Oct. 30 2016, 7:53 p.m. – A FACULTY member from the Conservatory of Music showcased his piano virtuosity in a re-staging of Franz Schubert’s renowned song cycle “Winterreise” (Winter Journey) at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino of the Cultural Center of the Philippines last Oct. 28.
Pianist Najib Ismail collaborated with Korean baritone Byeong In Park to recreate Austrian composer Schubert’s 24-song musical drama based on German lyric poet Wilhelm Muller’s poems from “The Posthumous Papers of a Travelling Hornplayer.”
The song cycle, published in 1828, tells the journey of a despondent man who is turned down by his loved one. He goes through a series of pain and psychological torture while traveling on foot on a cold, winter landscape, narrating his sentiments in each song.
Ismail began the concert with “Good Night,” a resentful song with an unyielding tune as Park’s vocals narrated the story of a man embarking on a journey through a dark, snow-clad topography.
Ismail sped up the pace with “Dream of Spring,” a song about the man’s longing for requited love.
“The Hurdy-Gurdy Man,” a wistful tune that ends with a whirlwind of melodies, concluded the concert, highlighting the man’s acceptance of his own fate as a jilted lover.
Ismail said he was challenged by the the continuous communication required between the himself and the singer.
“Our interaction is made through his singing and that becomes a problem once he starts to go around the stage because we have to make it continuous, much like a musical, to convey the message to the audience,” Ismail said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
Ismail is a collaborative pianist and chamber musician. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the UST Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Fr. Manuel Maramba, OSB and concert pianist Leonor Kilayko.
“Significantly, he (Maramba) was the biggest influence in my musical life in UST,” Ismail said.
The singer, Park, is now based in the Philippines and performs in a number of opera productions and concerts with some of the country’s leading orchestras, including the Manila Symphony Orchestra and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.
