Mahler Symphony No.5

Just listened to this recording. Well, I won't be writing a good review. I loved the 4th movement, the slow movement. It sounds somewhat like Hollywood movie music, but that would probably draw lots of criticism from Mahler fan. It is among the sweetest and saddest music I've heard. When played well, it really draws the audience into their deepest depth of soul. Yet the other movements can be light and mischievious. It is such a delight to listen to this piece of music, long as it is. It is not an easy piece to listen to. I doubt any teenager would appreciate it on the first listen-through. Oh there are always some who can "get it" right away, of course. For the general audience, I would say that the music grows with you. The more mature you get, as you appreciate music, and appreciate life in general, the more you will grow to like this piece.

Earthquake in Sichuan

It is heart-rending to see whole town reduced to rubble, and people dying. Here's a little prayer to the dead, and for the survivors. Here is the real show of survival. I haven't seen many news-clips on the rescue missions, but I bet everyone can use some music right now. Something soothing, calming. And something to cheer the rescuers on, something to keep those still trapped, keep their morale up. Some music to remind those still trapped, that rescuers have not given up hope of finding survivors, even after 4 days, and so they should also not give up surviving.

Wieniawski Dudziarz

Another Grade 8 exam music. Well, it is a show piece. Many fun parts to slide around, showing off the shifting skills, and the flare of showmanship. The challenge is to convince the students to show their confidence in the tone, whether they know the notes or not. It is funny that there are some people who do that all the time. But these are usually the rare few. If they don't do well, it leaves many in the audience cringing for them, at the same time admiring their guts to showoff something that they don't really have to show off on.

Well, that is for the audience who knows the music. What if the audience does not know the music? Playing with a flare will make it a good show, a good show that audience can appreciate better than a very orderly and tamed performance. For Dudziarz, there is nothing tame or timid about the music. There are some refined tone, some pacing, before exploding into rowdy dance tune. Leave the orderly and elegance to Baroque or Classical music.

Counting and Rhythm

Today, one teacher talked to us about her student who cannot count. Her tempo would go suddenly or gradually faster or slower. I had witnessed it first-hand on a few rehearsals before the May Concert. It was a Torelli Double Concerto, and we let the students take turns playing the solo parts. This one volunteered to play one section, on the 2nd violin. All the solo parts are actually duets with the 1st violin solo. This student could not enter on time, and could not hold a steady tempo.

I reflected that I also have a few students who just cannot count. Lo and behold... after that exchange, my next student is on such example. At the end of the exchange, however, an idea suddenly popped up, that I suggest to ask the student be the metronome, while the teacher plays the melody. To see if the student can hold a steady tempo. Now another idea pops up, too... Maybe the teacher can deliberately play off-beat, like going faster or slower, irregularly. It would be interesting to see if the student got annoyed because we do not follow them (the metronome).

Anyway, during that lesson, I suggested to the student to stomp his feet on the beats. It worked for a short while, when the notes are simple. When the going gets tough, his hands and feet goes independent, and irrelevant. Perhaps I should let him learn the notes better before asking him to include stomping. Or maybe I should try "marching on the spot" rather than stomping. I'll try it out next time.

Voice ...

I just heard on the radio, the descriptions of a singer's voice: moody, depressing, old, comfortable, "putting you to sleep". Interesting way to describe voices. Well, from the song, I would say the voice sounded "tired".

Also teaching a student to play airy tone on the violin today. Most students have some sort of phobia to play long bows, or fast bows. The exceptions are usually very young children -- they just use the whole bow, with minimal control, anyway. Tone quality was not in consideration. Besides, they like to squeel and shriek anyway, haha.

May Concert

Yesterday we held a concert at Republic Cultural Centre, in the Republic Polytechnic. It was an afternoon concert, and it was quite fun.

Just a few photos...

The photos were taken at the final dress rehearsal just before the concert. More photos and videos are available from Mandeville Music School.

Mozart too heavy

Well, yesterday I had a lesson with a student. That's when I noticed that she could play Mozart with almost all the necessary skills, spiccato, lifting, etc. But it just sounded heavy. It is a combination of both hands that contributed to that. Even at the loud places, the concerto No. 5 should not sound heavy. It was written in Mozart's early years, when he was without care for life's troubles. Even if Mozart were troubled in any ways, he took care not to reflect in his music. It was until much later in his life that he poured his soul out into the music. We would have seen the darker side of Mozart's emotions had he lived longer and write more.

But I digress. Something about how the bow as sustained on the string, and about the vibrato, that caused the tone to sound heavy, even on the high notes, especially when it got loud. Hard to explain in all the details of executing this "loud and light" tone. It just has to be done with the "final goal of tone color" in mind.

Ravel, Bolero

Just downloaded this piece of music, sound recording. It's been a long time since I played in this piece that I forgot all the details. What I always remember is the way to do pizzicato near the end -- strumming the strings, both ways, on the violin. The high tension of violin strings and the lack of any strumming piece makes this a rather painful exercise.

However, the rest of the piece is an excellent example of show-casing the various instruments. It is also very useful to teach students the different tone quality, color, of the various instruments. Snare-drum, flute, clarinet, saxophone, euphonium, etc. And the type of harmony when there are parallel movements, like parallel 5ths.

A wonderful piece. If anyone has not heard it yet, it is time to listen, at least once.