98.7 DZFE | The Master's Touch

Filipino flutist Joshua Agapito, Japanese pianist Mariko Okeda and Korean pianist Sunny Joo demonstrate that it is never too late to begin — or begin again. They join DZFE's Tiffany this MAESTRO FILIPINO for cross-cultural conversation and scintillating excerpts from their May chamber music concert for  Double Pentagon Concerts , 𝑨𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒔. (*Music excerpts feature with permission. For c...

Church organist, pianist and composer before his teens, a holder of degrees in music and philosophy, Rodolfo Cornejo was a man of rare genius, says violinist Gina Medina, yet has slipped into near obscurity. The Filipino String Teachers Association brings his name and music to new ears with an album of chamber works, center of which is a jewel of his output, the Violin Sonata. This MAESTRO FILIPIN...

Pianist Raki Gendrano speaks of the Mozart piano sonatas with fond familiarity, as he would of good friends he would like us all to meet. He joins DZFE's Tiffany this MAESTRO FILIPINO; and we hear an excerpt from the inaugural cycle of the four-concert series spanning the complete Mozart piano sonatas. (*Program segment. Music features with permission.)  

In between operatic productions in Europe, tenor Arthur Espiritu comes home to Manila, not just to spend time with family, but to bequeath some of the immense riches of his own experiences and career. Following a successful Lied workshop, he and pianist Najib Ismail are set to invest weeks training a cohort of singers in the operatic craft. More in his conversation with DZFE's Tiffany on today...

Begun in 2020, Philippine-based classical music platform  Veniccio.com  is an Urtext distributor, music school, ticketing platform and concert presenter. Recently, it birthed a classical music news site,  TheClaron.com.  Founder Marco Balbin won't rest until the Philippines appears on the international classical music radar. Marco joins DZFE's Tiffany for a MAESTRO FILIPINO interview.  

A quartet of double basses is a rare sight, but 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒐 𝑲𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒐 aims to begin changing that. The UST Conservatory alums— Rei Benedict Francia, John Cerwin Salaguinto, Mark Aaron Salcedo and Dulcisimo Singagote Terrado Jr— join DZFE's Tiffany in a lively interview this MAESTRO FILIPINO, and we hear their performances of music written for and transcribed for their prodigious instrument, captured in...

Oliver Salonga is a pianist who is seldom alone on stage. The Nirvana Ensemble and Aeolus Trio are just a couple of a small legion of groups with which Oliver makes exuberant music. Ahead of two chamber music concerts in May presented by the Nirvana Ensemble and Manila Pianos Artist Series (of which he is artistic director), he joins DZFE's Tiffany on MAESTRO FILIPINO to talk chamber music, wi...

A chamber music series has sprung up and is thriving in the old sacristy of San Bartolome Church in Malabon. As is the case for 𝐾𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘 at Sine Pop in Cubao, the Malabon series is drawing in a new community for chamber music, or, as producer of both series Franz Ramirez puts it, "music for friends". Franz joins DZFE's Tiffany this MAESTRO FILIPINO, and we hear a performance...

For love of the art and a school of singing that takes us back to the age of mid 20th century opera giants: Milan-based soprano Christiana Serafin de Ocampo talks about the path to mastery this MAESTRO FILIPINO ahead of 𝑹𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓! — a heroic program of Wagner, Verdi, Puccini and Massenet, to be performed together with Dr Peter Porticos as pianist, on April 19. DZFE's Tiffany presents. 

As night falls over a small sanctuary in the heart of Cubao, the songs of Nicanor Abelardo are spun out to an audience transfixed, many of whom are encountering this music for the first time. In this program excerpt, DZFE's Tiffany hears from soprano Stefanie Quintin-Avila, tenor Ervin Lumauag and pianist Agot Espino this MAESTRO FILIPINO on the unexpected magic of the Sine Pop chamber music s...

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra has been putting its composer-in residence to serious work! Following a string of debuts including the cinematic premiere of his 80-minute 𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑦𝑚𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑦 and ahead of yet another first outing in the last concert of the season come April 17, DZFE's Tiffany catches up with Jeffrey Ching on MAESTRO FILIPINO. The composer teases for 𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏...

Countertenor Paul Ryan Arcolas is prepared to display the versatility and range of what is arguably the most otherworldly of voice types. This MAESTRO FILIPINO, he joins DZFE's Tiffany ahead of 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓, a jewel box of a program opening the Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation's 2026 Young Artists Series on March 28. Meet Ryan in conversation and song in this program excerpt....

Amidst the festive bustle of December, baritone Belford King Mabunga stepped before an intimate crowd and delivered Gustav Mahler's five-song contemplation on the nuances of grief — the 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑟 or 𝑆𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛. DZFE's Tiffany interviews the thoughtful, self-described "old soul", a singer, church musician and athlete, and we hear the third of the 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑜...

This February 25, Thomas Tallis' iconic 40-part motet 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒖𝒎 unfurls in the spaces of the San Ezekiel Moreno Oratory in a much-anticipated lecture-performance featuring the Collegium Vocale Manila and the ALERON male choir under the baton of Dr Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng. Join this conversation with Aleron's Karl San Jose, Kevin Maske and Rimher Manubay on MAESTRO FILIPINO, the second...

The atmospheric Las Piñas Church throws open its doors this February welcoming concertgoers to the convergence of early, sacred, and pipe organ music that is the International Bamboo Organ Festival. In the first of a two-program spotlight, MAESTRO FILIPINO with DZFE’s Tiffany features the sounds of last year's milestone Festival, villancicos and a conversation with Ateneo de Manila College Gle...

It's a festival of plucked strings, for the last of our three-part NAMCYA 2025 spotlight! Junior Guitar Category first prize winner Gian Franco Ambrosio shares the inspiration that began his guitar journey this MAESTRO FILIPINO with DZFE's Tiffany, and we take in competition performances by Children's Solo Rondalla Category first prize winner Sophia Ashley Presentacion Asor and the Jun...

It took a detour for violinist Gabriel Domagas to come to terms with his musical calling. Get to know the Senior Strings Category first prize winner on this week's MAESTRO FILIPINO spotlight — Part 2 of a series of three on the 2025  National Music Competitions for Young Artists . Also on the program, performances by the Davao National High School SPA Centennial Choir (Children's Choir Cat...

Each year, and now for over fifty years, the  National Music Competitions for Young Artists  has superintended a hive of activities intended to seek out and nurture musical talent. On MAESTRO FILIPINO, Tiffany is joined by NAMCYA's Artistic and Program Director 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱𝗼 and by baritone 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 (Senior Voice A Category, first prize) in the first of a three-program spotlight on NAMC...

The Manila Symphony Orchestra’s executive director Jeffrey Solares has a habit of saying "Yes!" to the opportunities Providence sends their way. As a result, the MSO charges out of the gate this new year with two big concerts this January, happening within days of each other — the orchestra's 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕 on January 22, and 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚 on January 25, featuring pianists Carmenci...

Multifaceted American pianist Raffi Kasparian has the head of an engineer and the heart of an artist. The two come together in a program of evolving musical landscapes, 𝑻𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆: 𝑨 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑶𝒅𝒚𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒚, which he performs at various Manila venues this January, on a visit back to the land of his wife's birth. Also a demonstration of musical art and engineering and part of the concert roster...

From the flower markets of Dangwa to the stars: Los Cantantes de Manila is the community choir which in the course of a decade (and a pandemic hiatus) has gone from no note-reading facility or significant exposure to classical repertoire, to a competition juggernaut which this year trod the elite platform of the European Grand Prix for choral singing and took top prizes at the Busan Choral Festiva...

When John Daniel Rotap went in to audition as a piano performance major at the UST Conservatory, he came armed only with a piece of Christian contemporary music he had learned to play by ear. His extant knowledge of and exposure to (or love of!) classical music? Zero. Note reading skills? Also zero. In fact, he had no idea that his life was about to take a completely unexpected turn. In the wake o...

Guitarist Rafael Ronquillo is a storyteller. His recent concert, presented by Double Pentagon Concerts, and called 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑒 𝐺𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎, was an evocative narrative built on 20th and 21st century music. Raffy unpacks his insights and influences in this MAESTRO FILIPINO interview with DZFE's Tiffany.

Why are there twin posters of Poland and the Philippines hanging on the wall in pianist Krzysztof Moskalewicz's London flat? There is more to it than his impending return to Manila to perform ravishing recitals of romantic music on December 5 and 7. DZFE's Tiffany hears more from the Polish pianist in this MAESTRO FILIPINO interview.

The playing field isn't level, so Filipino-American pianist Victor Asuncion established an award to help give emerging classical musicians a fighting chance. Asuncion performs in Manila with cellist Gabriel Martins, one of two awardees this year, as part of the American Recital Debut Award On Tour, on December 3. What does it take for an artist to make a mark? Victor Asuncion gives his reply i...