Sunday, February 10, 2008

soi: day 1

bombastic though the selection may have been, with loud short pieces from what mukul told me was the late romantic period, i was still taken in by the physicality of the music. to think that the making of music was always a tangible phenomenon to be experienced with the sound. with the act of recording music has been auralised.(if that is a word) removing the visual, spatial and the physical from the experience. live, music has a completely different impact. layers are revealed through space that no sound system can replace. and what of the dance of the musicians, in sync with their instruments – the harp players hands floating patterns across the curtain of strings, or the sudden thrust of the violin players’ bows as they pluck a string. i am not even referring to the conductor and his performance at the center- hopping about, swirling his baton.

it was a strauss evening, with marches, and waltzes. there were also some pieces by bizet (carmen) and ravel. i am learning more as i listen more. for instance, at least i was able to now say what i do not like. ravel i did.

dinner afterwards was exquisite and expensive at vongwong- a new chinese restaurant in express towers. madhu and mukul had a watermelon and ginger mojito, while i had a martini and a long island iced tea.

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