Cecile Licad performs solo recital for the holidays
By Marilyn Abalos
It was a delightful treat to kick off the holiday season with Cecile Licad’s concert on December 5th, in New York City. She performed to a sold-out crowd at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
She played Alexander Scriabin’s Two Impromptus, Op. 12, and 24 Preludes, Op. 28 by Frederic Chopin. She also performed Scott Joplin’s popular “rags” medley featuring Original Rag, Wall Street Rag, Leola, Stoptime Rag, Search-Light Rag, and Gladiolus Rag.
In addition she performed Amy Beach’s Hermit Thrust at Eve. Op. 92, No. 1 as well as Nocturne, “Ragusa” by Ernest Schelling and Alborada del grazioso by Maurice Ravel.
Cecile structured her concert to highlight Chopin’s great Preludes and grouped Joplin’s ingenious Rags in the second half of the concert. It was good to learn that Scriabin who referred to himself as a “Chopinist” opened the program leading this writer to anticipate Chopin’s lovely Preludes.
The Preludes were a mix of gems – big and small miracles. Having missed the piano and music in recent times, Cecile’s presentation of Chopin’s stirring melodies and beguiling harmonies made me fall in love with the piano again – and the mastery of Cecile’s talent!
It is wonderful to point out that Scott Joplin, born to a former slave and a freeborn Black woman, was already active in music in his late 20s. From 1899 to 1910, he composed and published his “Rags.” Cecile beautifully captured Joplin’s perky bustle and clamor of ragtime music
How great of Cecile to include Amy Beach’s work in the program. She is acclaimed as “the first American woman to achieve widespread success as a composer of concert works.” Brava to Cecile for her forte of Beach’s haunting piano piece.
I enjoyed Cecile playing Shelling’s Nocturne, “Ragusa” and Ravel’s flamboyant evocation of Spanish dance and song demonstrating her dexterity and lyricism.
Cecile Licad, the Philippines’ pride and joy, is hailed by The New Yorker as a world-class “pianist’s pianist.” In 1981 at age 20, she won the prestigious Leventritt Award which enabled her to perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta conducting. The award also gave her an exclusive recording contract with CBS Masterworks and management by Columbia Artists. The first winner given after 10 years, Cecile joined the ranks of past Leventritt winners Van Cliburn, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman among others. She studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Rudolf Serkin, Seymour Lipkin and Mieczyslaw Horszowski.
As noted in the program, she has performed as “recitalist and soloist with orchestras throughout the world.”
Cecile’s artistry can be heard on the Music Masters, Naxos and Songy Classical labels, including Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Chicago Symphony, Claudio Abbado conducting.
The solo recital was presented by Key Pianists, a concert series at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, by American pianist Terry Eder.
