Weekend

I had a rather eventful weekend. Not the most exciting, but at least it was packed.

3 notable mentions.

1) What the Butler Saw

It was really funny! I liked it. It was 'transcribed' and 'indigenized' from the original play by Joe Orton - which would explain the quintessentially British plots; the twists and turns. the ironies.

The play was also blatantly subversive. I'll leave it there. The audience lapped everything up like dogs, relishing every single minute of it. It did border somewhat dangerously on almost being a 'tragedy' though, and its extreme oscillations between comedy, tragedy and farce dampened my spirits somewhat and made it far less convincing than what it should have been.

Nevertheless, $30 well spent i guess. I'm too tired to go into details about the play, though i guess one can definitely google it online.

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2) Jie Chen Piano Recital

I loved her interpretation of Bach-Busoni's Chaconne from Partita in D minor. Intense and emotional, it totally encapsulated the term 'sturm und drang'. Absolutely fascinating stuff. I teared.

Her ballads are less impressive though. After the intensity of the Busoni right before the interval, it seems almost inevitable that the general mood had to go down before picking up again - approximately around the 3rd ballade though. Her Ballade no 1 was crap. She got the interpretation wrong. didnt grasp the mood and tone of the piece properly and made various stark and i dare say careless note mistakes. the 2nd was slightly better. overall i thought she went really fast with all 4 ballades with kind of got me irked a little here and there, as though she was rushing through them.

i found the chinese pieces (liu yang river and bai nian chao feng [hundred birds paying respect to the phoenix] - yes chinese titles dont make sense in english) refreshing, but otherwise severely lacking in the logic encapsulated in her opening hayden and the busoni that followed them. im ok with guzheng-like imitations of the effect, but not when its the climax of the piece and seems to go on forever! it's absolutely percussive, non-harmonic and really really superfluous. i hate it. otherwise, the pieces were actually rather cute.

oh and i made it a point to give her my compliments after the concert during the autograph session. as a musician myself i feel compelled and somewhat obligated to do so.

lets put a smile on that face.

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3) Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited

and I'm starting to write like Sebastian in Brideshead. Oh dear. in any case, my writing is no where comparable to Evelyn Waugh. His writing in BH is lush, evocative and compelling. i love it. its a slow and painful process of seduction.

Brideshead leaves many questions unanswered. ENIGMA. all the characters are, in someway. a very intense psychological study.

in many ways i also identify with the predicament of some. no, not all and certainly not everything. im neither of their position, predicament or period to begin with. the events dont tally and match up. nevertheless i find myself seduced by this novel with the sole identification with the loneliness and incomprehension that pervades throughout the story and the characters. those, on top of distance and indifference. many things pointed out in the story, i have come across somewhat, sometime in my life before, though it's just the beginning of mine.

i also find myself rediscovering the wonderful world of literature.

I'm only halfway through Brideshead, but i already feel as disturbed as i have been whilst watching the movie.

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and I'm listening to the Walton Viola concerto on youtube now. wistful.