music

Philharmonix

The last concert tickets were for Anne Sophie Mutter in the "Alte Oper Frankfurt". The concert was cancelled, though, and all music for a year came from loudspeakers. Concerts, theatres, libraries, museums and cinemas were among the few things I really missed in the Covid-era - I think we can call it "era" by now. And so did most like-minded people.

Finally, the first concert was an exceptional event, not just because the ensemble was great, but also because it was an event at all. The "Philharmonix" played in the Rheingau Musikfestival in the Wiesbaden Kurhaus. It was brilliantly played, arranged, light-heartedly presented and funny. So, no surprise, it received standing ovations by the culture starved audience. I also liked to see that the audience was relatively young for a "classical" concert. Hygiene rules were implemented strictly. So was the verification of vaccination certificates. It did not feel in any way an infection risk. I think, like this, cultural life can resume.

New infection numbers are rising in Germany though - slightly, but the trend is up. Of course, this is an effect of relaxed measures and lax handling of hygiene rules by the Covid-fatigued population. What worries me a bit is that there is also vaccination fatigue creeping in. That could be dangerous. Not even to mention the format chosen for the European Soccer Championship. Congratulations to Italy, by the way.

Philharmonix - Swing on Beethoven

Electronic Music Malta

Earlier in 2015 Electronic Music Malta (EMM) founded itself out of Maltese music enthusiasts, and yesterday night we joined friends for a performance in St James Cavalier, Valletta. Before appreciating the performance itself, I was impressed by St James Cavalier itself and how "the war machine has turned into a cultural center", with a sparkling cultural life in the walls of the old gun battery. It reminded me of the of B-05, just that of course in the middle of a beautiful city like Valletta, such efforts are by far more easy going. For the electronic music itself, I found the electronics more fascinating than the music at first. Most of the equipment in use, is built and assembled by the artists themselves, and it is far ahead of anything you may think of when it comes to entertainment audio equipment or commercial DJs. The repertoire was covering legends like Jean Michelle Jarre, a piece from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon,  Kraftwerk to Depeche Mode and others. I can't say, it is my kind of music. But without it, there would be no electronic dance music either. And without that there would be no pop music the way we know it. So, I appreciate electronic music as a research lab with all its experimental features which go beyond creating only tones by electronic means.

Piano rental in Beijing

In the morning we went to the other side of of the city, to the neighborhood of the Central Music Conservatory, to rent a piano. You can get them from 120 RMB per month, if you sign up for a year. The Yamaha piano sounded softer though, so an upgrade to 150 RMB (18.76 EUR or 24.40 US$) per month was very appropriate. It includes a piano chair and a cloth cover. Delivery is free, tuning (any time needed) included. Let me put this into relation: it's about what I would pay for my mobile phone package per month (if I would pay for it). For the price of an iPhone 5, you can rent a piano for nearly 3 years. Usually iPhones break after one year tough. The economics of happiness is an interesting one. 

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