How Buzz Found Out What a Koto Is

Stock Exchange of Thailand Auditorium.  Bangkok, Thailand.  July 13, 2013.  To read that a koto is similar to the Chinese zheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum, and the Vietnamese đàn tranh, was not much help.  But, when I was invited by a Japanese friend, a superb pianist, to attend a “Sound of Japan” concert, I was eager to attend and to find out what a koto was.  In fact, the koto is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument.  It has 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges along the width of the instrument.  Players can adjust the string pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and use three finger picks (on thumb, index finger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings.  It looks very difficult to play.

 As far as the music is concerned, it was too strange to my Western ears to appreciate on first hearing, but I very much enjoyed watching the koto player perform.  The rest of the evening was comprised of a Japanese women’s chorus singing beautiful, elegiac Japanese songs.  All in all, it was a fascinating evening, time well spent in enlarging my cultural appreciation.

Yuki Yamada from Japan played the koto in Bangkok on July 13.

The 15 women of the Japanese Association Women's Chorus, which has been performing in Bangkok since 1974.

Malaysian Pianist Mitra Alice Tham Comes to Bangkok

Goethe-Institut Auditorium.  Bangkok, Thailand.  July 12, 2013.  Tham is a member of an amazingly large group of pianists who play the piano very, very well.  Having studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and Mannes in NYC, there with famed pianist Jacob Lateiner, Tham can justly claim to be an international artist.  Her varied program in Bangkok demonstrated her capabilities with music of a variety of styles and periods, all of which she played with fluency and competency.  Yet, there was nothing much to distinguish her playing.  Her technique was crisp and dry, accurate rather than exploring.  She lacked color and tone; all pieces sounded much the same.  Because she is very musical, there was nothing quirky or self-indulgent about anything she played.  Although I can’t think of any particular reason for wanting to hear are again, I can’t think of any reason to stay away from her next recital in Bangkok, if she were to return.  

Buddhist-Christian Controversies and Comparative Religion in Siam, the 1850s-1980s.

Siam Society.  Bangkok, Thailand.  July 16, 2013.  Dr. Thongchai Winichakul, a Thai scholar who is now teaching at the University of Wisconsin, gave a lecture on a little known aspect of Thai history.  In 1958, the Catholic mission in Thailand, published a revised edition of the Butxa Visatxana, a tract promoting Catholicism as superior to Buddhism, which, charged the publication, is mere superstition.  In fact, this publication had its origins in the middle of the 19^th century, and had been reprinted in 1894, also creating controversy.  Upon the 1958 publication, the government organized a huge gathering in Bangkok, at Thailand’s leading university, against the “threat from Christianity.”  The Catholic church withdrew the publication and no copies of it can be found.  Dr. Thongchar’s lively lecture style and the inherent interest of the subject matter of his lecture, made this evening a highly informative one. 

Gift Gam Gun Piano Recital

 

(Left to right) Mother, Gift, Gun, Gam, Father

Goethe-Institut Auditorium.  Bangkok, Thailand.  July 9, 2013.  There are some evenings that give old fogies like me a warm feeling and a belief that there are some things right with the world.  For that kind of experience, I have to turn to younger generations: my contemporaries tend to be as jaded and cynical as am I.  I first heard the three Chaikittiwatana siblings play the piano about three years ago and was much impressed.  Since then, Gun and Gam, who are twins age 15, and Gift, age 19, have continued their piano studies to great effect.  As most people appreciate, talent, which all three have in abundance, is only part of the picture; hard work and total dedication are the additional required ingredients.  While there are a few exceptions, almost all successful pianists started at a very early age and never stopped, thereby giving up, at least to some extent, what some would consider a “normal childhood.” 

Gift and Gun are music scholarship students at one of Bangkok’s leading international high schools, and Gam has just completed her freshman year at Itacha College School of Music in New York.  All have won prizes, and their talent and potential have been recognized (who could miss it!).  Gun has entered the Thailand International Piano Competition which is being held this month at Mahidol, and I expect him to do very well.

Gift’s, Gam’s and Gun’s recital program, with each playing several works, was a long one, but the evening flew by.  What all three have in common are beautiful musicality and fluid and clear techniques.  Their absorption and immersion in what they were playing was visually evident by their concentration, but it all came out as beautiful music.

I don’t know if talent like this is inherited or not, but Gif’s, Gam’s and Gun’s parents were present, and all I could think of was:  I hope they have more children.