By Shayne Elizabeth T. Flores

In honor of the 75th anniversary of FEU Main Auditorium, Far Eastern University (FEU) Center for the Arts launched the ‘Music 101: 600 Years of Music’ informational performance presented by world-renowned award-winning pianist Dr. Raul Sunico last November 5.

Designed by National Artist for Architecture Pablo Antonio Sr., the FEU Main Auditorium first opened in 1949, making it the first Cultural Center of the Philippines post-World War II. 

Since its establishment, the theater has featured performances of various local and international artists alike, including Sunico who received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from FEU in 2005.

Contrary to its title, the renowned pianist clarified that ‘Music 101: 600 Years of Music’ aims to outline the history of music spanning 1,500 years.

“We are going to tackle not 500 to 600 years but 1,500 years because the medieval period started in 500 AD,” he said.

Divided into two sessions, the first half of the program tackled the Medieval, Renaissance, B, and Classical periods, while the latter discussed the Romantic, Post-romantic, and 20th Century era.

Sunico delivered the ‘informance’ through a combination of lecture, video presentations, and live piano performances demonstrating the variations in music styles over each period.

“So we would have a more universal knowledge of what was originally conceived by the composers,” he stated.

Moreover, the program marked his first performance in the FEU Main Auditorium since 2015 when he played Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with blind tenor-pianist Carlos “Chuckie” Ibay.

Sunico’s other previous performances on the Tamaraw stage include concerts ‘An Evening of Gershwin Songs’ in 1988 and ‘The Songs of the Philippine Revolution 1896-1898’ in 1997. 

(Photo by Shayne Elizabeth T. Flores/FEU Advocate)