No escape.
Ever get the feeling that some of the negativity in your life is just chasing you around sometimes?
Nothing major, just a kind of rough start to the day here.
Registered today to make sure I could vote for John Kerry. You know, John Kerry...the one who would actually serve the interests of the average American???
hahaha...don't worry, not going to get into it.
Been a kind of hectic last week or so, but I'd like to get more done.
I've been having these half-nights of sleep generally over that period of time. Not quite sure what that's all about.
I checked out a bunch of movies from the school library over the weekend. Fellini's 8 1/2, American Dream, an AMAZING documentary about a labor dispute involving meat-packers and Hormel in the mid-80s (it won the Oscar), Vanya on 42nd Street, and The Art of Piano, which covers most of the most famous concert pianists from the 20th century.
The piano thing was really interesting. I generally try to stay away from recordings from people like Glenn Gould or Vladimir Horowitz b/c I'm not trying to be a stereo-typical concert pianist (I don't even think of myself as a 'concert pianist', or even a 'pianist', even though, by both literal definitions, I am), and I don't want to be like them, per se.
But it's a great look at these artists and what made each one unique. I could even identify with some of them.
For example, Ignace Jan Paderewski was a concert pianist in the 20s and 30s who:
-did not have any formal training on piano until he was 24
(I am 26 and STILL haven't had any formal training on piano)
-had musical tastes that were quite different in some ways from most classical musicians
(definitely true for me)
-had a look that was part of his appeal as a performer
(I've been told that may be true for me)
-was accused of being 'violent' at times at the piano
(me, too)
He was Polish, too, as you might have guessed, and I'm one-quarter Polish myself.
In fact, these two photographs even have some startling similarities:
http://www.kennyjaworski.com http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/composer/paderewski.html
hahaha...THAT'S pretty weird. Gotta admit it, don't you?
Vladimir Horowitz was amazing...I'm starting to feel REAL self-centered right about now, but Barbara Liberman, the prinicipal pianist for the St. Louis Symphony, told me that I remind her of Horowitz in some ways. On the DVD, they have a performance of he did of variations on a theme from Carmen. AWESOME.
Glenn Gould you may have heard of as well. There actually wasn't TOO much performance footage on the disc, but they showed part of a performance of him playing a Ravel trascription of his own which, too: AWESOME.
I really appreciate what his views were on music. He actually didn't claim himself to be a 'pianist' (a feeling I've had all along), but as either a musician or composer who expressed himself through the piano.
He felt that when composers 'stopped being performers' in the 18th century, it was a great disservice to music in general.
I can really appreciate this sentiment, b/c I only perform what I write...which is apparently something that was never the case with any of these musicians. Even with Rachmaninoff (AWESOME), who wrote a lot and played a lot of his own music, he, too, played others works as well.
Anyway, very interesting. Not feeling too great today, to tell the truth. Feel like I'm coming down with something. Drinking orange juice.
Be good!
(be yourself)
Nothing major, just a kind of rough start to the day here.
Registered today to make sure I could vote for John Kerry. You know, John Kerry...the one who would actually serve the interests of the average American???
hahaha...don't worry, not going to get into it.
Been a kind of hectic last week or so, but I'd like to get more done.
I've been having these half-nights of sleep generally over that period of time. Not quite sure what that's all about.
I checked out a bunch of movies from the school library over the weekend. Fellini's 8 1/2, American Dream, an AMAZING documentary about a labor dispute involving meat-packers and Hormel in the mid-80s (it won the Oscar), Vanya on 42nd Street, and The Art of Piano, which covers most of the most famous concert pianists from the 20th century.
The piano thing was really interesting. I generally try to stay away from recordings from people like Glenn Gould or Vladimir Horowitz b/c I'm not trying to be a stereo-typical concert pianist (I don't even think of myself as a 'concert pianist', or even a 'pianist', even though, by both literal definitions, I am), and I don't want to be like them, per se.
But it's a great look at these artists and what made each one unique. I could even identify with some of them.
For example, Ignace Jan Paderewski was a concert pianist in the 20s and 30s who:
-did not have any formal training on piano until he was 24
(I am 26 and STILL haven't had any formal training on piano)
-had musical tastes that were quite different in some ways from most classical musicians
(definitely true for me)
-had a look that was part of his appeal as a performer
(I've been told that may be true for me)
-was accused of being 'violent' at times at the piano
(me, too)
He was Polish, too, as you might have guessed, and I'm one-quarter Polish myself.
In fact, these two photographs even have some startling similarities:
http://www.kennyjaworski.com http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/composer/paderewski.html
hahaha...THAT'S pretty weird. Gotta admit it, don't you?
Vladimir Horowitz was amazing...I'm starting to feel REAL self-centered right about now, but Barbara Liberman, the prinicipal pianist for the St. Louis Symphony, told me that I remind her of Horowitz in some ways. On the DVD, they have a performance of he did of variations on a theme from Carmen. AWESOME.
Glenn Gould you may have heard of as well. There actually wasn't TOO much performance footage on the disc, but they showed part of a performance of him playing a Ravel trascription of his own which, too: AWESOME.
I really appreciate what his views were on music. He actually didn't claim himself to be a 'pianist' (a feeling I've had all along), but as either a musician or composer who expressed himself through the piano.
He felt that when composers 'stopped being performers' in the 18th century, it was a great disservice to music in general.
I can really appreciate this sentiment, b/c I only perform what I write...which is apparently something that was never the case with any of these musicians. Even with Rachmaninoff (AWESOME), who wrote a lot and played a lot of his own music, he, too, played others works as well.
Anyway, very interesting. Not feeling too great today, to tell the truth. Feel like I'm coming down with something. Drinking orange juice.
Be good!
(be yourself)
posted by KENNY at 2:45 PM
2 Comments:
how 'bout them cards? keep rockin' bro...
Thanks for your post on dw...you may never know how your words effect others, but rest assured that I covet them. Ivan left us without the top of our chimney, a row of shingles and a missing piece of vinyl, but overall we were protected greatly and blessed richly. I know many that are now homeless and my heart goes out to them. What's that saying...I stopped complaining about not having shoes, when I met a guy with no feet?
Don't worry, I'd never sabotage our 'cards. Spent the day sat past talking 'bout them with a couple from the 'lou. I'm sure we'll gather and cheer them on soon. Houston scares me though...
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