The Loved One: a triptyque

The Loved One

The wind dared not speak
eavesdropping
on the sonorous whispers of those ancient trees:
confusing euphony
sublime cacophony

He too was afraid, of
the marionettes dancing
abandoningly
amongst
the deepest shadows
of her eyelashes imperceptible

Stained-glass velvets drawing upon the Parisian dusk
set your eyes ablaze, and
turned the River ravenously technicoloured—
bejewelled everything magnificently martial.
Rilke's Rose-Window, disappearing
into a gluttonously musical sky.

—So much to say—
(that one must pass over in silence)
But is not all fair in Love and War?

“I don’t think these [words] are any good,” said she.
“You are my poetry,” said he.

～by Ting-Jen Hwang

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The tree from whose flower
This perfume comes
Is unknowable.

～Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

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*And... Heifetz’s hauntingly electrifying rendition of Vitali’s Chaconne, with organ. It is perhaps my favourite version of this masterpiece.

The Art of Sun Zi in Vadim Repin's Sibelius

故其疾如風，其徐如林，侵掠如火，不動如山，難知如陰，動如雷震。

～《孫子兵法：軍爭篇》

軍旅行動時，快速如風；靜止時，肅穆嚴整如林木一般；進球敵人時，如燎原烈火，猛不可當；防守時，如山岳一樣，不可動搖；隱蔽時，如烏雲遮天，使敵人無從知曉；快速動作起來，如迅雷不及掩耳，使敵人無從退避。

Ring, 5th-4th century B.C.E., Eastern Zhou dynasty.
Glass, H: 4.0cm, China.
Freer & Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art (via)

A set of six graduated bells (yong zhong),
ca. 6th century B.C.E., Eastern Zhou dynasty
Bronze, H: 28.7cm, W: 13.0cm, D: 10.3cm, China
Freer & Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art (via)

Let your rapidity be that of the wind, 
your compactness that of the forest.
In raiding and plundering be like fire, 
in immovability like a mountain.
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, 
and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

~Sun Zi, The Art of War; Chapter vii: Military Combat
(English translations by Lionel Giles)

Ring, 5th-4th century B.C.E., Eastern Zhou dynasty.
Glass, H: 4.0cm, China.

Freer & Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art (via)

Pendant (long pei) in the form of a dragon,
5th century B.C.E., Eastern Zhou dynasty
Jade, H: 3.6 W: 5.4 D: 0.5 cm, China
Freer & Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art (via)

One of the most intoxicating qualities of Vadim Repin's interpretation is his freedom and effortlessness, together with the utmost passion (yet always in a wonderfully relaxed, zen manner), as if he was forever deeply in love with the music...

"Music is Russian violinist Vadim Repin’s mother tongue. He is a virtuoso of many voices, and his astonishing ability to draw a rich palette of sound from his instrument, together with his dazzling technique, has enthralled audiences around the globe. Fiery passion with impeccable technique, poetry and sensitivity are Repin’s trademarks." (via)


Vadim Repin plays Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Prom 48, live at the Royal Albert Hall, 2006.)

Nathan Milstein and Beethoven's Kreutzer

長江的百年孤獨: Nadav Kander's Yangtze River series — The Long River

I recently came across the work of photographer and artist Nadav Kander, and was instantly drawn to his Yangtze River series of photographs. There is an intense, yet ethereal, layer of loneliness and quiet poetry in the vast space depicted in these images. Loneliness particularly in the emptiness, colour scheme, and feeling of displaced human condition/ disconnectedness with nature for the people living along the river. Quietness albeit the industrial development which is clearly in progress along the Long River of China, shown in these photographs. Curiously and alluringly, instead of the peacefulness and tranquillity that is often associated emotionally with vast, empty spaces (here Kander echoes beautifully with the Chinese aesthetic concept of 留白 liu bai—literally “leaving blank”), one senses unrest and unease, which perhaps fuels certain undercurrent revolution. As Peter Nitsch puts it, “River is the metaphor for constant change.”

Nanjing IV, Jiangsu Province

Mouth I (Wusongkou, where river meets sea), near Shanghai

Three Gorges Dam II, Yichang, Hubei Province

Changxing Island I (Island of Oranges), Shanghai

Mouth IV, near Shanghai

Three Gorges Dam V, Yichang, Hubei Province

Wu Gorge, Hubei Province

Xiling Gorge I, Hubei Province

Xiling Gorge IV, Hubei Province

New Fengdu (looking at Old Fengdu), Chongqing Municipality

Chongqing XI, Chongqing Municipality

Qinghai Province II

Qinghai Province III

(all images from Nadav Kander's official website)

*Read more about Nadav Kander's Long River Series here and here.


These photographs somehow remind me of the beauty of loneliness, and a paradoxical sense of agitation which unfurl in Ravel's Tzigane, performed here by one of my favourite violinists Henryk Szeryng.

Kubla Khan and the Eden of a cruel world

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And here were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail:
And 'mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean:
And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war!



The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight 'twould win me,

That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.



*Poetry: Kubla Khan (A Vision in A Dream) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in 1816.
*Melody: String Sextet in D minor, "Souvenir de Florence," Op.70, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed in 1890. This piece is used in James Kudelka's 1994 ballet Cruel World.
*Image: Holograph copy of Kubla Khan, via Wikipedia.

The Violin of Eugène Ysaÿe

"It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful. It has the beauty of loneliness and of pain: of strength and freedom. The beauty of disappointment and never-satisfied love. The cruel beauty of nature, and everlasting beauty of monotony."
— Benjamin Britten

Ysaÿe's hand

David Oistrakh plays Eugène Ysaÿe's Sonata for Solo Violin in D Minor, Op. 27, #3.




"Music, of all the arts, stands in a special region, unlit by any star but its own, and utterly without meaning ... except its own."
— Leonard Bernstein, The Joy of Music


Selections from Eugène Ysaÿe's Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Opus 27, performed by Ilya Kaler. (Thank you, GeorgeEnescu, for sharing such beauty.)




"... music, since it passes over the Ideas, is... quite independent of the phenomenal world, positively ignores it, and, to a certain extent, could still exist even if there were no world at all, which cannot be said of the other arts."
— Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation

此曲只應天上有，人間能得幾回聞

Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49: Arthur Rubinstein (piano), Jascha Heifetz (violin) and Gregor Piatigorsky (cello).

The piano trio has four movements:
Molto allegro e agitato
Andante con moto tranquillo
Scherzo: Leggiero e vivace
Finale: Allegro assai appassionato (sadly missing in this video recording...)

Gregor Piatigorsky plays the second movement from Chopin's Cello Sonata, accompanied by pianist Ralph Berkowitz.


Gregor Piatigorsky plays Tchaikovsky Waltz, with pianist Ralph Berkowitz.


Gregor Piatigorsky plays Romance by Rubinstein.

Mystique of Aurae and String Quartets

Images and sounds which I am currently in love with. The elegantly enchanting series Displaced Auras by photographer and artist Jessica Langley, Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, opus 131, and Schubert's Death and the Maiden String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810.






Beethoven's heartrendingly beautiful and yet profoundly transcendent String Quartet No. 14, performed by The Lindsay String Quartet. Richard Wagner remarked upon the first movement, "...the most melancholy sentiment ever expressed in music. (...) he hastily turns from material reality, and slips into the harmonious cosmos of his soul."



The String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, opus 131, by Ludwig van Beethoven was completed in 1826. (The number traditionally assigned to it is based on the order of its publication; it is actually his fifteenth quartet by order of composition.) About 40 minutes in length, it consists of seven movements to be played without a break, as follows:
1. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo
2. Allegro molto vivace
3. Allegro moderato
4. Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile — Più mosso — Andante moderato e lusinghiero — Adagio — Allegretto — Adagio, ma non troppo e semplice — Allegretto
5. Presto
6. Adagio quasi un poco andante
7. Allegro
This work, which is dedicated to Baron Joseph von Stutterheim, was Beethoven's favourite from the late quartets. He is quoted as remarking to a friend: "thank God there is less lack of imagination than ever before". The work was dedicated to von Stutterheim as a gesture of gratitude for taking his nephew, Karl, into the army after a failed suicide attempt in 1826. Together with the quartets op. 130 and 132, it goes beyond anything Beethoven had previously written. (Op. 131 is the conclusion of that trio of great works, written in the order 132, 130 with the Grosse Fugue ending, 131; they may be profitably listened to and studied in that sequence.) It is said that upon listening to a performance of this quartet, Schubert remarked, "After this, what is left for us to write?". The Op. 131 quartet is a monumental feat of integration. Beethoven composes the quartet in six distinct key areas, closing the quartet again in C-sharp minor. The choice of key is of specific importance: the only other work that Beethoven wrote in C-sharp minor is the Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight" sonata composed in 1801. The parallelism between the Moonlight sonata and the evocations of fantasia throughout the Op. 131 quartet is evident. The Finale directly quotes the opening fugue theme in the first movement, prompting Joseph Kerman to note that "blatant functional reference to the theme of another movement: this never happens." According to Michael Tusa's article "Structural Implications of Beethoven's C-minor mood," Tusa argues that many of these works that are imbued by the c-minor mood possess similar musical devices. For instance, the first movement of the work tends to open with a strong attack on the tonic and an upward leap. This is analogous to the Finale of the Op. 131. Kerman posits that the c-sharp minor quartet in fact resolves the pretensions aired by the c-minor mood. This in turn becomes another index of normality in the Op. 131. Since the Op. 131 string quartet is strongly end-weighted according to a similar mentality as the musical trajectory of the Op. 27, No.2, we may thus consider the Finale of the movement to be akin to the first movements of Tusa's article. Upon examination of the opening of the Op. 131, we indeed find a strong attack on the tonic.

Schubert's Death and the Maiden String Quartet performed by The Takács Quartet. A beautifully fluid, moving as well as passionate rendition reminiscent of the lyrics of Schubert's lied of the same name (the original music of this piece), which mention the soft embrace of death. "A stale tempo rids this piece of the lyrical phrasing and 'watery' feel that I think do the original lyrics proper justice, as well as giving the slightly more sprightly movements adequate phrasing and energy."*



The String Quartet in D minor was written in 1824 by Franz Schubert, just after the composer became aware of his ruined health. It is popularly known as the Death and the Maiden Quartet because the second movement is adapted from the piano accompaniment to Schubert's 1817 song (or Lied), Death and the Maiden. In the numerical order of his quartets it is his String Quartet No. 14, and is D. 810 in Otto Erich Deutsch's thematic catalogue of Schubert's works. The work is a string quartet in four movements:
1. Allegro, in D minor and common time
2. Andante con moto, in G minor and divided common (2/2) time
3. Scherzo: Allegro molto, in D minor and 3/4 time
4. Presto, in D minor and 6/8 time
The opening movement is, along with that of the preceding and next quartet and that of his string quintet, among the most extended and substantial in his chamber music output, if not in his output as a whole. It is a sonata form movement whose exposition encompasses three main key regions, D minor, F major and A minor.
The second movement is a theme — taken from his macabre song Der Tod und das Mädchen (D 531 in Deutsch's catalog) — and five variations, with coda.
The third movement's main theme can also be heard in one of a set of piano dances; its lyrical D major trio varies its 'repeats'.
The relentless finale-tarantella is a sonata-rondo in form — a rondo whose first episode returns as the last, and whose central section contains elements of development. Its coda promises major-mode triumph, and snatches it away.
*Quote from the original YouTube user who posted these wonderful recordings of Schubert's string quartet.
**Detailed information on these two pieces is taken from their respective Wikipedia entries here and here.

When Words Fail...

Jascha Heifetz plays Paganini Caprice No. 24 (Auer Edition with Schumann accompaniment). Accompanist: Emanuel Bay.

I once read that some people thought Heifetz applied too much chin pressure against his Stradivarius (clutching the instrument with his chin), but it is only because his violin always looked so secure with him. Indeed if it were the case, a muscle injury would have forced a violinist into an early retirement, and yet Heifetz continued into his 80s and gave the last concert at age 86! A student of his once observed him closely and remarked, "The violin sits so softly on his shoulders that if there were a waft of wind in the concert hall, it would blow his violin away."

Heifetz gave his USA debut performance in 1917, aged only 16, at the Carnegie Hall and became an immediate sensation (however his first public concert was in as early as 1910). His luminous musical career spanned well over seven decades. Heifetz once said, "If I do not practise the violin for one day, I will know. If I do not practise for two days, my teacher notices. And if I do not practise for three days, the audience knows." Being the perfect virtuoso as he was, he still practised scales on his Stradivarius repeatedly everyday.

Sibelius - Ferras's Virtuosic Beauty & Heifetz's Perfection

Two absolutely luminous and exquisite interpretations of Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47.

"... music, since it passes over the Ideas, is... quite independent of the phenomenal world, positively ignores it, and, to a certain extent, could still exist even if there were no world at all, which cannot be said of the other arts."
(Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation)

Christian Ferras (his second movement has my heart completely!) - this is my personal favourite version of the Sibelius violin concerto. Conductor: Zubin Mehta.


Jascha Heifetz (1935, with London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham). It was once said of the legendary Jascha Heifetz, "He should make one mistake each day so that God won't be jealous of him."

Sound of Violin: smooth as the knife cutting through melting butter

Vadim Repin (one of my favourite contemporary violinists) and Nikolai Lugansky perform César Franck's Violin Sonata, in Tokyo, 2004. I love the third movement.

The Beauty that is Baroque

I like how Stern and Perlman interpret this Bach piece, and the faithfulness to Baroque aesthetics. 節制，均衡，收斂之美。Surely Bach's music is not in want of emotive qualities (far from it in fact--it always moves me boundlessly--on a transcendent, different level that is transports you), but even with his Largo one needs to maintain certain discipline, rather than slipping into a somehow natural state of self indulgence. As one of my piano teachers once said to me whilst I was playing a Bach piece, "You make it sound like Chopin." ;-)

For me, Nathan Milstein is another true Bach virtuoso.


Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern play Bach Double Concerto

Leonid Kogan

I discovered yet another great channel on youtube. Kogan's stunning rendition of Tzigane is breathtaking. Clarity, speed, loneliness, incredible tonal control and textural complexities which deliver all the drama.


Kogan's gorgeous rendition of Eugène Ysaÿe.


Kogan plays the fifth movement from Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole.


Heifetz's Tzigane (not sure if it's the recording, but I seem to prefer Heifetz's version).

When a photographer meets a musician...

Gjon Mili's portrait of Jascha Heifetz is so brilliant that it instantly brings me Heifetz's playing to mind. Sometimes when I listen to Heifetz I just don't feel he was human at all, esp. in pieces like Lalo or Sibelius. It isn't difficult to imagine that Heifetz's electrifying energy used to send his audience straight to 'hysteria'. Just like his ability to scare away as many students as he attracted.

Click here for the full Glazunov piece playlist (four video clips).

Largo

Another Bach piece I'm obsessing over - Largo from his Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005.

Henryk Szeryng


A great musician transcends mere sounds from something of this world to those even above the soul. Music is the closest, truest and most direct representation of the will, or the world as it really is. In other words, something that can only be felt and can otherwise never be known.

In addition, a great musician is someone that loves and gives his or her whole heart to the music - a love that freely enables the musician to 'serve' the music.

Bach's Chaconne

I am obsessed with Bach's Chaconne these days. This is a very different version by Sigiswald Kuijken - an extremely beautiful opening/introduction, less emotive for sure than Heifetz's or Milstein's, and WAY faster. (Some consider this as more 'authentic' to the original interpretation/intention of the Baroque style. Viktoria Mullova is another violinist who opts for this approach.)



Itzhak Perlman's version.


Jascha Heifetz's Chaconne.


And finally, my favourite violin virtuoso—Nathan Milstein.

Cantabile

Nathan Milstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Gregor Piatigorsky

According to an Italian violinist/listener, this Milstein piece is the embodiment of the spirit of 'cantabile' - [in his words] Fire bright sound, with air consistancy, cantabile displayed firstly as an idea, a desire, and, in some apex point, surging passion which folds and sinks the voice (really dazzling). Ps. His first language isn't English lol... In any event, I love Milstein. His music moves me like no other.


Mischa Elman's rendition of Thais.

Another supremely beautiful cantabile piece - Leonid Kogan plays Paganini.

And, if you can handle the frying-egg effect... Mischa Elman's interpretation of Schubert's Serenade.