June 2006
June 30, 2006 12:03
Today Germany beat Argentina after tying them 1 - 1 during regular time, keeping the score during overtime, and scoring 4 PKs while Argentina only scored 2. I must say, I am happy and excited that Germany won, but in truth, Argentina was the better team. I look forward to seeing Germany in the semi-finals. I also played soccer today with some kids (most of them around my age). When we took breathers, they took coke and cigarettes as replenishment. I was really surprised at first, but it's just a cultural difference. I now hear car horns, cheering, and little rockets. I love World Cup madness (seriously)! Okay, I just walked to the video store and just as I was crossing the street, this car drove by with people hanging out the windows, honking furiously, and brandishing German flags!
I had a lesson yesterday and I moved from the Bach Sonata to the E major Partita. I continue to toil on the third movement of the Bruch. I decided to learn Praeludium and Allegro because I've had the music forever, but I have never taken the time to learn it, so I'll tackle it on my own this week or so.
A little under a month left here in Germany :-( I'm going to miss it so much!
In other news...the Cow Whisperer Strikes Back: Part Two, No Fences Necessary - (hmmm, I'll upload in a sec when I'm on the computer with the picture)
The Oprah endeavor lives. The other day, I sent all my facebook friends (108 people) a message telling them about my cause and to e-mail Oprah. I was pleased and slightly surprised at the positive feedback I recieved!
Also, your dreams have come true...the Hilary Hahn Forum is open for business! Thanks, Chengxuan, for creating it.
Well, that's all for now. Now I will go curl up with a chocolate Landliebe pudding serenaded to extatic German horns and watch the movie.
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June 21, 2006 05:53
Well, all my friends are off at summer music fesivals. I feel a little left out, but I guess I can't really complain. I just got back from a lovely vacation.
The relaxing Mediterranean.
The Swiss Alps were breathtaking. It looked fake. I really want to go back.When we got home, there were a few things waiting for me in the mail:
1) MAP testing results. This horror of standardized testing stretched out over a few days in the fall. I was happy to learn that I am in the 94th percentile for math and the 98th percentile for reading O_o
2) Something from Phelps? I was confused at this letter. There was a fact card in it that had a signature on it and so I was like "Wow, they made it look like someone actually signed this." So, I licked my finger and started rub it off to confirm my suspicion, but the ink actually started coming off! How did they get my address?
3) NYLC invitation. No idea. I get stuff like this all the time, but I usually think it's just some way for parents who feel "Oh I'm so proud of my little star-baby!" to give a ton of money for their kid to go to some "smart" conference and feel special. NYLC = National Young Leaders Conference. They say only the top 2% or something get asked, but you never know. I'll probably toss it in a few days if I don't hear back from my councilor.
4) My National Geographic Kids magazine! I love this magazine and I have been subscribed to it since I was eight or nine. Will I ever grow out of it? I doubt it.
The end.
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June 7, 2006 12:49
Last year I was not a violinist. I was merely a student who had been playing the violin for almost ten years. Then I went to a music camp that my teacher started a long time ago. Sound Encounters was where I met peers of mine who loved and cherished the violin or the other instrument they played. Natasha (yes, from this site) and Kerah (yes, from this site) were my roommates (I'm not forgetting Vic, she just wasn't around as much and she didn't play the violin).
Knot and Ker (how I affectionately refer to my roommates) would sometimes be immersed in musical/violin related conversation. At these times, I could not participate; I knew nothing. Here's a snippet of conversation many of you should find amusing. Natasha reminded me of this recently, so me=Natasha... *strumming harp for flashback*...
Me: "...and his Romance of the Violin album is just beautiful!"
Ker: "Oh, Joshua Bell is definately one of my favorites..."
Syd: "Who is Joshua Bell?"
Ker and Me: O_o
When Knot and Ker were talking about Jascha Heifetz, I said "What's that?" And they were like "You're a violinist and you don't know who Jascha Heifetz is?!!" They were so taken aback that I thought "Jascha Heifetz" was a religion. I'm not joking. They explained him to me later.
The camp experience lasted ten days and I realized how much Kerah and Natasha appriciated classical music and their instrument. They had been practicing a mininum of two hours. If I was having a good day, I got in thirty minutes. Thank you, roommates, you have made me what I am today.
Sound Encounters 2006 begins today.
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June 2, 2006 07:34
From All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (an excellent violinist passage):
There is a musician amongst them, he says he used to be a violinist in Berlin. When he hears that I can play the paino, he fetches his violin and plays. The others sit down and lean their back against the fence. He stands up and plays, sometimes he has that absent expression which violinists get when they close their eyes; or again he sways the instrument to the rhythm and smiles across to me.
He plays mostly folk songs and the others hum with him. They are like a country of dark hills that sing far down under the ground. The sound of the violin stands like a slender girl above it and is clear and alone. The voices cease and the violin continues alone. In the night it is so thin it sounds frozen; one must stand close up; it would be much better in a room; - out here it makes a man grow sad.
A message to Oprah will be in the mail; all I need to do is address the envelope.
I am fatigued.
I forgot how addicting the afternoon sun is.
The Odenwald looks complete now that it is all leafed up.
Why am I so tired?
PS - The other night I dreamed I shooed some tigers out of my hotel room and this is what a website says:
To dream that you ward off or kill a tiger, signifies that you will be exceedingly successful in all your endeavors. It is an indication of your good health, vitality, and vigor.
These things are fun to see even if they don't really have any basis (for me)!
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More entries: July 2006 • May 2006
