Chamber Musicians Mark Astounding Finale to Ravel Series
Live Soundscapes by Joseph John L. Verallo | October 11, 2025
The evening of October 4, 2025, marked the last entry of the Maurice Ravel Music Festival Manila 2025, a series of four concerts dedicated to the French composer on his 150th anniversary. In this last concert, five talented and award-winning performers, Mariel Ilusorio (piano), Sara Maria Gonzales (violin), Clartrome Lounard Jacalan (cello), Cedric Rafael Uson (violin), and Justin Vincent Louis Talusan (cello) joined together in Manila Pianos Inc. to perform Ravel’s works for chamber music.
The term “chamber music” is a catch-all term to refer to any small group of instruments, usually in contrast to the large-scale population of an orchestra. Given its size, the genre has historically been noted for its intimacy, particularly the conversational nature of the music, something which often encourages a more personal partnership between each musician. Although Ravel is known for his works for solo piano and orchestra, he also left behind many gems in this genre.
Beginning the evening, Ilusorio and Gonzales proceeded to the front to perform Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major. On the piano, Ilusorio opened with the theme, a solitary melodic line expressing a typical “Ravel-ian” sentimentality. Gonzales followed with the same melody. As early as the beginning, you could see both artists’ masterful understanding of their instrument’s timbre: Ilusorio’s tones glistened like droplets falling on a pond, while Gonzales’ violin sang like a nightingale perched on a nearby branch. There was a simultaneous independence and cooperative spirit in their dynamic.
The second movement of the sonata had a cunning character, one that began with short pizzicatos, followed by a blues rhythm on the bass register of the piano. Gonzales played with a sly and smooth tone, ultimately ending the movement with a coy slide. The final movement contrasted the previous’ suavity with its restless sound. Gonzales’ energy was ruthless, noticeable in her never-ending runs that accompanied Ilusorio’s sprightly energy. This vivacity persisted to the final note, ending in a forthright applause from the audience.
The Sonata for Violin and Cello in A minor stood out as the most eccentric of the works that evening: typically, soloists are accompanied by a piano or other instruments to provide a harmonic background. In this work, however, Ravel provides no such thing, having instead a solo violin and cello “accompany” each other. Taking on this challenging work were the cellist Talusan and violinist Uson. The overall work was incredibly contrapuntal; at times, it seemed as if Ravel meant to pit two artists against each other as Talusan and Uson both seemed to compete for the spotlight with their virtuosity. However, the work also demanded clockwork coordination between each artist, something which both Talusan and Uson provided.
There is often in Ravel’s music the feeling of something archaic that accompanies the avant-gardism of his time. Such is the case with his Piano Trio no. 1 in A Minor played by Ilusorio, Gonzales, and Jacalan. The first movement’s opening theme was a soft chordal melody on the piano, which was reiterated on the violin and cello. The astounding partnership between Ilusorio and Gonzales in the first number was witnessed once again in this one. Ilusorio’s atmospheric tone particularly stood out even in the portions where the piano was not the focal point, like a painting whose background was just as enrapturing as its foreground.
The second movement of the trio was fast-paced, its theme softly expressed by the piano, then by the violin. Jacalan’s cello added an extra lyricism to Ravel’s flowing lines, especially in the third movement. Both Gonzales and Jacalan skillfully expressed the range of their instruments’ timbre. This was especially evident in the last movement, where both string players often shifted from raspy runs to smooth, flowing lines. The movement concluded with a prolonged trill on both cello and violin, resolving into a final chord.
The program could be characterized as quite heavy, leaning more towards Ravel’s less accessible works. Perhaps the performers knew this as they prepared for their surprise encore, a crowd favorite, Ravel’s Boléro. All five artists returned to perform this encore. In contrast to the density of the sonatas and the trio, Bolero is famous for simply containing a single theme, one repeated with little to no melodic variation. As it is repeated, only subtle changes are incorporated, most notably an additional instrument that leads into a gradual crescendo. Ilusorio opened with the work’s famous rhythmic “tapping,” followed by pizzicatos on the strings. The music gradually escalated, with all five composers playing their parts, ending in a final crescendo. It was an epic ending to this series, celebrating the French composer.
