Noble Visions

Went to a PPO concert last night entitled "Noble Visions" (as above), with Joseph and good friend Dea. It featured the much-awaited "Pines of Rome" - placed in a set together with Hindemith's Noblissima Visione, a Mozart piano concerto - K. 488, and Piazzolla's Tres Movimientos Tanguisticos Portenos.

It was a fun watch - what with those trumpets and trombones with us on the balcony for the grand 4th movement of "Pines of Rome". And it was actually a good feeling to hear the words "Pines of Rome" or "Pini de Roma" together with "maganda", "interesting", "magaling" form people's mouths after the show. Even when Joseph and I went to have dinner at Pancake House after, we overheard a mother / wife from the table beside us mentioning to her husband "how beautiful that last piece, 'Pini de Roma' was".

I still love, love, love, that third movement (Pines of the Janiculum). Captivating talaga.

The first movement (Pines of the Villa Borghese) was played quite a little bit fast from what I was expecting, but nonetheless okay. Mas naappreciate ko siya siguro kung binagalan lang ng kaunti.

And then there's the Mozart piano concerto - lovely second and third movements. I think I have that back at home, hindi ko lang ata napapakinggan.

Piazzolla was the evening's unexpected surprise - mostly with the dancers on stage (during the second movement) and yes, the music, too. I really liked the first movement of it - pampelikula ang dating pero hindi pa rin siya "pop" (like a John Williams track). Siguro medyo may pagka-jazz, but it's still not pop. The second movement sounds a bit Gershwin to me, but the first movement's really nice - with that delicateness and preciseness of specific violin parts. Ganda.

Sayang lang that I wasn't able to catch "Nobelissima Visione" by Hindemith. Just curious what it's all about since the very occasion was named after it.