New York–based Cecile Licad brings her music home to the Philippines — Features

From her New York home to her ongoing Manila tour, pianist Cecile Licad continues to captivate audiences while honoring the memory of her patron Nedy Tantoco and reaffirming her Filipino roots.

NEW YORK / MANILA — Cecile Buencamino Licad, the Manila-born pianist acclaimed on the world’s greatest stages, continues to remind audiences of her brilliance as she embarks on an ongoing nationwide tour of the Philippines. Hailed by The New Yorker as a “pianist’s pianist,” Licad lives in New York City, but her music and heart remain deeply tied to her homeland.

This season she is back home, performing for Filipino audiences in a tour that began in Manila and continues through Baguio, Antipolo, Quezon City, Iloilo, and Catanduanes.

Artistry and discipline

Licad was born in 1961 to Jesús Licad and Rosario Buencamino Licad. She began piano lessons at age three with her mother, who was her first teacher, and later trained with Rosario Picazo. By seven she had made her orchestral debut in Manila, already recognized as a prodigy.

At 12 she entered the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied under Rudolf Serkin, Seymour Lipkin, and Mieczysław Horszowski. Her rise was swift. In 1981 she won the Leventritt Gold Medal, a rare and prestigious award given to only a select number of musicians, among them Van Cliburn and Itzhak Perlman.

That victory propelled her into an international career that included performances with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, London Philharmonic, and many other major orchestras. Critics praised her virtuosity and intensity, noting how she combined technical brilliance with expressive depth.

Her discography reflects her range. Her recording of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with André Previn and the London Philharmonic earned the Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin in 1985. She also recorded Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Claudio Abbado and the Chicago Symphony, regarded as one of her landmark achievements.

A life between New York and Manila

Now based in New York City, Licad has lived much of her adult life abroad, often describing her daily existence as solitary and disciplined, with practice forming the core of her routine. Yet her heart remains firmly connected to the Philippines.

Her current tour opened on September 24, 2025 at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila, where she performed with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Grzegorz Nowak. The program featured Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2, alongside Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute and Rossini’s Overture to L’italiana in Algeri. The concert, presented by Rustan’s, also served as a fundraiser for the PPO.

The tour continues with scheduled performances in Baguio, Antipolo, Quezon City, Iloilo City, and Catanduanes, including an intimate recital at Gallery MiraNila on October 1. Outreach performances include a free concert at Sta. Ana Parish in Molo, Iloilo on October 6. A second Iloilo concert follows at the UPV Museum of Art and Cultural Heritage on October 7, before the tour concludes on October 11 in Virac, Catanduanes.

The concerts have drawn standing ovations, echoing the success of her Carnegie Hall recital in December 2024, which sold out and received critical acclaim from New York reviewers for its blend of virtuosity and storytelling.

Family and personal journey

Beyond her public life, Licad’s personal journey is marked by family and balance. She married Brazilian cellist Antônio Meneses, whom she met at a music festival in Austria, and together they have a son, Otavio, born in 1987. The marriage lasted nine years, but Licad has spoken openly about the importance of motherhood in her life, even as she navigated the demands of an international career.

Today, she continues to make her home in New York, where she juggles family, practice, and performance, often reflecting that music remains a lifelong process of learning.

The role of patronage

Licad’s journey was shaped not only by her own discipline but also by the support of patrons who opened doors at crucial moments. Her early studies in the United States were made possible by the Young Artists’ Foundation, established under then–First Lady Imelda Marcos, which named her its first piano scholar. Licad has said that this support made it possible for her to study in America, adding that she and Imelda Marcos “never talked about politics” and that their connection was one of artistic sponsorship. She has freely acknowledged that her flourishing career can be attributed in part to this assistance.

Equally vital was the presence of the late Zenaida “Nedy” Tantoco, longtime chair of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Society and one of the country’s great arts patrons. To Licad, she was more than an organizer. She was “Tita Nedy,” a confidante who shared her artistic vision and encouraged her to keep performing for Filipino audiences.