World-class pianist Cecile Licad is as Pinoy as paksiw

Hailed as the “Pianist’s pianist,” and having entranced audiences with the tip of her fingers from Moscow to Manila, Cecile Licad was once asked if she had Viennese blood — because she was a virtuoso in playing Viennese waltzes, “for four hands, and I have an instinct for all kinds of music.”

- JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ

Cecile learns to chill. Photo from Cecile Licad's Instagram

Mozart, Strauss and Beethoven were Viennese, after all.

She would say it’s because she’s Filipino.

“I am Filipino so that’s how I interpret the music. It’s how I transmit it. Maybe that’s what makes it different — because of where I’m from,” she said in an intimate group interview with journalists in the exquisite home of the late Nedy Tantoco, who was a relentless supporter and inspiration. We were joined by Nedy’s son Anton T. Huang, president and CEO of Rustan’s and SSI Group, and chairman of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Society, Inc. (PPOSI). PPOSI spearheads the initiative as a meaningful fundraiser for the PPO’s continued pursuit of excellence.

“I never forgot Tagalog. I’ve been in America for a long time. And I know some people would travel, they’d speak English, and say, ‘Oh I don’t understand you.’ Ano?” she would answer back. “Siyempre hindi mo nakakalimutan (ang Tagalog). When I was 11 years old, I remember there were Filipinos who didn’t think I was Filipino and they would make fun me.”

“Anong problema mo?” she would surprise them by saying.

She’s actually as Pinoy as paksiw.

“The only food I can eat every day is paksiw. I can cook paksiw.” In fact, she just had paksiw na salay-salay in the home of her hosts.

Her desire to bring her music to the provinces reflects her mission. Why does she make time for her outreach concerts?