98.7 DZFE | The Master's Touch

What does it mean to be human? The answers are to be found in what Scripture teaches, that God made us in His image and to image Him. DZFE's Tiffany and Daniel discuss the rich implications of this fundamental gospel truth on DZFE’s special Reformation month feature, IMAGING GOD, with Greystone Theological Institute founding president, professor and pastor, Dr. Mark Garcia. 00:00:29 Made being...

It was as much a concert and competition tour as it was a European campaign. Earlier this year, Los Cantantes de Manila traveled the breadth of Europe, performing and bagging several prizes along the way. Among their spoils: three first prizes at the Concorso Polifonico Internazionale “Guido d’Arezzo,” and a qualification for next year’s Grand Prix for Choral Singing. On MAESTRO FILIPINO (Sat 1200...

From Beethoven to Szymanowski—award-winning German pianist Jonas Stark shares music from both ends of the Romantic period at his upcoming masterclass and recital later this month. He gives us a foretaste on MAESTRO FILIPINO with DZFE’s Daniel.

Guitarist Monching Carpio casts some of the most recognizable Philippine folk songs in a new light in his recently-published collection, Play Filipino. Speaking with DZFE’s Daniel on MAESTRO FILIPINO, he shares its pandemic origins and the method behind his arrangements.

Three years after her passing, pianist Nena del Rosario-Villanueva returns to the limelight as Dr. Alegria Ferrer shares her life and legacy on MAESTRO FILIPINO. Ahead of two tribute concerts by the Keyboard Department of the UP College of Music, Dr. Ferrer talks about how del Rosario-Villanueva blazed a trail for Filipino pianists on the international stage, became a household name, helped create...

A new work by Jeffrey Ching, a new concertmaster, and a brilliant guest soloist in violinist Shlomo Mintz—FIESTA sets the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s 40th concert season off to a strong start. On MAESTRO FILIPINO (Sat 1200, Sun 2400, Thu 2000), PPO music director and principal conductor Grzegorz Nowak shares what lies ahead, and his goals for both the orchestra and its audience. DZFE’s Dan...

From Las Piñas’ Banda San Jose to the UP College of Music, flautist John Karlo dela Cruz shares his story, and music, on MAESTRO FILIPINO. DZFE’s Daniel is the host.

Within the span of a month, the University of Mindanao Chorale has earned a place at two international choir competitions next year. Their most recent win, at the Taipei International Choral Competition, saw the group earn gold in two categories, as well as in the grand prix. We hear about the UM Chorale’s most recent victory from tenor, projects coordinator and social media manager Christian Gara...

Even before she became a violinist, Sophie Bantilan was already comfortable at the piano. She returns to her first instrument in Gerygone—a milestone concert heralding a new stage in Sophie’s career, and where she performs with her beloved Philippine Suzuki Youth Orchestra. She tells us the history behind that event and its name on today’s program of MAESTRO FILIPINO. DZFE’s Daniel is the host.

Opera arias have long occupied an important part of flautist Clarizz Petrasanta’s repertoire. Now, they take the spotlight again in the Manila Pianos Artist Series concert, Opera Fantasies, as Clarizz prepares for her master’s degree in the birthplace of opera, Italy. She speaks with DZFE’s Daniel on today’s program of MAESTRO FILIPINO.

British-Indonesian pianist George Harliono has performed for many different audiences all over the world, each with its own unique energy. However, there is one thing he hopes happens at every concert: that the audience enjoy the music as much as he enjoys playing it. Hear Harliono in conversation with DZFE’s Daniel ahead of his first Manila performance, on today’s program of MAESTRO FILIPINO.

A Carnegie Hall performance and an album of Bach’s solo sonatas and partitas—these are but part of violinist KayCee Galano’s remarkable list of achievements. Soon, she will share her expertise in a masterclass mounted by the Filipino String Teachers Association, and in the concert, Felix, Gustav & Igor On Campus, where she performs with the UP Symphony Orchestra in one of the pillars of the vi...

After two years in the UK, soprano Lizzie Estrada is back in the Philippines, and is set to perform in the homecoming recital, Songs My Mother Taught Me, mounted by Manila Pianos Artist Series. The title, of course, comes from Dvorak, but the inspiration behind the recital comes from very close to Lizzie’s heart. She tells us more about that, and her other performances while she’s here, on MAESTRO...

Violinist Chino Soberano has all but set down roots in the United States. Even so, he regularly turns his sights back to the Philippines to give back to the communities that set him on his path to a career in music. On a recent visit, he dropped by our studio to share, not only a couple of wonderful recordings, but also his work both here and abroad. Hear his conversation with DZFE’s Daniel on MAE...

What hope do we have in suffering? Under the baton of guest conductor Dr. Joel Navarro, Aleron explores that question in their upcoming concert, To Where I Wait. Dr. Navarro, Aleron resident conductor Karl San Jose, manager Kevin Maske, and vocal trainer Paul Ryan Arcolas share how this theme came about, and what Aleron has planned for the future, on MAESTRO FILIPINO. DZFE’s Daniel is the host.

Ballet Philippines will make history when it mounts the first Philippine staging of the first Romantic ballet, La Sylphide. What should we expect from a ballet that isn’t quite the more familiar Tchaikovsky? BP Artistic Director Misha Martynyuk and President Kathleen Liechtenstein talk about that, and what is in store for the company’s 55th season, on MAESTRO FILIPINO with DZFE’s Daniel.

Violinist Matias Mercurio is no stranger to long commutes—he has to travel all the way from his native Quezon Province to play with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth. It will be an even longer commute to play with the Asian Youth Orchestra, but one that’s definitely worth it. Before he flies abroad, Mercurio performs in a send-off recital with Jascha Dec...

Flautist Mark Kennedy Rocas is back in the Philippines to share what he has learned after the first year of his master’s degree at the Longy School of Music. This he did in the recent concert, Summer Solstice, mounted by Manila Pianos Artists Series and Cultural Arts Events Organizer. Before that, he spoke with DZFE’s Daniel to share how he started out as a musician, and why he chose to take his m...

All roads lead to Vienna for the concert, Harmonies of the Heart—mounted by the non-profit organization, Hearlife Verein, whose headquarters are in the Austrian capital, and featuring soprano Isabela Madero, who will soon be joining the Vienna Opera Academy as an understudy. Isabela and Hearlife program director Tosh Jacob-Soliven join DZFE’s Daniel on MAESTRO FILIPINO to share what went into Harm...

Cellist, composer, arranger, and now, conductor—Glenn Aquias, the first recipient of Casa San Miguel’s Ruggero Barbieri Conducting Fellowship, joins DZFE’s Daniel on MAESTRO FILIPINO to share why he set off on this new path, and what it takes to wield what he describes as the heaviest instrument—the conductor’s baton.

Established fifteen years ago by Japanese expats, the Manila Chamber Music Ensemble makes its concert debut in Blooming, mounted by Manila Pianos Artist Series. DZFE’s Daniel is joined by members, violist Hideki Nagae, pianist Mariko Okeda, and cellist Paul Natividad, who talk about the origins of the ensemble, their upcoming concert, and how they maintain their musicality despite the members havi...

Those who know about soprano Evelyn Mandac know she is the first—and so far, only—Filipino to grace New York’s Metropolitan Opera Theater. Besides that, we find little else written about her online. Driven by the scarcity of information—and drawn by Mandac’s rich, crystalline voice—art historian Chiara Cox set about uncovering her many astounding achievements to discover who Evelyn Mandac truly is...

Fatal love binds the works featured in the Manila Pianos Artist Series recital, Amore Fatale. But more importantly, Krissan Manikan-Tan, with tenor Nomher Nival and pianist Gabriel Paguirigan, explore the repertoire of the operatic mezzo-soprano. On MAESTRO FILIPINO, they join DZFE’s Daniel to share the story and reasons behind Amore Fatale, and how the mezzo repertoire can be just as challenging...

Make the piece your own—that is the philosophy that helped Zildjian Viray win in last year’s Kayserburg International Youth Piano Competition, and in two categories in the recent PTGPFI piano competition. He speaks with DZFE’s Daniel to share his story and his music on the next program of MAESTRO FILIPINO.

Frederic Chopin stands at the spotlight from May to July, as Manila Pianos Artist Series and Cultural Arts Events Organizer mount a six-week Chopin Fest, marking 175 years since the passing of Poland's most famous composer. Launching the series are the two piano concertos of his unblooded youth, to be performed by pianists Gabriel Paguirigan and Ricardo Abapo. They join DZFE's Daniel on MA...