“Do you know that Beethoven firmly believed that people who listened well to his music would be better people, happier people? It’s the attitude that art has moral value. Yes, I think music has a special capacity to bring harmony to all nations. Good music has a truly positive effect…
“What do bar lines sound like…?”
0.. asked the piano teacher in our lesson this morning. Lessons with him are always funny, challenging, and ridiculous; and he always finds a way to throw me off-balance. Our lesson this morning had been no different. After making it to uni at 8.30am in the dark, foggy weather (climbing…
Sibelius Sunday..
0…it shall be called, 2nd December 2012 because of the amount of works by Sibelius performed in two different locations in Leeds. A friend from Manchester told me that his friend will be performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto at the Leeds College of Music, with the Leeds College of Music…
feelings..
0“I did not panic because, well, first of all, my feeling for the piece was so strong – I love the piece so much, that there was not even a moment when I had time/space in my brain to think that I was scared.” – Midori, on breaking strings twice…
The Music, Our Works – some thoughts on the concert
0I don’t usually put up reviews so quickly, but with three concerts and one masterclass to attend this week, I feel that I have to write this now or else the memory of last night’s concert might be blurred and mishmashed with tonight’s. So here’s my thoughts, for Bernard and…
A feeling of heimweh was evoked when a friend quoted me the following passage, Frisch weht der WindDer heimat zu Mein Irisch Kind, Wo weilst du? Ridiculous, because I am home in Singapore. Maybe it’s because I do miss wandering the streets, churches and museums of Deutschland though.. Of course, I doubt he…
On manufacturing music..
0“Your soul has to want to speak and you do it when it’s appropriate. If you force yourself, then you won’t be successful – you’re manufacturing music.” – Yanni
‘You’re talking about manipulating feelings and emotions. Would it not be easier to convince people with a rational, simple and straightforward account?’ ‘No. It’s impossible to initiate a rational dialogue with someone about beliefs and concepts if he has not acquired them through reason. It doesn’t matter whether we’re looking…
Elijah – A Review
0“You can’t play Rachmaninoff on a harpsichord,” said a cellist-composer friend of mine, explaining why modern instruments are here to stay (and will be a permanent problem for historically-informed enthusiast). True, but Mendelssohn had his own way of doing combining the old and the new. He wrote Elijah, an oratorio,…
Literature, or at least good literature, is science tempered with the blood of art. Like architecture or music. -The Angel’s Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon