Mugonkan to be revisited

A musium memorial for the young painters victimized as soldiers during WWII, Mugonkan, that stands for a wordless musium. It is located in Ueda city in Nagano. 

I have been there for 3 times since 2018. Three to four hours drive one way. Not an easy drive but still worth visiting it. 

https://nuttycellist-unknown.blogspot.com/search?q=MUGONKAN

What does it attract me so much? One reason is that the works exhibited there all silently as well as strongly appeal how they had lived and what they would leave to us. As told in another post, they are overlapped with my father who spent young days as they did and had a hope to be a painter.  I also consider of the young people in the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and so forth. Most of them are being killed before realizing their capabilities.  

This is a video clip introducing the museum. It was founded in 1997 by Seiichiro Kubota who had collected the paintings for 20 years. Getting old, he has decided to have it succeeded by the educational institution of Ritsumeikan recently. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t43WA-O6fQI

I wonder if I could revisit there some day.

Brahms violin sonatas and his pessimism

The 3 violin sonatas by Brahms have been my favorite since the university days. Recently,

I have been listening to a CD of those sonatas at night again. It takes almost an hour. But whenever I do it, I feel it is worth spending time with it.

They are a real achievement in that genre in the late romantic era. The duo of violin and piano go side by side. One of the most prominent characteristics of this work is that Brahms comes up to us and whispers an intimate idea inward to our ears. I am moved by that close feeling brought about in mind. This might be a common characteristic in his chamber music.

Those sonatas were composed in the mid to late term of his life. It's still hued with the lonliness or even the desolation. Just listen to the 3rd movement of the 1st sonata or whole the 3rd sonata, which I believe this character is most clearly demonstrated. Resisting to it with passion even though it is destined to fail. It won't give us any resolution but sure sounds like companion whispering to me in my ear.

The CD is a rendition by Hetzel, the violinist, and Deutsche, the pianist, recorded in 1992. Hetzel was the concert master of Vienna Philharmonic, one of the most famous and prestigious orchestra in the world. Unfortunately, however, in a few months after this recording, he has died due to an accident while climbing mountains. He was only 52 years of age, too young to die. This tragedy has made this recording even more precious to me. Has he guarded his hands while falling off a cliff?

The desolated feeling is able to be heard in the other music composed by Brahms throughout his life. Most remarkable in the latest years of his life like the famous clarinet quintet. However, he seemed to be liable to that kind of pessimism from his young days. The last movement of his 3rd piano quartet is such an example. When I listened to his 1st violin sonata named Riegenlied sonata after his lied, I was reminded of that piano quartet.

I have enjoyed playing that particular movement with friends in the university days. An old upright piano was set at a classroom in tiers exposed to the western sunlght through the window. Around the pianist, there were 3 string players. At that time, the melody in the beginning accompanied with same figure sounded a kind of pessimism to me. I remembered of that when I started to listen the 3rd movement of the 1st sonata, all after half a century interval.  I could not help wondering how those friends are doing now.

So that is the story of remembrance of Brahms and re-encounter to the same music.

Chicken seasoned with miso and salted rice malt

As we get older, we are apt to have the problem of sarcopenia, gradual muscle loss, which could lead to frail and fracture with falling. We need high quality meat. Processed food is handy but not very healthy. It is thought to be related with carcinogenesis.

At our home, this menu comes in handy. Chicken breast seasoned with miso and salted rice malt. It could be preserved in refrigerator for a few days. Not boring with mildly salty taste. If you are concerned about salt intake, you may use less salted rice malt.

　

 

A memory of the orchestra camp half a century ago

Maybe, I have reiterated about the university orchestra camp in this blog. It was held in the end of this month. Over half a century ago. At the valley of Shinshu surrounded with high mountains named Northern Japan Alps. 

As the season coming closer every year, I could not help remembering of that event even though it has passed a long time since that. Description and a few photos of that event just for my memoir in youth...even though I know I have done the same thing in the past.

This lake named Aokiko was close to the camp site. In the free time of the camp, some of us have made excursion there. Rowing boat and even swimming. No one was swimming other than us. As written before, until we finished swimming across the lake, we didn't know it had been so dangerous to swim there due to its big change of water temerature for a possibility that it had been forbidden to swim there.  

This place used to be commercialized with a lot of advertisements or accomodations  when the winter Olympic games were held in Nagano. After its enthusiasm was gone, it turned back to the usual tranquility. I have visited there with my wife in our honey moon period and then alone by myself for a lot of times. The photos shown in this post were taken about 10 years ago.

After swimming in the lake, we walked down to the camp place on this road. It took us an hour or so on foot. We must be pretty tired but could not be even more energitic and vivid. A lot of laughter and talks among the young fellows, some of them in swim suites. I was happy to find the area in the same way as half a century ago. Was it an illusion at taking this photo as if I could see that herd of young people were walking to the lodge?

This is the lodge we often held the camp. Despite of some modifications, the lodge remained almost the same as the orchestral camping days in '70s. Hidden by trees on the left in this photo is the hall we made rehearsal. A range of high moutains not seen by the fog on this photo is risen behind the hills  in front. In the end of this month, cool breeze ushering in early fall was blowing down from the mountains. The railway in front is named Ohito line running along the valley, the most western side of the great rit valley in Japan dividing our country east to west. Unfortunately, there are less and less passengers on it and the rail line could be abolished in the near future, I am afraid. These accomodations may undergo a change then.

This is not a credible memory but I had my cello broken during one of the camps. That might be at a camp other than this place. Anyway, I had to bring the cello to exchange to another back to Tokyo. I was not caring about what to wear etc and was wearing "geta". At the station, my friends were farewelling me singing ”Grandfather's Clock". With a substitute cello, I used to get back to the camp on a night train on the return.  Eary in the morning the day after, the train almost arriving at the station of the camping site, the valley has extened in morning mist, so serene and beautiful. I could not forget the scene.

                                                                                            

It was only a few years since I started learning cello. I could play only some parts of pieces the orchestra was practising. The pieces I used to play in the orchestra have left me precious and irreplaceable memories. One of such pieces is this; Petit Suite by Debussy. A lovely and impressionistic expression of the scene. It sure brings me back to the memory of the camping site and the lake mentioned above.

I am so grateful to have had such memories related with such a beautiful music.

I am still sometimes fascinated to drive to this area by myself. It has become, howeveer, too adventurous for me to do that any more. I would devote myself to the old memories listening to this piece.

 

Tim VK3IM passed away

Last night, I have received an e mail from Dit HS0ZQE telling Tim VK3IM passed away 3 days ago. It was an expected news but still a sad one which brought me a big loss in my mind.

I have met him first in '60s when he was VK3AZY. After a long pause of QRT for 10 years, when I came back on the radio at the dormitory of a med school hospital in 1980, I started talking to him quite often. As I wrote in the other posts regarding him, he was commuting between Mt. Eliza, a suburb of Melbourne, and Melbourne. 

On the way back home from his office, he often operated /M on his old Mazda. It was equipped with a home brew whip with a big loading coil and a top hat capacitor. I came back to the dorm after a busy day work. We started chatting on 40m CW. My antenna was only a vertical on the roof. But around or a bit after the sunset, the grey line path enabled us enjoy chatting for some time. Despite of having a kind of introverted character in a sense, he was a sociable experienced ham. He always enjoyed chatting friends world wide. It was amazing he used to work with Europe via long path on 40m or even on 80m from that tiny mobile station. I still remember his fast CW on a bit chirpy signal. That chirp was a kind of fascinating to me.

We shared old friends together such as Harry G3ATH, formerly 9V1MT in '60s, VK4CC, VK3XU and many more. We have not run out topics to talk about especially on good old days. It was an unforgettable QSO when he told me about his mother passing away. When he came home, he found her dead on a locking chair on the veranda. What a shock it was for him! We have talked for more than 3 hours, I believe. On the other time, he told me how he was washing cloths at home. He didn't have a washing machine and washed them in the bath tub. It was a fun to imagine him doing that. He used to visit Ara VK1ARA, one of my old friends in teen age days, in Canberra on a winter holidays. Ara was JA1RHL in the same town as I started radio and, later, managed a Japanese restaurant in Canberra those days. I don't know why but he could not see him in person and came home all alone. I bet he was hesitating to see him in eye ball. What a shy guy!

I might have recorded parts of our chats in the log. I should reopen those old logs. 

When he reached home in Mt. Eliza, he often told me to hold on. He used to say " I would bring the radio into the house and, together with a glass of vermouth, go into the shack. Let's carry it on!".

With him passing away now, those good old days have belong to the memories in the past, which I could never reach again any longer. In his latest years, he has suffered from cause unknown illness of pain, which he should use opiates to relieve from. Without his beloving hobby at the nursing home, what days of grief he has had to spend! Now he is free from those agonizing time on the earth. I have lost an irreplaceable companion in the journey of life. I would, however, say "you have lived a good life in your way and take good rest in heaven now". 

About 40 years ago, Tim on the bonnet of old Mazda. 

Decoration of the administrative data leads to...

When the administration intentionally sugarcoats, decorates or even hides the administrative data like labor statistics, it means the administration is destroying the country. Such administrative data is important because it is the basis to eavaluate the effects of certain administrative policy. Without the administrative data based on facts, the effects of any policy could never be evaluated. Then, the politics and administration would become a typical autocracy.

An example of such case in the history is the end of USSR. Most autocratic countries are still committing the same mistakes/faults. It is the people who would suffer most from sch administration, I am afraid. It would take a long time to recover credits from losing it with such manipulation. 

This news is really shocking to me. The USA has been a country of democracy and righteous as well as fair administration in the past. It seems, however, to undergo a drastic change toward autocracy in this respect.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-orders-firing-bls-commissioner-weak-jobs-report-rcna222531

Midsummer

It has cooled down a bit today after hectic heat wave for a few weeks. It has even rained even though only very little amount. I am still making much effort to keep the garden neat pulling out vigorously growing weeds. I should confess that I am sometimes caught by an idea to use a heribicide. Except for spots I could hardly do with weeds such as the cracks of the entrance road, I won't spray that chemical. When I finish the work sitting for an hour or two, I stand up and look around the place neatly cleaned with a kind of self satisfaction, which won't last too long.  　

Summer vegetables are growing. This is a tiny pumpkin. I have harvested the very first one today, different from this one. It will be on the table after being matured for a few weeks. Maybe, I have planted too many pumpkin seedlings. Most of the pumpkins shoud be cooked in a few months. No storage possible as you know. I must find some people who would get one or two.  

Several water melons are being ripened. Whenever seeing these water melons, I always remember of Glen NN6T, who used to grow water melon in the desert area. He always boasted what big fruits he and his wife Susan had got. Ever since those days, he got multiple cancers and passed away. Life is too short. I wonder how Susan is doing, a very affectionate and loyal wife to Glen. In several weeks, these fruits would become ripe as well. 

Whenever this crape myrtle blooms, I feel summer was going away. Looking back the album in the PC, I realize it flowers exactly in this season. Not late summer but in the height of summer every year. I just wondered why I had had such a fixed image of midsummer with this flower. Maybe, something ushering in early fall could be perceived with it. Anyway, this crape myrtle goes on flowering for some time. 

This summer has been too harsh for such flowers as this Marie Gold. They are not flourishing this year. In a few weeks, it feels the sign of early all and starts to vividly come out.

The magnolia tree is freely spreading its branches into the sky. Zelkova and Japanese Judas Tree cut down, this tree is the biggest one at our home. A home tree. As our parents used to enjoy it gorgeously blooming early in spring, we might be able to see it, even if not so many times.