end of course/some reflections
It's the end of the course, it's the middle of August, it's the end of all strain, it's the joy in your heart.
(5 bucks says no one other than Adam will figure out where the quote in italics came from, and even he'll have trouble. No googling you cheating fuckers. =P)
Well yeah, I've got another wholly meaningless promotion come Tuesday, although it does mean my allowance goes up from a corporal's starvation wage of $550 haha. Last week was spent in a kind of bored stupor as we all waited for Friday afternoon. Boring lectures, mind-numbing area cleaning, that sort of thing. Can't quite tell if they're training sergeants or domestic helpers; but then again sergeant comes from the French for servant. Well well.
-----
Bookout. Crashed YO again, I'm such a fixture there that Mr Lim forgot I'm technically an alumnus already. The quality of their playing is going down, sadly, and I hope they don't get jaded (as they already seem to be). Some things can't be compromised on - meticulous attention to detail, sheer brutal concentration of effort... It's an orchestra and a team effort, and I can't see that happening. Doesn't help that I see most of the newer 2nds are aspiring soloists rather than orchestral players. Well they've got the superficials - they play loud, they get most of the notes in mostly in tune - but they've a long way to go in their musical development. Lacking subtlety, contour, shades of dynamic contrast and articulation... In fact that's true for most of the players. Bassoons and some of the lower brasses - I was astonished to hear their accompaniment figure for the Weinberger Polka turn into a drone! Dragging out the notes in a fast dance, what were they thinking? Actually this begs the question: were they thinking?
And it's a pity that there isn't enough Czech music heard, generally. I can only think of Dvorak, Smetana... Janacek, Martinu, Suk (yeah of played-to-death Serenade for Strings fame, gahhh) and Fibich (a few bland symphonies) - and of course Weinberger. But it's distinct enough to recognise, or should be... like Bohemian crystal, fine, delicate and twinkling in the light. Beautiful, shapely melodies - tunes in every sense of the word.
Enough. ^^
-----
Sent David off at the airport; hey man if you read this drop me a note haha. And yeah take care and all that. Left rather early cos I didn't fit any of the social cliques that were forming up, and was feeling rather more pillar-ish than usual. Ah well.
Otherwise... catching up with sabby (wow 2 hours talking over coffee O.o)...
I should get a large map of the US and mark out all the unis that my pals/friends/acquaintances are going to - it's a lot easier for England cos nearly everyone's ending up in London or Cambridge heh. Crikey. There's a sizeable bunch of us on the East Coast, and a couple of lonely souls way out in Stanford heh. It's a nice vicarious excitement I feel - true I'm not going this year, but lots of you are and it's pretty much awesome.
And yes my offer still stands - if any of you applying this year need help (UK or US), just drop a comment or send an email along and I'll do my best.
Yeah, true Wally, I was rooting for the UK not too long ago, but who gave me the full financial aid? =P Ah well man... yeah I do retain some vestigial ancestral regard for the old colonial sahibs ^^ and of course I couldn't live without British comedy - horribly sharp, horribly witty - and the BBC is brilliant and I've picked up my feel for the richness of the English language from there; but the US is an exciting place to be, it's where the action is, it's open and receptive, and it's given me an opportunity to escape mediocrity in a way that's never happened to me before. It's opened up doors to a future I never dreamed of. And well... I'm hugely grateful.
(5 bucks says no one other than Adam will figure out where the quote in italics came from, and even he'll have trouble. No googling you cheating fuckers. =P)
Well yeah, I've got another wholly meaningless promotion come Tuesday, although it does mean my allowance goes up from a corporal's starvation wage of $550 haha. Last week was spent in a kind of bored stupor as we all waited for Friday afternoon. Boring lectures, mind-numbing area cleaning, that sort of thing. Can't quite tell if they're training sergeants or domestic helpers; but then again sergeant comes from the French for servant. Well well.
-----
Bookout. Crashed YO again, I'm such a fixture there that Mr Lim forgot I'm technically an alumnus already. The quality of their playing is going down, sadly, and I hope they don't get jaded (as they already seem to be). Some things can't be compromised on - meticulous attention to detail, sheer brutal concentration of effort... It's an orchestra and a team effort, and I can't see that happening. Doesn't help that I see most of the newer 2nds are aspiring soloists rather than orchestral players. Well they've got the superficials - they play loud, they get most of the notes in mostly in tune - but they've a long way to go in their musical development. Lacking subtlety, contour, shades of dynamic contrast and articulation... In fact that's true for most of the players. Bassoons and some of the lower brasses - I was astonished to hear their accompaniment figure for the Weinberger Polka turn into a drone! Dragging out the notes in a fast dance, what were they thinking? Actually this begs the question: were they thinking?
And it's a pity that there isn't enough Czech music heard, generally. I can only think of Dvorak, Smetana... Janacek, Martinu, Suk (yeah of played-to-death Serenade for Strings fame, gahhh) and Fibich (a few bland symphonies) - and of course Weinberger. But it's distinct enough to recognise, or should be... like Bohemian crystal, fine, delicate and twinkling in the light. Beautiful, shapely melodies - tunes in every sense of the word.
Enough. ^^
-----
Sent David off at the airport; hey man if you read this drop me a note haha. And yeah take care and all that. Left rather early cos I didn't fit any of the social cliques that were forming up, and was feeling rather more pillar-ish than usual. Ah well.
Otherwise... catching up with sabby (wow 2 hours talking over coffee O.o)...
I should get a large map of the US and mark out all the unis that my pals/friends/acquaintances are going to - it's a lot easier for England cos nearly everyone's ending up in London or Cambridge heh. Crikey. There's a sizeable bunch of us on the East Coast, and a couple of lonely souls way out in Stanford heh. It's a nice vicarious excitement I feel - true I'm not going this year, but lots of you are and it's pretty much awesome.
And yes my offer still stands - if any of you applying this year need help (UK or US), just drop a comment or send an email along and I'll do my best.
Yeah, true Wally, I was rooting for the UK not too long ago, but who gave me the full financial aid? =P Ah well man... yeah I do retain some vestigial ancestral regard for the old colonial sahibs ^^ and of course I couldn't live without British comedy - horribly sharp, horribly witty - and the BBC is brilliant and I've picked up my feel for the richness of the English language from there; but the US is an exciting place to be, it's where the action is, it's open and receptive, and it's given me an opportunity to escape mediocrity in a way that's never happened to me before. It's opened up doors to a future I never dreamed of. And well... I'm hugely grateful.
posted by Unknown at
9:49 pm
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