This past Tue(Nov 26) was an intense day for me. My plan started with playing some cello with a Flamenco dancer and singing some songs in a benefit performance. After that, I went to the game company I translated for to get claim the rest of my payment. I was supposed to come home after until I got an unexpected call from M saying that S has an extra ticket to Gwhyneth's recital in the National Concert Hall on that evening. I hadn't seen S for so long(because she lives in the US) that I said yes immediately.
Our seats weren't together and mine was on the third floor. I went all the way up and found that there was a gentleman sitting on my seat. At a split second, I was gonna use that famous phrase from Big Bang Theory, "This is my spot", but luckily I held it. I gestured the seat with my ticket and noticed that this gentleman didn't reply with any recognizable sounds from my Chinese database. I took a wild guess and asked him if English would be ok. He said yes, and told me that he's from Japan. I asked him if I could take a look at his program because I didn't have enough time to get one and he was very nice to share it.
The concert began. Gwhyneth walked in with elegance and confidence in this side shouldered red/orange dress which complimented her slim figure perfectly. It didn't take long for her to start once she sat down. Once the first key was touched, I immediately felt the incredible passion and energy ringing the concert hall. Gwhyneth was born to play a giant piano in a giant hall. I was so blown away by her amazing precision of her fingers and the contrasts of volume, velocity, color and voicing this body could produce.
Unfortunately there were still cellphones ringing during the concert. Seriously?
During the intermission, I tried to make some conversation with this Japanese gentleman. I found out that he's actually a music critic. He flies all over to write reviews about concerts. I asked him if cellphone ringing scene happened in Japan as well. After saying that it also happened in Japan, he decided to tell me something even more atrocious. Once he flew to China for a concert, there were not only cellphone ringing but also the part the recipient picked it up with a conversation during the performance. I introduced myself a little bit and we asked each other about the students we've had in different countries. It was so fun that the second half of the concert came in sooner than I expected.
This time, Gwhyneth walked out with a beautiful white gown with shining diamond looking jewelry pieces. I couldn't tell if the shoulders were covered by any cloth at all because I was sitting too far without my glasses. Gwhyneth seemed to be more relaxed and she took more time between pieces in this half. I thought something amazing must have happened during the intermission. The second half had a completely tone. It was warmer, vibrant, exhilarating, and carefree. Perhaps it was the change of the new gown which gave her more freedom to move? Mystery!
I've not played any piano solo pieces from memory in performances for so long. It always amazes me when someone memorizes a full concert program of solo piano works. It was even more impressive in her case because the repertoire included two whole sets of Preludes by Rachmaninoff. It was a risk any performer could face when the whole program were pieces by the same composer. It was a real challenge to keep the whole concert fluid without ever getting bored. When the last note stopped resonating, we all longed for more. The audience applauded so loudly for so long that Gwhyneth had to come back out four times.
I heard her voice, a down to earth beauty, telling us that there was no encore piece but there were a small pack of icecream and a book about her life we could pick up for free on the way out. I came home with a pleasant mood, a sweet book(icecream was given up), and a business card from a new friend I made. At that moment, life was so wonderful and so complete.
At this special moment, I would give thanks to all my friends and family. Thank you for warming me up with surprises, and wish you all a happy thanksgiving.
*If I may,
I could always hear a new thought coming in, but I couldn't tell when the release happened. For me, it felt like inhaling again and again without ever exhaling. From time to time, I felt like drowning when I was trying to sync my breath with the phrasing. I wasn't sure if it was because of the hall or because of the pedal. I'll wait for the DVD and hear if it would be different.
