Beauty of simple

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Spent 3 nights at a machiya in Kyoto. One thing that strike me the most is they way they layout the space. It isn't spacious but still, significant amount of spaces are reserved for things like, a small zen garden, a square in the living room for displaying art piece.

In Hong Kong, those will be blocked as a cupboard or something for storage.

But this demonstrate how the two races value against beauty, or arts, into their life. For Japanese, I can see the beauty is indeed a necessity, which they will put it into practice in the meal they serve, the way they dress, all things that happened in daily life. They would given up, space for example, for embracing the arts into their life.

Now, I am practicing the idea of having less but embracing the remains, embracing the room we granted for ourselves.

Riccardo Chailly and Leipzig

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I am attending the concert by Chailly and Leipzig, playing Bruckner #8.

Last time I heard of Chailly's recording is almost 10 years ago, which didn't leave me with any good impression.

Tonight, I am totally drawn by him and the orchestra. To describe what I have heard, I made the following analogy.

The sound is,

As thick as syrup.
As elastic as rubber.
As clear as water.
As crisp as chips.
As light as feather.
As powerful as a bull.

I envy him so much, that he can enjoy music from such a decent orchestra at will. What's more, it is apparent that, no matter how much you invest into your audio setup, it won't come close to attending a live concert.

His interpretation of this piece is so intense, with tones of layering and superb clarity. All the transition are so smooth that you didn't realize the joint. All phrases are built up like tidal - come and go naturally. The orchestra can whisper so lightly but you won't feel blur while in forte, the can play like no limit.

Apart from the concert by Celibidache and Rattle, this one has already taken a place in my memorial hall.

My Arts Festival 2011 begins with magical Bach

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Masaaki Suzuki is my Bach expert. Many of the Bach vocal pieces I have listened, are conducted by Suzuki-san. Finally, I ca see him in a live concert and this also began my annual concert going season.

Tonight, the pieces he conducts are cantata by Bach. Apparently, they are written for religious purpose. They were all played before the church service, so that attendants can grasp the outline of the service. The content are story relates to Jesus Christ; his going to the Jerusalem, the joy of believing in God.

The first thing I spot is how strange the sound is. It is the auditorium which project a dull and flat soundscape. But then I am later amazed by our brain that it can work out how the sound should be like and reconstruct accordingly. This also triggered me into thinking, that many of us are spoilt by the stereo system invested.

Bach Collegium Japan played the pieces very cleanly and precise. This is also how Suzuki-san conducts. You can tell how he wants to express, or emphasis through his gesture.

The concert ended with BMV 147 which is a piece very familiar to the audience. Many of us should have heard of the chorale. Everyone is leaving in joy as it is such a nice concert.