The K. Kawai endures Cecile Licad’s tempestuous fingerwork

By Ted Aldwin Ong

The October 2025 concert of Cecile Licad in Iloilo City was a night that will linger in the hearts of all who were there. The first evening at the St. Anne Cathedral of Molo was damp and humid, enough to trigger an asthma attack for a concertgoer like myself. The second night, however, brought a storm with rain lashing across the metropolis and flooding the roads leading to the PAGWA Performing Arts Hall of the UP Visayas Museum of Art and Cultural Heritage.

That stormy evening recalled the heavy rains that preceded Licad’s 2019 outreach concerts, which made classical music impresario Pablo Tariman quip, “Patay tayo sa ulan” (We’re in trouble because of the rain), imagining concertgoers wading through floodwaters just to attend. Fortunately, the rain stopped and the skies cleared by late afternoon, to Tariman’s and everyone’s relief.

Licad’s back-to-back concert programming typically offers two distinct experiences, depending on the venue and the audience. The spacious interior and cathedral-like acoustics of Molo Church create a more communal atmosphere. Unfortunately, a guest behind us continued talking as if they were leisurely strolling through Molo Plaza, disrespectful to the performer and inconsiderate of those there to listen, appreciate, and learn about music.

The UPV-MACH, on the other hand, offers a more intimate ambiance and allows you a clear view of the performer, especially when seated within the first five rows. In the left section of the third row sat the distinguished art reviewer John Anthony Estolloso and me, and we could only glance at each other in awe of Licad’s performance, which transcended mere virtuosity.

The evening opened with Licad’s consoling rendition of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata that brought everyone who had run through the punishing rain to make it to the concert at ease. From the very first measure, her touch drew the audience into a realm of quiet introspection, with the softness of the notes emerging like raindrops, as if reflecting what was happening outside the hall between the heavy downpours, lightning, and thunder.

Licad completed a dramatic and expressive three-movement Beethoven composition of Adagio Sostento, Allegreto, and Presto Agitato in lyrical and playful interludes, culminating in a vigorous and intense finale for the first set. Its structure exemplifies Beethoven’s characteristic contrast of tempos and moods, bringing the audience into an emotional journey that moves from musings to disquiet, exhibiting her combined subtlety and powerful intensity.

A brief interval from Beethoven gave both the audience and the piano a moment to catch their breath before Cecile Licad transitioned into Robert Schumann’s Carnaval Op. 9. As the centerpiece of the evening, she unleashed her volcanic fingerwork on the second-hand K. Kawai baby grand piano, transforming Schumann’s 21-piece suite into an explosive musical expression. Inspired by the Italian commedia dell’arte, the Carnaval vividly portrays Schumann and his friends as masked revelers in a vibrant masquerade. Licad’s performance captured every nuance of this playful yet intense musical narrative.

The valiant yet fragile K. Kawai seemed to cry out for mercy as it trembled beneath her hands, responding to Licad’s formidable command and exceptional skill with both hands aggressively gliding over the keys, her feet stamping on the wooden TNG flooring, and the bench moved with the lyrical movements of her body.

As Licad took her break following the audience’s standing ovation, thundering applause, and bravos for the first part of the program, the calm Catanduanes-native piano tuner instantly appeared with his tools in hand and right away checked K. Kawai’s tortured strings in preparation for the second set.

Anthony and I asked each other if this was the same piano from last night’s performance at the Molo Church, gently shaking our heads in disbelief as Licad pounded on the keys entirely from memory and without guided notes.

She completed the evening with her mastery of pieces by Franz Liszt’s homage to St. Francis of Paola; popular ragtime pieces by American composer Scott Joplin; and Frédéric Chopin’s Ballade No.1 in G Minor, a widely regarded piece and considered as one of Chopin’s most dramatic and emotionally intense works for solo piano.

The encores filled the closing with jubilation, a performance that will remain etched in the memories of all who were fortunate enough to attend.

On stage, the K. Kawai baby grand piano sat in silence, its exterior battered and perhaps worn, yet still unbroken. Martin Genodepa, the director of UP Visayas Office of Initiatives in Culture and the Arts sighed with relief saying, “our piano survived Cecile Licad.”

This resilient instrument, a generous donation from the Friends of UPV for the arts in 2000, became the vessel through which Cecile Licad delivered a triumphant performance, earning her resounding applause and standing ovations. It was a moment of musical excellence that, in all its brilliance, may be a rare sight to behold for years to come, especially with the passing of Pablo Tariman.