Virtuoso
Here to blog a few more interesting stories for the faithful who read my blog (:
1. Something interesting on the way to school Arts yesterday
When I got to the sci fac bus stop it was crowded as usual, when this weird uncle suddenly asked me for directions. He had yellowing teeth, with his front teeth missing, and clothes too old and too small. So I told him I didn't know the place well cause duh I'm not a sci student. Then he suddenly asked me for money to buy food! Which is like the oldest lie in the book to extort money from kind-hearted people.
So of course I didn't fall for it. Then I remembered the story Pastor Kok Fai told us last Sunday about what Wei Jia did for the old lady, but I didn't have time to buy anything from sci canteen...
And then I remembered the rice balls I made that afternoon. For some reason, I had decided to bring 3 instead of 2. One for me, one for Prawny and one for... the uncle?!? Hahaha. So I gave it to him, and he asked what is this? Like three times? I kept telling him it was rice wrapped in seaweed, but he didn't look convinced. :P I hope he ate it though. I hope it got eaten somehow. I hope he didn't just throw it out because he didn't know what it was! But anyway, I did what I had to, so it kinda left me feeling happy. But the uncle didn't look happy. He was downright disappointed. Ah well. Just at that momemt the 95 came so off I went.
Bye uncle. When I told Anni about the story on the way home last night, she was like So what did God say to you? Haha... I don't think I heard anything obvious, it was more of being in the right place at the right time with the right object, and just simply doing the right thing. It's that simple (:
2. Melyvn Tan's debut concert last night
I missed VCF cell last night for this, so I shall be accountable and talk about how it went (:
It was spectacular...! I have not heard such great music in a while (but then I haven't been to a concert in a while so... :P)
And Anni our 迟到大王 was almost late again! And here I was thinking I'd be the late one since I end class at 6, perfectly at rush hour... But Prof Bially Mattern ended lecture early, cause she's still adjusting her timing I guess (last week she totally overestimated her time. Speaking of which she's a great lecturer! But more on that later.) Anni spent like 50 mins on the bus and 10 mins rushing from Promenade mrt to Esplanade. Hahah. So glad she made it! At 7.25 I was just thinking I'd call her, then she called me. Oh and we bumped into Aunty Ai Kian too ^^
Anyway. Last night's repertoire included Schumann, Debussy and Chopin. I think I liked the Chopin best of the three composers. The Debussy was great too, I've always liked Debussy. It sounded a little Chinese, and a little like bird song, especially the first movement of, what was it called, Images? Melvyn Tan's technique is soooo good. When he played all those rich pieces the thought that kept coming to my mind was, that's the piano? The piano can make such music? Exquisite! And no matter how rich the sound was, you could always hear the melody coming right up, be it in the highest range, or the middle, or the bass. The Steinway was so perfect! I could tell it was doing just what the pianist wanted it to do. Splendid. Sigh. I want a Steinway too *drool*... And we clapped so hard he came out and gave three encores.
And the encores. It was the second Mozart he played (he claims he last played it when he was 8, in Victoria Theatre), that was the clincher. It was so simple, but so heavenly when he played it! Mrs Lau gave Fiona and me a theory workbook that has all this funny meanings and sayings on its cover, and it gives the definition of virtuoso as someone who "works wonders with easy-play music".
And after last night, I must say I finally understand what that means. It is so true. To me, what proved Melvyn Tan to be a cut above all the rest, the top 1% rather than the 10%, was that Mozart. So delicately played, but so rich in meaning! I mean, most people can get romantic music to a certain level if they can get the technique, but its different with classical and baroque music.
Melvyn Tan should totally do a concert with classical and baroque repertoire! We have too little professionals of his class playing such works, I miss hearing a really great rendition of such music (I think the last time I heard something so good was when the New York Phil came to do Beethoven, and they did a piano concerto, with...uh, forgot the pianist's name). I think I'd fork out that few hundred dollars I didn't bear to pay for the Berlin Phil.
Sigh. After that Mozart encore piece, I just shot up out of my seat and joined the other people giving him a standing ovation. I don't ever remember doing that before (except standing up during Handel's Messiah, which I think doesn't really count). It was almost full house, on a midweek night, and almost everyone in the stalls was on their feet by the end of the last encore.
Haaaa~ It was really nice. I haven't heard such wonderful music in a long time. Despite the fact that there was a long of sympathetic ringing from the mikes or something... a lot of feedback. I started thinking that even the sound system couldn't help but make its own music too, in the presence of such a compelling pianist! Hahaha. The weird thing was, the lights at the pipe organ flashed on and off a few times during the largo movement of the second Chopin piece O.O Weird.
I guess... It's really the first time in my life that I could just sit and enjoy a concert. All my life of going to concerts, especially as a teenager, I've had to compare and discuss technical bits of the music with my peers, and then keep thinking how I'll never reach that level... And that just took all the fun out of music. But last night, I just sat there and enjoyed it. Thoroughly. Without thinking about anything else.
Maybe that's what they mean by growing up. Another facet of it (: Whoosh. It's not so bad being old after all. Hahaha.
Well, that's it for storytelling. Please be satisfied for now (: But before I go off I just have to say something about Prof Janice Bially Mattern. I really really wish she had come a year earlier and taught her course a year earlier. I'd have found last year's northeast asia module so much easier. But now, because of nea mod, I find her module so easy. Lol. Ok ok. Must not be complacent. Must still be on my toes and study hard! But its so hard when everything is so familiar... NONO. YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IR, JANE. NOTHING. WORK HARD. HARDER THAN LAST SEM!
Whoosh. (: She's just so good at explaining stuff to noobs though, better than last year's Prof W******* (though I have no fear of being lynched because he's no longer at NUS).
On a more general note, I seem to have much less readings for this semester, the pile of papers is only a quarter of what I had last year. But maybe that's because I have three textbooks this sem, as compared to only two last sem? And also because I'm doing a slacker breadth mod that doesn't require much reading :P Although, Living Amidst Outbreaks is taught by an adjunct prof who really knows his stuff. It's getting quite interesting (:
Been alternating between Wicked soundtracks and Sam Tsui covers. The song Dancing Through Life is just so well written, its nice to listen over and over again. And Sam Tsui is so cute. Thought 80% of that is because he's such an engaging and expressive singer (which reminds me of a certain pianist/singer/guitarist in my church. >.> Weird.). Only 20% to his face, Shana, only 20%.
Well, that's a mighty long post, so please be prepared that I may not blog in the next three months. (I've been told that a tactic of being upfront about the worse possible scenarios is what keeps health minsters their jobs in an unexpected world of outbreaks and epidemics, so I'm trying it out now). Taaa~
posted by munchkin @ 10:07 PM
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