save our creativity dormancy

good music is rare these days. thankfully, the music world is never short of emerging talents. say, the recent leeds competition that just ended. i didn’t exactly keep up with every single round of the competition. i did listen to the finalist round. with that being said, i also did a little research on the performers. i listened to their pre-leeds performances and found some to be quite convincing.

i heard a fantastic transcription of beethoven’s 9th symphony by the 2nd prize winner junyan chen. one can hear the sparkles of passion piercing through the screen. classics like this can effortlessly bring one to tears.

one’s auditory journey wouldn’t be complete without teodor currentzis’ newly released bruckner 9th. the 9th symphony is one of bruckner’s most received symphonies. the scherzo movement is a beloved piece due to the succinct structuring and the thundering brass in the middle. if one can recall anything from this giant 70-minute symphony, it will be the scherzo. other movements are fairly obscure. even though for twice i have listened live to this piece: in 2018 at musikverein with philip jordan and vienna symphony, 2019 in boston symphony hall with andris nelson and bso, this symphony still eludes me! a genius musician such as teodor will save my auditory repulse against this piece!

i’m saddened by the fact that i no longer live in shanghai and have to miss all the concerts there. teodor currentzis have been falling in love with china and agreed touring there. hopefully, america has yet to nurture a relationship with the genius maestro. i firmly stand with teodor currentzis despite numerous hostilities against him. although he speaks russian like a native, he is greek. indeed he became successful not until his presence in russia. still, it’s deeply unfair to exaggerate his tie with russia as a maneuver to compromise his international reputation.

if you like witty french works, here they are.

i love how music teaches us about everything. the craftsmanship, the diligence, the humor, and the unparalleled creativity…