“Kung ano ang ukol ay bubukol” — what is natural will come out. Take Cesar Santiano Wycoco. Despite training (scholarship at Oklahoma City University and F.A.A. Training Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A.) and years of work in Air Traffic Control (Manila International Airport and U.S. Navy), and formal preparation for the diplomatic service (B.A. in Government and International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and M.A. in Political Science, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A., graduate degree in French, University of Nice, Nice, France) it is his musical talent that prevailed and turned him into a professional pianist and composer-lyricist.

In effect, with virtually no formal musical training, aside from a limited number of lessons in basic piano from a neighbor-teacher, Cesar successfully carved out a career as a Solo Lounge Pianist, thanks to a keen musical ear and years of diligent self-study. Starting to play the piano in post-Liberation clubs in Manila (including the USO Club on Escolta), he eventually moved on to piano lounges on board world-class luxury cruise liners—Sun Line Cruises’ T/SS STELLA SOLARIS, Royal Cruise Line’s M/V ROYAL ODYSSEY, and only Silversea Cruises’ M/V SILVER CLOUD and five-star hotels—Hotel Loews Monte Carlo, Monaco, The Manila Hotel, and Hotel Shangri-La Manila. It is noteworthy that while on board cruise ships, Cesar included in his regular schedule per cruise a 40-minute solo piano concert featuring his original compositions.

A polyglot, Cesar is fluent in Pilipino, English, French and Italian, with intermediate Spanish and elementary Portuguese as fifth and sixth languages. He was a resident of Monaco for seventeen years before moving back to the Philippines in October, 1994. He now lives in Salcedo Village, Makati City.

Cesar has produced and recorded five albums of piano solos (among which are twenty-seven of his compositions), all in studios in Milan, Italy and Athens, Greece.

*From the inlay of the album “Cesar Wycoco plays 23 of his compositions” (Vicor, 1998)

The following songs are among his compositions:

From the album “You Light Up My Life” (1978), performed by Cesar Wycoco:

It’s Been a While
Try to Explain

From the album “In Monte Carlo” (1985), performed by Cesar Wycoco:

All in Time
Something Nice
In Monte Carlo

From the album “Cesar Plays Wycoco” (1992 & 1998), performed by Cesar Wycoco:

When I’m Here With You
That’s What You Are
Down in Rio With You
Should Have Known
Nocturne in G min (“Saudade”)
Harana
Love’s Lament
Valse Sans Paroles 2
When We’re Dancing Like This
Sana
Finding You
After All These Years
Happy Birthday!

From the album “A Song for My Love” (1979), performed by Cesar Wycoco:

A Song for My Love
Golden Days

From the album “To Find Love Again” (1982), performed by Cesar Wycoco:

Couldn’t We Try Makin’ It