Post-Concert Musings

Attended the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra's (MPO) New Year concert just now with mum, sister, cousins and my friend Ming-Shien.

As usual, they performed waltzes and polkas from the Viennese dance composers such as Johann Strauss II. This time around, soprano Cyndia Sieden performed several arias from Viennese opera.

The final note of Sieden's last song kind of flopped, as Ming-Shien noticed. To the audience, it might have appeared as though she ended on a note in the lower register of the soprano voice, but it was quite obviously a bit of a slip.

And that got me thinking about the nature of live music, as opposed to a recording of the same piece. Live performances are very vulnerable; conductor mood swings, form of soloists on performance day, hall acoustics, audience response -- all these and more, all contribute to the experience of the music.

On the other hand, recordings tend to have a polished feel about them. Mistakes can be covered up, or the piece can be re-recorded if the conductor is not pleased, whereas in a live performance, it's a take-it-or-leave-it choice.

But while live music tends to be more susceptible to slip-ups and mistakes, it is also extremely awe-inspiring when the concert hall resonates with sheer power at great climaxes. And the subdued moments can be especially eerie and tense when there's pindrop silence, save for the lament of a lone instrument or two.

Anyway, I'm sure Bono and Company would agree that their songs are more suited to large stadiums and arenas, rather than a CD player or even the spanking new U2 Special Edition iPod. There is a communal sense of joy and emotion that is shared between performer(s) and audience that can be electric only in a live setting; for this reason, I cherish these concerts, even if they're merely one-off events.


On a different note, I'll be helping out at the Tsunami Aid Day fund-raising event at Grace Methodist Church tomorrow, in particular assisting May Chin with fishball sales. So much free time after exams last year, it's good to have something to do ;-)

In the evening, I'll be attending an old friend's 18th birthday party. (I knew him since Standard One!) There is a feeling both of forward motion, nostalgia and maybe even bittersweetness about growing older. Yes, with each passing year, we become wiser, but sometimes also blinder and more reckless as we often assume we know more than we really do.

People don't retain innocent childlikeness forever, and in some ways, 18 years is one of the points of departure. But hey, it was when he was 18 that Bono wrote "Out of Control," and that opened up an entirely new chapter in his life. So with all that is unknown, with all the joys and memories we'll cherish of our days as children... it looks like time beckons us forward.

Here's to the years to come, may they break us and build us up again.

Good night.