Quarantine Playlist #1

Hope everyone is safe and sound. It’s been very challenging to find and maintain inspiration during the self-isolation. I am trying the best to keep myself inspired. I have been listening to orchestral/instrumental masterpieces and discovering repertoire unfamiliar to me. These are the albums that I have listened to for past two weeks. Unlike other playlist posts I’ve decided to add my experience to each album.

Unknown (to me) repertoire by students of J. S. Bach. Through this album I have been discovering so many hidden charms of during/post- Bach period. I found this album while specifically looking for recordings of the Müthel Sonata. I came across the sheet music of it, and looked quite similar to the writing of C. P. E. Bach, so I was quite intrigued to find out how it sounds.

My teacher from undergraduate, Michel Debost had us learn obbligato flute parts from Bach Cantatas every week. The flute parts are both musically and technically demanding yet fulfilling. During the quarantine, I’ve decided to re-visit them and practice the ones I didn’t learn years ago. My goal is not to play these like a set of etudes. You will be surprised how difficult these obbligato parts are.

My curiosity from Bach’s cantatas led me here. There are lots of important flute passages in the Passions and the Mass. I find that these masterpieces are some of the greatest achievements in human history, and they never get old.

After hearing the Berlin Philharmonic playing the St. Matthew Passion live twice, I started building obsession to the piece. To be honest with you, however, I can’t listen to the entire piece in one sitting. But that doesn’t mean this is not a masterpiece!

Berlin Philharmonic + Rattle has been my all-time favorite. Mitsuko Uchida happens to be one of my musical idols. … and here we go.

Many years ago, my Music Theory teachers from undergraduate recommended that I should listen to Helmut Lachenmann. I forgot about the suggestion for many years. Then I was organizing my CD collections the other day, and found this album. I definitely need a score to have a better understanding. I am not going to lie. I need some time to understand this better.

More specifically Stravinsky’s Petrouchka. I’ve played it in concerts, I’ve played it in auditions, I’ve heard it in concerts. But I couldn’t recall the last time I sat in front of a stereo and listened to this piece. Every time I listen to great performances of Stravinsky’s music, I am always reminded why I want to be a musician. I want to tell stories, not just playing the notes.

Can this lead me into a Stravinsky pilgrimage?

Mostly this curiosity started from the famous flute solo of the 8th symphony. I find that it is rather challenging to perform the music of Dvorak. Is it because Dvorak’s music is from a culture that is quite unknown to me? There’s more to it. As a flutist, I have very limited experience of playing Dvorak’s music. So far I’ve played the Slavonic Dances, and various arrangements of the Violin Sonatine. So this curiosity starts from the well-known symphonies by Dvorak, and it will spread out to lesser known symphonies and chamber repertoire. What makes the music of Dvorak so special / unique / original?

Stay safe and be well.

Beomjae.

Searching for a New Style?

1.1:

I have painted for a while, exclusively on framed canvas or muslin. I have been neglecting to paint recently for multiple reasons. The main big reason would be lack of space to produce art. I had produced rather space-taking artworks in the past, and my studio cannot simply manage it well  especially when drying the paintings.

On a side note, one accident happened last winter. I set one of my oil paintings on the side to slowly dry. I accidentally knocked over a wine glass, and the glass was completely destroyed. The tiny glass parts scattered all over my studio. I picked up all the parts on the floor. But a month later I discovered small glass pieces on my painting (which gives a little character to the painting in my opinion.)

1.2:

There are many other reasons, but lack of space is one of the reasons I stopped painting larger scale works.

2.1:

I received a handful of suggestions from many artists. They all recommended me to create something less permanent, more likely something destroyable. 

I asked … What do you mean by Something Destroyable?

An artwork that is not on framed fabric, an artwork that is on a sheet of paper, an artwork that is easy to store and throw away, or that doesn't take a lot of space to store, an artwork that I don’t feel emotionally attached to.

2.2:

The idea of an artwork from which I can easily look away sounded so appealing. I tend to fix my artworks over time, and sometimes I look for my old paintings to fix. As a matter of fact, I recently fixed a painting from 2015. 

3.1:

Anyway, I sorta have a principle, "Once it's over, it's over.” I could apply that principle to my art producing process. (cf. No refunds or exchanges, all sales final.)

4.1:

I am very much looking forward to working with new mediums and materials to paint on. Of course, I can go back to larger scale oil paintings within a year or two, but this very period of searching for new ways certainly is an exciting part of journey as a visual artist. 

New Work Announcement (commissioned in 2018)

Announcement: I was recently commissioned to create a new artwork for a private collection. I am planning to produce a set of 6 to 9 panels of paintings. 

Watercolors on 6X6 sheets of paper.