single-handed brilliance.
i won my first pair of tickets to an SSO concert and went last friday, accompanied by jun.
we were 5 minutes late and had to go in during the interval, which was thankfully before ravel's concerto for left hand in d major.
alexandre tharaud's performance kept me enthralled, not just because of the music, but of the dramatic way his entire body spasmed each time he played a scale and had to shift his rear to reach the end notes.
that aside, i enjoyed rachmaninov's symphony no. 2 in e minor the most.
apart from the occasional distraction of lan shui's frantic and emotional conducting (i do find him charming, nurul-dont laugh), i was immensed in the tension of the piece, especially in the 2nd movement.
there was a period where i forgot to breathe, and had to release air a little at the time as the excellent accoustics of the concert hall made every small noise much more audible that it should have been
im also slightly embarrassed to admit i teared a little, but hey, at least that goes to show i paid attention to the piece, right?
whilst on the subject of music, allow me to backtrack a little further.
i had the opportunity to jam with two expat bands that played different genres of music altogether the week before
amongst them was a veteran pianist who did a wonderful cover of the beatles, and actually reminded me of the sam in casablanca who played as time goes by (though i didnt tell him that, haha).
though the sessions mades my inexperience and lack of skill stand out more, it has been a good learning opportunity for me.
and anyway. on random mode:
1. the girl in my office who i thought would look very pretty without specs has actually stopped wearing them. note to self: stop gushing about shirtless colleagues and non-existent love triangles (the girl turned out to be married, and the new guy has a girlfriend. sighhh)
2. went to the mind cafe on saturday night with pearl, nic, darren and jenki and got hooked on a board game called cartegena (i think thats how you spell it). it wasnt immensely addictive, but i found myself playing it again the next day with the htc folks when we went down again in the afternoon. on day 2 we also tried banana slap, which convinced me of my inability to coordinate my limbs, at least faster than my opponents. jurassic something (i forgot the name) has also become a staple in which much laughter and violence are evoked.
3. happy birthday sharon, nicole, grace and sarima!
to sharon, it was good fun waiting in the dark inside your bedroom to surprise you on sunday night -grins-
4. girls night out on monday with reka, pearl, gail and grace. the sushi and gossip was yummy. more cheesy jokes next time, please!
5. anyone wants to catch 1. resident evil 2. lust, caution 3. death at a funeral and/or 4. shoot 'em up, kindly contact me.
6. someone, kindly enlighten me on how to memorise my katakana characters, fast.
7. bruise on left foot update: swelling's gone down, dark patch has contracted its territory, but the pain is still there. i attribute this to the fact that i still cant twist enough on my left kick during muaythai class. anyone has tips on how to make your hips more flexible? (hey, its for a healthy reason okay!) at the expense of sounding a tad sadistic, im actually happy to see new bruises on my elbows and shins. goes to show i worked those areas long enough during class, you know?
8. formal offer from mfa finally turned up, will head down on monday to sign the letter of appointment. more updates when they happen!
thats all,
peace to the world! :)
we were 5 minutes late and had to go in during the interval, which was thankfully before ravel's concerto for left hand in d major.
alexandre tharaud's performance kept me enthralled, not just because of the music, but of the dramatic way his entire body spasmed each time he played a scale and had to shift his rear to reach the end notes.
that aside, i enjoyed rachmaninov's symphony no. 2 in e minor the most.
apart from the occasional distraction of lan shui's frantic and emotional conducting (i do find him charming, nurul-dont laugh), i was immensed in the tension of the piece, especially in the 2nd movement.
there was a period where i forgot to breathe, and had to release air a little at the time as the excellent accoustics of the concert hall made every small noise much more audible that it should have been
im also slightly embarrassed to admit i teared a little, but hey, at least that goes to show i paid attention to the piece, right?
whilst on the subject of music, allow me to backtrack a little further.
i had the opportunity to jam with two expat bands that played different genres of music altogether the week before
amongst them was a veteran pianist who did a wonderful cover of the beatles, and actually reminded me of the sam in casablanca who played as time goes by (though i didnt tell him that, haha).
though the sessions mades my inexperience and lack of skill stand out more, it has been a good learning opportunity for me.
and anyway. on random mode:
1. the girl in my office who i thought would look very pretty without specs has actually stopped wearing them. note to self: stop gushing about shirtless colleagues and non-existent love triangles (the girl turned out to be married, and the new guy has a girlfriend. sighhh)
2. went to the mind cafe on saturday night with pearl, nic, darren and jenki and got hooked on a board game called cartegena (i think thats how you spell it). it wasnt immensely addictive, but i found myself playing it again the next day with the htc folks when we went down again in the afternoon. on day 2 we also tried banana slap, which convinced me of my inability to coordinate my limbs, at least faster than my opponents. jurassic something (i forgot the name) has also become a staple in which much laughter and violence are evoked.
3. happy birthday sharon, nicole, grace and sarima!
to sharon, it was good fun waiting in the dark inside your bedroom to surprise you on sunday night -grins-
4. girls night out on monday with reka, pearl, gail and grace. the sushi and gossip was yummy. more cheesy jokes next time, please!
5. anyone wants to catch 1. resident evil 2. lust, caution 3. death at a funeral and/or 4. shoot 'em up, kindly contact me.
6. someone, kindly enlighten me on how to memorise my katakana characters, fast.
7. bruise on left foot update: swelling's gone down, dark patch has contracted its territory, but the pain is still there. i attribute this to the fact that i still cant twist enough on my left kick during muaythai class. anyone has tips on how to make your hips more flexible? (hey, its for a healthy reason okay!) at the expense of sounding a tad sadistic, im actually happy to see new bruises on my elbows and shins. goes to show i worked those areas long enough during class, you know?
8. formal offer from mfa finally turned up, will head down on monday to sign the letter of appointment. more updates when they happen!
thats all,
peace to the world! :)