A Day in the Life (12)

I'm done with school forever!!!!  I am officially a Master of Music. That's right. A MASTER. I'm one badass pro musician.  (Haha jk, totally going to have to eat ramen noodles as a staple diet food)  I can't believe it's finally all over! ...ok mostly I just haven't really let it sink in yet.  Then it will sink in and I will realize how much it's going to suck not having government loans to help out anymore haha!  But I'm enjoying myself for the moment...lots of tv, pokemon, and books in the park. (And by books I mean fanfic because for some reason I have no interest in reading. I haven't read a book in two weeks!)  Other than spending all last night playing Pathfinder and Galaxy Trucker with friends, I have done nothing of note this week haha.  But the good news is that I finally got my videos all uploaded to youtube!  So for your viewing pleasure....some Bach!

First I've just uploaded a little explanation of my program (I'll post the whole program below).  It also gives a little explanation of what I had to think about for the arrangement I did myself (the Bach).  It's just me awkwardly talking so feel free to skip it haha!

And here's my arrangement of the first movement of the Bach. This piece is completely solo, but if you want to hear something really pretty with piano accompaniment, I direct you to the Ravel.  If you're looking for something really flashy, then check out the Bozza!

Program

Three Folk Songs From Country Csìk by Bela Bartók - This was originally written for recorder and piano, and is a collection of three songs Bartók heard in Czech Republic.

Fantaisie Italienne by Eugéne Bozza - This was originally written for clarinet and piano, and is supposed to be Italian...ish. If you're looking to listen to something flashy, this is definitely the piece to check out.

Escales by Jacques Ibert - One of the only pieces that isn't an arrangement from another instrument, but it is originally supposed to be performed with orchestra. I've posted it in the original form before, but here's a link to a different recording!

Violin Partita No. 1 in b minor by J.S. Bach (posted below) - Obviously this was originally written for violin! I arranged the piece myself to fit the range and ability of the oboe (although it very closely follows the original). I performed 5 movements of the piece, so if you want to hear the rest of them, just check out my youtube channel!

Sonatine by Maurice Ravel - This was originally written for piano, and is just a really beautiful piece. Ravel is one of my favourite composers, and this genre of Classical music is definitely my favourite! I actually considered using this video instead of the Bach, but I figured everyone loves Bach. But if you check out another video, I'd recommend this because it's just so pretty!  Again, there are three movements, so the link is only to the first one.

Phantasy Quartet by Benjamin Britten - Can you believe this is only the second piece he wrote?! He wrote this when he was 19! Makes me feel like such an underachiever haha. This is one of the coolest chamber pieces that I know of (and chamber music is my thing so I know a lot of chamber music). I wish I had another recording of this because the recording really didn't pick up the cello sound, and as this was the last piece on my recital I had a ton of slip ups that have never happened before. But we didn't record our other performance, so such is life :-/

And that's it! That's my entire very long program. It was a ton of fun, but I am so very glad it is over now haha.  And with that, I'm going to devote my full attention to the Avatar: The Last Airbender Marathon that's on right now.  Babysitting for people with tv is just fantastic :)

Bookish news

The Tough Guide to (Writing) Fantasyland - An entertaining look at inconsistencies in fantasy 

Anish Majumdar for MHAM - A (heartbreaking) discussion with authour Anish Majumdar about dealing with mental health in family

An Almost-Angry-But-Decidedly-Positive Post on YA Lit, Fantasy, and Comics! - Both a rebuttal to the Slate article and a look at some awesome comics (And why you might like them)

Crazy-awesome THRONE OF GLASS News & Some Updates! - OH MY GOD TAMORA PIERCE SARAH J. MAAS a;sldkfja;lskdjf *flails**turns into a blubbering fangirl*

Reading Rainbow Kickstarter Breaks $1 Million In A Day, LeVar Burton Breaks Down In Tears  - *cheers**sniffles*

The Thief Lord, Childhood, and Adults - It's been a long time since I'ver read this, and you don't need to have read The Thief Lord to understand this post. Thought provoking - well worth checking out!

The Story Behind "Love You Forever" Is Probably Not What You Thought - Oh man. You're right - this is WAY sadder than I thought it was!

As Publishers Fight Amazon, Books Vanish - I am horrified by this and apprehensive as to what it means for the future on a lot of fronts (granted, this is a couple weeks old so I'm not sure how much has changed since this was published).  Amazon has been worrying me for a while, but now it's really moved into my territory. I'm doing my very best to stop buying anything from Amazon.  Boo cat food prices in my future :(

If Pop Songs Were Works Of Fiction - Ahahah these are great! The Rebecca Black "Friday" song one is suuuuuper creepy. And R. Kelly's "Ignition Remix" is just beautiful.

Slate Article

The Slate Article: A Rebuttal - The girls at The Book Wars discuss their views on the article (and if you've read anything by them, you know just how well thought their writing is)

I Defy People to Not Be Impressed by Books for Young Readers - Christina knows the Slate article is both nothing new and an uneducated view of YA Lit. Want some books to convince the nonbelievers? She's got examples from all genres and age groups!

Thoughts on "Yes, Adults Should Be Embarrassed to Read Young Adult Books" - Some really interesting thoughts on the matter

Nonbookish news

Why Geeks Do What Geeks Do - This is a really exceptional article, I highly recommend it. It discusses recent tragedies and explores what it means to be human. 
Fictional Symbols on Political Stages: Thailand Protestors Adopt Hunger Games Salute - Thailand and other movements who have adapted fictional symbols 
Which YA Fantasy Heroine Archetype Are You? - I'm The Political/Religious Pawn!