Comments on: Inner Life http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/ The Official Site of Jonathan Biss Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:24:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 By: coloraturaaah http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-123 coloraturaaah Mon, 26 May 2008 01:11:59 +0000 http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-123 The last sentence of this entry was beautifully written, and something that as a musician, I aspire to and am thankful for as well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and best wishes for continued success. The last sentence of this entry was beautifully written, and something that as a musician, I aspire to and am thankful for as well.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and best wishes for continued success.

]]> By: ace banana http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-124 ace banana Thu, 29 May 2008 14:06:19 +0000 http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-124 La musique commence là où s'arrête le pouvoir des mots :-) Good luck in Denmark tomorrow, Jonathan. La musique commence là où s’arrête le pouvoir des mots :-)

Good luck in Denmark tomorrow, Jonathan.

]]> By: Robert S. Kissel http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-127 Robert S. Kissel Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:35:07 +0000 http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-127 Yesterday, a friend told me you're playing the trout quintet with members of the Emerson in August--I'm looking forward to this so very much! We're a little confused about your pre-concert recital, which we don't want to miss: my friend told me you were playing the Mozart A minor sonata. The Emerson says you're playing "the e minor sonata No. 4 K. 304" as well as five fugues from WTK2...which they mark as being by Mozart, K. 405!--so THAT must be all mixed up...and on YOUR schedule, it says the Mozart is the e-minor VIOLIN sonata, which makes more sense, but which we thought sounded a bit short, even for a PRE-concert program...so we're curious to know what tasty hors d'oeuvres you've got planned for us. We took some Chinese friends of ours, a pretty little couple, to the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival last year, in the Mountains of North Carolina. We joined a wonderful music-lover friend at a restaurant in Hot Springs, and were enjoying the local trout...but none of us knew the Chinese word for "trout" and we were having trouble explaining which fish we were enjoying. Finally, I said to Zhi Xing, the pretty little girl of the couple, who loves good music, "Schubert wrote a very famous piano quintet named for this fish"--and THAT did it, and she said, oh, yes, oh, yes! It's ZUN YU!! My friend, who speaks Chinese, smiled at me and translated "zun yu" literally: "The Respectful Fish." And now, of course, whenever I hear the shimmering arpeggios of the last variation--who can hear them WITHOUT smiling??--I can't help but think of the respectful Chinese fish. :-) I just cannot wait to hear you play it...but promise me you won't let the Emerson bully you into playing too fast! And for heavens' sake, make them fix that Web page! (http://www.emersonquartet.com/artist.php?view=cal&cid=1786) Yesterday, a friend told me you’re playing the trout quintet with members of the Emerson in August–I’m looking forward to this so very much! We’re a little confused about your pre-concert recital, which we don’t want to miss: my friend told me you were playing the Mozart A minor sonata. The Emerson says you’re playing “the e minor sonata No. 4 K. 304″ as well as five fugues from WTK2…which they mark as being by Mozart, K. 405!–so THAT must be all mixed up…and on YOUR schedule, it says the Mozart is the e-minor VIOLIN sonata, which makes more sense, but which we thought sounded a bit short, even for a PRE-concert program…so we’re curious to know what tasty hors d’oeuvres you’ve got planned for us.

We took some Chinese friends of ours, a pretty little couple, to the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival last year, in the Mountains of North Carolina. We joined a wonderful music-lover friend at a restaurant in Hot Springs, and were enjoying the local trout…but none of us knew the Chinese word for “trout” and we were having trouble explaining which fish we were enjoying. Finally, I said to Zhi Xing, the pretty little girl of the couple, who loves good music, “Schubert wrote a very famous piano quintet named for this fish”–and THAT did it, and she said, oh, yes, oh, yes! It’s ZUN YU!!

My friend, who speaks Chinese, smiled at me and translated “zun yu” literally: “The Respectful Fish.”

And now, of course, whenever I hear the shimmering arpeggios of the last variation–who can hear them WITHOUT smiling??–I can’t help but think of the respectful Chinese fish. :-)

I just cannot wait to hear you play it…but promise me you won’t let the Emerson bully you into playing too fast!

And for heavens’ sake, make them fix that Web page!
(http://www.emersonquartet.com/artist.php?view=cal&cid=1786)

]]> By: Don Cox http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-129 Don Cox Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:07:42 +0000 http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-129 I am just listening to your Beethoven CD for about the tenth time. It is very good indeed, IMO. I would like to hear you play some Faure - perhaps the Nocturnes. It is exceptionally difficult music to get right, but I reckon you could do it. I am just listening to your Beethoven CD for about the tenth time. It is very good indeed, IMO.

I would like to hear you play some Faure - perhaps the Nocturnes. It is exceptionally difficult music to get right, but I reckon you could do it.

]]> By: Robert S. Kissel http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-130 Robert S. Kissel Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:02:56 +0000 http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-130 My friend just ran over to Lincoln Center to get our tickets--it was a choice between 13th row orchestra, where I'm sure we wouldn't hear a thing, and box 7 where I can look at the back of your neck and watch the violist making faces (I shouldn't make fun of him...he played a terrific finale of a Shostakovitch, the last time I heard the Emerson). Anyway, we'll be breathing down your neck. My friend also finally worked out what the heck all that stuff at the Emerson Web pages was all about--that THEY are going to play an arrangement, by Mozart, for String Quartet, of five of the Bach fugues--I didn't know of the existence of this piece, so it DOES have a Koechel number! And then YOU are going to play the Mozart e minor violin sonata with one of the violinists, I suppose whichever one is sitting out the Trout. So I was wrong, and they don't have to fix anything. Gosh, I'm looking forward to hearing you again!--I was broken-hearted that your recital with your Mother at the Y had to be cancelled, and I hope whatever the emergency was, things are better now. My friend just ran over to Lincoln Center to get our tickets–it was a choice between 13th row orchestra, where I’m sure we wouldn’t hear a thing, and box 7 where I can look at the back of your neck and watch the violist making faces (I shouldn’t make fun of him…he played a terrific finale of a Shostakovitch, the last time I heard the Emerson). Anyway, we’ll be breathing down your neck.

My friend also finally worked out what the heck all that stuff at the Emerson Web pages was all about–that THEY are going to play an arrangement, by Mozart, for String Quartet, of five of the Bach fugues–I didn’t know of the existence of this piece, so it DOES have a Koechel number! And then YOU are going to play the Mozart e minor violin sonata with one of the violinists, I suppose whichever one is sitting out the Trout.

So I was wrong, and they don’t have to fix anything.

Gosh, I’m looking forward to hearing you again!–I was broken-hearted that your recital with your Mother at the Y had to be cancelled, and I hope whatever the emergency was, things are better now.

]]> By: PS http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-134 PS Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:46:04 +0000 http://jonathanbiss.com/home/2008/05/25/inner-life/#comment-134 It's after Labor Day now; summer vacation's over. Time to resume blogging. Suffering Biss withdrawal here! It’s after Labor Day now; summer vacation’s over. Time to resume blogging. Suffering Biss withdrawal here!

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