During the program, I wanted to blog and react to things that I heard and saw so that I wouldn't forget what I wanted to write.

The main one that I wanted to react to was the performance of the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata. I don't really want to be mean but the playing seemed so constrained. I was constantly waiting for that other note that never came. I don't know how to explain it. It was as if I was always looking forward to a note that should have been there but it was never pressed. The whole performance made me feel as if I were chained or that my heart was in a box smaller than itself. Always that missing note. I didn't even feel relaxed. I was on edge. There was no feeling. It was as if it was being played for the sake of playing it for people who paid 80 pesos. I guess you can say that I am highly disappointed. I may not be as good a piano player as whoever was up that stage but at least when I play I try to make sure that I make the notes come alive under my fingers even though I make a lot of mistakes. Playing a song on the piano isn't just entail pressing on the keys, it needs the player to breathe life in to the piece. It's just really sad because it's the Moonlight Sonata and it's very powerful if played properly and it wasn't given justice to. For me, it has a story and it can only relay it's story of the fingers that play it let it speak.

Then again, I shouldn't expect much. I guess I was looking for the performance level of a prodigy.

Here's a video of what I consider as proper playing:


Wilhelm Kempff


On to the other songs/performance itself.

I hardly recognized the Magic Flute. Don't ask me why because I don't know. I can only hypothesize that some of them were a little off. Oh yeah, another thing that irked me. The violin. The sound wasn't fluid. It was shrill. Now I know that it's supposed to have high notes but I'm not quite sure whether it was the microphone or the technique that made the sound quite like running your nails on the chalkboard. Maybe it was out of tune, I don't know. Listening to it, the music felt jagged. I guess I can commend them on their performance of Ryan Cayabyab's Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika. It was the best, for me. It's like they almost hit it right on the spot.

P.S.
See how the woman judge is crying? That's how it should be when you encounter powerful music. You-- I shouldn't feel strained.





P.P.S.
I find that closing your eyes while listening to music let's you feel it more. Just remember not to fall asleep. I think that by closing your eyes, you let yourself go. You break your connection from the physical world and you enable yourself to be lead by the song (and you, yourself to leads it too).