Cecile Licad: Forever eminent

She came like a storm with several landfalls. And yet, on a particular weekend — despite the downcast skies and intermittent rain — Cecile Licad had singlehandedly eclipsed the blustery stormy weather.

There she was, seated before a gleaming grand piano at the historic Manila Metropolitan Theater, where she had once performed as a prodigy barely tall enough to reach the pedals. Decades later, the “Pianist’s Pianist,” as the century-old American magazine The New Yorker so reverently dubbed her, returned to the same city — the same stage — now, carrying the weight and wonder of a legend in The Pianist’s Pianist: Cecile Licad In Concert.

At age 11, she was a rising star. By 12, she had inscribed at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under the tutelage of the great top-of-their-field trio Rudolf Serkin, Seymour Lipkin and Mieczysław Horszowski. At 19, she became the first Filipina — and one of the youngest ever — to win the Leventritt Gold Medal, a rare honor shared with the likes of perfectionist Van Cliburn and the versatile Gary Graffman.

From then on, the world, in awe, remembered her name.

Licad has since performed with nearly every major orchestra of note — the Chicago Symphony under Claudio Abbado, the New York Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, the Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa, and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy.

She has even collaborated with the London Philharmonic under André Previn, who conducted her award-winning recording of Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. This was the very same piece that earned her the Grand Prix du Disque from the Chopin Society of Warsaw!

Name a revered orchestra, dream venue, or much-coveted award — she has probably been there, done that.

And so, as the first notes of Gioacchino Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri Overture burst forth, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Grzegorz Nowak, set the tone for what would be a night of passion.

Then emerged Cecile — serene, focused, and utterly in command — as she launched into Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, her nimble yet powerful fingers fervently dancing between melancholy and majesty.

After the intermission, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture fluttered through the hall like a breath of lightness and joy.

Cecile then returned for Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22, a work of brilliance and whimsy — lyrical in the Andante sostenuto, playful in the Allegro scherzando, and dazzling in the Presto.

As the last shimmering notes of Saint-Saëns faded into the hushed stillness, the audience instantly rose in thunderous applause.

More than the spellbinding notes, what filled the auditorium was nostalgic memory. The Met itself seemed to sigh in recognition, as if remembering the little girl who once rehearsed in these same chambers under the watchful eyes of her mother, Rosario Buencamino Licad, descendant of the venerable composer Francisco Buencamino.

And there she was again — no longer a wunderkind, but the consummate artist — bridging past and present with each chord, each movement.

Throughout her storied career, Cecile has been described in countless ways: tempestuous, tender, brilliant, bold. Yet what perhaps best defines her is her humanity. Even at the current height of her international fame, Cecile has remained deeply rooted in home soil. She has played outreach concerts across the country — from Tuguegarao to Zamboanga, Iloilo to Davao — bringing the same dedication and devotion she embodies to Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center.

This homecoming, presented by Rustan’s and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Society Inc. (PPOSI) — the beneficiary was the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra — was a tribute to the late Zenaida “Nedy” Tantoco, the cultural patroness who tirelessly championed music, art, and the Filipino spirit.

Carrying her vision forward, son Anton T. Huang, president and CEO of Rustan’s and SSI Group, and chairman of the PPOSI, described it best: “Cecile Licad is not only one of the Philippines’ greatest cultural treasures but also a symbol of how Filipino artistry can inspire and elevate audiences across the world.”

Indeed, the evening felt like a benediction, a continuation of Nedy Tantoco’s mission of nurturing Filipino talent and honoring excellence. Under her legacy, and with Cecile’s brilliance, the famed stage itself transformed into a sanctum of gratitude and grace.

¡Enhorabuena, Cecile Licad! ¡Viva, PPOSI and Rustan’s!