MANILA, Philippines?Classical music enthusiasts are in for a treat as the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) opens its concert season for 2009-2010.

For its 27th Concert Season, the ?PPO Signature Series: Tour de Force Performances,? the country?s premier orchestra will perform a series of eight concerts with seven world-renowned maestros as guest conductors, said Dr. Raul Sunico, vice president and artistic director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) during the PPO press launch Wednesday.

What makes this year?s concert selection different from the past is that the maestro?s have free reign over their program and what music they will perform with the PPO, said Sunico.

?While last year, we centered on the particular music of each country, this year we will focus more on the conductor themselves not so much on the music because I gather that last year, we sort of dictated, in part, the kind of program the concert will have,? Sunico said.

For PPO Orchestra Manager Rebecca Jose, this is the group?s way of paying tribute to conductors who have helped the PPO achieve its current ?level of excellence.?

?We would like to focus now on these conductors who brought us to this level of excellence like Piero Gamba and some other conductors who at this stage in their life are also at that high level of performance,? Jose said.

?We would like the PPO to benefit from their experience and also share it with the audience,? she added.

Outreach performances will also be done in various venues such as malls and parks in Metro Manila.

Jose said these outreach concerts will help the PPO ?expand its audience reach? and ?widen its subscriber base.?

?We will be modifying the program of the outreach or run-out concerts slightly but we would like to still maintain the classical sound and we would like to educate the people especially those who do not have access to classical music,? Jose added.

Opening the Concert Season 2009-2010 on the 3rd of September, is American conductor Anthony Quartuccio, who recently conducted the San Jose Chamber Orchestra in a private performance for the Dalai Lama of Tibet in san Francisco.

Included in his repertoire Antonin Dvorak?s Carnival Overture Op. 92, Buenaventura?s By The Hillside, Anica Galindo?s For Lambent Isles for String Orchestra, Debussy?s La Mer, and Peter Tchaikovsky?s Symphony No. 4 in F-Minor Op. 36.

For the second installment of the PPO Concert Season on October 8, another well known American conductor, Robert Ryker will lead the PPO in performing Bach/Rÿker?s Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major (on Sainte-Anne), BWV 552, Brahms? Variations on a Theme by Franz Joseph Haydn, Op. 56a, and Beethoven?s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (Choral), Op. 125.

Ryker, who hails from Indianapolis, USA, is well known throughout the Asia Pacific Region and is currently the Music Director of the Tokyo Sinfonia and the Music Advisor of the National Philharmonic of India.

South Korean conductor Jae-Joon Lee will lead the PPO on November 12 in performing Berlioz?s Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9; Delibes? Les Filles de Cadix (soprano solo), Verdi?s Tutte le feste al tempio-Piangi from ?Rigoletto? (soprano, baritone duet), Giordano?s Come un bel di di maggio from ?Andrea Chenier? (tenor solo), among others. Audiences should also watch out for guest performances by Korean soprano Yun-kyoung Yi, Filipino baritone Noel Azcona and Filipino tenor Randy Gilongo.

For its fourth concert on December 10, Italian conductor Maestro Ruggero Barbieri will conduct the PPO in performing Beethoven?s Symphony no.7 in A Major, Op. 92, Corelli?s Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6 no. 8 (Christmas Concerto), and Haydn?s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra in E flat Major, H. VIIe: 1 featuring Fredeline Parin, Principal trumpet of PPO.

Welcoming the New Year will be the performance of Filipino Conductor Laureate Oscar Yatco with pianist Albert Tiu on January 14, 2010.

Included in the program are Brahms? Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68, Chopin?s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op.11, and Hindemith?s Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber

A special birthday concert for National Artist for Music Lucio San Pedro will be held on February 11. Noted Filipino conductor and outgoing PPO Resident Conductor Agripin Diestro will lead the PPO in performing San Pedro?s works such as Ang Buwan sa Kabundukan Tone Poem, and Lahing Kayumanggi Symphonic Poem.

Italian cundoctor Piero Gamba will again take the stage with the PPO on March 18 together with guest violinist Joseph Esmilla. Featured in their performance are Sibelius?s Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, Prokofiev?s Symphony no. 1 in D major, Op. 25 ?Classical Symphony?, and Rimsky-Korsakov?s Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34.

All PPO performances for the Concert Season will be held at the CCP?s Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).