Shortening Summer Vacation?

This is a response to this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/07/10/how-to-improve-summer-school/eliminate-summer-vacation#AssetInstance1Form

I’m still a high school student, and from my point of view, I cannot agree more with the writer. My school actually has a shorter summer vacation compared to other schools and instead has many short breaks during the school year. Because my school is especially academically pressuring and challenging (you have no idea), those short breaks have really helped me to catch some breath and catch up with any schoolwork I’ve missed, or even given me time for extra work: they are proving to be effective for me. Although sometimes I complain about short summer vacation, I really don’t think I would prepare more for another school year just by having a longer vacation. I’m still a teenager; like any others, I have limited amount of tolerance for studying by myself over the summer. Longer summer vacations will only give me good excuses to slack. Even if you do go to summer schools or camps, they are really just secondary aids to help you be more successful at school—without a more effective school system, they are no good anyways. As I was writing this response, I realized that I have so much summer work left to do, and I only have three weeks left . . .

Swan Lake

I know, I know. I promised to write a post on Clair de Lune, but alas, this post is the last post for quarter 4, 2011. So I decided to end this quarter by introducing a new guy that particularly girls would love: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Listen to the music.

What different charm does he have from other musicians I’ve introduced so far? Well, I guess Chopin’s style is a bit similar. I would say that he has dainty notes that are so delicate that a small touch may break the whole rhythm! How to you touch music? It’s up to you!

This Swan Lake Waltz is beautiful in such a different way from Beethoven’s. It’s far from majestic; it’s daintily intricate like beautiful crystal ornaments.

It really touches my heart in the middle where the melody really pleads to us, if that makes sense. The music is pleading… it’s desperate… then that desperation gets bigger and bigger. Such a tragic music, but beautiful. It really proves that tragedy is sometimes beautiful… or maybe Tchaikovsky beautified tragedy very well.

I’m really sad that this blog post is the last one for quarter 4, but I’m also really glad that summer vacation is almost here. Life is bittersweet, isn’t it? Ooh, that adjective fits this music well!

Anyways, thank you all for visiting my blog and enjoying my posts! It’s been a great pleasure to interact with all of you. (Although NO ONE commented on any blog post except for Mr. B… I’m pretty sure you all did in your heart. ) Have a great summer!

p.s. If you truly want to have a great summer, listen to lots of classical music and you will know that THAT IS LIFE.

New Thoughts

Honestly, I don’t listen to any music these days. I know it’s pathetic because I WRITE about music (duh!) but seriously, I have no time for it. But then again, I ask myself: is this an excuse?

The answer is YES. It is an excuse. Why would I not have time to listen to a little bit of music when I have time to talk to my friends on the phone or do internet shopping?

I feel like I’m missing out a lot these days… haha I’m just complaining right now because I have so much workload and it’s almost finals. Seriously, even though finals are coming my way, I should relax myself and listen to some music. I think it’ll do me some good.

Mozart with his sweet, innocent tunes and Beethoven with his majesty…. and Bach with his originality and Debussy with his dreams… Chopin with his intricate notes and Tchaikovsky with dainty little melodies…. I miss them all.

Sometimes in life I feel like I should lay down everything and just have a little bit of time to look back. And that’s exactly what I need right now… with a little bit of classical music.

Why is Classics so Beautiful?

Read the title above. Do you all agree?

Hopefully, you do. Well, certainly I do.

So the question is WHY? WHY is it?

To answer this question, BECAUSE IT HAS SOULS INCORPORATED INTO IT. Simple. Every single composer poured his/her life into it. When you listen to a classical piece, it’s easy to notice that it touches your emotions deeply within. It is not SHALLOW. OK, honestly, pop culture these days is cool. But does it make it deep? I don’t think so, personally. Pop culture is something that everyone can enjoy, but again lightly. But Classics! It might be difficult, I know, but it has a depth that no other music has. Honestly for me, it is the only genre of music that can really, really touch my heart and bring something deep within.

And it’s just BEAUTY itself. And it’s original. Music is born to be beautiful, to appeal to human minds and souls. And ORIGINALLY, it was the classical music that did it. Sometimes, being original is the most beautiful, although it may not be as fancy as being modern. It’s so innocent! And while it is not as ‘fancy’, its intricacy and modest beauty are beyond compare. BEYOND. FOREVER!!!!

(Don’t take it personally, those of you who appreciate modern music more, but I think while technology is evolving more and more, music is de-evolving more and more, if that makes sense. Because its uniqueness is so astonishing that no other genre has its beauty! Again, a very personal opinion. )

OK. The reason that I’m writing this post right now, although I was focusing on Debussy for a while is that I don’t have earphones with me right now but I have to work on my blog post so… Anyways, my whole point of this blog is to convince everyone that classic music is indeed beautiful, so I’ve done my job.

Debussy Children’ s Corner: Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum

Yay for Debussy’s Children’s Corner! Debussy made a series called ‘Children’s Corner’ for children. Well, duh!

I instantly fell in love with it the moment I heard it. That was when I was in 5th grade. Understandably, I was a ‘child’ back then. Well, still am. Anyways, so I decided to play it in my recital. That was 20o5… I think I still have the video file of me playing but I do not know where. I remember I played Chopin’s four hands ballade along with it. I miss those times :’(

What did I like so much about this piece? I recall I liked it because it was ‘cool’. It literally looked cool, too. When you actually see someone playing it, the hands cover such a wide range of keyboard from very high to very low, and left hand and right hand interlock or cross each other. Those cool staccatos that go ‘boing! boing! boing!’ and fingers moving restlessly… they all looked very, very cool. (I still think so. ) And it was something I’ve never tried. It was so different from classy classical pieces. It was so… impressionist. It was so dreamy, and I was picturing really soft clouds.

Practicing this piece was as fun as it looked. Probably the best piece I’ve done in my life. I never got bored practicing it. It was amazing how the music was so different, yet so self-explanatory. I just got the music. It just really appealed to me the way other pieces had not.

Now looking back, I think it was the way it touched my emotions. It touched something deep within me, because Debussy had strived to convey our emotions just the way they are. And the dynamics! Just for children full of energy. The piece was just for me.

When I play or listen to it now, I remember the time I practiced it really hard after school every day and I feel a sort of longing to go back. I was so happy back then… and this music had just captured me. I don’t think I practice as hard now. HAHA I ‘m too busy. But I often wonder if that’s only an excuse. :/

I was recently playing Clair de Lune by Debussy. It’s different from Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum in a way that it is not as exciting or dynamic. However, it has a mature beauty in it. It is so subtly beautiful! I wonder if I will ever be released by Debussy’s everlasting beauty. I shall always be enraptured as long as I live.

For my next entry, I think I am going to write on Clair de Lune. Why? Because it is equally beautiful and enthralling.:P

Introducing Claude Debussy

So here comes my FAVORITE COMPOSER!! <3

He is my most favorite composer in the world, of all times. Period. He is such an amazing guy! I am very looking forward to writing more about his incredible music.

So, before talking about his music, I felt it was important that you knew about his background first.

Here goes. He is certainly very modern in the history of classical music. 1862-1918 does not seem very modern to you? Well, in the story of classical music, it certainly is. We are talking about CLASSICS, after all. He joined the impressionist movement, both musical and cultural. That is how his music feels very dreamy and doesn’t make sense all the time, but appealing to emotions. Imagine Claude Monet! (Ohh I’ve just realized that they have the same first name!! ) Picture his paintings in your mind. Debussy is just like Monet, except he expressed it in music. Very cool, eh? I think so too. And that is exactly why I love him.

It is hard to touch the sphere of human mind. It is equally hard, if not harder, to express it, whether it be art, music, or literature. Simply put it this way: human mind is too complicated, yet simple, and is very ILLOGICAL. Do we always feel what we think? The answer is an absolute no. Do we think what we feel? Also, a no.

Debussy, however, being an excellent composer, and philosopher (to me, personally), does a great job of doing that. There is logic in his music, definitely. And then, it starts to ramble. But it is not an ugly chaos. It is a beautiful one, because it conveys the deep emotions and unconsciousness of human mind. Got confused while listening to his music? Listen to it one more time. Relax. It’s nothing hard. It is your own emotion. There is no denying. It evokes your emotions. It calls something deep within your soul. You will get it when you listen relaxedly; don’t think too complicated. After all, human mind is not a complication. It’s rather simple, I would say.

He is such a beautiful painter of music. And of human mind. He is such a beautiful poet of music. And of human mind. He is such a beautiful composer of music. And yet, he is not a composer of human mind.

He expresses what he sees in human mind. But he does not create what is in it. He merely inspects it and crafts it. Isn’t that so beautiful? That is one thing that really catches me. And exactly why I love music.

Ok, so I’m done talking for this post, I think. With the next post, I will get one of his pieces and explain that more in depth, in Debussian point of view. Thanks!

Picture citation: http://www.8notes.com/wiki/images/ClaudeDebussyC.jpg

What I’m up to these days :)

So… what am I up to these days? What am I practicing?

WELL if you’re not interested sorry. Haha but should be interesting enough… because I am practicing two of the most awesome pieces ever! (well I say this for every piece I play… but hey, they are all good!)

One, Clair de Lune by Debussy. This became really famous through Twilight, but really, it is not all about that! I will give a better representation of that piece on my next entry, should be fascinating.

Second one…. yes the Chopin Ballade I talked about last last time, played by Zimmerman. I am trying really hard to play like him, but to be honest, this one is one of the hardest I’ve ever done. The hardest ever was Ravel’s piece, which I forgot the name of, and the second hardest was La Campanella by Liszt.

Anyway, I am enjoying both of them very much and am planning to play them about next month (probably?) in a hospital for a volunteering activity. Super excited, but still, they are hard. Maybe not technically, but to convey exactly what the composer wanted, woah.

Especially the Ballade is a challenge, I play it too… dynamically, I should say. I play it too fast. And I’m supposed to hear the longing in it and the softness…. and to hear the contrast in the middle. Oh well. Still working on it. And I need a goal to achieve anyways.

Maybe I’ll upload a video of me playing in the hospital later on ?

Chopin Fantasy Impromptu, Op. 66

So. Yundi Li!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this version by Yundi Li. Definitely one of the most talented pianists in the world! And plus, he’s young *wink wink*.

Once again, Mister Delicacy is back. His delicacy is ever present. The taste of delicacy is the same, but this particular piece has a very different emotions from the previous one.

For one thing, do you see the passion at the beginning? And the dynamics of it? And yet, it is not quite that strong. The melodies are soft and touching, but at the same time, express the energy of life.

And oh!!!! the contrast in the middle. Regard, 1:08. Right after the most explosive melodies comes the peace. The contrast is very noticeable, yet it does not feel awkward. It feels natural, like sunshine after the storm. Listen… does it bring innermost peace of your mind and soul? (or does it bore you to death…) Imagine, a green meadow with sunshine mildly pouring down, and the right amount of wind blowing, the right temperature… It seems just like a paradise, yet, it has longings that even a paradise cannot quench.

And another contrast. 3:24; listen! It goes back to the start. Exact same notes. But, different feelings conveyed because you are experiencing this after the peaceful moment.

And at 4:14, you will notice that the music starts taking a different course. Dramatic, and tragic, almost. However, those are also the beauty of life; they make you ‘alive’. Again, very delicately expressed. It makes one think of sorrow and yet, marvel at the beauty of it.

Immediately at 4:29, there is yet another twist. It is as if one has acquired all the knowledge of the world, and knows both sorrow and delight, both unrest and peace. I see God.

So, through twists and turns and contrasts, this music lets us feel the awe of life, whether it be sorrow or happiness. If you listen carefully, it is as if reading a beautiful story of life. Life is not always full of delight. Sometimes it is filled with misery. However, even those moments make life beautiful and ‘alive’. Those two are not always separate concepts. You learn to cope with both of them. And when you’ve acquired certain point of wisdom, you are way above the psychology of this earth; you are beyond and feel the final peace that is meant to be in your heart.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Delicate, delicate, PURELY delicate. I have used the word ‘delicacy’ and its alternative forms about seven times. And beauty, about 7 times as well. ‘Yet’, 5 times. However, that is all I can say. Chopin’s work is delicacy, yet paradoxical, but therein lies the true beauty.

Chopin Ballade No.1

Ok, back our ‘his delicacy’, Frédéric Chopin.

Listen… (I personally LOVEEEE Zimerman’s touch here. )

Basically, I explained everything I have to say about Chopin in my previous entry, but yet again, IT IS DELICATE. One could never use too much of that term when describing Chopin.

At the start… listen to his delicate touches, and delicate notes. They are quiet, yet they have a power to touch minds. They are simple, yet they capture minds. They make you focus.

This music is soft, yet amazingly romantic. I myself am practicing this very piece at this moment, and I think of romance when I play it. The emotion of love helps to carry out the notes better.

There is also a hint of faint longing. At every turn of the music, listen… longing, the longing is hiding. The desperation of it! If you inspect the pianist’s expression, the solemn longing is in his face.

At the same time, there is mystery. The music is quite veiled, but not too much. There is the beauty of it; it stimulates wonders to the listeners, yet do not give all the answers.

You may have realized, by this point, that I have used ‘~, yet ~’ form a lot. Yes, contradictions. As irony in literature is beautiful, this contrast in music is ‘delicate’. This is really hard to craft in music; that is why it has to be carved ‘delicately’, just as Chopin.

Music is an art, just as art, dance, and literature is. It is also wonderfully scientific and mathematical. And it contains history and philosophy.

In this perspective, how is this Ballade really like?

Well, there are patterns. Repeating patterns. With different notes and feelings. He plays with them, the pieces, and does a very good job with it. Again, his ‘play’ is ‘delicate’, like building a sand castle that, by a single mistouch, will break down.

So; it is not just ‘mere music piece’. It is everything.

Imagery, for example. How many imageries does it create? A moon, a moon clouded by clouds and mists, a peaceful yet dark waves, a love, happiness, tragedy; to only name a few. And yet, philosophies and the weight of life lie upon.

Listen one more time. Keep these in mind. And do not limit it to what I’ve explained; remember, music expresses ‘everything’.

Frédéric Chopin

This is Frédéric Chopin. What comes to your mind when you look at his portrait?

Well, first of all, definitely not ‘masculine’ or ‘well-built’. He is closer to feminine and delicate. And yes, those were his characters. Known to be quite feminine and ill very often, he was a delicacy of a man. Is that bad? No, of course not. Not at all in this case, at least. His ‘delicacy’ produced some of the most beautiful pieces in music history. Also known as ‘the poet of the piano’, his music is ‘delicacy’ itself. No other words to explain its beauty. I’ve used the word ‘delicacy’ in this paragraph 4 times, but that word describes his music and the true person that he was.

His music trickles into your soul though those delicate notes… so carefully and ‘delicately’ carved. Carved. Pieced. Written. Painted. Stroked. Just pure delicacy and beauty. Its pureness is almost astounding. And at the same time, it has traces of romance and deep passion.

It’s as seeing a pure gem with light shining through… and beautiful color spectrum visible at its edge… and you wonder and gape at its beauty.

Ok, sadly, today was just an introduction of this amazing guy. On my next post, I will include a piece by Chopin that shows his million different charms really well.

(picture citation: http://www.pianoparadise.com/chopin.jpg)