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Becoming Music: Nielsen’s Pan og Syrinx
In 1918, between his Flute Concerto and his third symphony, Carl Nielsen wrote one of his few tone poems: Pan og Syrinx (Pan and Syrinx). The nymph Syrinx, known for her chastity, and vowing, as a follower of the huntress
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  • Mon ami Piotr Mon ami Piotr
    I first met Piotr Anderszewski at la Roque d’Anthéron Piano Festival. I had heard of this talented  pianist, but never had a chance to listen to him live. I still remember the evening concert where I first met him. My
  • Meeting Paul Meeting Paul
    The first time I heard Paul Lewis was on a CD. It was a recording of Schubert’s Winterreise. I am ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Paul before, and the reason I bought the CD was actually
  • Wagner Rewrite Wagner Rewrite
    Every spring in Ueno, the cherry blossom starts to bloom, heralding the music festival fittingly entitled “Spring Festival In Tokyo”. This year the festival took place between March 14th and April 10th. One of the highlights of this year’s festival
  • Mariko from ACT4 Mariko from ACT4
    I spent the busiest days in April, since we had 4 big events in this month. On April, 10th, there was the festival called “Ryukyu Kaiensai” in Okinawa. The main event was the fireworks on the Gino-wan, the western shore
  • Air, Please! Air, Please!
    When bass vocalist Alexei Tanovitsky visited Hong Kong to perform Wagner’s Die Walküre, he was heard coughing and choking onstage. Similarly, following his concert in Hong Kong, Tom Jones was forced to cancel the remainder of his Asian tour due to
  • Thank you, E15! Thank you, E15!
    E15 is the name that has been given to the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, by journalists who were struggling to pronounce the full name properly. The nickname is derived from the somewhat daunting number of letters that come after the E.
  • No Passions in Hong Kong No Passions in Hong Kong
    I became a Bach fanatic in the late seventies when I discovered Glenn Gould, though I came to appreciate Bach’s choral music at a much later stage, first with the Cantatas, then the Mass in B Minor and lastly, the
  • The Sevens The Sevens
    No, I did not go to the Hong Kong Stadium, decked out in fancy dress, shouting and singing, flag in my left hand, can of beer in my right. In fact, I was sitting in front of my computer, trying