MiraNila Heritage House opens as concert venue
The Benitez family-owned MiraNila Heritage House in Quezon City will open as a concert venue on Sept. 19, 6 p.m., when cello sensation Damodar Das Castillo performs with pianist Mariel Ilusorio in an evening of Bach, Chopin, Abelardo and Dvorak.
Declared as a Heritage House by the National Historical Commission in 2011, MiraNila was built in 1929 and has been the setting of receptions for Philippine presidents (among them President Manuel Quezon), members of congress, diplomats and cultural luminaries.
In the early ’80s, then Sen. Helena Benitez, with Cultural Center of the Philippines president Lucrecia Kasilag, hosted a dinner for Chinese mezzo soprano Liang Ning, the first Chinese singer to sing at La Scala di Milan.
The Sept. 19 concert will feature a newly restored 1904 Steinway New York grand piano considered rare in the Steinway & Sons piano catalog.
Said MiraNila’s Petty Benitez-Johannot: “The 1904 Steinway grand piano will be coming from a yearlong restoration by Danilo Lumabi (also Cecile Licad’s Manila tuner). We ordered Steinway parts from Canada and other parts of the US, courtesy of pianist Rene Dalandan’s certified Steinway technician.”
They positioned the piano on an elevated platform at the bottom of an elegantly winding staircase, allowing the expanse of the living room to serve as backdrop to the elegant setting.
Secret to good performance
Meanwhile, Castillo said he is happy to work anew with Ilusorio, who accompanied him in two works by Chopin at the Manila Pianos. “Ma’am Mariel (Ilusorio) is very musical,” he said. “She can easily follow my tempo without effort.” The last time Castillo was heard in a heritage house was in 2019, when he performed at the Nelly Garden in Iloilo City, where he received a double ovation.
Meanwhile, the cellist revealed he is considering a scholarship offered by Hochschule für Musik Dresden’s Carl Maria von Weber. The scholarship was offered after his cello workshop with professor Valentin Radutiu, who told him he doesn’t have to audition to get the scholarship.
Fresh from his stint with the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra, where the ensemble struck double gold in two festivals for youth orchestras, the cellist said what he learned in the European tour was the importance of team work.
His MiraNila program includes Bach’s Cello Suite No 3, Bach’s Prelude and Chopin’s Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano by Frédéric Chopin, Faye Miravite’s “Transcendence,” Abelardo’s “Cavatina,” Mancini’s “Moon River” and Richard Roger’s “Edelweiss,” and will end with the first movement of Cello Concerto in B-minor by Antonín Dvořák.
For the Sept. 19 recital, Castillo will use a cello made by George Gerl, a winner in the Luthier Competition in Germany, given by Ernesto Echauz of Standard Insurance Co. Inc. “With this instrument, I can control the tonal color of the cello and how I wanted it to sound. A very good instrument, I must say.”
Twice a recipient of NCCA’s Ani ng Dangal Award and first prize winner of five international music competitions, Castillo reveals his secret to a good performance: “Work hard and play with music in your heart.” —Contributed INQ
Tickets are at P1,500. Call tel. 0927-2776335, 0945-4876827. Guests are requested to wear soft-soled shoes, as these are kinder to old floors. MiraNila is located at 26 Mariposa St., Cubao, Quezon City.
Controlling nature