English Blog

LA Phil’s Chamber Music Concert “Robert and Clara Schumann” 1/30/13 January 30, 2013

We had a chamber music concert on the theme of “Robert and Clara Schumann’s music” on Tuesday January 29. It was a wonderful program to play and listen. I was on Clara’s Piano Trio. Other 3 pieces were Robert’s Piano Quintet, Op. 44 and Märchenbilder, Op. 113, and Clara’s Three Romances, Op. 22. Clara was known […]

Eotvos Festival in LA 1/20/13 January 30, 2013

Peter Eotvos (b. 1944) is a Hungarian composer, very well known in Europe, but not much in the US. So it was a great opportunity for us to hear his music in different settings. I went to his opera “Angeles in America”, premiered in Paris in 2004, and it was performed at LA Phil’s Green Umbrella […]

A Movie – Zero Dark Thirty 1/9/13 January 10, 2013

I have been meaning to watch this movie since the release in December. I saw it today. Kathryn Bigelow is the director. Do you remember her “The Hurt Locker”? She is very talented and has a intelligent-cool mind with a good business brain. The cast is amazing, no doubt! The story is to find Osama […]

A Movie “Barbara” 1/7/13 January 10, 2013

“Barbara” is the winner of the Best Director prize at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, the director Christian Petzold. The story is on the Cold War in East Germany, and the gifted actress Nina Hoss as a Berlin doctor, Barbara, banished to a rural East German hospital as punishment for applying for an exit visa. Hoss does  […]

LA Times Article “Roll over, Beethoven” by Rick Schultz and My experience with Non-Classic Music 1/6/13 January 6, 2013

It is so fun to know that the great classical musicians like pop and rock! LA Times asked 17 conductors, ages 26 to 71, what they like to listen in their free time. Most of 17 conductors answered their favorite pop, jazz and rock musicians. This article made me to think about my history in […]

A Movie “Silver Linings Playbook” 12/25/12 December 26, 2012

I am pretty sure anyone can share some/many portions of this movie, mental disorder, marriage problem, affairs, family tension, loosing job, self-esteem, love, loneliness……. I have had some of those problems in my family, and I can relate with this movie very easily. Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) lost basically everything, his house, his job, and his […]

Yoga and Alexander Technique 12/12/12 December 12, 2012

I have been practicing Yoga daily for the last 15-20 years. Before going to bed, I do several yoga poses for stretching and relaxing, and do some floor exercises when I don’t go to gym. I started to practice yoga when I was doing a doctoral degree in music (DMA) at Rice University. I was […]

Nyx by Esa-Pekka Salonen and LA Phil, and Lutoslawski, Tchaikovsky and Schumann 12/8/12 December 8, 2012

I attended the dress rehearsal for LA Phil’s concert with a conductor laureate, Essa-Pekka Salonen. The program includes Salonen’s west coast premiere of Nyx, Robert Schumann’s very special and affectionate piano concerto, Lutoslawski’s Les espaces du sommel, and Tchaikovski’s Francesca da Rimmi. First of all, I enjoyed Tchaikovsky. It shows the composer’s forte which he […]

A Movie “Argo” 12/3/2012 December 4, 2012

Argo is more than Hollywood fiction movie. It is based on the true story from 1979, and this true story is almost unbelievable. The American embassy in Iran was invaded by Iranian revolutionaries and they took Americans as hostage. However, six embassy workers managed to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador. With the […]

A Movie “Skyfall” 11/26/12 November 26, 2012

I usually don’t miss any James Bond movie, and yes, I went to see the newest one, “Skyfall”. My local movie theatre got amazing seats which have huge space for each person and recliner. Oh well I was just so comfortable and happy sitting there as if I were at home. It was so interesting to see people […]