Jung’s Weblog

15 August 1925 – 23 December 2007

Pictures I took at the Blue Note, he sounded Schumann-esque that day…

Thanks to Andrzej’s seamless arrangements, “Following Chopin” troop of 25 had a memorable trip.

We covered Chopin Museum and Wilanow Palace in Warsaw, Zelazowa Wola — Chopin’s birth place, Antonin Palace (Chopin was once the guest of the prince there) — where I played a recital, Wieliczka Salt Mine Museum — where I saw an ad of my recital on a billboard :-), Wawel Castle, Old Town, and Saint Mary Cathedral in Krakow, and the Krakow National Museum (where Leonardo da Vince’s portrait is in permanent display) — where I played a recital with a surprisingly large turn out, then Lazienki Palace back in Warsaw, and the farewell dinner at Andrzej’s beautiful home lovingly prepared by his beautiful wife Arlette and we also met their gorgeous 12-year-old soccer star son Arthur.

Here are a few of the photographs I took, to see the entire gallery visit my NEW gallery site here! I haven’t loaded the other not so great (pixel wise) pictures from my iPhone, maybe I will add more to the gallery later

This past weekend took my new toy iPhone to Aspen for the Aspen Ideas Festival. This is basically a post of how iPhone’s camera responds to light — if a subject is well lit with spot lights, it works fantastically — though it rarely happens in real life… For the ease of use and to quickly document everyday moments, it is quite wonderful with 2.0 megapixels.

Landing in Aspen, some stranger got in my picture :: Ayaan Interview

dear friend Kirsten Walgreen :: her lovely comfy shoes

Rob Rieman and the Dutch Royals :: Elliot Gerson - the master mind behind the Festival (took the snap shot without him knowing when he sat next to me… )

the view from the dinning room at the Aspen Meadows during dinner.

Me with a $30 thousand Sony pro camera on fancy tripod (not mine, but how I love this sutff…) :: random well lit lilies

Some political discussion highlights of the Ideas Festival have been posted on YouTube (my non-political, no agenda concert didn’t make it there ) I was too lazy to leave the room to hear Clinton’s speech since I heard him during the last festival. But he seems to be a big focus of the video clips. Check out this Link !

Not that I don’t work hard enough, but maybe this will stop me from playing with my computer too much?

Saturday, April 21st, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 22nd, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.

The husband confessed…

read the article on BBC NEWS online…

It seems like Joyce Hatto is all what people (at least pianists) are talking about these days. As I was telling my former teacher about my wish of early retirement from the stage (before I actually made any mark…) to focus on leaving a recorded legacy (did I say legacy? ha, and I thought I have little ambition in life… ,) the name Joyce Hatto popped up once again.

We all heard of plagiarism, but nothing has ever been done in such scale! Ms. Hatto had been bed ridden since the 70s due to serious illness until her death last year, yet her husband has released more than a hundred of her recordings that made her into the most neglected virtuosic pianist ever! She recorded the entire Chopin-Godowski Transcriptions amongst all other major works and major concertos including the flawlessly performed Rachmaninoff 3rd Concerto. She recorded exclusively with the National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra with René Kohler conducting. Interesting enough, no instrumentalist has come forward claiming to ever worked for such orchestra, and no record of such conductor could ever be found!

The stolen tracks include recordings by Browning, Nojima, Hamelin, Bronfman, Ashkenazy… to name a few, makes one wonder how they could have thought they would get away with such major piracy without ever being discovered? What kind of ambition drives one to such dishonesty? Quite unimaginable!

Here is the link to the Times article Harold from WQXR sent me, and also the link to Pristine Records where you may find all stolen tracks listed with details of sound wave comparison — this ought to keep you busy for a few hours this evening…

Harold at WQXR sent me this. It is just too cute…

“HOW TO WRITE A FUGUE” by Danny Pi

That reminds me of Glenn Gould’s
“SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A FUGUE”

So you want to write a fugue.
You got the urge to write a fugue.
You got the nerve to write a fugue.
So go ahead, so go ahead and write a fugue.
Go ahead and write a fugue that we can sing.

Pay no heed, Pay no mind.
Pay no heed to what we tell you,
Pay no mind to what we tell you.
Cast away all that you were told
And the theory that you read.
As we said come and write one,
Oh do come and write one,
Write a fugue that we can sing.

Now the only way to write one
Is to plunge right in and write one.
Just forget the rules and write one,
Just ignore the rules and try.

And the fun of it will get you.
And the joy of it will fetch you.
Its a pleasure that is bound to satisfy.
When you decide that John Sebastian must have been a very personable guy.

Never be clever
for the sake of being clever,
for the sake of showing off.

For a canon in inversion is a dangerous diversion,
And a bit of augmentation is a serious temptation,
While a stretto diminution is an obvious allusion.

For to try to write a fugue that we can sing.

And when you finish writing it
I think you will find a great joy in it.

or so…
Nothing ventured, nothing gained they say
But still it is rather hard to start.

Well let us try right now.
Now we are going to write a fugue.
We are going to write a good one.
We are going to write a fugue … right now

to Anna who is hard at work writing a fugue…