He became a member of the Munich-based Stross String Quartet that gave a performance in Manila in 1962. On the same year he marked his debut as a symphony conductor in Manila.

 

He left his career as a soloist and chamber musician in Germany in 1964 when he came back to the country and led the development of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. Part of the professionalization program that he worked for the orchestra was the giving of a monthly salary for the musicians in lieu of the per rehearsal/performance compensation system. Because the musicians were engaged not on a salary basis, they would go “moonlighting,” playing in night clubs and recordings, which diffused their attention and energy, and come performance time would result in mediocre rendition.

 

Assured of fixed, steady income, the musicians had security of tenure and delivered inspired playing.

 

Next, Yatco introduced a wide spectrum of repertoire for the orchestra that saw the premiere performances of Filipino compositions among Western classical composers and Broadway musicales.

 

To reach the grassroots, he designed an outreach program for the orchestra to play in schools and Rizal Park.

 

He left the Philippines during martial law, when he did not get the conductorship of the then established CCP Philharmonic Orchestra in the early ’70s.

 

In Germany he became the first concert master of the Mannheim National Theatre Orchestra after serving first violinist for some time. Later on, he became the first concert master of the Bayreuth Wagner Festival Orchestra for five consecutive years, a position chosen for him no less by Richard Wagner’s grandson. In 1979, he was appointed full professor for violin at the State Academy of Music in Hannover, a position he held until he retired.

 

Homecoming

 

In 1979 Yatco accepted the invitation of then First Lady Imelda R. Marcos to restructure and improve the CCP Philharmonic Orchestra. The following year, he was appointed music consultant and conductor of the newly instituted Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra that replaced the CCP Philharmonic Orchestra. Upon his retirement in 1997 as PPO conductor, he was named laureate conductor by the CCP under president Endriga. The honorific bestowed on him was a distinction more prominent than conductor emeritus, said Endriga.

 

In a faraway land such as Germany, music became the maestro’s language, said his wife, Frau Brigitte Yatco, who thanked in her official response the CCP, the performers as well as the audience for the meaningful tribute. She said the maestro was well-received and listened to in Germany, and had always desired to share his knowledge especially to his countrymen.

 

As first manager of the PPO in 1986, this writer had the chance to have conversations with the maestro. Among others, we talked about his musical odyssey from Juilliard to Germany, the MSO, and finally the PPO.

 

Indeed, it was with great frustration that he left the country when he was not named the conductor of the CCP Philharmonic.

 

In the fullness of time he came back with a vengeance, so to speak. He conquered, and fulfilled the noble calling to be of service to his country.

 

I witnessed several rehearsals as well as performances of the PPO under his baton. He stood tall on the podium, and wove brilliant symphonic sounds together with the performing musicians.

 

Gloriously his baton produced the shimmering “Yatco touch,” which has become PPO’s hallmark, making it, indeed, the country’s premier orchestra.