Haitink's Beethoven with LSO

Just got this set from ProSound. Very much looking forward to it. Haitink's previous recordings of Beethoven Symphonies were not that great. I heard very positive comments about this new recording with the LSO. I hope it will live up to my expectation.

CD Box Set

From Mingus
QUOTE
近兩三年的古典大廠紛紛推出大磚塊型或紙盒包裝的超廉價大全集, 從表面看來, 對大部分的新舊樂迷好像是一大福音。

在網路下載猖獗的後cd 時期, 在網路上可被分享的音樂檔案到完全飽和之前, 這不失為力攬狂瀾的一招。只是, 大全集的背後, 展現的是一種逼迫消費者「照單全收」的傲慢, 以及有質感或新意的企劃的缺乏。君不見, 放眼望去皆是較為iconic, 適合主流「最大公約數」的藝人(Callas, Du Pre, Gould等)? 我無意貶低這些藝術家的成就; 只是, 我懷念過去一些有guts, originality的企劃, 每張CD都有獨特的介紹與設計感。例如, Decca 的西班牙系列, 天堂鳥系列, DG與Decca的二十世紀音樂特輯, EMI 的Matrix及L'Esprit Francais, DG的Fricsay Portrait 小全集, BMG/Melodia的Musica non grata (俄國當代作曲家系列)等。現在發行的量, 好像很多, 但同質性高, 單一企劃的diversity 或品質, 跟cd 的big boom 時期相比, 完全不可同日而語。最主要的是, 消費者只想單買某一品項與希望多元化選擇的權利, 全被強行剝奪。當然, 這應該是「就商言商」的一種歷史必然; 或許, 我們還有小廠與網購可以期待, 只是大廠中豐富的archive或可供利用的大資本, 難道就此走入歷史?

大全集的盛行還有一些副作用, 那就是單一作品的廉價化與邊緣化。當大廠牌可以殺雞取卵式的大量傾銷安全牌(safe bet), 誰會再去投資較為小眾卻具有藝術價值的音樂家或作品? 坐擁許多大全集中的你, 每張作品進唱盤的機會, 是否反而變少? 當Du Pre的所有錄音都一起擠進你的房間的時候, 你對她的craving 是否成反比地降低了?
UNQUOTE

It is to a certain extent very true, but somehow I like to collect these sets. Just seen the Glenn Gould 80-CD box set in ProSound. It only costs HKD2,238. Very tempting!

Settling in...

I really don't want to move in the next 10 years. There are so many things we have to deal with before the dust is settled. But then seeing the baby crawling happily on the floor makes me feel that it does not matter any more!

一個字

Very mean, but 絕!

《夢傳說》

One of my best friends from high school, Leon Ko, has written this new musical for Hong Kong Dance. I attend the second performance tonight. The story is very simple:

小時候的胡樂，開始聽當攝影師的爸爸講故事。突然有一天，爸爸離開了他們，到外地搞攝影創作，但是，失去蹤影，究竟是遇到了意外，還是遭到了什麼遭遇，沒有人知道。當舞蹈員的媽媽胡麗仙，獨自撫養胡樂長大，生活逼人，胡麗仙放棄了自己心愛的藝術，不再跳舞，以銷售水晶為生，但兒子悄悄地繼承了母親的理想，希望成為出色的舞蹈員......

The main actress, Amy Chan (陳秀雯), sang really well. I think she is one of the most versatile singer/actress in Hong Kong. The music is very typical of Leon Ko - catchy melody with broadway style numbers. Although I think the story is somewhat too simple, but I was touched in one of the scenes about 故事裡面主角胡樂及演他小時候的小樂在台上﹐他們一起看著胡麗仙(陳秀雯飾)在忙著生意的電話﹐小樂唱著一曲《媽媽你變了》﹕「媽媽你變了﹐媽媽你變了﹐媽媽你變了﹐你知道嗎﹖　媽媽你哭吧﹐媽媽你哭吧﹐媽媽你哭啦﹐就舒服了」. My eyes were wet.

I was quite happy for Leon as his music has matured. The flow was much better than that of the previous shows. To Kwok Wai's lyrics is so so, but there were some sparks in a few songs.

There is, however, an odd scene where Amy Chan appeared as Amy Chan and discussed the story with other performers. To me, this disturbed the flow of the show and was abrupt. I don't understand it and it did not add any value to the understanding of the story.

I truly enjoyed the show. If you are interested in local musicals, you may consider going to this show.

Nostalgia

I packed so many photos and read so many letters received in the past 10 years. What a surprise to see the young Andy! And it is fun to see the reports, certificate, notes, etc, which brought back so many memories...

IQ Test

I got 133 on this one. Let me know how you score on it.

www.iqtest.dk

Packing

Packing is always a painful task for me. Apart from the books and CDs (40 boxes of them), I have to throw away documents, statements, clothes, notes, books, etc. This could take hours. I am a nostalgic person, but going through so many old stuff really uses up much of my energy, which has dropped to a low level after my son was born. I hope I don't have to do it again in the next 10 years!

Looking at the photos taken in the past 10 years, I have really become more "mature"! It is interesting to see the people in the photos as well, just to find out who were the guys I hanged out with.