I love the cat picture & all the musical references. Music is able to bring about unity, like nothing else.
I was not familiar with Xinran Shi & will have to go through these YT posted. I have been lucky enough to hear Horowitz & other greats in concert.
I wish we could share the warmth & exhilaration in feeling & hearing these amazing musicians more with others unaware. Sadly, many who have not been exposed to the classics in youth, are just not appreciative.
Speaking as a 74 year old pianist (who started piano lessons at 7 years old) I am always so impressed when I hear a person 13 years of age play with this maturity. No knock at Bach but it isn’t unusual to hear a talented, well-taught young pianist perform Bach very credibly; if the technique is top level the performance will sound very professional. But to play music like this (or Chopin or Schumann) well requires an emotional maturity that very few young people have; I know I certainly didn’t have it at that age! My question is how did this extremely talented young woman acquire “life mileage” to play this way?
I wish everyone could feel the exhilaration of playing an instrument. It’s a sad thing when schools cut programs of the arts when music & arts feed the soul.
It's amazing the gifted are a gift to us, Armand. Thank you for sharing.
This is my bff's son 5 years ago, he's now at Johns Hopkins music school. He loves Rachmaninoff (more boisterous) and is a master of Chopin. Here he is playing Beethoven.
Lorraine Evanoff: Thank you for sharing this musical gift, with a mature, subtle master. The Wallenstein Sonata and the Chopin Ballades are pieces I have listened to for scores of years, since the 1950s, really. This young master evokes the composer's intent in poetic, insightful, mature, masterful performance worthy of a concert master.
Whew! I look very much forward to this young man's gift to us of his mastery.
Thank you, thank you, friend, for sharing of such a beautiful, wondrous young person! A mature concert pianist.
You have shared so much with me, and I deeply appreciate YOU!
Oh coming from you that means so much to my bff. She's a proud mommy, she adopted him as an infant from Ukraine! He's an eccentric genius so a real handful. But I guess that that comes the territory of a gifted child.
Thank you I'll pass you message on to Robina (his mom). I'll also keep you posted on performances.
And the feeling is mutual, love sharing our combined world experiences, dear friend.🥰
Lorraine Evanoff: Robina did a great deed in adopting a child, and Mother Nature is very gracious to bless her with a young man of spiritual depth, and a BFF like you, a real European and Francophone!
She was even more heroic than she realized at the time, given the situation now. BTW, Armand, she is very impressed with your comment.
Here's what she said. She's not on any social media or Substack. I'm trying to get her here!
"Wow, cool! I hadn’t listened to John playing those pieces for ages. What an insightful comment, he certainly knows his Classical music! Thank you for sharing. Who is he??
Jena Ball: My own take is that We are in the One -- understood secularly as "The Cosmos"; "The Universal".
My own intellect is very influenced by ancient India -- Yajnavalkya (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad), Bhagavad-Gita. We are in One.
Friedrich Hölderlin, the breathtaking poet, taught me this with his: ἓν καὶ πᾶν (hen kai pan: All in One), and the Oversoul by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the Advaita (related to the word: A-Dualism -- i.e., instead of Dualism, we are united by ONE) of the truly great Shankara of India (who in the 8th c. lived for only thirty-three years or so).
These thoughts were adopted in one form or another by Ralph Waldo Emerson and by Arthur Schopenhauer.
About ἓν καὶ πᾶν as pronounced by Friedrich Hölderlin:
Friedrich Hölderlin was a teenage friend of GWF Hegel and Friedrich Schelling, and were university friends and roommates at the historic Universität Tübingen, when Friedrich Hölderlin -- the great poet -- joined the three in a brotherhood under the theme, "ἓν καὶ πᾶν" -- One and All.
This was circa 1796, and Hölderlin held and later developed this story in the long, epistolary Novel (in beautiful, breathtaking and simple poetic prose).
First, my own translation.
But since my own translation cannot possibly match the heights of the great poet, Friedrich Hölderlin, I include the original after my translation:
TRANSLATED BY ARMANDO:
To be One with All is Divinity, Heaven for Humanity.
To be One with All that Lives; to return with self-forgetfulness in the All of Nature. that is the peak of Thought and Joy: That is the Eternal Mountain Peak, the Place of Eternal Peace; Where Noon loses its Humidity, Thunder its Voice, Where the Seething Seas are like the Waves windblown over Cornfields.
To be One with All that Lives! With these Words, Virtue puts away on its raging Armor and the Spirit of Humanity lays aside the Scepter, and all Thoughts disappear before the Image of the Eternal-One World, like the rules depended on by the Artist (disappear before) Urania [Symbol of Universal Love]* and the quondam Fate loses its Supremacy. Death disappears from the Union of Being. The World will evolve into the Beautiful through Inseparability and Eternal Youth.
On these Mountain Peaks [of Contemplation]* I stand so often, Oh, Bellarmin!
_________________________
* The additions in brackets are my own to clarify what is implied in the poetry.
Friedrich Hölderlin's beautiful original:
"Eines zu sein mit Allem, das ist Leben der Gottheit, das ist der Himmel des Menschen.
"Eines zu sein mit Allem, was lebt, in seliger Selbstvergessenheit wiederzukehren ins All der Natur, das ist der Gipfel der Gedanken und Freuden, das ist die heilige Bergeshöhe, der Ort der ewigen Ruhe, wo der Mittag seine Schwüle und der Donner seine Stimme verliert und das kochende Meer der Woge des Kornfelds gleicht.
"Eines zu sein mit Allem, was lebt! Mit diesem Worte legt die Tugend den zürnenden Harnisch, der Geist des Menschen den Zepter weg, und alle Gedanken schwinden vor dem Bilde der ewigeinigen Welt, wie die Regeln des ringenden Künstlers vor seiner Urania, und das eherne Schicksal entsagt der Herrschaft, und aus dem Bunde der Wesen schwindet der Tod, und Unzertrennlichkeit und ewige Jugend beseliget, verschönert die Welt.
I love the cat picture & all the musical references. Music is able to bring about unity, like nothing else.
I was not familiar with Xinran Shi & will have to go through these YT posted. I have been lucky enough to hear Horowitz & other greats in concert.
I wish we could share the warmth & exhilaration in feeling & hearing these amazing musicians more with others unaware. Sadly, many who have not been exposed to the classics in youth, are just not appreciative.
Lovely sharing. Thank you!
Zara: I love the "Truth Turtle" moniker!
As a youth, I had seen Van Cliburn at the Hollywood Bowl and had attended a concert with Artur Rubinstein at the keyboard.
Much later, Nancy (my beautiful wife of 51 years) and I had seen Eugene Istomin and Peter Serkin.
In concert at Carnegie Hall, Nancy and I saw Martha Argerich.
In Washington DC at the Freer Gallery, I was privileged to hear the entire string quartets of Béla Bártok by the Emerson Quartet.
Love chamber music.
Governor Mario Cuomo had mourned that many more New York children were exposed to the sound of gunfire than to that of a symphony orchestra.
Speaking as a 74 year old pianist (who started piano lessons at 7 years old) I am always so impressed when I hear a person 13 years of age play with this maturity. No knock at Bach but it isn’t unusual to hear a talented, well-taught young pianist perform Bach very credibly; if the technique is top level the performance will sound very professional. But to play music like this (or Chopin or Schumann) well requires an emotional maturity that very few young people have; I know I certainly didn’t have it at that age! My question is how did this extremely talented young woman acquire “life mileage” to play this way?
Jeff Pomerantz: Your and my hearts echo these insights and feelings.
The wonders of Mother Nature.
Xinran Shi has a beaming, bright future, and she is on track to become a leading concert master.
Her insight and subtlety!
Thank you so very much for sharing!
I wish everyone could feel the exhilaration of playing an instrument. It’s a sad thing when schools cut programs of the arts when music & arts feed the soul.
It's amazing the gifted are a gift to us, Armand. Thank you for sharing.
This is my bff's son 5 years ago, he's now at Johns Hopkins music school. He loves Rachmaninoff (more boisterous) and is a master of Chopin. Here he is playing Beethoven.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sAwF0XzCZo&list=PLdGKZUs62L6wBHKvydp8tSv-BHEztlG9A
Lorraine Evanoff: Thank you for sharing this musical gift, with a mature, subtle master. The Wallenstein Sonata and the Chopin Ballades are pieces I have listened to for scores of years, since the 1950s, really. This young master evokes the composer's intent in poetic, insightful, mature, masterful performance worthy of a concert master.
Whew! I look very much forward to this young man's gift to us of his mastery.
Thank you, thank you, friend, for sharing of such a beautiful, wondrous young person! A mature concert pianist.
You have shared so much with me, and I deeply appreciate YOU!
Oh coming from you that means so much to my bff. She's a proud mommy, she adopted him as an infant from Ukraine! He's an eccentric genius so a real handful. But I guess that that comes the territory of a gifted child.
Thank you I'll pass you message on to Robina (his mom). I'll also keep you posted on performances.
And the feeling is mutual, love sharing our combined world experiences, dear friend.🥰
Lorraine Evanoff: Robina did a great deed in adopting a child, and Mother Nature is very gracious to bless her with a young man of spiritual depth, and a BFF like you, a real European and Francophone!
She was even more heroic than she realized at the time, given the situation now. BTW, Armand, she is very impressed with your comment.
Here's what she said. She's not on any social media or Substack. I'm trying to get her here!
"Wow, cool! I hadn’t listened to John playing those pieces for ages. What an insightful comment, he certainly knows his Classical music! Thank you for sharing. Who is he??
He sounds like an eccentric genius himself🤓"
Lorraine Evanoff: Thank you so much.
As you know me better, you will know -- eccentric is exactly right.
I hope to get to know your BFF, Robina, like we know each other.
You'd love her!
Do you believe souls come round more than once. Prodigies like this make me think so.
Jena Ball: My own take is that We are in the One -- understood secularly as "The Cosmos"; "The Universal".
My own intellect is very influenced by ancient India -- Yajnavalkya (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad), Bhagavad-Gita. We are in One.
Friedrich Hölderlin, the breathtaking poet, taught me this with his: ἓν καὶ πᾶν (hen kai pan: All in One), and the Oversoul by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the Advaita (related to the word: A-Dualism -- i.e., instead of Dualism, we are united by ONE) of the truly great Shankara of India (who in the 8th c. lived for only thirty-three years or so).
These thoughts were adopted in one form or another by Ralph Waldo Emerson and by Arthur Schopenhauer.
About ἓν καὶ πᾶν as pronounced by Friedrich Hölderlin:
Friedrich Hölderlin was a teenage friend of GWF Hegel and Friedrich Schelling, and were university friends and roommates at the historic Universität Tübingen, when Friedrich Hölderlin -- the great poet -- joined the three in a brotherhood under the theme, "ἓν καὶ πᾶν" -- One and All.
This was circa 1796, and Hölderlin held and later developed this story in the long, epistolary Novel (in beautiful, breathtaking and simple poetic prose).
First, my own translation.
But since my own translation cannot possibly match the heights of the great poet, Friedrich Hölderlin, I include the original after my translation:
TRANSLATED BY ARMANDO:
To be One with All is Divinity, Heaven for Humanity.
To be One with All that Lives; to return with self-forgetfulness in the All of Nature. that is the peak of Thought and Joy: That is the Eternal Mountain Peak, the Place of Eternal Peace; Where Noon loses its Humidity, Thunder its Voice, Where the Seething Seas are like the Waves windblown over Cornfields.
To be One with All that Lives! With these Words, Virtue puts away on its raging Armor and the Spirit of Humanity lays aside the Scepter, and all Thoughts disappear before the Image of the Eternal-One World, like the rules depended on by the Artist (disappear before) Urania [Symbol of Universal Love]* and the quondam Fate loses its Supremacy. Death disappears from the Union of Being. The World will evolve into the Beautiful through Inseparability and Eternal Youth.
On these Mountain Peaks [of Contemplation]* I stand so often, Oh, Bellarmin!
_________________________
* The additions in brackets are my own to clarify what is implied in the poetry.
Friedrich Hölderlin's beautiful original:
"Eines zu sein mit Allem, das ist Leben der Gottheit, das ist der Himmel des Menschen.
"Eines zu sein mit Allem, was lebt, in seliger Selbstvergessenheit wiederzukehren ins All der Natur, das ist der Gipfel der Gedanken und Freuden, das ist die heilige Bergeshöhe, der Ort der ewigen Ruhe, wo der Mittag seine Schwüle und der Donner seine Stimme verliert und das kochende Meer der Woge des Kornfelds gleicht.
"Eines zu sein mit Allem, was lebt! Mit diesem Worte legt die Tugend den zürnenden Harnisch, der Geist des Menschen den Zepter weg, und alle Gedanken schwinden vor dem Bilde der ewigeinigen Welt, wie die Regeln des ringenden Künstlers vor seiner Urania, und das eherne Schicksal entsagt der Herrschaft, und aus dem Bunde der Wesen schwindet der Tod, und Unzertrennlichkeit und ewige Jugend beseliget, verschönert die Welt.
"Auf dieser Höhe steh ich oft, mein Bellarmin!"
https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/hoelderl/hyperion/hyper102.html
I see we are on the same page :-) Thanks for expanding on your thoughts about the One :-)