ONE NIGHT IN STA.ISABEL

One Youtube video I decided to save ( and to share with piano music lovers ).

In this video, see the music which is being played..I think this recording was made by A. Rubinstein, an honest to goodness virtuoso which others can only admire, listen to when they want to fill up their unbusy afternoons.

There are many kinds of piano players in the world. One play with notes ( or properly said, play with music scores stuck in front of their faces ) and one by oido..Playing by memory or by ear. Oido I guess means hearing.I belong to this second one..

Yes, I can read music scores, but playing them correctly on the spot, egad! It needs a pianist like Rubinstein to do that. Or someone who have such zeal and patience in practicing 8 hours a day on the keyboard. I heard a colegiala do this years ago when I was still studying at the Adamson University.


Our neighbouring school then was Santa Isabel. There was a time when we performed a concert and we rehearsed at night on their stage ( where the concert was to be shown.) In one of the several evening rehearsals, our regular pianist did not show up and we had to ask someone to take his place. She was an intern in Sta. Isabel( she studied in the College and at the same time boarded there ) who volunteered her piano skills. Then I put a music score for her on the piano to play and DID she do it! In the Pilipino lingo, minamani lang niya! Translation in English, she played it with gusto like eating peanuts!Do not take my word, that's my PERSONAL translation !

So we rehearsed well that night with a different pianist. We went over the pieces for the concert like:STOUTHEARTED MEN from New Moon, AVE MARIA by Schubert, SOME ENCHANTED EVENING from South Pacific, etc. I was the one who taught the choir their SATB ( Soprano-Alto-Tenor-Bass) parts. I told you I can read and write music very well. I just can not sight read that good!! Quite a gargantuan job considering Adamson was still privately owned at that time and the President-Owner did not really care for music in the school.

Anyways, that is already history ( water under the bridge ) because right now Adamson U. is already a Catholic school having been bought by the Vincentian fathers during the '60s.

But going back to that night at Sta. Isabel, I can't help admiring the girl who pinch hitted for our absent pianist. She was a genius. She played all the music scores so perfect. And her disposition was so sweet. She was always smiling. She did not display any kind of DIVA tantrum


Even now, I still wish I could play like her. She ( like any pianist who can do good sight-reading ) can interprete for us what the music composer had written down on his piano while composing a piece for all future generations to enjoy. These are the Music Artists: Chopin, Schubert, Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Lizt, Rachmaninoff, AND including our own Francisco Santiago or Levi Celerio.---#