philosophie.

real springtime

Birds silhouette brushed passed my curtain in the bright beautiful spring morning. This year’s spring came with such an effort, but it did come, and it feels like the first spring I have ever experienced.

I’ve been wanting to write and tell you how much I am enjoying all this beauty of the spring in New York, but I ended up enjoying too much. I was down at Battery Park on Good Friday, cherry blossoms in the backdrop of the blue sky, a boy chasing a girl on the green grass, people leisurely basking under the warm spring sun, all this reminds me so much of Beijing (I don’t think I’ve ever seen cherry blossoms outside of China, and that makes it 10 years of not seeing cherry blossoms in the spring for me.)This happiness and youthfulness of spring seemed to have bid goodbye long ago and have returned to me so gently and kindly after the winter of my predicament.

I know there will be many winters that will be filled with hardships, but I hope none will be with desolation. It hadn’t been easy for me. But I’m so glad it’s all over, and I’m so glad this spring came and injected so much energy into my veins so that I will only keep going forward.

I think I might move to the Financial District (a.k.a. “FiDi”) in the fall. Many people have reacted with doubt when they heard me say this, but I think right now it’s the most suitable place for me to be.

I more month until school finishes, after that my plan includes going back to China and Banff.

Happy Easter and happy spring!

春天真的要来了么

最近有些感冒，但是板蓝根被波澜壮阔地吞下肚以后，感冒被压制住了。今早起来眼睛还是有些暖暖的，水水的；有点想睡觉。

这几天纽约几乎没有放晴过。也许初春真正来临之前这几天的雨是最让人心里莫名惆怅的吧。天气说冷不冷，但是寒气还是从裤腿里钻进来，让你的全身稍稍颤抖。可就是这阴冷的天气，雨水浇湿大地，却在这样的雨水里一切都变绿了，这不是很不可思议么。家附近的樱花公园的草地都变成绿茸茸的了，看到那些纤细的铃铛花在雨中静静开放着，我想到，真是春雨贵如油，即便是在这般阴冷的纽约天气中。

前几天烧的一道菜。纪念一下。

Dear all,

Recently I came across this book which I find very valuable. I would really love to translate into Chinese as I think a lot of people might benefit from it tremendously as I did. It is in the process of happening, and so this will be our secret – meanwhile, please keep your fingers crossed for this project!

Today, I sat in the park as the warmest days of March slipped away with the descending sun. I thought of you, all of you. And I thought of how funny it is if an invisible hand could just take the me who’s sitting in the park out of this world, yet I can still see you and think of you.

So the summer is coming.

Every year, since maybe three years ago, the first sweetness of summer’s air always frightens me. I am nevertheless filled with joy – and the first sight at a seemingly microscopical blossom of a flower intrigues me wondrously.

I hope you are well and ready for this wondrous season.

Love,
Sophie

Isserlis/Adès/Marwood concert@Carnegie

This concert proved to be such an overwhelming inspiration! I absolutely enjoyed every bit of it.

I really wanted to attend this concert when I saw that Steven Isserlis was coming, and they would be performing the Ravel piano trio among others – and I knew then and there I could not miss this concert. Of course, Poulenc cello sonata and Janácek violin sonata were pieces I would like to hear live at a concert as well. Also on the programme were Liszt’s own transcription for cello and piano: Romance oubliée and La Lugubre Gondola (which, if I remember correctly, was on the funeral of Wagner). Ending the first half was a US premier of Thomas Adès’s own piece for cello and sonata Lieux retrouvés (on new music, I can almost always say it’s less about how good the piece is, but how great the performers are and how committed they are to bring it alive – that is not to say this piece was not a good piece, because I loved it).

I can’t say I’m a big fan of Janácek, but Anthony Marwood’s interpretation was enjoyable and understandable. (Perhaps it’s just me, but the first time ever I heard him play was him on the violin with his Florestan trio playing Brahms Op.8; and I couldn’t help but to always feel his sound was Brahmsian during this concert.. ). Then, Steven Isserlis came on the stage with that familiar mushroom-looking hair and comical personality (to me, at least). Then, the first note of the Liszt sounded, and I gasped inside – I had forgotten how beautifully he plays. He is a musician that I very much admire because of his extremely lively imagination in music as well as meticulous  attitude when it comes to working out the very details of sound/phrase/etc (I still remember when I played with my violinist a year ago for him, he worked forever on the beginning of the Brahms G+ violin sonata). Also, he seems to be an advocate of the good taste in non-vibrato (thank goodness there’s a string player who doesn’t vibrate every note!) – and when he does that, the music seems to just soar.

Poulenc was of course extremely enjoyable. But I wanted to say more about the Ravel trio. This is a piece I can’t even start thinking about – for it brings so much feelings and sounds, memories and ideals that even thinking about the piece played in my head would take me already into another world. I must say, the first movement was slightly faster than what I would prefer, and I also wish that the piano would provide more “wash of sound” sometimes for the strings. Other than that, it was dazzling – in the fourth movement I saw magpies chirping and flying about in the sky, there’s something I can almost ascertain to say is Chinese.

A side-remark: the piano was of course on full-stick.

I walked out of Carnegie Hall, looked to my left, there was the Times Square lighting up the night into a day. It was just a beautiful, warm spring night in New York City. I walked home with so much inspiring and love.

Das ist Frühling!

Spring and her retinue passed through the days of storm, have come, with bird songs and sprouting green.

Spring has come hard this year for me.  But at alas,  she has come.

I sat indolently all winter, while my heart churning inside. Everything directed itself inwards towards me, but at last, happiness enables me to direct all my love outwards – with spring.