Search Results

Chapter 13 Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843～1907, died at 64) Grieg’s grandfather immigrated to Norway from Scotland. Grieg studied at the Leipzig Conservatory, and later established his own unique style of music that incorporated elements of Norwegian folk songs and folk dances, while being influenced by German Romanticism. His achievements were recognized. Although I had not listened to much Scandinavian music, I realized once again that Grieg was a more approachable and gentler composer than Sibelius. *Piano Concerto in A minor Van Cliburn's performance perfectly expresses the lyrical melody of this piece. *Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 and No. 2 seem to be songs attached to a play, and their slightly cheerful melodies become familiar to the ears immediately. For your reference, I have put together a list of composers' works that I re-listened to in the table below.

Chapter 12  Jean Sibelius (1865～1957, died at 91) After studying law at the University of Helsinki, Jean Sibelius later turned to music, and at the Helsinki Conservatory of Music, he met the man who is said to be the father of Finland’s national music. Sibelius studied abroad in Berlin and Vienna. The subject matter was the Finnish traditional epic poem "Kalevala," and he composed outstanding works of the program music and symphonies. *Symphony No. 2 in D major:  This piece was completed in 1902 and reflects my impressions during my stay in Italy. It seems to be generally played the most, but with the exception of the 4th movement, the range of performance volume increases and decreases is large. It is difficult music for me to listen to. *Symphony No. 4 in A minor:  His inner music, which is filled with passion and dark fantasies, is not popular, but many people consider this piece to be his greatest masterpiece, but to me it still has a dark image. It seems to me that the symphonic poem “Finlandia” is his masterpiece. *Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47:  The only concerto by symphonic composer Sibelius. The first movement is a little difficult. The second and third movements have beautiful melodies and are worth listening to. Listen to the performances by Anne Sophie Mutter and Akiko Suwanai. Both are great performances. *Serenade No. 1 & No. 2 and Humoresque No. 1:  I felt that both songs let the tones of the instrument violin be heard to the fullest, but I think they are difficult pieces for the performers. *Symphonic poem “Finlandia” Op. 26 A powerful song that expresses the Finnish people's strong desire to escape the tyranny of imperial Russia. *The symphonic poems “Tapiola” and “The Swan of Tuonela” are songs with gray landscapes that don't suit my tastes. “Lemminkäinen's Homecoming” has a good march-like rhythm. Sibelius, who left behind seven symphonic poems, is considered one of the greatest symphonists (symphony composers) of the 20th century. Sibelius’ symphonic poems are inspired by the Kalevala from Scandinavian legends and about the nature of Finland. The composition was based on mythology. For your reference, I have put together a list of works by composers that I listened to anew in the table below.

Chapter 5 Ferencz（Franz）Liszt (1811 - 1866, died at 74 years old ) Liszt was born in Raiding, a deserted village in the Kingdom of Hungary within the territory of the Austrian Empire at the time. His father was a butler of the Hungarian aristocrat Marquis Esterházy, and his mother was German. His parents' knowledge of music naturally led him to pursue his career as a pianist and composer. He had a strong spirit as a Hungarian throughout his life, but he could not speak Hungarian. He is familiar with French in the salon life in Paris, met Chopin, Berlioz, and others, met and married the beautiful Countess Marie d'Agoult, and had a daughter, Cosima．Cosima married to conductor Hans von Bülow, then remarried and became the wife of composer Richard Wagner. Liszt later settled in Weimar, Germany, fluent in German, and took Weimar to the cultural prosperity of Goethe, Schiller's heyday. Later years Liszt spent most of his energy on Wagner's great ideal of "comprehensive art." It was his later years when Liszt entered the priesthood, deciding to devote himself to religious music, expressing romantic music in a flashy manner with Wagner. Liszt established the genre of symphonic poems in composition. I listened to Liszt's works this time, and I was convinced again that many super-technical piano pieces would be extremely difficult for the performer. This may not be an accurate expression, but his style is like that of late years of Wagner, and he is an esoteric composer. Earlier, I heard from a piano instructor that to play Liszt's works, the need to strengthen the fingers was more than allowed, and the hands and the fingers must be large and long, and even if hands are not large, the fingers need to be opened very wide. Paganini/Liszt Etude No. 3 “La Campanella” is particularly famous, as well as "Liebesträume" and "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” (of total 19 rhapsodies) and "Piano Concerto No. 1” is a familiar melody to our ears. Liszt's works also include music called "Transcendental Études," and there are many other works with rhythms, tempos, and melody that really do not give us time to breathe. We are fortunate that we can listen to it now as we have master pianists including Pollini, Polet, Kissin. Only one piece of music, "Piano Sonata in B Minor," was composed by Liszt in his 40s, and was dedicated to Schumann in return for the “Fantasy in C major” that Schumann dedicated to Liszt. The playing time of "Piano Sonata in B Minor" is about 30 minutes with a single movement. Hans von Bülow performed the premiere, one of Liszt’s best students when Liszt was a piano teacher. Although B minor received a mixed review then, it is now regarded as one of the masterpieces of piano sonatas. Even if it is called a piano sonata, it can be called a fantasy or a symphonic poem by the piano with "a splendid music of dramatic development". Liszt is the creator of the musical composition of symphonic poems. I re-listened to the symphonic poems, "Prelude" and "Mazeppa." Musical construction of his symphonic poems has the movements from darkness to light, then to struggle, rest, and victory. This is one of the patterns on his symphonic poems. Most of them are played violently and sometimes very quietly. "Spanish Rhapsody" has a tune remarkably like the theme music of the popular movie "Alamo" (directed and starring John Wayne), which depicts the battle with the Mexican army of the Alamo fort in the American movie. I noticed that it came out at a pianist's concert ten years ago. For your reference, the table below shows the list of works by the composer that I listened to.

Chapter 9 George Friedrich Händel (1685-1759, died at the age of 74) Born in 1685 in Halle, Germany, the same year as J.S. Bach, he first studied law at the University of Halle and moved to Hamburg, where opera was popular at the time. Then he became the court musician of the Elector of Hanover after worked in Italy. Soon afterwards, he moved to London, gained success, became a British subject and spent the rest of his life in London. In contrast to Bach, who was a church musician, Händel's works were mainly written for theater and public performances, featuring strong dramatic and colorful elements, especially suited for choral works. I felt once again that opportunities to listen to Händel's works in "live" performances are much fewer in recent years compared to when he was young about 70 years ago. During this time, jazz, rock, pops, rap, and other genre of music that young people liked flooded the streets. Although opportunities to listen to "live" classical music increased compared to those days, there were more opportunities for musicians to perform pieces by late romantic or contemporary era composers, including Mahler, Bruckner and so forth. Compared to the works of other composers, I feel that Händel is becoming one of composers who cannot be heard “live” unless I seek out the opportunities. Even if I could listen to him "live", it is almost impossible in Japan to listen to the instrumentation in the style of the time in the hall (Saal) or small room (Raum) of the palace or in the church at that time. Music by Bach and Händel, mainly performed with string instruments, such as violin, viola, cello, contrabass, and harpsichord (if we include harpsichord as string instrument), for its structure, tempo, and harmony, are pleasant music to listen even to the contemporaries. However, many people who do not like classical music seem to find the music especially by Händel and others from that period boring and uninteresting as soon as they hear it, and I cannot explain why, and unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about it. When I think about music by Händel, they are oratorio "Messiah" and various "Concerti Grossi" first. *① I listened to the recording of "Messiah" performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and its choir conducted by Sir Adrian Boult numerous times, and this time I relistened after over ten years. It was good. The harmony and rhythm, and tempo bring me back to the world of spiritual silence that is precious in today's hustle-and-bustle world. In particular, Joan Sutherland’s (soprano) high-pitched singing ability with its growth amazes me with its beauty. On top of the sound of harpsichord and organ, the dry trumpet sound resonates refreshingly, and the harmony between the singer and the chorus echoed beautifully. The Schluss Chorus, which marks the end of the long oratorio "Messiah" is the most moving chorus from every point of view. I also watched a video of a performance (January 2020) directed by Robert Wilson at the Mozart Theater in Salzburg. It was my first time to see an acting of Messiah accompanied by chorus, singing and orchestral music. The stage sets and costumes were far from modern designs and were sci-fi-like inorganic ones. Listening only to music and imagining scenes from sounds in a fantasy world, and listening to music while looking at the materialized people on stage are completely different images in the mind. I thought that it would definitely be preferable to listen to ”Messiah” at a concert with only chorus, singing and orchestral music, or on a record or CD. *② I listened to "Concerti Grossi, Op. 6": (Performed by the Italian Ensemble) again. Along with "Messiah", I felt that it was one of Händel's representative pieces. Listening to "Concerti Grossi, Op. 6" takes about three hours. It is long but enjoyable if listened on CD or record, but perhaps it is impossibly long to listen to it “live.” I imagined that it would be a perfect music if I could listen to it with a glass of wine in my hand and a cool breeze. *③ "Music for the Royal Fireworks": Listening to it for the first time in a long time, the sounds of wind instruments, especially the high-pitched trumpets and the transparent sound of horns, have a luxurious feeling that fills the world of eternity. *④　Three double concertos No. 2 in F major (6 movements) and No. 3 in F major (6 movements) (Concerti a due cori): Same as above, this makes you want to listen to it again in this era. For your reference, the table below shows the list of works by the composer that I listened to.

Chapter 10 Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (Сергей Васильевич Рахманинов) (1873～1943, died at 69) Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (Сергей Васильевич Рахманинов) was a great pianist and a composer of modern Russia, and was the leading opera conductor in the last years of the Russian Empire. He was born into a wealthy landowner's family, but his family fell into ruin because of his spendthrift father, and he lives with his maternal family in St. Petersburg. At the age of 9 (1882) he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and at the age of 15 (1888) he studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory. While he was active in Dresden (Germany) from his thirties, he occasionally returned to Moscow, but due to the Soviet Revolution in 1917, he bought a villa in the suburbs of Luzern (or Lucerne), Switzerland (where his grandson still lives), where he could quietly compose music. From time to time, he composed the masterpiece "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" and others. After that, he moved to the United States (1942) and made Beverly Hills (Hollywood) his second hometown. In his later years, despite Stalin's repeated calls to return, he never set foot in his homeland due to the outbreak of World War II. Influenced by Tchaikovsky, whom he respected since he was a student at the Moscow Conservatory, he composed many works that blended the styles of German Romanticism and Russian folk music. Most of his masterpieces were written when he was young, before his exile. Most of his masterpieces were written during his youth before his exile. Many of his melodies express sorrow and love for his homeland, and he left many masterpieces, mainly for the piano, in a popular conservative style, which was rare in the era in which he lived. Rachmaninoff was also an accomplished pianist, and it is said that his hands were as large as 22 white piano keys when put together. *1 Piano Concerto No. 1 Ashkenazy’s (piano, Pf) Piano Concerto No. 1 (C-26) has a fast tempo and many changes between slow and fast, and I think it is a difficult piece for performers. *2 Piano Concerto No. 2 A. Piano Concerto No. 2 (R213), performed by the Moscow Philharmonic, conducted by Kondrashin, is also performed by Ashkenazy on the piano. B. Nobuyuki Tsujii's (Pf) piano performance with Yutaka Sado conducting the Berlin Symphony Orchestra (C-56) has moderate tempos and light performances, so you can enjoy listening to this masterpiece without straining yourself. C. The performances by several other pianists that I listened were all good, especially Kirill Gerstein (Pf) at the Waldbühne Open-Air Concert (Berlin) with the Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton of Kirill Petrenko (CL2- I really liked Q) because it was a perfect performance for a summer evening in the open air surrounded by forests. D. Naoko Kawamura (Pf) performed with the NHK Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Fabio Luisi (CL23-X). *3 Piano Concerto No. 3 A. Horowitz’s (Pf) Piano Concerto No. 3 (C-27) expresses the main melody pleasantly in the first movement. B. 20-year-old pianist, Mao Fujita (CL20-Q), who performed with the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, is said to have performed this piece for the 11th time, and her techniques and expressiveness are overwhelming. C. Dennis Matsuev (Pf) and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra (CL4-J) conducted by Riccardo Chailly 　is also an impressive performance. *4 "Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini" A. Van Cliburn's performance (R214), the 18th variation, which is famous among its gorgeous and splendid performances, expresses indescribably beautiful and melancholy emotions. B. The same piece (C-26) by Ashkenazy on the piano has a fast tempo that seems to be even more difficult, and it is splendidly scattered with notes that seem to roll on the keyboard. Even so, the sudden emergence of the beautiful melody of the 18th Variation, which lasts just over three minutes, has made this piece a masterpiece that has become popular with the general public. *5 Piano Sonata No.2 As long as I listen to Horowitz's performance (C27), I can hear that there is peace in anxiety, but there is also a phrase that slams the keyboard in a furious rage. The melody that deviates from the common sense of the sonata continues to dominate. Rachmaninoff is called *virtuoso. Virtuoso originally had a moral meaning and meant “a virtuous person.” From around the middle of the 19th century, it has been used to refer to musicians, especially performers, who have excellent technical skills. It means like a master or a master, including Paganini and Liszt, the conductor Furtwängler, the violinist Huberman, and the pianists Cortot and Kempff. They are said to be the last virtuosos. *6 Preludes works 23 and 32 I listened to Svatraf Richter's piano performance (R412), and unlike the concerto, I felt that it was a piece that I would like to listen to over and over again because it has a very familiar and easy-to-listen melody. For your reference, the table below shows the list of works by the composer that I listened to. VILLA SENAR: A MAGICAL PLACE SUPPORTED BY RACHMANINOFF FOUNDATION

Chapter 11 Gabriel Urbain Fauré (1846 ～1924, died at 79) Born in Pamiers in the southwestern part of France, Fauré studied under Camille Saint-Saëns at music school. Under the influence of Saint-Saëns, Fauré laid the foundation for the revival of French music, which at the time was dominated by Wagner and Berlioz, before Debussy. *Requiem:  Among the three great requiems of Mozart, Verdi and Fauré, my favorite is Fauré and the recording by the Paris Conservatory Orchestra conducted by André Cluytens is “Eternal Bliss and Joy.” I think it is a masterpiece and performance that expresses death as a feeling of freedom. I belonged to a mixed choir when I was a student and sang Requiems by Fauré and Mozart on stage. This recording by Cluytens is a masterpiece that I love listening to. 3rd track Sanctus ⇒ Pie Jesu (Victoria de los Ángeles' singing voice is the best!!) ⇒ Connects to Agnus Dei ⇒ Libera me (Wonderful solo by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau ⇒ Ascended to heaven in Paradisum. For your reference, I have put together a list of works by the composer that I listened to anew in the table below.

Performed Brahms piano trio op.114 with Ms. Motoko Koizumi (Piano) and Mr. Hajime Saito (Cello) at Musashino City Hall in Musashino, Tokyo. Plan to play the same piece on April 13, 2024 at the APA International Chamber Music Festival at Koganei Miyagi-gakki Hall, Koganei, Tokyo. Cellist will be Dr. Steffen Luitz (a German cellist who is a regular cellist of our piano trio group in the U.S.) and pianist will be Mr. Ikko Torii (a Japanese pianist who played Mendelssohn in April 2023 with Mr. Saito and me). Looking forward to it.

Had a lot of fun rehearsing and performing Mendelssohn op 66 with Mr. Ikko Torii (piano) and Mr. Hajime Saito (cello).

This book is a historical bestseller  that is said to have written about Gauguin's life, largely from the point of view of the narrator, who is a writer.     The narrator, a writer, is invited to Mrs. Strickland's dinner party and meets her husband Charles Strickland. Charles was working as a stockbroker in London when he suddenly disappeared, leaving his family behind. At the request of Mrs. Strickland, the narrator heads to Paris, where Charles lives. Charles is living a poor and lonely life. He says he abandoned his family to paint.   Five years later, the narrator lives in Paris. When he visits a Dutch painter, Dirk Stroeve, a third-rate painter, who knows Charles and praises his talent. When the narrator meets Charles, who coldly says, “Stroeve is a guy with no special skills.” Charles's life became even poorer, and when the narrator and Stroeve visited Charles' studio before Christmas, they found him seriously ill. When Stroeve told his wife that he wanted to take care of Charles at home, Stroeve’s wife strongly objected. However, as her husband persuades her to take care of Charles, his wife begins to like him. She eventually abandons her husband and takes care of Charles, but Charles does not love her, and she commits suicide by taking poison. When Stroeve learns of his wife's death, he invites Charles to his hometown of Holland, even though he is in despair. The narrator meets Charles and harshly criticizes his cruelty and bad mouth toward his family and those around him.   After Strickland’s death, the narrator visits Tahiti. There he meets Captain Nichols, who worked with Charles, and hears that Charles was working as a sailor. Tiare, the innkeeper, arranged for Charles to find a wife named Ata. Dr. Coutras tells the narrator about Charles’ later years when he was infected with leprosy, and learns that Charles's paintings were burned as per his will.   The narrator returns to London and meets Mrs. Strickland again. As he finished talking about Charles’ time in Tahiti, the narrator imagined Charles and Ata's son steering a ship on the high seas.     Charles Strickland in this novel is said to be modeled after Gauguin, and I was interested in the historical background and the last painting Gauguin painted. Differences in peoples’ lives such as “geniuses vs ordinary people,” “devils vs angels,’ “restricted vs free lives,” or “men's vs women's lives” are not viewed from the perspective of “good or bad” but the story tells us the Christian teachings of the existence of God and that people’s destiny is given by God but people do not control their own destiny.   I also realized that I was glad to be an ordinary person who was not chosen by God.   Without ever having seen Gauguin's paintings or having the artistic talent to appreciate them, I unexpectedly and easily accepted Charles Strickland's complete ruthlessness, brutality, and madness as a result of being a “genius painter,” and I read the story of his heroic life in one sitting. Although this was my first time to read a novel by Maugham, the resolution of the characters and scenery is clear, and the words that touch upon the core of human psychology and social conditions are interspersed with words that give rise to the title “The Moon and Sixpence.” I would also like to read another of his masterpieces, “Human Bonds.”   Among the descriptions of Charles Strickland's life in Tahiti, expressions such as “There was no sound in Charles's home” and ”The air smelled of white flowers that bloom at night” were particularly impressive. Charles' life may seem reckless, but I believe that he was obsessed with the religion of natural beauty and art, and lived a life that pushed him forward.   If you look into the meaning of the quote at the end of the book, “The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small,” you will find that it is more like God's divine retribution than “praising God's works” according to the write up found in wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mills_of_God ). In response to Charles’ son Robert in London who said that Charles' death from leprosy was God's punishment, the narrator felt it was a strange comment as the narrator remembers how the son by Charles and Charles's second wife's, Ata, had grown up so freely and lively. I will read the Japanese version and think about it again. I think it's a great ending that leaves an impression on the book.   This was my first-time reading Maugham's work. I read his bio and I learned that he had a life of hardships from an early age, including stuttering and separation from his parents. I think these hardships are connected to the structure and depth of the work. Writers who lived uneventful lives may not be able to write a complex and ruthless character like Charles in their books. The Raffles Hotel in Singapore seems to have been the main character's permanent residence, and Somerset MRT Station is said to come from there. This is a place I want to stop by when I go to Singapore.

Some people claim that 2023 is the summer of “Barbenheimer.” This “mashup” word was created by studio marketing wizards to express the incredible success that these two movies which were released on the same day have created. Barbie and Oppenheimer are both big-budget films. Both are huge hits. Both are excellent. They represent the best of Hollywood filmmaking and audiences have been moved by both…but for very different reasons. Barbie Rated: PG-13 Stars: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu and many, many others Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure Director: Greta Gerwig Writer: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach When Greta Gerwig wrote the script for this movie with her real-life partner, Noah Baumbach, I’m sure neither one of them could have envisioned the success this movie (about a famous doll) would create. Being known and admired writers, they were able to gain a hefty budget for the film that was about $145 million to create. Incredibly, after only a month in the theaters, the movie has already taken in $1.077 BILLION! Why? How? Having a stellar cast and a good budget, the movie created a lot of hype before it was released which certainly was partly due to its early success. But I think it is more than that. We live in such a serious world. I think we all just need a laugh. Also, something nostalgic from our childhood, like a beloved doll, was certainly a way to capture hearts. And Barbie does just that…at least at first. As the movie progresses, it also reminds us of issues that women (and men) have faced in the past and today. The film is a perfect balance between satire and humanity. There are many laughs to be had as well as points to ponder as Barbie takes a journey from her Barbie World into the very real world we live in today. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBk4NYhWNMM Oppenheimer “Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.” Rated: R Stars: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh and many others Genre: Drama, Biography, History Director: Christopher Nolan Writer: Christopher Nolan, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin The film begins with this ominous quote and sets the tone for this dramatic biography. It is based on the book “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin who also co-wrote the movie’s script with Christopher Nolan. The movie focuses on Oppenheimer’s adult life, including his role in the Manhattan Project where he served as director of a clandestine weapons lab built in a near Los Alamos, in New Mexico, where he and many other of the era’s most dazzling scientific minds puzzled through how to harness nuclear reactions for the weapons that killed tens of thousands instantly, and ended the war in the Pacific. What surprised me when viewing this movie was how much I ended up caring about “The Father of the Atomic Bomb.” I admit that I knew very little about Oppenheimer, the person, before seeing this film. I only knew the horror he was instrumental in creating. Now I have a very different understanding of him after seeing the personal and external pressures that were placed upon him that were portrayed so skillfully in this movie. Oppenheimer is three-hours long, so it is difficult to go into great detail about the various topics it covered. However, for me, it was a perfect film. Cillian Murphy, who portrays Oppenheimer deserves special credit. He is amazing in the title role, and not only does he look like Oppenheimer, but he also has the intensity and humanity needed to play the part. The entire movie, including the stellar cast, realistic sets and costumes and effective soundtrack are all as good as it gets. One thing that sets Christopher Nolan apart from most film directors is that he doesn’t rely on special effects. He gets what he wants in camera. His mastery is evident in each frame. When I think about the striking success Barbie and Oppenheimer have enjoyed, even though they are vastly different from one another, I am struck by the importance of what makes them the same: people need to remember the PAST. Remembering the good and bad that has happened to us can be the best teacher to help us become better humans. Barbenheimer has touched our humanity. Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYPbbksJxIg

It's bit strange to send the titled email when you are in Japan, but I feel like it's paired with my previous photos of “Weeping Cherry Blossoms in Maruyama Park, Kyoto” so I'm sending it to you. At last, I was able to put into practice what I had planned to see at Hikone Castle during the cherry blossom season. Yesterday, I was blessed with fine weather, and I went out on a two-hour train ride. Hikone Castle is designated as a National Treasure along with Himeji, Matsumoto, Inuyama and Matsue because of its beautiful appearance and excellent military function, which is the castle's original function. We saw beautiful scenery here and there that matched the cherry blossoms.

I went to see the weeping cherry blossom in Maruyama Park in Kyoto. The current large trees are the second generation, and the first generation died in 1947 when the trees were 220 years old. The cherry blossoms, carefully nurtured from the first seeds, have grown into large trees that are about 80 years old now. I wanted to see them under good weather when they were in full bloom, but it didn't come true due to the COVID-19 disaster. Today I finally got to see them and enjoyed myself!