another answer to the reverse five things meme
From lareinenoire:
1. Frédéric Chopin
I'm not really sure how or when I fell in love with M. Chopin, but he has been a constant throughout the more advanced stages of my piano education. The first pieces of his I must have played were some waltzes, mazurkas, and that very famous Nocturne in E flat major. Other famous Chopin pieces that I have played: the Revolutionary Etude, Heroique Polonaise, and Raindrop Prelude. I became terribly obsessed with his nocturnes, generally, after playing the Nocturne in D flat major, which remains one of my favourite works of classical music to this day: sumptuous, romantic, and an absolute delight to play as well. All in all, I find his music exquisite and lyrical yet underpinned by strong harmonies, which elevates it far beyond mere sentimentality.
These days, my favourite Chopin pieces are the four ballades (I have an album with them uploaded ). Chopin has always been more famous for composing miniature pieces as opposed to concertos (only two) or symphonies (none, I believe); the ballades, however, certainly rank among the more substantial of his body of work. They're quite difficult, as I have played the second and am struggling to learn the third on my own, but I enjoy them because there is a great deal of gravity to be found within the twisting passages. The fourth is worth dying to.
2. Malfoys
Lucius/Narcissa has been one of my favourite pairings for a long time, but I was really drawn to the Malfoy family dynamic after I read DH (in retrospect, I believe that was only possible after the amount of maturing that Draco's character underwent after the events on HBP -- I have much more respect for him as a character now). I was struck by the immense loyalty that binds them all together and the lengths to which they go to preserve it -- they're not evil but merely opportunistic, self-centred elites. And I was reminded of the title used over at lucissa: it's only love. Sure, Lucius Malfoy has no scruples about torturing fellow human beings, Narcissa would cross the most powerful Dark Lord in the history of ever to achieve her own ends, and Draco has always been a bit of a snot; that they love each other, however, cannot be denied.
As anyone who has read my fics knows, I enjoy my Malfoys angsty, slightly desperate, but filled with a determination that they will see things through to their end, no matter the cost. I miss writing them a lot, actually!
3. Perfectionism
Guilty as charged. I first became aware of it in middle school, and I can't say it has gone away much. On the whole, I feel that I am a rather healthy perfectionist, except for the sleeping-very-little bit, the recklessly-overachieving bit, the needing-to-do-all-of-my-work-in-college-even-when-not-necessary bit, but there you have it. ;)
4. Playing with language
I suppose there are two ways in which I do this. When I am writing for school, my goal, of course, is not to use the most flowery metaphor that I can conceive but to make my argument in the most effective and clear way possible. I can never write my papers the night before they are due because I need an extra day to edit it and to be able to view it as a whole. I am strongly dislike repetitious wording and so am always looking for redundancies. I strive to create a serious intellectual tone and do not believe that any academic work is complete without it: it's part and parcel of something being academic rather than a rant in my blog about, I don't know, U.S. policy toward Taiwan.
From the standpoint of recreational writing, I try to use language in such a way that it accomplishes what I want it to accomplish, whether that is creating a particular atmosphere, provoking a certain reaction from the reader, or capturing a specific moment and its attendant emotions and details. Over the years, I have learned that this can be surprisingly challenging. I once asked a friend of mine who is very good at drawing how it was that he was that proficient, and he simply said, "I just draw what I see." I guess my approach to writing is not all that different: I see something, and writing is the means through which I share that vision with others.
5. Confidence
Truthfully, this is one of the last things in the world that I would associate with myself! I am convinced that anything that might be interpreted as confidence is really just my being deathly terrified of something but clamping my eyes shut and doing it anyway because there is nothing else I can do. This is one of those attributes I very much want and need to improve upon -- to not be so fearful, whatever the circumstances.
Signing off, V.M. Bell
1. Frédéric Chopin
I'm not really sure how or when I fell in love with M. Chopin, but he has been a constant throughout the more advanced stages of my piano education. The first pieces of his I must have played were some waltzes, mazurkas, and that very famous Nocturne in E flat major. Other famous Chopin pieces that I have played: the Revolutionary Etude, Heroique Polonaise, and Raindrop Prelude. I became terribly obsessed with his nocturnes, generally, after playing the Nocturne in D flat major, which remains one of my favourite works of classical music to this day: sumptuous, romantic, and an absolute delight to play as well. All in all, I find his music exquisite and lyrical yet underpinned by strong harmonies, which elevates it far beyond mere sentimentality.
These days, my favourite Chopin pieces are the four ballades (I have an album with them uploaded ). Chopin has always been more famous for composing miniature pieces as opposed to concertos (only two) or symphonies (none, I believe); the ballades, however, certainly rank among the more substantial of his body of work. They're quite difficult, as I have played the second and am struggling to learn the third on my own, but I enjoy them because there is a great deal of gravity to be found within the twisting passages. The fourth is worth dying to.
2. Malfoys
Lucius/Narcissa has been one of my favourite pairings for a long time, but I was really drawn to the Malfoy family dynamic after I read DH (in retrospect, I believe that was only possible after the amount of maturing that Draco's character underwent after the events on HBP -- I have much more respect for him as a character now). I was struck by the immense loyalty that binds them all together and the lengths to which they go to preserve it -- they're not evil but merely opportunistic, self-centred elites. And I was reminded of the title used over at lucissa: it's only love. Sure, Lucius Malfoy has no scruples about torturing fellow human beings, Narcissa would cross the most powerful Dark Lord in the history of ever to achieve her own ends, and Draco has always been a bit of a snot; that they love each other, however, cannot be denied.
As anyone who has read my fics knows, I enjoy my Malfoys angsty, slightly desperate, but filled with a determination that they will see things through to their end, no matter the cost. I miss writing them a lot, actually!
3. Perfectionism
Guilty as charged. I first became aware of it in middle school, and I can't say it has gone away much. On the whole, I feel that I am a rather healthy perfectionist, except for the sleeping-very-little bit, the recklessly-overachieving bit, the needing-to-do-all-of-my-work-in-college-even-when-not-necessary bit, but there you have it. ;)
4. Playing with language
I suppose there are two ways in which I do this. When I am writing for school, my goal, of course, is not to use the most flowery metaphor that I can conceive but to make my argument in the most effective and clear way possible. I can never write my papers the night before they are due because I need an extra day to edit it and to be able to view it as a whole. I am strongly dislike repetitious wording and so am always looking for redundancies. I strive to create a serious intellectual tone and do not believe that any academic work is complete without it: it's part and parcel of something being academic rather than a rant in my blog about, I don't know, U.S. policy toward Taiwan.
From the standpoint of recreational writing, I try to use language in such a way that it accomplishes what I want it to accomplish, whether that is creating a particular atmosphere, provoking a certain reaction from the reader, or capturing a specific moment and its attendant emotions and details. Over the years, I have learned that this can be surprisingly challenging. I once asked a friend of mine who is very good at drawing how it was that he was that proficient, and he simply said, "I just draw what I see." I guess my approach to writing is not all that different: I see something, and writing is the means through which I share that vision with others.
5. Confidence
Truthfully, this is one of the last things in the world that I would associate with myself! I am convinced that anything that might be interpreted as confidence is really just my being deathly terrified of something but clamping my eyes shut and doing it anyway because there is nothing else I can do. This is one of those attributes I very much want and need to improve upon -- to not be so fearful, whatever the circumstances.
Signing off, V.M. Bell