paul kaye- one of the most brilliant, and vulgar comedians of our time. here he is playing matildas dad in 'Matilda the Musical' watch it! other career highlights: 'DJ frankie wilde' in 'pete tong its all gone' and MTVs 'Strutter'
its easy to stay healthy, dont tell yourself otherwise. even if you live in a frozen climate.
these are my friends, the crew that gathers in my room for music discussion, and to help each other out with our work. two composers, a conductor, and a singer
romeo and juliet
dead?
looks barren? right inside one of these building was an underground-style electronic music party which my friend was performing at. have a listen:
you can leave me a voice message by clicking the box on the right ~~~>
40 dates with water
good place for shoe ice skating, weeeEEEEEEeeee
15 nanas
new skin bursts fourth
i have been back in Russia for almost a month now
the snow falls frequently, but every few days, glorious sunlight pours through the windows and i sit there and drink it up. the days are getting longer. at 9pm its still light outside. 'white nights' are coming, where it will be light outside well into the night, as late as 4am, or later.
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Although the phenomenon known as the "White Nights" is not unique to St Petersburg, in no other northern city have they received such poetic and literary acclaim. What could be more romantic than a walk along the banks of the city's rivers and canals in almost broad daylight, no matter what the time of day? No other major European city can rival this experience nor the atmosphere on the streets of St. Petersburg during the summer months - lively, friendly, romantic and bustling with people throughout the night as well as the day!
From late May to early July the nights are bright in St Petersburg, with the brightest period, the White Nights, normally lasting from June 11th to July 2nd. The White Nights (Beliye Nochi) are a curious phenomenon caused by St. Petersburg's very northerly geographical location - at 59 degrees 57' North (roughly on the same latitude as Oslo, Norway, the southern tip of Greenland and Seward, Alaska). St. Petersburg is the world's most northern city with a population over 1 million, and its stands at such a high latitude that the sun does not descend below the horizon enough for the sky to grow dark. In fact night becomes curiously indistinguishable from day, so much so that the authorities never need to turn the city's streetlights on!" saint-petersburg.com
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most recently i have to been to two operas, a ballet, and a chamber-music concert.
opera was Janacek's 'Makropolous Case'. Janacek is Czechoslovakian, and the story is a feisty seductive mystery about a women who lived to be over 300 years, due to the testing of an emperor's elixir of life. there are highly developed ideas in this story about what it would actually be like to live that long, and you feel it when driven in with the music. Janacek used human and animal speech intonation as a base of constructing his music, soooOOoo its very organic sounding, and some of the most beautiful music ive ever heard. pure alchemy ;)
other opera was 'midsummer nights dream' by benji britten, again. so good, had to check it again. this time i had the libretto and some musicals phrases on my phone to read along. even though the opera is in english, its very hard to hear exactly what they are saying. it is filled with brilliant settings of shakespeare, adding a new dimension to his story. also it is filled with great cynicism and satire, generously making fun of certain styles of music. ALSO, and this is weird: some of the boy's choral parts are so pure and innocent, maybe because the composer was sexually attracted to 13 year old boys, and fascinated with the idea of innocence lost.
the ballet was Prokofiev's 'romeo and juliet'. no introduction needed, so popular and famous, im sure you know it~~: but a cool story: the 2nd time i watched it (ive seen it 5 times) i was in SF and i took my mom and grandmother for mothers day. at the end of the ballet, during the bows, romeo grabs the microphone and says, in a french accent ,"hi, thank you all so much, it is a dream of mine come true to be able to be here and perform for you. i only have one other dream.." and he turns around, kneels on one knee in front of the dancer that danced juliet, "will you marry me?" WOW! the WHOLE theater gasped at the same time, ill never forget the sound. also, being the last show of the season, it was really special and quite magical.
my favorite parts:;:;:
the chamber concert was a danish composer who specializes in harp music. we listened to harp concertos with a small ensemble. all atonal, which means no melody or any real enjoyable cohesion, just a bunch of carefully calculated noises. if you're an academic, there are some interesting sounds in regards to patterns, sequences, asymmetry, an textures. its the music of intellect, not passion. interesting it was. moving....not so much.
next month is filled with great performances, my favorite opera, 'Pelleas et Melisande', Debussy's only opera, will be performed. wow wow wow wow wow very wow excited
it is cold outside and the babooshkas that administrate with obshezetye think im crazy for going out with not enough clothes on. they think im crazy for carrying boxes of bananas and dates back from the rinok over the ice and snow. i showed them some simple graphs of the diet and the nutrients involved (cron-o-meter app, check it) how it compares to any other food, and now they understand. its VERY interesting being on this diet, in this land. sometimes i feel as if i am an animated character amongst the pale wrinkled faces, like canvas loosely stretched across orbs, that sit quietly on the bus, not even beating a beat. i try not to, but i feel sorry for kids that are raised in this environment, i feel that they dont have the freedom to express themselves. sometimes, when im moving a little, like dancing a bit, or singing along to something im listening to, a kid will look at me like im weird, so i just do continue to do it, make sure they know that ITS OK.
for my fruity friends: as i am not, you are also not 'jacked up on sugar'. when things are in place in any system, the channels of energy flow pure and strong. humans are naturally vibrant radiating creatures filled with passion and movement. that is why we play music, sing, and dance the earth. eating fruit 'lets' you feel this way, it doesn't 'make' you. the contrary being, there are many other lifestyles that 'dont let' you feel this way. the blocking, energy sucking types. and for people that haven't experienced it, it will seem out of the norm. but its not, just enjoy it. laugh with the gods.
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just as stravinsky signified in his 'rite of spring', i feel that spring is on the verge of exploding out of the earth, any moment now. from white and brown i hope to see many greens and other colors. i have 4 small plants in my room, we take care of each other. i have made good friends at the dorm. my roommate is an amazing composer and pianist, from taiwan. but there is also drama at the dorm. there is a 'click' of folks who stick together and party together, and unfortunately break words in malicious intent. clearly these are just reflections of their own instabilities and problems. this happens everywhere, it is a tragedy of the spirit of our species. If it is happening to you, know from your heart that you are doing nothing wrong, live strong with passion, purpose, and love, and simply rise above it.
my composition teachers rip me apart. if i write anything that sounds remotely close to anything (and they know everything) it will not pass. i have to really find my own music here. i could get away with some things back home, but not here. sometimes it is very hard to write because i feel i have to please my teachers. before i studied i could do anything i wanted, now im being shaped into some form. still trying to figure this one out... difficult, but i love it all!!
some beautiful scenes of the city:
remains of communism
i dont know why this is so satisfying. like popping bubble wrap or something..
i would like to share picture of my winter break adventures in england and bali. next time!
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