The Joy of Cello

Came out from the Wang Jian concert feeling quite high. The dvorak concerto is such a triumphant and uplifting piece of music - and the melodies, oh you can keep singing and singing them repeatedly and never get tired of them. First time I had heard the concerto live, so was made acutely aware of the difficulties in writing a concerto for cello. Getting the balance between the cello and the orchestra is extremely difficult and Dvorak's solution consisted mainly of using only winds and light strings to accompany the cello when it's playing. Still, it resulted in alternating blaring tuttis and relatively small-sounded solos from the cello, which isn't a big problem on record, since the sound engineers solve Dvorak's problem by adjusting the balance, but in real life, it gets a bit disconcerting. Maybe it had to do with where I was seated, on the second circle, last row, since my friends sitting in the stalls had no complaints about the sound. Alas, I'm but a poor NSF, unable to afford better seats. Sigh.

As for Wang Jian's playing, honestly it's hard for me to say anything cos I was straining to hear what he was playing quite a bit of the time, especially when he went to the low strings and got swamped by the orchestra. As a result, my inner ear went on over-drive, filling in all the parts that I couldn't really hear. But when Wang Jian had the lovely solo lines with little or no orchestral accompaniment, he sung beautifully, as all great cellists do, with generous use of vibrato, melodic shaping and inflections. Found some of the virtuosic passages tossed off with a bit too much nonchalance, thus losing the detail in the writing. And a slight tad too fast in the last movement perhaps, as I lost track of more of the lovely detail which he skimmed past. But probably it would have been more effective if I could hear him better. Then again, I could just be affected by Jacqueline du Pre's playing, where she makes a big deal out of every nuance, which makes Wang Jian's playing sound glib at times. Oh but lovely lovely singing in the last solo bit of the concerto where he held on to that F sharp for the longest of time before sliding up to that big big B.

Went out for drinks with Yvonne and Ju Dee after the concert. Talked mostly about music. An interesting discussion about whether the beauty is inherently in the music or a good performer is required to bring out the beauty in the music came up after I said something glibly about all musicians either being in tune or out of tune. What I had meant was that to a large extent, most amateur and some professional musicians can't really reach the levels of playing in a way that really inspires or moves people, since they are hampered greatly by either their lack of technique or musical imagination. So I've found most performances mostly just ok. Works that move me, move me regardless of who they are played by, a fact which again might be attributed to my inner ear hearing things I want to hear. Then there are the works which require good interpreters to pull them off, but otherwise are just, well, ok. Only in the rarest of moments will there be a meeting of minds of the composer and the performer at their best, and that's where the magic happens. So perhaps I'm being a bit too harsh on musicians here, with my implication that we, as performers, are moved by what we think we are playing rather than what we are actually playing, which is a point that becomes very clear when we listen to our own recordings. But since perfection can hardly be reached, what does it mean for us mere mortals? Are we trapped between self-delusion and perpetual dissatisfaction? Where is the balance? I choose self-delusion, if only to keep myself happy with music, by not having too high standards for my own playing - yes, I'm just plain lazy :).

Moved on to a depressing topic involving goals in life, where I unabashedly said I had none, which isn't far from the truth, as I've found time and again that my goals are often determined by others and my job is just to fulfill them. It's mind-boggling how people (my drinking company included) can cling on to some abstract goal and pursue them with such focus. My hat's off to them. Amazing stuff.

Finally, went amok throwing great music at Yvonne, who is the most musically-sensitive non-musician I've ever met, via Ju Dee's iPod. Strauss' Metamorphosen (which I'd demanded that Ju Dee listen to the week before) and Brahms' Clarinet Quintet (has there been anything more ravishingly beautiful than this? *rave rave*) - what a killer combination of some of the most inspired music ever written. It's always a great joy to share the music that means so much to me with people and watch their eyes light up as the beauty unfolds before their ears. I really must find an easier way to share all this music with my friends... file transfer rates are pathetic for some reason or another on my computer.

And yes, Winterreise, I must get down to listening to this sometime, lest I get branded as a heretic of some sort again.