Beethoven via Nakagawa

Goethe Institute. Bangkok, Thailand. June 14, 2011. Pianist Eri Nakagawa can always be counted on to play a difficult program, and I mean really difficult, She thinks nothing of playing through all the Chopin Etudes in one evening, and last night’s all-Beethoven recital at the Goethe was no exception: Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas. These sonatas have achieved such a near-mystical status in the Western classical icon that playing them is more akin to an act of worship than it is to mere performance. They demand a lot of both the pianist and the audience.

While the challenge to the performer is obvious, the listener bears a lot of responsibility for a successful evening. A classical music performance is the only public event that I know of which requires a commitment from the audience. Go to a sports event and do whatever you want; same for a rock concert, a political rally, even a Broadway musical. But at a classical performance, at minimum, the audience commits to both the performer and to itself to sit quietly, electronic devices off, program reading terminated, talking and whispering verboten. The audience must be engaged and failing that, no pianist, no matter how great the playing, can pierce the conscience mind of his or her listeners. This engagement, agreement and concentration on the part of the audience, are especially difficult when the pianist chooses to confront his or her public with an unbroken stream of high art. Fortunately, last night’s audience at the Goethe was the most attentive I’ve encountered in Thailand. It went beyond simple courtesy, to reach out to Ajarn Nakagawa as if to say: Okay, we’re ready; we’re prepared; we’ve done our homework (many in the audience were piano students and teachers), we accept your challenge, you’ve got us for 90 minutes, and now it’s up to you.

One would think that what followed was all about playing only, that is to say, about what one hears, but it would be a mistake to ignore the visual. In my lifetime, I thought that Rubinstein, whom I saw many times in person, had the best visual stature. The way he walked on to the stage, sat at the keyboard, and prepared himself to play, made such a visual statement that he won his audience over before playing a note. I’ve recently watched a DVD of his historic 1964 Moscow recital, which brought back to me how commanding his presence was. I thought that Gillels, whom I also heard in person many times, and recently viewed a DVD of an old performance of his in Moscow, had much the same stage presence. Richter, on the other hand, whom I also saw in person many times, “…never came on stage looking anything other than miserable and conveying the impression that he didn’t want to be there.” (International Piano, March/April 2011, pg 14). Of today’s performers, Evengy Kissin has captured the Rubinstein/Gillels aura better than any other artist I know.

Eri Nakagawa quite clearly understands how important the visual elements of a recital are. Her stately demeanor, her self-evident concentration, her unmannered keyboard style, and her quiet and extended manner of sitting with her hands on the keyboard after the conclusion of each sonata, before signaling that the audience could applause, had a visual impact that was in support of her fine playing.

After reaching technical proficiency of a very high level, such as Ajarn Nakagawa has achieved, it’s all a matter of interpretation and sound. Beethoven is the greatest musical architect that ever lived and what makes his work enduring is that it sustains interpretation, and like all music that endures, it must have enough internal substance to be interpreted. That’s why we listen to the same pieces played time and time again, or why we buy multiple renditions of the same work---we are seeking interpretation that is meaningful and goes beyond mere entertainment or the frisson of yet another athletic acrobatic performance of some unimaginably difficult work. We do not go to admire; rather, we go to hear beautiful sound that conveys the artist’s inner sense of what meaning he or she finds in the umpteenth playing of some well-known work. At its highest and rarest, it is an aesthetic experience that transports us into a world of pure bliss, which momentarily co-opts our temporal existence. No one can say when or if that moment will arrive, but when the magic occurs, it makes all the waiting worthwhile. (Note: “bliss” is a word favored by Vladimir Nabokov and Joseph Campbell, but is a little too intense for me. But, right now I can’t think of a better noun).

Ajarn Nakagawa’s recital was an honest and successful attempt to interpret Beethoven and to reveal the meaning that she uncovered. It was a personal journey; I don’t think she was aware that she was playing for an audience. Having accepted her invitation to travel with her, we, too, were privileged to experience many moments of interpretive nuances that were rooted in Beethoven, but that blossomed via this fine pianist.

Buzz’s Journal---That was Then---Bangkok is no Longer Cheap

Bangkok's skyline rises along with the prices

Bangkok Thailand. June 11, 2011. In his very excellent book, Bangkok Found, part cultural guide and part personal memoir, noted author Alex Kerr correctly states (p. 64) what many expats are embarrassed to admit: “It’s fine to talk about art, culture, and sanuk, but the fact is that the cheapness of Bangkok is key to its appeal for expats.” Unfortunately, future editions of Bangkok Found will most likely want to modify that statement to take into account that things have changed---Bangkok is no longer so cheap. Just ask any of us living here, but if you want some authoritative support for the immense increase in the cost of living for expats in Bangkok, Thursday’s “Bangkok Post” (p. B2) carried this academic backup of our common experience: “Bangkok has the second-highest living costs in Asean, according to the 2011 cost of living survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit.” Alas, as for me, next week I’m going to spend five days in Singapore, the country with the highest living cost in the Asean region. Maybe when I return to Bangkok, it will seem cheap here.

Top Democrat Party Candidate Kiat Sittheeamorn Faces the Press

Thailand Trade Representative and top Democrat Party candidate, Kiat Sittheeamorn, answers a reporter's question at the FCCT

FCCT. Bangkok, Thailand. June 2, 2011. A month or so ago, Prime Minister Abhisit addressed the FCCT and answered questions. His major opponent, Puea Thai party candidate Yingluck Shinawatra, has been invited, but is unlikely to attend, because her handlers have not yet permitted her to do anything other than appear in public and smile; for now, saying anything is out of the question because, quite frankly, she has nothing to say, and no one is interested anyway, rightly so, because she’s a stand-in for her brother, convicted felon Thaksin Shinawatra, who sits in Dubai directing the campaign and paying for it all. Her job is to avoid mistakes, look pretty. If she wins, her government will grant her brother amnesty, he will return to Thailand, and take over the government, to the cheers of his many supporters. Amnesty for Thaksin is the key election platform of the Puea Thai and their related Red Shirts. The Puea Thai’s slogan is “Thaksin thinks—the party acts.” Public opinion polls indicate that Thaksin is on track to win the election.

Under these circumstances, you would think that the Democratic Party would have something important to say, but if its spokesman for the evening, Thailand Trade Representative and top Democrat Party candidate, Kiat Sittheeamorn, is any indication, it has no platform other than to be “for the rule of law,” which means Thaksin has to serve his two-year prison sentence. Like the Puea Thai party, the Democrats are promising a large array of government handouts to various groups, farmers, the rural poor, school children, etc., but there are so many indiscriminate promises on both sides that no one keeps track of them, nor believes them. The one I like best is the Puea Thai pledge to give every school boy or girl a tablet computer. Now that’s something that could get my vote, but I’d want my iPad2 in advance, before voting. Kh. Kiat did say that the election is about principles, policy, and personalities, but the principles and policy aspects were subsumed under the one personality issue---Thaksin.

In all fairness to Kh. Kiat, however, he is an articulate advocate for his party and he can hardly be blamed for not having a lot to say beyond anodyne campaign rhetoric. Everyone knows that the only issue in the election is Thaksin comes back triumphant and a free man, or he stays in exile, where he will continue to remain the main force in Thai politics.

Buzz’s Quick Guide to the Thai General Election

Current Prime Minister Abhisit (adove) is running for re-election. He's suave, articulate, Oxford-educated, and probably too good for Thai politics right now.

Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck, (above) is running for Thai prime minister as Thaksin's "clone." Thaksin, a convicted felon, is waiting in Dubai to be called back to Thailand under his clone's amnesty program, so that he doesn't have to serve his two-year prison sentence for corruption.

Bangkok, Thailand. June 8, 2011. Thailand’s general election will be held on July 3. Because Thailand has a parliamentary system similar to England’s, the prime minister is not directly elected; rather, the people elect the House of Representatives, and the House selects the prime minister. The two major parties are the Democrats and the Puea Thai. However, this election is not about issues; it is about the return of ousted former prime minister Thaksin, who fled into exile after being convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison.

There are two parties: the Democrats headed by the current prime minister Abhisit, and the Thaksin-controlled Puea Thai party and their allies, the Red Shirts, also Thaksin controlled. The Red Shirts burned down central Bangkok last year.

A few weeks ago, because he couldn’t trust anyone else, Thaksin appointed his youngest sister, Yingluck, to head his Puea Thai party and become prime minister. Yingluck is 43-years of age, pretty, telegenic, and utterly without any political or government experience, inasmuch as she has spent her life to-date occupying various positions in Thaksin’s many businesses. Think Sarah Palin Lite and you’ll get the picture. Regardless, she is enjoying wide popular appeal and is running on a platform of amnesty for Thaksin so that he can return to Thailand and run things again from some place other than jail. Thaksin has repeatedly described her as his “clone.” Right now, Yingluck is enjoying lots of media attention and is very popular.

So there you have it: Thaksin comes back or he doesn’t.

Actually, the election is a lot less important than it might at first seem. Neither party is expected to win a majority of the popular vote, and another coalition government is expected, a common occurrence in Thailand. The Red Shirts will not accept any government not headed by hero Thaksin, and Thaksin’s many opponents fear his return because of his authoritarian nature and his ability to take revenge if not restrained. Thus, most observers believe that the current conflicts are unlikely to be solved by the election.

Restrepo: A Sobering and Sad Documentary Film

FCCT. Bangkok, Thailand. May 31, 2011. If you have any doubts about what constitutes a tragedy, you can clear things up for yourself by watching the full-length documentary “Restrepo.” Regardless of your political beliefs about the war in Afghanistan, the cameras of directors Tim Hetherington, who was recently killed while on assignment in Libya, and Sebastian Junger, who gained fame as the author of “The Perfect Storm,” take you to a deployment of a small platoon of America soldiers in a remote outpost in the Korengal Valley, considered the most dangerous place in Afghanistan. Filmed in 2007, the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats, and no plot. This is war only through the eyes of the soldiers who are fighting it; no interviews with families, Afghans, or others.

The conditions in which the soldiers live and fight are not imaginable. “Restrepo” succeeds in picturing their reality as only a camera in the hands of talented directors can do. The film has won several awards and was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary. It deserves a wide viewing audience.

My random thoughts following “Restrepo’s” screening at the FCCT on May 31, 2011: 1. The American soldiers in the film are splendid human beings and their lives give meaning to such feelings as “support our troops.” They make me proud to be an American. I want them not only to survive, but to take part in the lives of our communities. 2. Afghans were not engaged in any fighting or visible support of our efforts. They were present only as hapless villagers or the Taliban enemy. 3. It was difficult to see what our military strategy was. As we all know, whatever the strategy existent in 2007, it was changed by General Prateus. 4. 50 Americans died in the Korengal Valley. After the time period shown in the film, all American troops and outposts were withdrawn. I don’t think that anyone claims that our efforts there were a success on any level. 5. Only the most jaded of viewers could fail to see what a tragedy this is, not only for those who died, but the impact on the survivors as well.

A Young Thai Piano Talent Impresses

Young Thai pianist Tarin Supprakorn accepts flowers after his successful Bangkok recital

Goethe Institute Auditorium. Bangkok, Thailand. May 29, 2011. Thailand is the home of a surprisingly large number of talented young pianists, and Tarin Supprakorn is among the best. While in high school in Bangkok, I heard him play several times before he went on the study with American piano pedagogue Thomas Hecht, at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore. Having just graduated, and now on his way to the Eastman School of Music to study with Nelita True, he showed his Bangkok fans just how much he progressed during his years in Singapore.

Like all young pianists today, Tarin choose to play an extremely difficult program: a Haydn sonata, the Bartok piano sonata, and Schumann’s wonderful Davidsbundlertanze. The Schumann in particular, consisting of 18 short movements spanning about 38 minutes, was the most difficult to keep together musically. Tarin sailed through it like a seasoned pro, producing changes in mood, level, rhythm, and sound which made this diverse work the unified whole that it is. Happily, Tarin concentrated on making beautiful music, leaving the “wow” factor to other less talented performers.