The other day, we were deciding whether to see "I Am Legend" at the AMC or "Starting Out in the Evening" at the independent theater. (Yes, two very different types of movies- the only thing they had in common was the show time.) After reading a few reviews, we thought we'd skip the flesh-eating virus-infested zombies that appear with Will Smith and go for the lesser known independent film- and we're so glad we did.
"Starting Out in the Evening" is the quiet story of a retired teacher and novelist Leonard Schiller, played by Frank Langella. He is struggling to finish his last novel and as he is doing so, a graduate student played by Lauren Ambrose approaches him about doing his Master's thesis about the other four novels that he has written. Their relationship takes on a strange form- not exactly romantic, but definitely not a respectable professor-student relationship. I won't give the rest away, but there is great insight about the process of writing and the power of literature over readers. The movie also follows Schiller's daughter, Ariel, a former dancer in search of a committed relationship and motherhood. All the characters are entangled up in their own personal journeys, seeking out what's next for them in life, struggling to create art and act on their ideas while not giving up their own happiness. It is overall a beautifully done movie that is full of subtlety, which the cast does a fantastic job of bringing out and making the characters believable. Definitely recommended for a quiet, contemplative, rainy evening in which you want a thought-provoking movie that will hold your attention without the help of any explosions , aliens, or nudity on screen.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The Metropolitan Opera in theaters near you!
I'm fortunate to be married to someone who loves opera as much (or perhaps even more) than I do. In fact, our first date back when we were 19 was to the New York City Opera. Paul was trying to finish a Music Humanities paper at the time and conveniently asked me to go see La Traviata with him for the assignment. Of course, I couldn't resist the opera or the date, and the rest is history. Very convenient indeed!
Well, for our one-year wedding anniversary, he did a little research and discovered that The Metropolitan Opera has been pioneering a new way of disseminating their performances to the public. Today was the first production of the Met that was recorded live in HD and shown at 600 movie theaters all around the world. I often complain that Paul goes over the top with presents or nice gestures for me- so when he told me that for our anniversary we would be seeing the Met live, I almost began scolding him about spending too much money on plane tickets and opera tickets- until he explained to me that we would be watching the Met from the AMC movie theater down the street from our apartment here in SD! Yes, living down the street from a major strip mall has its perks. Although I don't count CPK as one of them. The movies ain't bad though.
The day finally came today, and we joined a nearly full house in the theater for a production of Romeo et Juliette by Gounod. It was a pretty rowdy crowd, which was amusing considering that nearly everyone there seemed to be of the older concert-going public that frequents the La Jolla classical music scene. We were by far the youngest people there. Everyone yelped and hollered when they showed Hollywood action movie previews while we were waiting for the HD broadcast to load. About 20 minutes after the scheduled starting time (10am PST/1pm EST), the opera came on the big screen and we were watching the fabulous Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna live from Lincoln Center in HD.
We've been to the Met Opera several times over the years and usually we were only able to afford the nosebleed seats, so the opera viewing experience wasn't exactly optimal even though it still sounded great from up there. Every visit to the Met was always a privilege and we knew it was one of the things we would really miss about New York when we moved. But I have to say that being able to see an opera from so close up and so many different angles was a completely different experience, and almost topped physically being there if we were to get our usual third tier balcony seats. There was also funny backstage shots of the singers chugging water, joking around, warming up, waving at the camera, and live interviews with Placido Domingo, who was conducting, and the two leads. The performance was absolutely phenomenal and what really got me was being able to see the facial expression of the characters so clearly, which helped conveyed all the tragic emotion of the characters and story. By the end of it, I was bawling my eyes out- and I have honestly never done before while watching opera! I felt pretty silly feeling all of the dark tragedy of Shakespeare and trying to collect myself as we walked out to the smell of buttery popcorn and cheesy movie posters.
This idea has given me a lot of hope for the future of opera and classical music. Though it wasn't reaching a new demographic in La Jolla today, public schools students all over NYC were watching the broadcast in their school cafeterias for free. (An official blog about the broadcast is here.) If kids in the Bronx and Queens can be captivated by opera for three-hours on a Saturday afternoon, I think there is hope that opera can be made accessible to all demographics of the population. There is no reason that a work of art with universal themes like love, betrayal, and rivalry needs to remain beloved only by the upper class, despite the high-brow stigma opera has as an art form. I'm so glad that the minds behind the Met are taking advantage of technology and bringing all of their hard work to the masses in and outside of New York. Being the first broadcast of its kind, it wasn't well advertised around here unless you were looking for it- but I hope in the future that the audience in our theater will become a little more diverse. Plus, everything looks good when its in HD!
Check out the upcoming Met HD broadcasts coming up in your city!
Well, for our one-year wedding anniversary, he did a little research and discovered that The Metropolitan Opera has been pioneering a new way of disseminating their performances to the public. Today was the first production of the Met that was recorded live in HD and shown at 600 movie theaters all around the world. I often complain that Paul goes over the top with presents or nice gestures for me- so when he told me that for our anniversary we would be seeing the Met live, I almost began scolding him about spending too much money on plane tickets and opera tickets- until he explained to me that we would be watching the Met from the AMC movie theater down the street from our apartment here in SD! Yes, living down the street from a major strip mall has its perks. Although I don't count CPK as one of them. The movies ain't bad though.
The day finally came today, and we joined a nearly full house in the theater for a production of Romeo et Juliette by Gounod. It was a pretty rowdy crowd, which was amusing considering that nearly everyone there seemed to be of the older concert-going public that frequents the La Jolla classical music scene. We were by far the youngest people there. Everyone yelped and hollered when they showed Hollywood action movie previews while we were waiting for the HD broadcast to load. About 20 minutes after the scheduled starting time (10am PST/1pm EST), the opera came on the big screen and we were watching the fabulous Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna live from Lincoln Center in HD.
We've been to the Met Opera several times over the years and usually we were only able to afford the nosebleed seats, so the opera viewing experience wasn't exactly optimal even though it still sounded great from up there. Every visit to the Met was always a privilege and we knew it was one of the things we would really miss about New York when we moved. But I have to say that being able to see an opera from so close up and so many different angles was a completely different experience, and almost topped physically being there if we were to get our usual third tier balcony seats. There was also funny backstage shots of the singers chugging water, joking around, warming up, waving at the camera, and live interviews with Placido Domingo, who was conducting, and the two leads. The performance was absolutely phenomenal and what really got me was being able to see the facial expression of the characters so clearly, which helped conveyed all the tragic emotion of the characters and story. By the end of it, I was bawling my eyes out- and I have honestly never done before while watching opera! I felt pretty silly feeling all of the dark tragedy of Shakespeare and trying to collect myself as we walked out to the smell of buttery popcorn and cheesy movie posters.
This idea has given me a lot of hope for the future of opera and classical music. Though it wasn't reaching a new demographic in La Jolla today, public schools students all over NYC were watching the broadcast in their school cafeterias for free. (An official blog about the broadcast is here.) If kids in the Bronx and Queens can be captivated by opera for three-hours on a Saturday afternoon, I think there is hope that opera can be made accessible to all demographics of the population. There is no reason that a work of art with universal themes like love, betrayal, and rivalry needs to remain beloved only by the upper class, despite the high-brow stigma opera has as an art form. I'm so glad that the minds behind the Met are taking advantage of technology and bringing all of their hard work to the masses in and outside of New York. Being the first broadcast of its kind, it wasn't well advertised around here unless you were looking for it- but I hope in the future that the audience in our theater will become a little more diverse. Plus, everything looks good when its in HD!
Check out the upcoming Met HD broadcasts coming up in your city!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
North Korea or bust
A nation whose citizens are starved for artistic expression (not to mention food and other basic human rights) will soon hear America's finest. The New York Philharmonic is planning a trip to North Korea in February at the country's invitation. An amazing decision considering that there has been almost no connection to the West inside its borders. The fact that a symphony orchestra is being invited, with the concert being broadcast on government controlled radio, is going to make a huge impact on American relations with North Korea. Not only that, but once people hear the music over the radio, after years of only being subjected to Communist marches, I do believe they are going to be hungry for more.
This reminded me a lot of one of the best movies I saw this year- The Lives of Others, a German film about the role of art in East Berlin during the early 80's. In one particular scene, the main character, a Stasi officer, hears piano music being played over the wire tap that he is listening in on and tears begin to flow down his face. It's almost like a physical starvation. And although I have never lived through a serious time of war or crisis in my own country, I can imagine what it must feel like to be starved for art and music, that it could be this very physical sensation that nearly moves your insides when you finally do hear something beautiful after being surrounded by the cold decay of war.
What is it about the arts that can touch us so deeply? Experiencing art makes us dream. It can take you to a place where you have absolute freedom to be, to express, to create. Kim Jong Il may believe that this will be a harmless little trip that will bring increased glory to his reign, but I think this will be a move that could endanger his power in the long run. I believe that hearing the NY Phil can do this for the people of North Korea and I know they will want more. This could be an amazing way for the figurative and physical walls of North Korea to begin to come down and for messengers of good news and beauty to come in. Not only that, but although classical music can seem like nice, relaxing, background music, the composers that wrote the much of the canon played by symphony orchestras today all live(d) in free societies where democracy and ideas about power to the individual existed, and these messages come out in many great works of classical music. For now, these messengers will be under the baton of Lorin Maazel, and I will be praying that their impact in North Korea is a monumental one.
This reminded me a lot of one of the best movies I saw this year- The Lives of Others, a German film about the role of art in East Berlin during the early 80's. In one particular scene, the main character, a Stasi officer, hears piano music being played over the wire tap that he is listening in on and tears begin to flow down his face. It's almost like a physical starvation. And although I have never lived through a serious time of war or crisis in my own country, I can imagine what it must feel like to be starved for art and music, that it could be this very physical sensation that nearly moves your insides when you finally do hear something beautiful after being surrounded by the cold decay of war.
What is it about the arts that can touch us so deeply? Experiencing art makes us dream. It can take you to a place where you have absolute freedom to be, to express, to create. Kim Jong Il may believe that this will be a harmless little trip that will bring increased glory to his reign, but I think this will be a move that could endanger his power in the long run. I believe that hearing the NY Phil can do this for the people of North Korea and I know they will want more. This could be an amazing way for the figurative and physical walls of North Korea to begin to come down and for messengers of good news and beauty to come in. Not only that, but although classical music can seem like nice, relaxing, background music, the composers that wrote the much of the canon played by symphony orchestras today all live(d) in free societies where democracy and ideas about power to the individual existed, and these messages come out in many great works of classical music. For now, these messengers will be under the baton of Lorin Maazel, and I will be praying that their impact in North Korea is a monumental one.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Beethoven 9: A true masterpiece
Last night, Paul and I went to see the San Diego Symphony perform Beethoven's 9th. It was a really excellent performance by the symphony and the SD Chorale. Despite the pouring rain, I was happy to see a nearly sold-out house that evening, which ended with a standing ovation. Jahja Ling is a true master at bringing out the heroism, subtlety, and drama of the piece. San Diego is truly lucky to have him, and it was, of course, absolutely fitting for the symphony to perform the piece as its tribute to the holiday season and the spirit of eternal brotherhood.
There was a moment in the last movement where I was floored by how ethereal the choir sounded. I started thinking about what it is about human voices singing together when pitch and intonation and harmonization are all aligned that has such an amazing effect. Breathing together is also something that makes a choir sound like a sort of machine, but with human qualities- making it a living, breathing collective thing that is communally producing this gargantuan sound. And the usage of Schiller's text is always thrilling to hear again. This is the line that gets me (of course I'm sure that the English translation barely does it justice):
"Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the star-canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell."
Put that on the lips of a 100 person chorus and a full orchestra, the power of Beethoven's composition and there is surely something spiritual about the experience. Just the agreement between conductors, musicians, and singers to continually perform the piece for nearly 200 years shows how deeply this message has resonated with people through the years. The belief that joy and beauty exists, the harmony of mankind, the thought that even beyond this idyllic, utopian dream of universal brotherhood that there may be a higher being that can be sensed with the help of a little bit of perspective from the stars- that, to me, represents the true meaning of Christmas. I'm glad so many San Diegans got to experience that this weekend.
There was a moment in the last movement where I was floored by how ethereal the choir sounded. I started thinking about what it is about human voices singing together when pitch and intonation and harmonization are all aligned that has such an amazing effect. Breathing together is also something that makes a choir sound like a sort of machine, but with human qualities- making it a living, breathing collective thing that is communally producing this gargantuan sound. And the usage of Schiller's text is always thrilling to hear again. This is the line that gets me (of course I'm sure that the English translation barely does it justice):
"Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the star-canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell."
Put that on the lips of a 100 person chorus and a full orchestra, the power of Beethoven's composition and there is surely something spiritual about the experience. Just the agreement between conductors, musicians, and singers to continually perform the piece for nearly 200 years shows how deeply this message has resonated with people through the years. The belief that joy and beauty exists, the harmony of mankind, the thought that even beyond this idyllic, utopian dream of universal brotherhood that there may be a higher being that can be sensed with the help of a little bit of perspective from the stars- that, to me, represents the true meaning of Christmas. I'm glad so many San Diegans got to experience that this weekend.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Joie de vivre
In a sudden outburst of happiness, my best friend once whipped out a pen to scribble something onto a napkin as we sat at our favorite coffee shop sipping Frozen Mochaccinos.
"CONNIE GIVES ME THE JOIE DE VIVRE," she wrote.
I saved the napkin for years to come.
At the time, I didn't really realize what an honor it was to be described by this phrase. In fact, I didn't really know what the expression meant exactly. I knew it had to do with joy, with living, possibly being translated as the "joy of life" based on my rough knowledge of the French language. But actually, the phrase is even more specific in meaning than simply having the joy of life. Vivre, being present tense, has a much more active connotation which lends the phrase to describing the very sensation of joy that you get while actively living- while eating, dancing, running, working, breathing, and doing anything else that life may present to you in a given day. And through all this, to find this joy of living is a special thing indeed.
Thus is the inspiration for this blog- to find joie de vivre through actively living my life and discovering all the beautiful things out there that affect me as a person, artist, and musician. Because without these things, the pursuit of art is a futile and needless one. It's my hope that through discovering beauty in the everyday and the extraordinary, by searching for profundity in all forms of media and people, and by realizing the meaning of things that God has bestowed around and in me all the time, my soul will well up with a desire to produce music on my instrument that is more poignant, discerning, and profound then what it was just a day ago.
And so begins this journey.
"CONNIE GIVES ME THE JOIE DE VIVRE," she wrote.
I saved the napkin for years to come.
At the time, I didn't really realize what an honor it was to be described by this phrase. In fact, I didn't really know what the expression meant exactly. I knew it had to do with joy, with living, possibly being translated as the "joy of life" based on my rough knowledge of the French language. But actually, the phrase is even more specific in meaning than simply having the joy of life. Vivre, being present tense, has a much more active connotation which lends the phrase to describing the very sensation of joy that you get while actively living- while eating, dancing, running, working, breathing, and doing anything else that life may present to you in a given day. And through all this, to find this joy of living is a special thing indeed.
Thus is the inspiration for this blog- to find joie de vivre through actively living my life and discovering all the beautiful things out there that affect me as a person, artist, and musician. Because without these things, the pursuit of art is a futile and needless one. It's my hope that through discovering beauty in the everyday and the extraordinary, by searching for profundity in all forms of media and people, and by realizing the meaning of things that God has bestowed around and in me all the time, my soul will well up with a desire to produce music on my instrument that is more poignant, discerning, and profound then what it was just a day ago.
And so begins this journey.
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