A  MUSICAL  EVENING  AT  THE  GERMAN EMBASSY

MANILA, MARCH 22, 2008 (BULLETIN) PANORAMA - WHEN Ambassador Herbert Jess, a musician himself, was stationed in the Philippines, he made the decision to offer intimate musical evenings, such as are often enjoyed in German private homes, to Manila friends. He imported a piano from Europe, and on the night of the invitation cleared out the living room furniture to make space for rows of chairs, facing the piano in front. Musicians from abroad, traveling in Asia, performed as did local Filipino artists, on request. After the program, which was separated by a short intermission, was completed, guests adjourned to the lanai for drinks and food and conversation, before going home. Those of us who looked forward to these evenings, were delighted when his successor, Dr. Axel Weishaupt, although not a musician himself, chose to continue the tradition.

And now we have a new ambassador, Christian-Ludwig Weber-Lortsch, and his charming Vietnamese wife, Trang, who also have elected to proceed with the highly appreciated musical evenings at the embassy residence.

On the evening of February 7th, a concert was scheduled and as I got out of the car at the usual entrance at the front door, I was directed to proceed to the garden gate a few yards below. I wondered if the concert would be held outside, but thought the garden too small, and was curious at the change in the agenda. And that’s precisely what it was — a hospitable gesture on the part of our new host, to make the evening even more comfortable and enjoyable for his guests: cocktails in the garden first, followed by the concert, played without intermission, followed by more socializing in the garden and terrace. This was a pleasant change since most guests had not had a dinner by seven o’clock and arrived somewhat hungry and thirsty, from their homes and offices.

The performance was by the young 21-year-old award-winning German pianist Benedikt Strauss whose program included selections from the works of Bach, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Brahms, and Liszt.

Completing his musical studies in Germany with several prominent teachers he has gone on to participate in competitions at regional, then state, and eventually federal levels, winning 17 firsts and 4 second prizes. In 2000, he was honored as an outstanding artistic performer in his native country and went on to perform in Paris, and Bayreuth. He was also the accompanist for the Award Winners concert of the European Union’s competition for youth. After competing his musical studies on a scholarship at the Ecole Normale Superiure in Paris, he is currently studying law at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich.

After the powerful performance of several demanding selections, I asked him why he bothered to study law. He laughed and said he enjoyed law, but I gathered it’s a practical backup to the often precarious existence of a professional musician. Writers, artists, and musicians tend to have a second career they can fall back on during lean days.

The following day, he was scheduled to appear again, in an admission-free concert for the public in open air Paco Park, I hope that audience enjoyed this modest and spectacular young pianist as much as those of us did who first heard him at the Embassy.

We all look forward to future musical evenings at the German embassy residence.