Falling in lust with a piano

The Saturday before last, I fell in lust with a piano. It was no ordinary piano -- it was a shining, gleaming, instrument of ebony whose presence outshone the rest of the stage of the NEC's Jordan Hall, and I heard it played when Charlie debuted with the Longwood Symphony that evening.  Ahhh... gorgeous. Just gorgeous. LeVan and I were about to fall asleep during the first two pieces, which were thankfully short, and we were fearful that we would sleep through Shostakovich and Charlie for 25 minutes, but no -- the piano did not allow that to occur. It was so clear and radiant, it beamed!

I've never fallen so hard for the sound of a piano. It used to be that if you asked me which of the two instruments I played that I preferred, I would say that I liked playing both, but I truly enjoyed the sound of the violin. The violin sings, and can be sorrowful, and when in an orchestra, allows one to experience what seems divine. The piano, on the other hand, was simply there... but there was nothing distinctly special about the sounds it produced. Even when I immersed myself into PJ's playing years back, that was more an acknowledgment of his musicality and the beauty he drew out rather than an appreciation of purely the sound itself. This time, while I enjoyed Charlie's playing, I found that I was able to judge the sound of the piano on its own merit, and then, there, I found that I could enjoy the sound of the piano! What wonders.

I've yet to ask Charlie what model the Steinway was, but I'll be sure to do that soon. ^-^ Also, this incident reminded me of how I used to hear that it doesn't matter the quality of the instrument, but rather the abilities of the musician. I think I'll disagree with that statement. Yes, the abilities of the musician trump the quality of the instrument, but if the instrument is truly horrible, even a good musician can't do much with it. A good instrument can only help a musician convey his/her message. Makes me think of how our bodies are considered God's temples, and I'm conflicted about how much I feel convicted of that... I think there's a lot to do in terms of mindset and actions. God, will You make me realize, will Your Word and Your voice come to me, of how much from which You've saved me?

Anyhow, basically -- I've never desired something so expensive in my life. =p

Process, purée, purify

Thoughts from reading/finals period:

I've realized that one reason I value artistic expression is that it shows some level of processing/reflection/thought. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around how people can be without it, how they can not at least attempt to process the world. I guess this is a value judgment of sorts, but I am valuing what I can connect with, what I can understand; is that not what people generally do?

on acquired tastes -- now i can add green tea ice cream to the list. previous others: frozen yogurt, mushrooms, cheesecake, sushi (this one occurred after i found i naturally enjoyed its cousin kimbap).

I've found my grasp of Chinese becoming weaker and weaker, yet when times come about that I feel a need to pray, inevitably it is to our Father God in traditional Chinese. hm, I should get to watching a TW drama or two this summer. That'll fix the language problem. ;)

i wonder how much our portrayal of selves, and our expressions of selves, are self-created rather than reflective of what already exists within. e.g. w/ fashion, room decoration, and personally -- how i came to value the color red... even writing is at times a craft, is it not? there is a struggle to properly bring forth an ideal -- someone else's, if not your own.

On a more concrete note, "Light Up the Sky" has been my new song on repeat throughout finals period, ever since Nate posted a snippet of it on Facebook. It's been a while since i've had such a craving for such a song, esp. a Christian song. Meh. Just sayin'.