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。

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

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.

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.

肖邦的二百年纪念的这年，我一首肖邦也没弹。所以我想，至少要在这三月份里写点肖邦的什么吧。

其实老师前些日子推荐给我好像是Polonaise-fantasie，但是被我婉言推谢了。目前唯一想弹的肖邦是几首夜曲，但是也一直没有机会下手。也许是从前年年后弹过第二奏鸣曲以后，不知不觉对肖邦开始了温柔的拒绝。到现在，我真的一首肖邦也不想/不敢碰。

不想和不敢的比例大概是相同的吧。

我觉得很有意思的是，肖邦的音乐是最容易让不喜欢古典音乐或对古典音乐一无所知的人喜欢上的音乐。有的部分确实和流行音乐很相近 – 和声，还有那右手旋律左手伴奏的织体吧，我猜想。还有一点是绝对利于追星捧星的流行音乐爱好者 – 一个人在弹肖邦的时候我们可以称他为“浪漫的钢琴王子” – 听上去真是裹了蜜糖的浪漫；相反我们不称弹巴赫或贝多芬成家的人为“浪漫的钢琴王子”（这些人好像都是些凸了顶的老头）。也许鉴于这些原因，对肖邦音乐精神不很了解的人随手就可以弹起肖邦，弹多了就把这东西弹腻了。

我并不是对非古典音乐爱好者表以歧视；我觉得自己能亲自弹起自己喜爱的音乐是件多么欢愉的事情。我想说，在古典音乐的演奏者里，肖邦也被弹腻了，弹坏了。

另外一点：我总觉得肖邦的音乐就想他本人一样，”a sickled”. 总觉得轻轻一碰哪里没有把握好，整个曲子就想他这个人一样被击碎或枯萎。我目前真实一点也不敢碰 – 自己一碰就会把它完全毁掉。

肖邦的音乐不知不觉成了古典音乐里的流行音乐（在钢琴音乐的范围内）。我觉得，在自己能够体味到跟多真正来自这个每每让我想起穿着蓝色天鹅绒夹克的维特的苍白音乐家的纯正精神以前，还是不弹，少听得好。