The music treat of the week is when distinguished Belgian flutist Marc Grauwels collaborates with Filipino pianist Corazon Pineda Kabayao on July 2, 7 p.m., at Ayala Museum.
The program opens with Telemann’s Fantasy in A Minor and the lovable workhorse, Cesar Franck’s A Minor Sonata. It ends with “Carmen” Fantasy and the rarely heard Polka Fantaisie for Piccolo and Piano by Eugene Damare.
What’s the big deal about Monsieur Grauwels?
For one, his so-called “eclecticism” as international soloist has caught the attention of big names in the music world and they have dedicated special pieces for him.
Noted movie scorer Ennio Moricone dedicated to him the flute solos in “Cantate for Europe,” while Astor Piazzolla dedicated to him “History of the Tango” in 1985.
More recently, the Greek composer Yannis Markopoulos dedicated his flute concerto to Grauwels. This flute concerto served as one of the inauguration musical pieces for the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.
From classical to contemporary
Indeed, Grauwels is one of the few flute virtuosi who can easily shift from Piazzolla to Mozart and from Bach to Ravi Shankar.
He is also one of the musicians who participated in the recording of the sound track of the film “Amadeus” by Milos Forman; he was accompanied by Thomas Bloch and the Brussels Virtuosi Ensemble in the superb Adagio for Glasharmonika, Flute, Oboe, Viola and Cello, KV 617.
In Belgium, Grauwels made his orchestral debut with the Flemish Opera at age 19, and later became soloist of Belgian National Opera House.
Years after he gained worldwide acceptance, he taught for 15 years at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Today he holds a chair as titular professor at the Royal Conservatory of Mons.
Ladies with green hair
Asked by a Greek journalist if shifting from classical to contemporary music was a personal choice, Grauwels pointed out: “In my concerts, I like to play classical things, but also at least one piece written for me. If you play too much classical music, people will not come to the concert. It is very exciting to have a new piece for an ensemble. If the music is good, then it is perfect. However, if it is bad, it is awful, because you will only play it once and then the composer will complain that you don’t play it enough. When I started playing music out of my job in the orchestra, I thought that at the time the public for classical music were only these old ladies with the green hair. I was a young guy going out and having fun. So, I asked myself: ‘Why can I not play music for people like me?’ It was the time when Philip Glass and Wim Mertens were very popular. I play the flute on maybe 10 albums of Mertens. With him, music was not the main reason for playing. I wanted to play for younger people and have other experiences.”
Most important feature
Now an active teacher as well, Grauwels explains his approach to teaching thus: “In my lessons, I play a lot, because in music there is a lot of mimetism. It is a balance between being strict and being free. On the one hand, I teach them to have style; and on the other hand, I teach them to have their own sound. Sound is the most important feature of a soloist. Sometimes friends listen to me on the radio, and recognize me even if they don’t know who is playing. Nowadays the level is incredibly high in music, but it is too standard. There is not enough personality today. This is what I try to convey to my students.”
The July 2 Ayala Museum concert is sponsored by ROS Music Center and Kayserburg Pianos For tickets, call tel. 4401021 or 0906-5232421.