English Blog
Yesterday my student played Brahms’ Op. 117 No. 2 at her lesson. It lit my longing heart. As you may have known, Brahms’ late works have been deep treasures for me for many years. Brahms composed his Op. 117 during the summer of 1892 while vacationing in Bad Ischl. He sent a copy of Op. […]
I am so excited to announce our second concert in 3rd@1st 2021-22 season. I hope you can join us at the concert! “The Joy of Chamber Music Concert” The Third at First concert series continues at First United Methodist Church on Saturday, November 20, 2021 at 4 p.m. with a program of chamber music performed […]
Our last in person concert was Feb. 2020, and we have released monthly online concerts during 2020-2021 season. Now we celebrate our reopening! Please come to join us at the concert in Pasadena, CA. If you don’t live in LA, you can still watch it online. We have been figuring out how we manage a […]
Put peace into each other’s hands and like a treasure hold it; protect it like a candle flame, with tenderness enfold it. Put peace into each other’s hands with loving expectation; be gentle in your words and ways, in touch with God’s creation. Put peace into each other’s hands, like bread we break for sharing; […]
It is my movie theater debut after reopening (with a lot of cautions). It is so wonderful to come back to my favorite movie theater, Laemmle. There were only 4 of us in the theater… The theater staff was very careful, but friendly. “Roadrunner” is still haunting me. What is “Being Happy”? That is all […]
It is a wonderful comedy with an intellectual approach to love. The story is based on the novel by E.M. Forster. and I have heard the book is more edgy than the movie! Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter), a young and beautiful Englishwoman, is touring Italy with her older cousin, Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). Charlotte is her […]
Wow! It is an amazing movie. I am deeply moved and touched. Set in 1912, in an industrial northern town in England, the tragic story, the suicide of a young lady, haunts the wealthy and socially ambitious Birling family. A mysterious Inspector Goole (David Thewlis) visits Birling family’s dinner during the celebration of their daughter’s engagement. This […]
It has been a year since we started the live streaming version of 3rd@1st concert series. We will conclude our online season with Piano Spectacular: Fantasy for 2 Pianos. 2 Piano concert is so special with 2 grand pianos playing together. Please don’t miss it! After this month, we will take a break during the months […]
A Movie: “The Remains of the Day” is a Booker-winning novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.This movie is Kazuo Ishiguro’s sincere portrait of Stevens, the perfect butler, who hides his true feelings. His love was never spoken or expressed. Sir Kazuo Ishiguro is a Nobel Prize winning, British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan, […]
大長編、２部作。腰を降ろして臨まないと、読み切れないかもしれないですよ。第一部「顕れるイデア編」に続き、第二部の「遷ろうメタフォー編」。時に、ハリーポッター風の冒険談にもなり、超恋愛小説にもなり、哲学書にもなる。でも、語り方は、一貫して村上春樹調。読者の私は、大破に呑まれながらも、行き先を失わずに最後までたどり着いたのです。要約するのはとても難しい小説でしょうね。逆に言えば、パンデミックの中、現実というものの儚さを実感し、この小説に共感を得た部分がある事も、事実。主人公の「私」が、小田原近郊の隠れ屋風の家で過ごした数ヶ月の、夢とも、現実ともつかない日々の回想録。そして、輪廻の如く、再び現実に戻り、小田原以前の暮らしに戻るまでの日々。最後に辿り着くと、「ええー、こんな終わりで良いの？？」と自問してしまいがちだが、人生というものは、そういうものなのだろう。メタフォーもイデアも遠くに置き去りにして・・ Large feature, it is a two-part work. If you don’t have a strong will, you may not be able to read it through. I read this book in an original language, Japanese. Following the first part, “Appearing Ideas,” the second part, “Transitional Metaphor.” Sometimes it’s a Harry Potter-style adventure story, a super-romance novel, and […]