Grammy Award-winning cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio will take the spotlight in the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s Concert II: Triumph on Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m., at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati.
The concert is the second offering of the PPO’s 40th season and opens with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34, a lively five-movement orchestral suite based on Spanish folk melodies. The program will also feature Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, Op. 61, C Major, a piece the composer completed after a lengthy struggle with a medical condition. The symphony was first performed in 1846, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn.
Sant’Ambrogio will perform Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85, a somber work reflecting the sorrow of post-World War I England. The piece, first performed in 1919, will be conducted by PPO music director Maestro Grzegorz Nowak.
Sant’Ambrogio’s career spans the globe. She first gained international attention by winning the International Tchaikovsky Violoncello Competition in Moscow. Since then, she has performed as a soloist with orchestras in cities including Beijing, Boston, and San Francisco. She is also a founding member of the Eroica Trio and has collaborated with artists such as Sting and Joshua Bell.
A graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music and Juilliard School, Sant’Ambrogio began her studies under the tutelage of her father, John Sant’Ambrogio, principal cellist of the St. Louis Symphony.
The concert is a must-see for classical music enthusiasts. Tickets are available at TicketWorld. For inquiries, contact the CCP Box Office at +63 931 033 0880 or email salesandpromotions@culturalcenter.gov.ph.
