English Blog

A Movie “Science Fair” 10/1/18 October 1, 2018

What an energy!! Being young is just wonderful! The film picked 9 brilliant high school students from all over the world to follow their path to come to ISEF (The International Science and Engineering Fair). I really did not know anything about ISEF! It is a huge event. And many high schoolers think ISEF is the key […]

A Movie “Kusama: Infinity” 9/21/18 September 21, 2018

Yayoi Kusama, a 89 years old Japanese artist, is the top-selling female artist in the world. Her exhibitions are often sold-out. She speaks in Japanese in this movie and I hope the audience can feel the nuances in her Japanese in the subtitle. Her speaking manner is quite unique, but totally sincere. Kusama went through a hard […]

Convenience Store Woman (コンビニ人間)Sayaka Murata (村田沙耶香) Portobello Books 9/10/18 September 10, 2018

I got this book at Hong Kong Airport. I saw the review on “Convenience Store Woman” on LA Times a little while ago, and I was interested in reading it. The translation from Japanese to English is very quirky and funny, for purpose, I think. It sometimes sounds some of bad owners manuals in English we found […]

Beethoven Focus for 2018-19 season 9/5/18 September 5, 2018

I finally came home yesterday! Huh.. I was away for a long period of time this summer, and it is nice to sleep on my own bed 🙂 Lately I carry my pillow (Japanese small one) on my traveling and it gives me a slight comfort though! For 2018-19 I will focus on Beethoven including, […]

My Favorite Schubert’s Quotes and Op. Posth.142 No. 3 7/16/18 July 16, 2018

For upcoming performances I have been practicing Franz Schubert’s Impromptu Op. Posth. 142 No. 3. What a tender and gentle soul Schubert displays in this piece! This heartfelt impromptu starts with Rosemunde’s melody, and goes through 5 variations with Schubert’s signature modulations. If I have to choose my most favorite of Schubert I most likely […]

A Movie “RBG” 6/19/18 June 19, 2018

Even a non-American myself of course I have heard about RBG and I knew she has been a center of equal right movement for any gender. And now I understand why she has a huge name. This movie portrays her intimate life from the very young age. At the age of 84, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth […]

Robert Schumann and Vincent Van Gogh, Their Beautiful Mind 6/4/18 June 4, 2018

I recently had a chance to see the movie “Vincent Van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing”, which is a documentary film directed by David Bickerstaff. The movie shows Van Gogh’s iconic works and featuring exclusive interviews with the amazing curatorial team at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Perhaps more than any other artist, Van Gogh’s […]

A Movie “Godard mon amour” 5/3/18 May 4, 2018

It is a very interesting idea to make a movie about the living filmmaker?? And this filmmaker is not an ordinary one. It is Jean-Luc Godard (played by Luis Garrel). The film covers the period of the 37-year-old Godard’s marriage to the 19-year-old actress Anne Wiazemsly (on whose memoir it’s based) and the unsettlement of French students […]

Learning American Culture from TV 4/26/18 April 26, 2018

When I was a child I loved to watch American dramas on TV. Especially I liked “Bewitched”! But amazingly the Japanese title translated from English title was “My wife is a witch”. It already shows the huge culture gaps! I thought Samantha was beautiful and Darrin was a kind and gentle husband. Their house looked […]

Sir Andras Schiff at Disney Concert Hall 4/10/18 April 11, 2018

It has been for few years since his last appearance in Los Angeles and all of us were looking forward to attending the concert. This time Sir Andras is traveling with Bosendorfer and his piano technician. His program was all of my favorite including Brahms’ late works, ops. 117, 118, and 119. I have treasured […]