English Blog

A Movie – Farewell, My Queen 8/1/12 August 1, 2012

I have seen movies about French Revolution and the life in Versailles, but this French movie focuses on Marie Antoinette and her lesbian relationship, and an affection to Queen by Marie Antoinette’s librarian lady. The life is intimate and beautiful in Queen’s quarters. It seems almost like Japanese Ōoku, which was a ladies’ wing in Edo Castle in […]

A Movie – Safety Not Guaranteed 7/9/12 July 9, 2012

When an unusual classified ad, which is the title of this movie, inspires a writer and 2 interns at Seattle magazine. They really needed a hot story and it seemed a perfect start! They discovered a mysterious eccentric guy named Kenneth (Mark Duplass), a paranoid supermarket clerk, who put this ad. He believes the time travel […]

“Gustav Klimt: The Magic of Line” and “Herb Ritts : LA Style Exhibitions” at Getty Museum 7/9/12 July 9, 2012

“The Magic of Line” is the first fully dedicated exhibition to the drawings of Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), and the 150th anniversary of Klimt’s birth (1862-1918).  The drawings in this exhibition come mostly from the Albertina Museum, Vienna, which houses one of the most comprehensive collections of Klimt’s drawings. Klimt was one of the important figures of the International Modernism. […]

A Movie “To Rome with Love” by Woody Allen 6/25/12 June 25, 2012

I enjoyed it tremendously! I have been a follower of Woody Allen’s movies for decades. “To Rome with Love” is the third of his European touristic movies. This time is in Italy. Woody Allen’s creativity and imagination is just amazing. He created “A Shower Singer” which you must experience in this movie.  He also created […]

Learning from David Kim’s Masterclass 6/14/12 June 14, 2012

I am still in Kansas, performing and teaching at Sound Encounters Summer Music Camp. I attended David Kim’s Masterclass today. Mr. Kim is a Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and presents masterclasses at schools and institutions all over the world. I attended a portion of his class (2 students), and I heard some interesting comments. […]

Living with J. S. Bach again 6/4/12 June 4, 2012

I have a new project on J. S. Bach’s music for 2012-13 season. This time (if you don’t know my last project was Goldberg Variations.) French Overture and Italian Concerto from Klavierubung 2 (Goldberg is from Klavierubung 4), Partita No. 1 and Aria Variata. I am very excited to live with those 4 pieces, and […]

John Adams: The Gospel According to the Other Mary 6/4/12 June 4, 2012

I attended the dress rehearsal of this oratorio last Thursday. They have already performed 4 concerts by now, and LA Phil ended their 2011-12 season yesterday. First of all, the singers in this oratorio are really excellent, Kelly O’Connor as Mary Magdalene, Tamara Mumford as Martha, Russel Thomas as Lazarus, and 3 countertenors as narrators, Daniel […]

A Movie “Bernie” 5/28/12 May 28, 2012

It is an amazing movie. And it is really based on the true story. I thought, at the beginning, this movie is like the movie “Departure” because it is about the mortuary and Bernie Tiede is a skillful funeral house assistant director. but I was wrong. The story moved on like the movie “Waiting for […]

Mozart: Don Giovanni, Dudamel and LA Phil 5/21/12 May 22, 2012

I attended the dress rehearsal of Don Giovanni last Wednesday, 5/16/12, at Disney Concert Hall. This production is something we usually don’t  imagine for opera stage. The Disney stage was divided into two parts, the front for an opera stage, and the back for an orchestra pit (!). The male and female choruses were standing next to the […]

A Movie “Headhunters” 5/21/12 May 21, 2012

If you want to see the action-comic movie, this is the one. Roger Brown has everything, a beautiful wife, an amazing villa, and a good job (a headhunter), but he always feels not confident. He is a short man, 5’6”, and lives in Norway. So he needs to have more money to fill his mind. […]