tennis, life and a few things in between

Today is the first time listening to Mozart’s piano concerto #27, by Menahem Pressler, Paavo Järvi & the Orchestre de Paris. It’s on DW Classical Music. This one has  1,038,889 views since May 18, 2023. One thing this piece differs from all others, is the LONG commercials, into minutes. I got out of the pool twice to stop it. This is really disgusting. Definitely did not enjoy it – not sure it’s the doing of Youtube or the owner/poster of this performance.

By doing this, I also learnt that the Versa’s pause/resume doesn’t really work well: both times, it stopped. I’ve to start anew. Swam 1,240 in 30 minutes.

Music was his elixir of life: On October 17, 2012, just before his 90th birthday, pianist Menahem Pressler gave a concert in Paris’ Salle Pleyel. With the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Paavo Järvi, Pressler played Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595. Nimble fingers even at grand old age – Menahem Pressler is proof that it’s possible. The star pianist was able to look back over a 50-year career. Between 1955 and 2008 he was performing some 100 concerts each year with the Beaux Arts Trio alone. Menahem Pressler passed away on May 6, 2023, aged 99.

Encouraged by my Red Cross challenge in June 2024, I tentatively start to keep a log. Weeks start on Sunday.

2024

• July: ^{wk 1} 5,960 yd/1’22”
• June: 37,020 yd (21 miles)

Hooray I got in 37,020 yards / 21.03 miles of swim this month.

It started when I signed up the Red Cross 15 mile swim challenge, which I fulfilled on June 21st, with the longest swim of 28 times in the pool this June: 2,620 yd / 1.49 mile.

Michael Douglas or Gordon Gekko once said that greed … is good. I think challenge is even better.

A pretty good timing for the first 15 minutes @ 2’06”, without trying hard in free style, without missing a single flip turns.

The second half of swim is breaststroke, at 2’38” per 100 yards.

Total yardage is 1,660, which brings up to date in June to 32,460 yd. 1.56 miles to go for 20 miles mark.

This is one of my two faves fm China, and a good companion in the pool. Unfortunately, the good recording / live performance is poor – wrong notes are prevalent (which is ok in the water…). The concerto is about 20-24 minutes, so after two, I’m pretty much done my swim: I’ve no problem to listen to it back to back – I’m a bore.

I’m always moved at the end, when East is Red comes on. Looking back at the childhood melody, the feeling is mixed. Out of blue, I googled it today, 黄河钢琴协奏曲 东方红, saw a few posts asking if it ruined the concerto by adding the East is Red.

zhihu 有去掉“东方红”版的钢琴协奏曲《黄河》，至今记得一个可能粗俗但非常精辟的评论，说这个版本的感觉，就好像前面一直弄得很爽，爽到快要出来的时候突然萎了。

要理解这一比喻的精辟，我们可以引入另一个比喻。

某李小龙纪录片中，一个来自白人女演员的著名评价是，李小龙让中国男人有了种（he put balls on Chinese men）。当然，这里指的是在西方的荧幕上。李小龙之前，好莱坞荧幕上的华人男性除了傅满洲那种神秘邪恶的大反派，基本上就是贼眉鼠眼、男人的各种能力都不行的怂蛋。李小龙在他短暂的生命中直接完成大逆转。他让功夫片成为热门，他自己成为荧幕上最能打的人，让白人花钱买票看他揍白人，还为之叫好。这甚至影响出一波黑人崇拜李小龙的风潮，视李小龙为精神导师，拍摄黑人功夫电影（这曾是一个重要的电影类型）。

在荧幕以外的现实世界中，是中国共产党带领中国人民完成了这一任务，如果把它符号化的话，毫无疑问就是毛主席，在音乐里，那就是《东方红》。…

The few I’ve been listing to: (Can’t find one by Lang Lang – thought he’s the perfect one to play this. Li Yundi won’t, imho)

• Zhang Haiou 张海鸥 2022 w/ Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra
• Lu Jia’s in 2022
• Vladimir Khomyakov 2019 w/ Ningbo Symphony 钢琴协奏曲
• Victor Ong 王俊霖 2017
• Rueibin Chen 陳瑞斌 2017
• Yin Chengzong
  • 2024 @ 国家大剧院音乐厅
  • 2021 w/ Suzhou Chinese Orchestra 苏州民族管弦乐团
  • 2019 w/ Shenzhen 深圳交响乐团
  • 1970?

I saw Yin Chengzhong twice in New York. Once at an up state church in 1987, and then Tully Hall (the smaller one auditorium at Lincoln Center; he was hired by a travel agency) in 2015.

这二天的长距离都是1,560 纯属巧合. 今天慢了四分钟 因为中间🎵停了 上岸弄 Youtube (只会用油管) 无意中看到 人民音乐家冼星海… “人民”是啥意思呢? 黛安娜也自称是 people’s princess 前者不知所措 后者觉得很陈词滥调.

非常喜欢黄河钢琴协奏曲 是俺泳池里听的最多的 老柴的第二. 原因之一是没有好的录音/现场 错音符多如牛毛 (不知道为什么没有朗郎的)… 每次听到最后的东方红太阳升时 都热泪盈眶
儿时的记忆难磨灭
通常早上去游 游完后正好太阳开始升起 – 倒是不觉得是败笔
几年前看到70年代纽约时报报道 称此曲是垃圾