The Cello

I love the cello. It is such an amazing instrument and is definitely my favorite among the strings. My roommate in undergrad was a cellist and I remember hearing him practice and listening to great pieces like the Dvorak Cello Concerto. This instrument has an enormous range and expressive quality. When I see people play, it often seems like an extension of their very being.

The piece I have a link to below is Tchaikovsky's Andante cantabile for solo cello and string orchestra, which I think I must have heard at some point prior to today on the radio. Anyway, the piece just came alive in the hands of the great Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Russian musicians are generally extremely expressive in their playing and do not shy away from showing their emotion in the music. This piece, also by a Russian shows the depth of feeling of which humans are capable. For anyone not familiar with Tchaikovsky and his music, I would suggest listening to any of his last three symphonies (Nos. 4, 5, or 6). This is the ultimate expression of internal struggle and anguish through sound(especially no. 6).

While this Andante cantabile is also wonderfully expressive, it is not at all angst-ridden. I like to think of this piece as some kind of consolation. Drawing on his own life experiences, I imagine an older wiser man consoling a disillusioned younger man about his life struggles, doubts, and questions. Tenderly, he tells him not to give up. The good things the younger man believed about life and himself are true. In spite of the evil in the world and the seemingly unprofitable quality of having integrity, he tells him to hold on to that which he knows is right.

Perhaps to you, it has a different meaning. That is simply, the beauty of music.

No Rostropovich recording available, so I had to "settle" for Yo-Yo Ma :)

Finding God in the Music of J.S. Bach

J.S. Bach: “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”

Samuel Hsu: "Bach is inexorable"

What is it about Bach's music that seems to be a reflection of perfect spirituality? Call it what you will, even those who do not find God in Bach's music, such as pianist Murray Perahia, acknowledge the organic and primordial qualities in his compositions. I agree with the statement that if no one came after Bach to continue the progress of Western music, it would have been enough. While most music seems to be an expression of the composer(or eventually the performer), the music of Bach is an expression of the heart of God. If all the sorrow, love, and peace of God could be combined into a piece of music, this would be it.

Bach of course uses melody, which would later become the main element of music as more personal expressions became important to composers. But there is something beyond melody in Bach. The figurations, sequences, and harmonic progressions get to the very essence of life. Consider this organ prelude below, which was arranged for piano by Alexander Siloti (while still preserving the integrity of the original). Notice the right hand figuration. This simple figuration that seems to do nothing but outline the harmonic progressions continues throughout the entire prelude. Simple figurations over a "cantus firmus" (the melody, which you can see the beginning of in the top voice of the left hand). My piano teacher once told me that Bach is inexorable. This means there is something inside the music that is unstoppable, irresistable, going on until the very last chord (many parallels here could be drawn to the nature of God). Even despite pauses in the structure, it continues. Later classical music is almost always comprised of many phrases (kind of like sentences). This prelude could be viewed as one long phrase (Siloti worked in a repeat, which makes it seem like two parts).

The beautiful thing about this kind of music is you can make it your own. You can create your own story for what it represents to you. Personally, when I hear it, I imagine God the Father looking at His Son, walking faithfully towards the cross, ready to die for humanity. All the sorrow He feels and at the same time, love for mankind.

The best performance I have found of this piece is by Emil Gilels. A Russian pianist that could stay authentic to what was on the page, but made every piece his own and it showed.

Bach-Siloti-Prelude in B minor - Emil Gilels

In this case, I preferred just the audio so as not to distract too much. But if you prefer the video, click HERE

Keats, Rachmaninov, and Somerset Maugham

One of my favorite things to do is to contemplate connections between authors and composers. Previously I shared some brief thoughts about Beethoven and Shakespeare. I guess these three guys in the title could be part two in an author/composer series...

It would be hard for me to think of a poet whose works I admire more than John Keats. Granted, I am no poetry expert, but I have read quite a few of Keats' poems. One of my favorites is "When I have fears that I may cease to be"

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

Incredibly melancholy, even downright depressing, but this poem made a very strong impression on me when I read it. I have contemplated this poem a lot. For me, it is saying how fleeting our lives are. There is so much to see and experience in the world, most of which we will never get a chance to do. Dreams unfulfilled for whatever reason, expectations of life that have gradually slipped through our fingers...The more we dwell on this fact, the worse we feel. The only response (especially for Keats, who died at the tragically young age of 26!) is to remember that everyone and everything will still come to nothing in the end. The fact is that all our experiences and achievements, no matter how wonderful, will come to an end for each and every person. In a way, it can be a comfort. The dream of living a 100% completely perfect and fulfilled life is not possible in this world. When we realize that "fame" will eventually become nothing, we are comforted. Since the goal is not attainable, we come to terms with our mortality and become free to enjoy what we can experience.


A quote by Rachmaninov...


"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music."

Continuing with this similar idea, it is impossible to experience all the beauty of music (or the world/art/etc.) in one lifetime. Being a pianist and also a lover of classic literature, I can certainly attest to the fact that I will never be able to immerse myself in all the great works of the past. We might as well submerge ourselves in the beauty around us, and do the best with what we can get our hands on.

And now to throw another author into the mix...my favorite quote from my favorite book of all time- Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham:

"He had lived always in the future, and the present always, always had slipped through his fingers. His ideals? He thought of his desire to make a design, intricate and beautiful, out of the myriad, meaningless facts of life: had he not seen also that the simplest pattern, that in which a man was born, worked, married, had children, and died, was likewise the most perfect? It might be that to surrender to happiness was to accept defeat, but it was a defeat better than many victories."

That about sums it up. You can take from it what you will, but I think it pretty much speaks for itself. As a conclusion to the peaceful melancholy these great pieces of art and artists inspire, the wonderful piano version of Rachmaninov's Vocalise. Enjoy the sublime playing of Emil Gilels.

The King of Instruments and Some Holiday Fun

The organ is a fantastic instrument, nicknamed "the king of instruments." There is a reason Bach preferred this to all others. It was the best and most versatile keyboard instrument available in his time. Some would argue the same is still true today, and moreover, the sheer volume, power, and registration options are now almost endless. Unfortunately, I do not get to play a great organ every week. I wish I did, for I would love to crank up this great beast of a pipe organ for the last verse of the final hymn at a Christmas service.

I have also never had the opportunity to accompany a performance of the Messiah on organ, just excerpts here and there on piano. Below is a clip from a performance of the Hallelujah chorus accompanied by organ. I'm not really sure what prompted the organist to do what he did here. Perhaps it was a power trip on some level, knowing that he could overpower everyone in the church if he wanted to...or maybe he really disliked the choir director...or maybe someone bet him a bunch of money that he wouldn't have the guts to do it. Whatever it was, it makes for a good laugh, especially if you are a musician. As for the performance, it's live (applause after the final chord). And as for what he does, well, just have a listen.


Get your own playlist at snapdrive.net!

Beethoven and Shakespeare

These two don't seem a very likely pair. But I was just thinking today about Shakespeare's super famous excerpt from Hamlet..."To be or not to be, that is the question..." and how much of what we know about Beethoven could be tied into those ideas. In Shakespeare's play, I see Hamlet as struggling within himself about whether life is worth living at all. With all the terrible circumstances around him, he is reflecting on human existence and trying to decide whether it is better to "suffer the slings and arrows of misfortune" (I can't remember the exact wording) or end his life. Of course Hamlet knows of the good things in life, but he is wondering "does the good outweigh the bad?" (paraphrased)

This speech reminds me of Beethoven's life and ideals. Beethoven's music is all about struggle, triumph, and the brotherhood of man. It is brutally honest, pure music. You just know that he is telling you exactly how he feels. Only someone that struggled (and even suffered) as much as Beethoven did could have written the utterly tranfigured and exalted music that he was able to compose. At the end of his life, he wrote a set of five string quartets that are some of the most sublime, but cryptic pieces ever composed. The music is many decades ahead of its time, and scholars and performers alike still debate what the music is about, or if it is even possible to explain. The music often does not even sound like Beethoven, and gives the impression that he is operating on some higher plane of existence.

Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament, an extremely personal letter explaining his struggles and artistic goals gives us some insight, and in fact even has some undertones of Hamlet's questions about life's paradoxes. Beethoven wrestled with being misunderstood, and it could be said that this is a condition that we all share on at least some level. (to read the Heiligenstadt Testament click HERE). After his monumental symphonies and large scale works, he retreated into these more intimate last quartets, the canvas for his grand questions and answers.

I view this music as an attempt to sum up everything Beethoven has learned about the human condition, and to show a unity in all art and life. The piece below is the Cavatina from his last string quartet, Op. 130 in B-Flat. Beethoven said that this slow movement was the only piece of his that would bring him to tears. Through the tenderness, you can feel the inner turmoil that has already taken place in his life. Now at the end, he has come to terms with it and is resigned to accept what he cannot ultimately change. However, it is not a surrender. It is a new spiritual understanding that we can all share and make our own. In other words...yes, life can be seemingly unending pain and hardship. But the beauty we can experience makes it worth the struggle.

Happy Listening... The music has been set to pictures of Beethoven. You can't help but feel that this was one of the greatest geniuses and members of humanity to have ever lived..

12/16/08 UPDATE: the original video has been deleted by YouTube, so I have replaced it with another of the same piece. No pictures this time, but the music is there, which is the most important thing...

One Good Thing

Most of you that have stumbled onto this blog are probably aware of my endless gripes about Los Angeles and its culture (or lack thereof). Sure, there is plenty of great stuff around this city to enrich our lives, but finding it is not always easy. Also, I'm mostly speaking on a day to day basis, and how starved I often feel for that East Coast culture.

However, there is one thing that I love about this city, and that is its classical music station. Now the commercial classical station went off the air about a year or so ago, but the public broadcasting station, KUSC (affiliated with the university) is alive and kicking. This classical station is the best I have heard ever, in any city, and I am so thankful it's on the air. It has great radio hosts, NO commercials, and they play works in their entirety, something that is not possible on commercial stations. The musical selections are great too. You can hear plenty of the standard masterpieces, but also many new things to broaden your horizons (pardon the cliche).

My favorite host is Jim Svejda, a guy who speaks with a superiority complex/nasally sounding voice (which I used to find annoying, but now enjoy) and knows more about more topics than you could imagine. And he is not afraid to criticize performances and pieces, which I also find refreshing. They frequently host great interviews with performers (pianist Leon Fleischer) and even current movie composers (Dario Marianelli of Pride and Prejudice)

Tonight I heard on the station a piece written by one of the radio announcers, Alan Chapman. He wrote a piece called Peter and Mr. Wolf, which you might notice, sounds a lot like Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. Peter and the Wolf is a cute (but also very well written) children's piece that features a narrator and that uses different instruments of the orchestra to tell a story, each instrument representing a different animal. This piece by Alan Chapman was surprisingly great, taking his cue from the Prokofiev piece but featuring Mr. Wolf as a mean spirited 8th grade science teacher. This is just an example of why we are so fortunate to have a station like KUSC when many cities are losing their classical stations.

If you live in a city which has no classical station, you can go to KUSC's website and listen live to its streaming broadcast. Hurray for technology! Just click on this link HERE and choose your media player. You can also click the programming tab and view complete playlists. Enjoy the music!

No Country for Old Men

I recently watched the film by this name, and was very surprised by it. I hadn't really expected much from it since I'm not really a huge Tommy Lee Jones fan, but while watching, I was really drawn in to what (I think) the writers were getting at. If you're not familiar with it, the film is focused on a serial killer that feels no remorse for his actions. But beyond that, the main point is that Tommy Lee Jones, an old (almost retired) lawman, cannot come to grips with what motivates this kind of behavior. The crimes are not crimes of passion. Instead it seems as though they stem from some inherent evil that is unexplainable.
I found myself identifying with Tommy Lee Jones' character a lot. Back in his younger days, crime seemed pretty straight forward, as did morality and common sense decency. But now, he feels alienated from the situation he finds himself in. I'm not yet 30, but somehow, I have some of the same thoughts. I feel like this old character looking at the new world around him and being past his time. Do times really change this fast? What seemed like common sense only a short time ago, now seems like ignorant closed-mindedness to many. It's as if the world changes before our very eyes.

What I found so poignant in the film, is how Tommy Lee Jones is rendered almost helpless in a way, because he cannot comprehend the killer's motives. He's from another era, a time where life made sense, and was in many ways simpler.

I just recently discovered that the same directors of this film, No Country for Old Men, also did O Brother Where Art Thou, which I also found a little disturbing. I think both the movies have a certain dark humor, but there is in both (especially in No Country...) a focus on the increasing depravity of our society. Let us just hope that with all the advancements of today and new possibilities of doing good, that we don't forget where we came from. People no longer like to talk about it in this age of pluralism, but what I'm referring to are Judeo-Christian values, the underpinning of our society, and the main reason for its success. I don't like religious fanatics, whatever the religion, but I do treasure the foundation our society was built on.

One of my favorite non-classical singers, Alison Krauss, has a song called A Living Prayer. While the words are very meaningful by themselves, some nice person has uploaded the song to youtube and set it to beautiful pictures of the Georgian (the state) countryside. It is very peaceful, and for some reason, makes me think of past days.