Archive for the 'music' Category
A little downtime, a little reflection, but passionately desiring almost anything but. The seismograph needle suffers my schizophrenia. Back in a few somethings. Wish we were still walking streets in the Autumn chill, your hand over mine. And the city lights play back our soundtrack of laughter.
for the mood: the turbulent calm
tracks: (all files uploaded onto zshare.net. Music is rightful property of the artists. I don’t own any of these…Please buy their music and support them)
+ [Butterfly] – Yoko Kanno ft. M (Cowboy Bebop)
+ [Between the Bars] – Madeleine Peyroux
+ [Little Person] – Jon Brion ft. Deanne Storey (Synecdoche, New York)
October 24 2010 | music and travels and waffle | No Comments »
In Classical Music, there is a curious phenomenon that sometimes happens: a beautiful piece of music will have been written by a well-known composer, but it is rather overshadowed by his/her other great works. Because of this, there tend to be less recordings of these pieces by the greater ensembles on the planet.
Johannes Brahms is a composer whose works I have always had a tumultuous relationship with. The Piano Quintet in f minor has been one of my favourite compositions since grade school, but his orchestral works, often performed in youth orchestra phase, were less appealing. Their textures and emotions were too thick, and the neverending syncopations were – for lack of a better word – annoying. In my junior year of college, I studied his Piano Quartet in c minor, but it took a few years for me to truly appreciate the beauty of the work. I still did not care for any of his symphonic pieces. As Schubert was for [Nodame], Brahms was just very difficult for me to communicate with.
Lately, though, that has started to change a little. Maybe it’s experience, maturity, or simply sophistication. For my final graduate recital, I performed three of his Hungarian Dances and was required to research them extensively for a paper. During this time, Brahms’s complicated character and motivations became clearer to me, and perhaps as a result, I’m more forgiving to his music. Any man that likes Beethoven as much as he can’t be all that terrible.
At Aspen, I met the Serenade No. 1 in D Major for the first time, and it solidified my appreciation for Brahms. However, because the library was working so much during the time period when it was performed, my impression was created through the tiny snippets that made it through the door. A revisit was finally accomplished tonight, but due to the lack of a decent recording to stream online, I am not sure I still have a full grasp of the piece.
The first movement contains all these Beethoven flourishes mixed with the typical Brahms harmonic progressions that makes it horrendously tough to tune, apparently, since no recording was in tune (especially the oboe solo that permeates the entire movement.) The Adagio has these unexpectedly wonderful key changes without which the entire work may have been unimaginative. Any conductor who ignores these gems deserves to be kicked off his podium. And then the fifth movement Scherzo Trio is absolutely fun to listen to (and I’m sure to perform.) The rest of the movement again calls back to Beethoven (Edward Downes would argue me that the work leans more to Haydn and Mozart, which I don’t necessarily disagree with, but my mind nerdily attaches to Beethoven first.) and features some fabulous counterpoint. The woodwind solos and ensembles throughout the entire work are somehow heartfelt as opposed to splashy or soloistic – but God help the musicians when it’s out of tune. All the movements are susceptible to becoming overly heavy-handed and plodding if performed without the correct momentum from both the podium or orchestra.
…Brahms is difficult!
This October, I will (hopefully) hear a program of the Symphony No. 2 and 4 by the Philadephia Orchestra. Honestly- and not to criticize as the artistic direction probably had some musical point in programming it that way- the Serenade No. 1, or its more well-known companion Serenade No. 2, would make a better companion to one of the symphonies. The Serenade No. 1 is an inoffensive and well-composed cousin to the symphonies, but equally demanding to perform and present to do all those the intricacies justice. Why don’t orchestras perform this one more often? Meanwhile, the symphonies are growing on me, if only movement by movement (Movement III of Symphony No. 2 is a particular favorite, but the part that makes me happiest is a few measures in the opening of the fourth movement that incidentally relies on a bit of syncopation.)
That all being said, if anyone knows of a fabulous recording of the Serenade No. 1 or the Samuel Barber Sonata for Cello and Piano, please let me know. I would love to hear these compositions in their full glory.
September 15 2010 | music and musings and travels | No Comments »
Even though summer is pretty much over, I’m just getting my super super tiny [summer project] out. This was originally intended to help cover costs when traveling to Aspen (for a Summer Festival, as the title translates to), but now that that’s all ended, it’s kind of to help cover costs of my upcoming trip around the States to learn either violin or librarianship from people of varying levels of fame.
Or just for people to enjoy. I hope you will take a [listen] and enjoy.
The project was recorded over the course of a few days back in May and took forever to completely master mostly because of time differences and, well, life. It features other members of [Select Start], but please note it’s not another Select Start album because not all the members of the band are performing.
September 14 2010 | games and music and travels | No Comments »
Sometimes, the craziness [pays off]. Congratulations to everyone who had a hand in preparing and/or performing for this. It feels like a good day.
Tonight is the last performance, and tomorrow I re-insert cuts into the parts for sending back. My job isn’t done yet, but I finally feel like I accomplished something grand.
August 21 2010 | music | No Comments »
Where do you begin when perhaps the most eventful two months of your life are still happening?
I write from the mountains of Aspen with glorious weather and music surrounding on all sides, more coming in every day. And no ever day entirely feels off from work. But that is all right, and truthfully, exactly the environment I need to be in.
So – to start: Upon arriving in Aspen, I was assigned to be the sole librarian for the Aspen Opera Theatre Company. I had never done any opera work before, and it’s been quite a ride. Luckily, my colleagues had all done opera at some point or other and were able to guide.
In the process, I have begun a small site to preserve little treasures found when flipping through music parts to clean them, match them, bow them…all those things librarians have to do with parts. You can view (and submit, if you find anything) these discoveries at [http://heckelphon.tumblr.com]
edit: The Tumblr has since been removed. It is currently being transferred over to WordPress or Flickr.
August 02 2010 | music and travels | No Comments »
There are worse things to do on a day off than play Nintendogs while listening to Leon Kirchner. (Would this behavior have been considered rebellious in some particular time period? Kirchner’s music sounds like it could probably have been the Classical equivalent of the Sex Pistols at some point in terms of cultural reception.)
I somehow stayed on a Yo-Yo Ma and David Zinman kick, listening through the 1996 album of cello and orchestra works by Richard Danielpour, Leon Kirchner, and Christopher Rouse. The last movement of the Danielpour has a motif that mirrors Hitoshi Sakimoto’s main theme from RomeoxJuliet, which was first aired in 2007. I wonder if Sakimoto had heard this concerto before writing the score. It certainly fits both pieces. The Kirchner is quite pretty and expressive, and Zinman has such a respectfully affectionate portrayal of him in the liner notes.
What has become surprising to me, personally, is how much more attuned my ear has become to listening to these kinds of compositions. I remember feeling confused by these three works upon first listening. But they make sense now and I can hear actual structure and ideas. It probably started with either the Barber Violin Concerto of the Corigliano Violin Sonata: pieces that I could somehow make sense of despite their dissonances and unexpectedly musical harmonies. Now, after performing not a few works abiding by these same principles, this way of listening has improved? I suppose I can’t complain about it.
When I took off my headphones, Dvorak’s Violin Sonatina Op. 100 (Itzhak Perlman) was streaming through my dad’s computer in the adjacent room. It’s still such a cute piece after all these years. I should get around to learning it properly sometime.
June 01 2010 | games and music and musings | No Comments »
FreeCell is for listening to new music. It’s just barely stimulating enough.
One major benefit of being back at my parents’ house is being able to riffle through all the albums my dad owns but I never paid enough attention to when I was younger (He owns 14 copies of the Dvorak Cello Concerto that I know of…)
Tonight is the Barber Cello Concerto and Britten Symphony for Cello and Orchestra (Yo-Yo Ma, David Zinman, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. ) – both of which I’ve never heard before (though Barber’s Violin Concerto is hands down my favourite violin concerto.)
Barber could definitely have made this concerto more “modern.” I’m glad he didn’t; My dad probably wouldn’t have bought it if it was. What an amazing recording.
May 31 2010 | games and music and musings | No Comments »
Since everyone on the planet at the moment is giving me hell for this, I’m just going to come clean: Yes, it is true, I will be on television again. But just PBS again (Public Broadcasting System for any non-Americans; It’s our public television station) (What are those called in Europe? I am curious now.) and for all of 20 seconds.
So no, I am not and will not be any sort of television “star” and I’m pretty sure that I’ll be some kind of nervous and wibbly mess that makes the producer question why on earth she thought bringing in this violinist was a good idea.
ANYWAYS.
(A few months ago, my quartet was featured on PBS for one of their arts programs because the faculty quartet was unavailable. The producer for that program called about two weeks ago for a promotional project they’re doing. Something about being “articulate.”) (I do like adventures…)
May 05 2010 | music and waffle | 2 Comments »
Nothing like a final paper to make me update.
Paper: Symphonic Literature – preliminary title “PROKOFIEV V. HAYDN!!!: The Direct Influence of Haydn on Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1″
Progress: kind of okay.
Theme?: some of my better totally random discoveries (criteria denoting having never heard of the artist prior and without recommendation prior to listening. They were just sitting near some music that I was consciously seeking.)
Tracks: (all files uploaded onto zshare.net. Music is rightful property of the artists. I don’t own any of these…Please buy their music and support them.)
+ [The Trouble with River Cities] – Pela
(I can’t believe I haven’t shared this one before. This is one of my favourite songs for everything.)
+ [Living Room] – Paris Combo
+ [Shinikaketa Ashi] – Yano Maki
+ [War Again] – Balkan Beat Box
May 03 2010 | music | No Comments »
On the eve of my twenty-fourth birthday, all I can think about (aside from how much grief happened in twenty-three) is my parents. Sometimes people might find it rather difficult to vocalize their appreciation for their parents, but I have somehow found myself doing just that pretty much every Sunday afternoon to the parents who wait patiently for their children to finish orchestra rehearsal. I just never really find that courage to say this to MY parents.
What can truly be said to thank them, though? I’m still alive (perhaps not as happy as they would have hoped) and that’s a big credit to them from the start. At this point, I really have to start to take the steps to end up at that place where I can turn right back around and give them back as much as possible. And to be as little a worry as possible (which is just about impossible.)
What was 23? 23 was destruction and reformation over and over. 23 was perseverance even through perpetual rejection, discovering the darkest sides of me (In other words: I learned to drive.), what it meant to unconditionally love, how painful that can be, and knowing who I am and will always be. (Though I confess, I’d my sense of humour back, please.)
Thanks, Mum and Dad, for all you do. Because of you, I have survived the path behind me and can keep stepping forward – no matter how difficult the path ahead…[/cheese]
—-
(all files uploaded onto zshare.net. Music is rightful property of the artists. I don’t own any of these…Please buy their music and support them.)
+ [Little Secrets] – Passion Pit
+ [Lullaby] (Noir) – Tulivu Donna Cumberbatch
+ [Adieu] (Cowboy Bebop) – Emily Bindinger
+ [Goodbye to Yesterday] (Metal Gear Solid II) – Rika Muranaka
April 17 2010 | music and waffle | 1 Comment »
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