Variation by Brahms

I have introduced this music in the past. Clarinet Quintet h minor OP114 by Brahms. This 4th movement composed of a variation, as the other variations by Brahms, is quite impressive. This music ends recalling the very 1st motif of the 1st movement.

I wonder if Brahms thought life was like a variation itself.

In the end of next month, gentle breeze starts to blow here. It will be the time to listen to this music.

A good friend of mine will get married

A friend of mine, Shihoko, will get married in a couple of months. She is an excellent violinist. I have asked her to play chamber musics for the past 15 years since her music university days. This photo shows her playing Schumann's sonata in her recital a few years ago.

 

When I started own practise about 20 years ago, I needed some hobby which I could enjoy in the spare time. I could hardly spend long time for that. It won't take me too long before I remembered playing cello. Actually, I used to play it at occasions but only intermittently. I got a new cello and started practising it almost every day.

In some time, I also remembered the joy of playing chamber musics which I was fascinated by in my med school days. I should look for some violinist partner. At first, my daughter who had been playing violin for several years was the candidate. But she was in her difficult age and was preparing for school entrance exam. The name of Shihoko came up in my mind then as she used to play the famous piece of Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen, in a concert of the disciples of the teacher whom our daughter was also taught by. It is always a pleasure to play chamber musics with such an excellent player.

I don't know why but she answered yes to my proposal. Maybe, she didn't know "how well" I played cello at that time. Or her mother, a friend of my wife and of myself, might tell her to do so. I should ask her about that later.

Anyway, a beautiful girl violinist has been with me at various concerts since then. In the meantime, when she graduated from a music university, she went to Germany for further study. She tried to get a position at any orchestra there to no avail. Finishing the course at a music university there, she came home and started her career as a player as well as a teacher. For the past several years, we have played with her friend pianist as a piano trio. This was taken at a small concert when we played the piano trio C major Opus 87 by Brahms. It was a real fun for me to complete all the movements
of this music which I had loved so much. It took us a year or so until we finished practising all the movements.

From her way of life, I have learned how tough it is to become a musician and, unfortunately, how little a musician is rewarded. Years ago, when I gave her a phone call at her home, her mother came on it at first. She called Shihoko. And a sound of violin was coming closer to the phone in a few seconds. She seemed to practise it while coming to talk to me on the phone. Being a musician is not easy at all. I have become to respect every musicican for his/her effort.

A few months ago, I was told she would get married. I was so happy to hear that news as if I had our daughter married. Her parents seemed to be happiest as well. Her father told me with a smile that they had almost given it up. She told me to play cello at her wedding party. I should practise a lot not to ruin the party.  Even though we have put an end to our ensemble so far, I would like to play together from time to time. Playing ensemble is to live together as we make Einsatz with breathing together. She has made my presenile period meaningful. I could not be more than thankful to her for her kindness for the past years.

St. John's Passion by J.S.Bach

In this past week end, the Carmel Bach Festival was held in the city of Carmel, a renowned resort near to the Bay Area. A month ago, I was wondering if I could have been there together with a good friend of mine, Bob W6CYX, who had introduced about that event through a book "Carmel Impresarios". I have written about this well written book on the history of Carmel and the festival in this blog before. Unfortunately, we had too little time to decide to fly to the West Coast this time. Hearing from Bob how much he was looking forward the concert there, I decided spending the same week end listening to St. John's Passion by Bach, the very same piece they were going to play at the festival this summer.

I have had the CD of this piece by Munchen Bach Orchestra by K. Richter, which has already established their fame for the past decades. Again, Bob has sent me a url  linked to the performance by Bach Collegium Japan conducted by M. Suzuki shown below. It is a really modern ensemble with smaller orchestra and choir based on the authentic performance. I have known this group before, which has earned a good reputation among Bach lovers world wide. Clear cut as well as light touch phrasing. Transparency in sound is thanks to the size of ensemble as well as to the authentic playing technique. Through its performace ability, and possibly, the conductor's understanding of this piece, the message of this music urges us to be with Bach. It sure brings us to thinking what Jesus and his death at Golgotha means to us.

John's Evangel which this music was based on seems unique compared with the other Evangels. This was established solely in the end of the 1st century in order to advocate the evangelism of Christianity toward the outer world not localized to the Judah area. The theme concerns about what Jesus and his death means to us rather than the episodes of his life. The author of this Evangel seems to have described it through two aspects of our lives. One is the problem of belief related through ths story of the denial and betray to Jesus by Peter. The other is a political issue. It might be a problem regarding what the right and earnest party could behave against Jesus.
Through these two aspects of life, this music urges us to reflect ourselves and eventually to reach our helplessness.

I am not a Christian. I am on the gate of church. Maybe, I will remain there throughout my life. But this music makes me consider where I am and where I should head to. Honestly, this music has been too difficult and tough to be immersed in. The perpetuating motif by the strings in the 1st music surely expresses our anxiety and worry in lives. It could not be pleasant to confront such a reality of ourselves. I have learned, however, only through facing to the reality, we could understand what Jesus and his death meant to us. It was another great experience for me to have listened to this music seriously.

Egg plant with pork seasoned with green perilla and sweetened miso

This summer, a lot of egg plants are cropped here. This dish is to consume those egg plants. The title tells what it is.

 

Egg plants are cooked with sesame oil. They absorb much oil and taste great. Even though it might contain high calory, this may be the best way to cook egg plant.

 

Several years ago, I used to talk to Fred K5FA in MS, who also had egg plants grown in his farm. He used to be proud of the big crop of them at this time in a year. iT has been years since i heard him last time.  

How a greedy investor has earned profit from Greece in the financial crisis.

An article in The Nation tells how Goldman Sachs has got the enormous profit from Greek in financial crisis. Of course, the people and the government of greece are responsible for the corruption, too much social security and tax evasion in the rich. But it is still immoral for such an investor to make predatory lending to Greece.

http://www.thenation.com/article/goldmans-greek-gambit/

I am afraid, as I told in the previous post, our government has even more debt than Greek has had. Who could say we won't suffer from a trick by a global capital as Goldman Sachs? TPP could be a tool for such investors to make profit from our country. We could never be a lookers on at all.

This post is thanks to David N7RK who has posted on this article in Facebook.

A trip to Suwa lake

It was a sunny day yesterday. Burning hot. I made a drive trip to Suwa lake in Nagano. I haven't realized the purpose of this trip this time. Midsummer weather and beautiful scenary were good enough to drive there.

 

 

Driving through the city of Suwa, I have recalled a few things separately. One of them was Jim N3BB, whom I have known for decades and have met in person in Tokyo about 20 years ago. He used to tell me about a trip to Suwa one time. He was invited there by a japanese electrical item company; Jim corrected it to be Seiko Co, the famous watch manufacturing company. It must have been a fond memory for him. He was staying at a reception facility of the company on the top of a hill overlooking Suwa lake. At night, I guess, they have held a concert by a flutist; Jim also corrected it was a violinist, for the guests there. He looked as if sighing for the beautiful scenary through the window during the concert. It must have been around '80s, when he was working as an active engineer in the smiconductor business.

 

Driving through the city, I found very few people on the street. It was a plain week day, so that, no wonder, there should be less tourists there than the week ends. I bet, however, it might have been much more bustling on the streets there in '80s. Jim might have seen such crowds in this hot spring resort as well.

 

In my med student days in '70s, just before he visited there, I went for camping for practise of the univ orchestra every summer. One time, on the way back home, the students took on a bus and went through this city. I felt I remembered going through a street on a bus there, even though the street has been changed. It was in the end of August. A girl majoring in dentistry, a violist, was on the seat next to me. We have talked a lot on the whole way back to Tokyo. Since graduation from the school, we haven't got in touch at all. About 10 years ago, when I was asked to play in an OB/OG orchestra of a high school there, I got acquaintance with a guy who played the concert master at the concert. That dentist girl turned out to be his wife at that time. Through knowing her husband, we got in tough again, even though it has been a relationship to exchange the new year's card once a year. We have met so many people in our lives and then got parted each other for our lives. In rare occasions, we happen to meet again. It is a marvelous thing. We should treasure such meetings.

 

I have looked for some photo cards to send to Jim. There used to be many sets of them available at souvenir shops. But nothing like that found. I could not take good photo by myself, either. If Jim and Diana read this post, I should excuse for using a photo of Suwa lake, shown  above, I got in the internet in stead. We might have been at or through this place not so far apart in the time.  



 

 

 

 

A round table between VK and JA

For the past 2 days, I have met Tim VK3IM on 40m. He is an old friend of mine, whom I have introduced in this blog before. In both QSOs, there was our mutual friend, Lou VK5EEE, joined. A round table between VK and JA. However, both VKs could not hear each other, so that I should relay their messages by myself.

The path between VK and JA has always been very stable. As I told in the other post, I have enjoyed ragchewing with Tim on the way back from Melbourne to Mt. Eliza, his home QTH. He was running old FT101B with a top loaded vertical on the luggage carrier on his van. A bit chirpy but carming CW. We have talked on that good old days. Even though he has been inactive due to health problems, he is getting active on the radio again. Drew VK3XU was kind enough to put up his antenna on the roof. The great ragchewer in VK has resurrected there to my pleasure.

Lou, an ex radio operator, has been active recently. We have run across on 40m for a few times recently. Having known Tim, he was surprised to read about him in this blog and introduced the photo I had uploaded here in his page in QRZ.com. Since both of Tim and Lou have been eager ragchewer, they must have known each other well. They seemed to have been in close touch each other. Unfortunately, Lou has a very low wire antenna and his signal has always been suboptimal for ragchewing at this end. But he is going to put it up higher very soon. It may enable us to have a real round table very soon.

I feel there have been much less CW operators in the pan Pacific area than in the pan Atlantic area now. We, japanese CW operators, should treasure the opportunities to chat with VKs on the stable path. Moreover, Tim is a special friend of mine since we share the common history in our lives.