Holiday

Going to have my long deserved annual leave starting next Monday. It is going to last for 2 weeks. I am going to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Bintan and Singapore. Hopefully I could get some CDs in Shanghai and relax a bit in Bintan. I got to, because it costs me a fortune for a pool villa in Banyan Tree Resort in Bintan!

Rachel Cheung' Piano Recital

I attended the concert with an expectation to know how well she plays, given that she won so many competitions. Her technique impressed me, particularly in the pieces by Prokoviev and Lizst. The Bach she played was also inspiring. To my surprise, she is quite matured musically.

I don't like the Faure though, but that has more to do with the composer himself rather than the way she played it.

I guess the selection of programme is too diverse. I agree that she should not concentrate on a few composers at this stage, but I guess for a concert, she could try to play some sonatas. But then, she is only 13. I think there is still a lot of time for her to develop her reportoire.

The new City Hall Concert Hall maintains a good acoustics. I was sitting at the second last row and I could still hear quite clearly. Much better than the concert hall at the Cultural Centre.

No news from Shanghai

I have already indicated my interest in working in Shanghai, but no feedback has been received regarding the package offered to me. I think my big boss might not like to see me go. I really can't stand the uncertainties - not knowing whether I would be working somewhere else in a month's time. But I guess I just have to wait.

公主復仇記

Watched this VCD last night. Interesting story. 鍾欣桐's performance was well above my expectation. 陶紅 also impressed me.

Jacky Cheung

A fairly enjoyable concert. But I really think it is inappropriate to sing with an apple in his hand.

To sing other people's songs is quite good. If I'm gonna have a concert of my own, I would also sing some others' songs, like, Phantom of the Opera and many other songs that I have learnt during the years.

I quite like the song sung by Jacky and the other girl (王菀之) towards the end. I think it is a girl's song. It was not appropriate that it turned into a song sung by a man. But any way, I enjoyed it.

我真的受傷了

作詞：王菀之　作曲：王菀之

窗外陰天了　音樂低聲了　我的心開始想你了

燈光也暗了　音樂低聲了　口中的棉花糖也融化了
窗外陰天了　人是無聊了　我的心開始想你了

電話響起了　你要說話了　還以為你心裡對我又想念了
怎麼你聲音變得冷淡了　是你變了　是你變了

燈光熄滅了　音樂靜止了　滴下的眼淚已停不住了
天下起雨了　人是不快樂　我的心真的受傷了

Book Exhibition

There is a book exhibition today and tomorrow at Causeway Bay. But the weather is no good. I hope it will take place. I shall go there and have a look today.

Bought Jacky Cheung's concert DVD. The disc didn't play well. So I'll have to go back to change it today. What an inconvenience!

Bonus

Just got the bonus for 2004. Not too bad but the happiness is not as great as it was several years ago.

Mozart's Requiem

This was a wonderful concert. The 1st half was a modern piece - Messiaen's L'Ascension. I haven't listened to this piece before. But the HKPO performed this piece with courage. The only thing to say is that the violins didn't seem to be synchronized in terms of their bow movements. It did not look good. Perhaps they didn't have enough time to practice before the concert.

The 2nd half of the programme was set out in a special format. A narrator was there to read letters from Mozart to his father, two poems, two passages from the Bible (Revelation) in between movements (or several movements). Initially I thought that would affect the flow of the music, especially like before the Dies Irae. But the effect of the narrative was surprisingly good. The narrator brought out the scene of the end of the earth quite vividly.

The Requiem was performed incompletely, as it was not sure as to who the composer of Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and Communion was. But the concert ended (without pause) with Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus, which was an excellent choice. The sense of peacefulness was breathtaking.

The conductor, Manfred Honeck, did a very good job in controlling the atmosphere and the choir. I haven't attended such a good concert for quite some time now.

Beethoven No.9

After listening to their performance last night, I have the feeling that the tickets were overpriced. It was at best a 3rd tier orchestra in Europe. The whole symphony sounded weary and boring. No energy. The french horns were out of tune. The woodwinds couldn't even follow the beat. There was hardly any discipline for the orchestra member (1 cellist dropped her bow; one violinist didn't have her violin tuned when the conductor was out there, just about to begin; the french horn player forgot to bring the accessories and went back to the back stage after the tuning session; members were talking loudly when the audience was already quiet and waiting for the conductor to come onto the stage, etc.) I didn't enjoy the concert. One positive thing is the choir, which performed quite well. But the orchestra was below average. HKPO under the baton of De Waart would definitely do better!

Beethoven Cycle

Attended the concert last night. Beethoven's symphonies No.6 and No.7 were played. I sat at the top right hand corner of the concert hall (HKD280!) and the accoustic was hardly satisfactory. I didn't find the concert enjoyable. I'd rather listen to CDs.

Still one more concert (with Sym No.9) on Sat. Let's see whether it is going to be better.

Haven't got much chance to listen to music this week, with a busy schedule and insufficient sleep. Got to catch up during the weekend.

Shanghai Job Opportunity

Got an opportunity to work in Shanghai. Struggling whether to go. I am the sort of person who is reluctant to go beyond the comfort zone. I am going to have a sleepless night...