Philippine

Contempor
ary
Music

Contemporary music in
the Philippines usually
refers to compositions
that have adopted ideas
and elements from
twentieth century art
music in the West, as
well as the latest trends
and musical styles in the

The modern Filipino

repertoire consist of pieces
that have been written in
twentieth century idioms
that have evolved out of
such stylistic movements
as impressionism,
expressionism, neoclassism, as well as the so-

A good number of these

works have utilized the
standard formats of
classical European music
such as the concerto, the
symphony, the
symphonic and tone
poems, cantata, etc. and

At the same time, they

have also been greatly
influenced by the textural
colors of Debussys music
and the ambiguous and
dissonant tonalities of
early 20thcentury
expressionist
compositions. Moreover,

COL. ANTONINO BUENAVENTURA

(1904 1996)
National Artist for Music

Col. Antonino Ramirez

Buenaventura was a renowned
composer, conductor, and
teacher. His father Lucio was
the chief musician of the
Spanish artillery band in
Intramuros and founder of
Banda Buenaventura. As a
young boy, he had already
demonstrated a passion for

Col. Buenaventura further

developed his musical abilities at
the Conservatory of Music,
University of the Philippines (UP)
at the age of 19. He received a
Teachers Diploma in Science and
Composition at UP. Nicanor
Abelardo and Francisco Santiago
were among his famous mentors.
At the University, Buenaventura
led the UP ROTC Band and

Buenaventura was actively

involved with the various military
bands which ultimately earned
him his military rank of Colonel. He
was a music instructor and band
conductor of the Philippine Military
Academy (PMA). Later, he restored
the Philippine Constabulary Band in
1945, which was reputedly likened
to a symphony orchestra. It was
considered as one of the best
military bands in the world. It

Buenaventura was a faculty

member of the UP Conservatory of
Music. Later, he became
the music director of the
Conservatory of Music, University
of Santo Tomas (UST) in 1961. After
retiring from the military, he
became the music director at the
School of Music and Arts, University
of the East (UE) in 1964. He
promoted Philippine music through
his extensive use of folk materials

Buenaventura composed the music

and folk dance notations for the
dance researches of
Aquino. As a multi-awarded
musician, he composed Minuet,
Mindanao Sketches,
Divertimento for Piano and
Orchestra, Variations and Fugue,
and Greetings based on
Philippine folk music. Pandanggo sa
Ilaw, one of his most popular
compositions, remains