Fourteen-year-old Filipino-American violinist Bradley Bascon debuts in Manila today at Ayala Museum with a program consisting of an E Minor Mozart sonata and a D Minor Wieniawski violin concerto.
“All of my pieces are challenging, but the most challenging is the Mozart,” said Bascon. “It’s difficult to get the proper feel of Mozart’s minor without overdoing it.”
Bascon said he was excited about his “Manila debut.” Although he has performed in Europe, he said, “I feel more satisfaction being able to play in my country of origin.”
“I love Filipino food. Even if I live in the US, my mother still makes a lot of Filipino food. I also like fiestas with my family because they know how to have fun.”
Bascon said his parents had pure Filipino roots.
“I’ve wanted to be a classical musician since I was four years old,” he said. He added that he came from a “musically orientated family.”
His parents realized their son was a musician when he started winning competitions organized by the Music Teachers’ Associations of California.
Travel opportunities beckoned when he joined the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra which participated in the International Music Festival at Schloss Shleissheim Castle in Germany; the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria; and the Teatro Verdi and Norcia in Italy.
Really fun
“The first time I played with the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra was very nerve-wracking,” Bascon recalled. “All the players were really good, and it took me a while to get comfortable. The performances in Germany, Salzburg and Italy were actually really fun. The group played together perfectly, and all our audiences enjoyed our music.”
He enjoyed more memorable tours when he joined the Irvine Classical Players Orchestra—where he was the featured soloist in the orchestra’s tour of Spain and Portugal, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall performance and the Hyde Park concert in London during the London Olympics.
“When I played at Hyde Park, I was surprised,” he said. “I was scheduled to play at Victoria Park, but there was a sudden change in the schedule. I was a little dazed to be standing on the same stage as Paul McCartney, but it was an exhilarating experience.”
The young violinist said he looked up to other musicians. “I admire Sarah Chang because of her intensity that comes across while she plays. I also admire Jascha Heifetz for his astounding technical ability, and his style is very old-school which I really enjoy.”
Sole representative
Now a student of Theresa Woo in California, Bascon is the sole Philippine representative to the Beijing Violin Competition in August.
“The schedule I keep up means I constantly have to rush to finish work, and I lose sleep in the process,” he said. “However, it keeps life interesting.
“My parents support whatever direction I decide to take as long as I keep playing the violin. They advise me to major in it so I won’t have regrets in the future.”
Performing with collaborating pianist Rudolf Golez, Bascon believes in having rapport with co-artists. “I like working with Mr. Golez. He is very kind and always has interesting input to add color to the music. He is a wonderfully talented pianist.
“I think the key to a good performance is getting to the zone where nothing exists but you and the music,” he added. “It’s important to stay steady.”
The July 28 concert is supported by the Ayala Museum, 98.7 DZFE.FM the Master’s Touch, Lyric Piano, National Commission for Culture and the Arts and FCCP.
Call Ticketworld at tel. 8919999; or Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation at tel. 7500768 or 0920-9540053.
MVP with Licad, Gerodias
Executive Talks was organized by First Pacific Leadership Academy. Its chair Manuel V. Pangilinan, celebrated his birthday on July 11.
The last edition featured artists—among them, pianist Cecile Licad and soprano Rachelle Gerodias.
One question proved to be most interesting: How do artists and career executives cope with failure?
The answers were varied, and Licad gave a down-to-earth, funny and very human reply: “How do I cope with failure? I cry, of course. I pull my hair, but I don’t dwell on it too long. But surely we learn a lot from our failures than from our so-called triumphs.”
The youth leaders and business executives had the thrill of their lives watching Licad and Gerodias in another setting as performing artists.
Gerodias performed Juliet’s aria (from Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet”) and San Pedro’s “Mutya ng Pasig.” Licad was soloist of the Philippine Philharmonic under Olivier Ochanine, and got a hair-raising standing ovation after a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
This was Licad and Ochanine’s first team-up and the result was astounding. The PPO was at its best and the conductor had formidable rapport with the soloist.
Said Roy Agustin K. Evalle, general manager and executive director of the First Pacific Leadership Academy, on why they were exposing youth leaders and business executives to the arts: “We believe that through the artists’s life and work, we advocate the holistic formation of a leader. In this light, we would like each and everyone to witness how the diversity of experiences, talents, skills and personal giftedness moves towards a united end—to leave us with footsteps to follow.”