October 27th, 2009

Looking forward to performing the Shostakovich No. 1 with the Kamloops Symphony.

It's been a busy year what with getting married last summer and having a baby this spring! Practising with a baby in tow requires lots of discipline, but it is also invigorating. To be back to practicing and performing makes me feel whole again, and what better piece to do it with than the energetic Shostakovich!! Baby Mercutio squeals with laughter when I do a run-through of the 4th movement for him.

Love it, love it, love it - although not sure this was the reaction the composer expected!

The annual London Open House event is something we look forward to every year. With the rising interest in eco homes, we love showing the public our version of "eco". This year however, we decided to take a break, and visit some houses around London with baby Mercutio in a sling. It was lots of fun seeing some fabulous, imaginative houses that reflect the personalities of the owners. I stumbled upon the BBC interview we did for Open House 2 years ago, with me playing Grieg on the piano. I wonder how long they will keep it online?

An expert in a baby magazine claims that children don't hear music, but only the bass beats. What a load of *&^%! Seeing how well Mercutio responds to my piano playing from an early age, I'm sure he knows the difference between tones and pitches, and is not only listening to the beats! Babies have an amazing ability to hear different pitches. Heck, studies have shown that babies already develop a preference for the tones of their mother tongue by the age of 6 months. What is language but the lilting rhythms and pitches of sound? I've started a singing group for the mummy-baby friends in the neighbourhood. Being a multicultural bunch, we are learning lots of nursery rhymes and songs from all over the world. My favourite is singing Frere Jacques in French, English, Polish, Chinese, German, and Spanish. Mercutio's favourite though, is the "Wheels on the Bus" (probably because it has a verse that goes: The Babies on the Bus says Wah Wah Wah)

My little Green House!! ... well, more brown, really....
Italian journalist Francesca Zardini recently interviewed me about my eco-house and my views on the environment. It's just been published in the newspaper Affari Italiani . Since my Italian is rudimentary, it was a great relief to see the interview also published in English: Opera Review.

I have just been asked to perform in a fundraising concert for the earthquake in Sichuan. My grandfather was from Sichuan, but after the War, settled in the north where my grandmother is from. I have been glued to news reports of the rescue and relief efforts (as have most of the Chinese diaspora around the world). Although I am not a doctor or an engineer, I am happy that I can use my art to help the victims of the disaster.

Oops, have I just admitted to the fact that I like Bryan Adams!?!

The other day, I attended Byran Adams's concert at St. James’s Piccadilly. This tour was billed as 7 concerts in 7 unusual places. During the concert, he told the audience he’s never played in a church before. Ironically, this is a well-known venue with a busy classical music calendar. (I love playing there, and the new 9-foot Fazioli grand is gorgeous!)

Tomorrow night however, there’s going to be a role-reversal. I’m about to have my first experience playing in a pub. How exciting!

As Moray, who set up the Pub Classics series describes it, this is a wonderful way to reach out to different audiences. What a great idea! From my research into late 18th Century England, London experienced a “rage for music?where music was performed and enjoyed by every strata of society, and music making (the classical stuff) happened in pubs, social clubs, living rooms, everywhere! So, in a way, it’s as if I’m re-enacting a 1790s pub scene.

What shall I wear? Something cool and sassy maybe?