Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. It's a very windy day. It's getting cooler hour by hour. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a dish of Japanese-Western meal for dinner. Put some covers over the outside faucets of my house in order to avoid any break in the pipes due to the forecasted freezing temperature tomorrow morning.
The following letter was sent to Coldwell Banker today:
To: Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC
My real property at 12720 Twisted Briar Ln. Austin, TX 78729 isn't on the market currently. However, some websites including Yahoo.com and Zillow.com are still showing my real property with the status of either "For Sale" or "Active". Could you put all the listings of my house out of sight?
Regards,
Yasuhito Shiho
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Today's lowest temperature is 12 degrees F (-11.1 degrees C). The power supply was cut off several times due to the blackouts over a large area in Texas for unknown causes this morning. Got up at seven-thirty in the morning. This morning, the gas heating in the fireplace warmed up the living room of our house, instead of the air conditioner that electrically circulates the temperature-adjusted air through the house. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and a Japanese one-pot meal for dinner.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Today's lowest temperature is 18 degrees F (-7.8 degrees C). Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. A wave of cold weather hitting the US for the last two days didn't cause any break in the pipes of our house because of some covers put over the outside faucets. Providing is preventing. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a Japanese meal for dinner.
Friday, February 4, 2011
It's been snowing since last night. Today's lowest temperature is 22 degrees F (-5.6 degrees C). Got up at eight-fifteen in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and pieces of Central Market pizza for dinner.
--- According to a NASA’s website found at
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html, "NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has returned its first imagery of the Apollo moon landing sites". "The pictures show the Apollo missions' lunar module descent stages sitting on the moon's surface, as long shadows from a low sun angle make the modules' locations evident". ---
This NASA website shows some photo images captured by the use of the satellite equipped with some high-resolution (?) cameras between July 11 and 15, 2009. The captions of these photo images indicate that some bright spots with the very blurred outline are the Lunar Modules and the adjacent dark lines are their shadows. The well-known US flag can't be recognized on any photo image. For some reason, these images remind me of the old images of the Loch Mess Monster because of their blurredness probably.
The image of an object on the Moon taken by the use of a satellite orbiting around the Moon should be much clearer than that of the same object on the Earth taken by a satellite orbiting around the Earth because of the very low density of the Moon's atmosphere. A satellite orbiting around the Earth is capable of recognizing either a vehicle or a person on the Earth though there exists its dense atmosphere. Therefore, there should be no technical difficulty. Sooner or later, very clear images of the US flag and the Lunar Modules left on the surface of the Moon may be captured with a better satellite camera, and be released.
PS. According to other websites, even the Hubble Space Telescope doesn't have a high enough resolution to observe an image of the Stars and Stripes on the Moon, disappointingly.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Got up at eight forty-five in the morning. It's getting warmer and warmer. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a Japanese meal for dinner. Stayed at home for the entire day.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Got up at nine-thirty in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch. Went out shopping at grocery stores this afternoon. Ate a dish of Italian pasta for dinner.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and a Japanese meal for dinner. Backup copies of my wife's and my computer files to DVDs were made this evening.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a dish of Italian pasta for dinner.
Although five days ago a local agent of Coldwell Banker Real Estate gave his untrustworthy word that he would let their I.T. Department know my request, some websites including Yahoo.com and Zillow.com are still showing my real property with the status of either "For Sale" or "Active". Inevitably or coincidently, both Yahoo.com and Zillow.com are under Microsoft's umbrella. It seems that the said people have been operating behind the scenes, for instance by accosting some US companies in an ingratiating manner sometimes.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Put some covers over the outside faucets of my house. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and a Japanese one-pot meal for dinner. Today's lowest temperature is 20 degrees F (-6.7 degrees C).
The following letter was sent to Coldwell Banker today:
To: Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC
Twenty-four days have already passed since I requested a real estate agent of Coldwell Banker to put the listing of my real property out of sight on the Internet. Although you probably let your I.T. Department know of my request six days ago, some websites including Yahoo.com and Zillow.com are still showing my real property with the status of either "For Sale" or "Active". Would you let your I.T. Department know my request again?
Regards,
Yasuhito Shiho
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Today's lowest temperature is 20 degrees F (-6.7 degrees C). Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a dish of Italian pasta for dinner. Kept some music libraries on our computers in order.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and pieces of Archer Farms' pizza for dinner. Kept some music libraries on our computers in order.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Got up at ten-thirty in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a Japanese meal for dinner. Completed sorting out my music libraries.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Got up at nine-thirty in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch. Went out shopping at a grocery store this afternoon. Ate a Japanese-Western meal for dinner.
"This is an interesting topic found in the BBC online news today". The following is my comment on it:
Judging from the way things are, China will also overtake the US in GDP because the population of China is 3.5 to 4.0 times larger than that of the US. It's just a matter of time.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and a dish of Italian pasta for dinner.
Last night, over the telephone, one of my close relatives briefly told me about a cult religious group that caused disturbances by terrorist incidents in Japan in the middle of the 1990s. A cult religious group still continues to exist. It goes without saying that my wife and I have nothing to do with any cult group.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a Japanese meal for dinner.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup and a dish of Italian pasta for dinner.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a Japanese meal for dinner.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and pieces of Central Market pizza for dinner.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Got up at nine o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a dish of Italian pasta for dinner. Stayed at home for the entire day.
Have appreciated a thirty-CD boxed set of classical music for the last week, after a long silence. There is something impressive about each piece of music listed below:
1. Debussy, Prelude, #8
2. Borodin, Prince Igor (Opera), Polovtsian Dances
3. Rachmaninov, Rhapsody on A Theme of Paganini
4. Beethoven, Piano Sonata #14, Moonlight
5. Chopin, Etudes, Op. 10 #3 (Chanson de l'adieu)
6. Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto #2
7. Ravel, Bolero
8. Bach, Brandenburg Concerto #2 & 5
9. Bach, Harpsichord Concerto in F Minor
10. Brahms, 4 Pieces for Piano Op. 119-4, Rhapsodie
11. Liszt, Nocturne #3, Liebestraume
12. Chopin, Waltz #7 in C Sharp Minor Op. 64 #2
13. Vivaldi, Concerto for Four Violins in D Major RV549
14. Beethoven, Overture, Egmont, Op. 84
15. Saint-Saens, Piano Concerto #2 in G Minor Op. 22, Allegro
16. Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto #1 in B Flat Minor, Op. 23
17. Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35
18. Vivaldi, Oboe Concerto in A Minor
19. Bach, Double Violin Concerto in D Minor, BWV1043, Vivace
20. Schumann, The Symphony #1 in B Flat, Op.38, "Spring"
21. Mozart, Piano Concerto #17 in G, K453
22. Haydn, Symphony in B, H.I #46
23. Gmpssoemmes, #1, Lent
24. Faure, Pelleas et Melisande
25. Mozart, Symphony #41 in G, K551, Jupiter
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Got up at nine-fifteen in the morning. Ate a bowl of lunch, and for lunch. Went out shopping at grocery stores this evening. Ate a BBQ meal for dinner.
The following list shows the CDs of classical music and the DVDs of operas and musicals to buy. For the purpose of evaluating old works of classical music, both the original recording method (e.g. mono, stereo, multiplex channels) and the remastering method using modern technologies to improve the sound quality should be checked, in addition to the interpretation of a conductor and the performances of artists. The best time to buy the DVD may be when its high-definition version is released:
[The CDs of Classical Music]
1. Trevor Pinnock, Antonio Vivaldi, Vivaldi Concertos, Archiv/Deutsche Grammophon (Baroque)
2. I Musici, Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, Philips (Baroque)
3. Trevor Pinnock, Johann Sebastian Bach, 6 Brandenburg Concertos, Archiv Produktion (Baroque)
4. Trevor Pinnock, Johann Sebastian Bach, Harpsichord Concertos, Archiv Produktion (Baroque)
5. Sviatoslav Richter, Johann Sebastian Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier (1970-73), RCA Victor Europe (Baroque)
6. Emerson String Quartet, Johann Sebastian Bach, Art of The Fugue, Deutsche Grammophon (Baroque)
7. Christopher Hogwood, George Frideric Handel, Handel: Water Music, The Music for the Royal Fireworks, The Alchymist, Three concerti a due cori, Two arias for wind band [Original recording remastered], Decca (Baroque)
8. Trevor Pinnock, Franz Jeseph Haydn, The "Sturm und Drang" Symphonies, Archiv Produktion (Classical)
9. Trevor Pinnock, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Complete Mozart Symphonies (1993-95), Archiv Produktion (Classical)
10. Vladimir Ashkenazy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Piano Concertos, Decca (Classical)
11. Christoph Eschenbach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Sonatas, Deutsche Grammophon (Classical)
12. James Levine, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 5 Violin Concertos, Deutsche Grammophon (Classical)
13. Daniel Barenboim, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Violin Sonatas, Deutsche Grammophon (Classical)
14. Alban Berg Quartet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quartets Nos. 14-23, Warner Music France (Classical)
15. Karl Böhm, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Magic Flute, Deutsche Grammophon (Classical)
16. Herbert von Karajan, Ludwig van Beethoven, 9 Symphonies [Original recording (1963) reissued], Deutsche Grammophon (Classical)
17. Wilhelm Kempff, Ludwig van Beethoven, Complete Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-32, Deutsche Grammophon (Classical)
18. Itzhak Perlman, Ludwig van Beethoven, The Violin Sonatas, Decca (Classical)
19. Krystian Zimerman, Ludwig van Beethoven, The Piano Concertos, Deutsche Grammophon (Classical)
20. Edwin Fischer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5; Piano Sonatas Nos. 8 & 23 [Original recording (1951) remastered], EMI (Classical)
21. Amadeus Quartet, Ludwig van Beethoven, The String Quartets, Deutsche Grammophon (Classical)
22. Wilhelm Kempff, Ludwig van Beethoven, The Music for Cello and Piano, Deutsche Grammophon (Classical)
23. Herbert von Karajan, Ludwig van Beethoven, Egmont, Deutsche Grammophon Import (Classical)
24. Salvatore Accardo, Niccolo Paganini, Complete Recordings, Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
25. Wilhelm Furtwängler, Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Hybrid SACD), Tahra France (Classical)
26. Karl Böhm, Franz Schubert, Schubert: 8 Symphonies, Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
27. Riccardo Muti, Hector Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, EMI Classics (Romantic)
28. Seiji Ozawa, Felix Mendelssohn, Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream (complete), Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
29. Artur Rubinstein, Frederic Chopin, The Chopin Collection, RCA Victor Europe (Romantic/Nationalist)
30. Maurizio Pollini, Frederic Chopin, Etudes, Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
31. Leonard Bernstein, Robert Schumann, The 4 Symphonies (1984-85), Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
32. Vladimir Ashkenazy, Robert Schumann, Works for Solo Piano, Decca (Romantic)
33. Sviatoslav Richter, Robert Schumann, Piano Concetro, Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
34. Jorge Bolet, Franz Liszt, Favourite Piano Works, Decca (Romantic)
35. Sviatoslav Richter, Franz Liszt, The Two Piano Concertos; The Piano Sonata, Philips (Romantic)
36. Leonard Bernstein, Franz Liszt, Faust-Symphony, Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
37. Claudio Arrau, Franz Liszt, Liszt: The Complete Etudes, Philips (Romantic)
38. Herbert von Karajan, Johann Strauss, The Best of Vienna, Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
39. Otto Klemperer, Johanness Brahms, EMI Great Recordings of Century - Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4/Klemperer [Original recording (the 1960s) remastered], EMI (Romantic)
40. Emil Gilels, Johanness Brahms,Concertos for Piano No. 1 & 2, Fantasia Op. 116, Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
41. Isaac Stern & Leonard Rose, Johanness Brahms, Violin Concerto; Double Concerto for violin and cello, Sony (Romantic)
42. Fritz Reiner, Johanness Brahms, Violin Concerto; Double Concerto [Original recording remastered], RCA (Romantic)
43. Julius Katchen, Johannes Brahms, Works for Solo Piano, Decca (Romantic)
44. Herbert von Karajan & George Szell, Ludwig van Beethoven & Johanness Brahms, Great Recordings Of The Century - Beethoven: Triple Concerto/Brahms: Double Concerto [Original recording reissued & remastered], EMI (Classical & Romantic)
45. Borodin Quartet, Alexander Borodin, Protr Il'yich Tchaikovsky & Sergey Rachmaninov, Borodin Quartet 60th Anniversary, Onyx Classics UK (Romantic/Nationalist)
46. Charles Dutoit, Camille Saint-Saens, Piano Concertos 1-5, Decca (Neoromanticism)
47. Charles Dutoit, Camille Saint-Saens, Danse Macabre, Decca (Neoromanticism)
48. Charles Dutoit, Camille Saint-Saens, Carnival of the Animals, Decca (Neoromanticism)
49. Herbert von Karajan, Camille Saint-Saens, Organ Symphony, (Neoromanticism)
50. Leonard Bernstein, Georges Bizet, Carmen & L'Arlesienne Suites, Sony, (Romantic)
51. Herbert von Karajan, Petr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Conducts Tchaikovsky, Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
52. Arthur Rubinstein, Maurice Ravel, Protr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Artur Rubinstein Collection Vol.25 [Original Recording Remastered], RCA (Romantic)
53. Rafael Kubelik, Antonin Dvorak, Dvorak: The Nine Symphonies, Deutsche Grammophon (Romantic)
54. Paavo Järvi, Edvard Hagerup Grieg, Grieg: Peer Gynt, Virgin Classics (Romantic)
55. George Szell, Dodest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov & Alexander Borodin, Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition/Rimsky-Korsakov/Borodin/Lyadov ~ Szell [Original recording remastered], Sony (Romantic/Nationalist)
56. Seiji Ozawa, Gabriel Faure, Pelleas et Melisande, Dolly, Apres un Reve, Pavane, Elegie, Deutsche Grammophon (Neoromanticism)
57. Various, Gustav Mahler, Mahler: The Complete Works - 150th Anniversary Box, EMI (Neoromanticism)
58. Alexis Weissenberg, Claude Debussy, Piano Works, Deutsche Grammophon (Neoromantic/Impressionistic)
59. Pierre Boulez, Claude Debussy, Orchestral Works, Sony (Neoromanticism/Impressionistic)
60. Pascal Roge, Erik Satie, 3 Gymnopedies and Other Piano Works [Original Recording Remastered], Decca (Neoclassicism)
61. Fritz Reiner, Richard Strauss, Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra; Ein Heldenleben [Hybrid SACD], RCA (Neoromanticism)
62. Klara Kormendi & Gabor Eckhardt, Erik Satie, Piano Works, Vol. 4, Naxos (Neoclassicism)
63. Hamish Milne, Ferruccio Busoni, Fantasia Contrappuntistica, Hyperion UK (Neoclassicism)
64. Sergey Rachmaninoff, Sergey Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Complete Recordings, RCA (Neoromanticism)
65. Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sergey Rachmaninoff, The Piano Concertos, Decca (Neoromanticism)
66. Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sergey Rachmaninoff, The Symphonies, Decca (Neoromanticism)
67. Sviatoslav Richter, Sergey Rachmaninoff & Protr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2; Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, Deutsche Grammophon (Romanticism/Neoromanticism)
68. Van Cliburn, Sergey Rachmaninoff & Protr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 [Hybrid SACD], RCA (Neoromanticism)
69. Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Various, Ravel: Piano Concerto in G; Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 4 [Original recording remastered], EMI (Romantic/Neoromanticism)
70. Arnold Schoenberg, Arnold Schoenberg, Die Glückliche Hand · Variations for Orchestra, Op.31 · Verklärte Nacht, Sony (Neoromanticism)
71. Vladimir Horowitz, Various, Horowitz: Legendary RCA Recordings, RCA (Various)
72. Arnold Schoenberg, Arnold Schoenberg, Suite, Op. 29, for 2 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello & Piano/Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (Sextet for 2 Violins, 2 Violas & 2 Celli), Sony (Neoromanticism)
73. Pierre Boule, Arnold Schoenberg, Die Jakobsleiter; Chamber Symphony No. 1; Begleitmusik Zu Einer Lichtspielszene, Sony (Neoromanticism)
74. Pierre Boule, Arnold Schoenberg, Pelleas und Melisande, Wea Apex Classics UK (Neoromanticism)
75. Arnold Schoenberg, Arnold Schoenberg, Pierrot lunaire - Lied der Waldtaube - Erwartung/Minton, Sony (Atonalism)
76. Pierre Boulez, Arnold Schoenberg, Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra, Sony (Atonalism)
77. Robert Craft, Arnold Schoenberg, Violin Concerto; A Survivor from Warsaw, Naxos (Serialism)
78. Arnold Schoenberg, Arnold Schoenberg, Piano Concerto, Philips (Serialism)
79. Pierre Boulez, Maurice Ravel, Bolero [Hybrid SACD], Deutsche Grammophon (Neoclassicism/Impressionistic)
80. Pierre Boulez, Maurice Ravel, Daphnis et Chloé/La Valse, Deutsche Grammophon (Neoclassicism/Impressionistic)
81. Walter Gieseking, Maurice Ravel, The Complete Works for Solo Piano [Original recording remastered], EMI (Neoclassicism/Impressionistic)
82. Emerson String Quartet, Claude Debussy & Maurice Ravel, Streichquartette (Neoclassicism/Impressionistic)
83. Igor Stravinsky, Igor Stravinsky, Works of Igor Stravinsky [Box set, Import], Sony/CBS (Neoclassicism/Serialism)
84. Pierre Boulez, Anton von Webern, Complete Webern [Box Set], Deutsche Grammophon (Neoromanticism/Atonalism/Serialism)
85. Claudio Abbado, James Levine & Pierre Boulez, Alban Berg, Alban Berg Collection/Various (Coll), Deutsche Grammophon (Neoromanticism/Atonalism/Serialism)
86. Lorin Maazel, Sergey Prokofiev, Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Decca (Neoromanticism)
87. Paul Hindemith, Paul Hindemith, Hindemith Conducts Hindemith, Deutsche Grammophon (Neoclassicism)
88. Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, etc, Sony (Neoromanticism)
89. Marin Alsop, Aaron Copland, Dance Symphony; Symphony No. 1; Short Symphony, Naxos (Neoclassicism)
90. Aaron Copland, Aaron Copland, Piano Concerto - The Tender Land (Suite); Old American Songs, Naxos (Neoclassicism)
91. Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, El Salon Mexico/Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra/Music for the Theatre/Connotations for Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon (Neoclassicism)
92. Bernard Haitink, Dmitry Shostakovich, The Complete Symphonies, Decca (Neoclassicism)
93. Emerson String Quartet, Dmitry Shostakovich, The String Quartets, Deutsche Grammophon (Neoclassicism)
94. Olivier Messiaen, Olivier Messiaen, Quartet for the End of Time, RCA (Mysticism/Serialism)
95. Hakon Austbo, Olivier Messiaen, Petites esquisses d'oiseaux/Catalogue d'oiseaux, Naxos (Mysticism/Serialism)
96. Olivier Messiaen, Olivier Messiaen, par lui-même, EMI (Mysticism/Serialism)
97. Original Broadway Cast, Leonard Bernstein, West Side Story [Cast Recording, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered], Sony (Pops)
98. Pierre Boulez, Pierre Boulez, Boulez conducts Boulez, Deutsche Grammophon (Total Serialism)
99. Pierre Boulez, Pierre Boulez, Pli selon Pli/Le Visage Nuptial/Notations/Sonatine/Sonate/Boulez/Barenboim, Warner Classics UK (Total Serialism)
100. John Williams, John Williams, By Request: The Best of John Williams and The Boston Pops Orchestra, Philips (Pops)
[The Opera DVDs]
1. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Claudio Monteverdi, Monteverdi - L'Orfeo, L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria (Boxset) (2007), Deutsche Grammophon (Italian)
2. Pierre Audi, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Castor et Pollux, KULTUR VIDEO (French)
3. Raymond Leppard, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Orfeo ed Euridice, Kultur Video (German)
4. Brian Large, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Alceste, Image Entertainment (German)
5. Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart - Don Giovanni/Furtwängler (1954), Deutsche Grammophon (Austrian)
6. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Le Nozze di Figaro, Deutsche Grammophon (Austrian)
7. Leonard Bernstein, Ludwig van Beethoven, Fidelio, Deutsche Grammophon (German)
8. Liliana Cavani & Lorin Maazel, Giuseppe Verdi, La Traviata, Arthaus Musik (Italian)
9. James Levine, Giuseppe Verdi, Aida, Deutsche Grammophon (Italian)
10. James Levine, Giuseppe Verdi, Otello, Deutsche Grammophon (Italian)
11. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto, Deutsche Grammophon (Italian)
12. Herbert von Karajan, Giuseppe Verdi, Don Carlo, Sony (Italian)
13. Herbert von Karajan, Giuseppe Verdi, Il Trovatore, TDK (Italian)
14. Riccardo Muti, Giuseppe Verdi, Falstaff, Euroarts (Italian)
15. Metropolitan Opera, Camille Saint-Saens, Samson et Dalila, Deutsche Grammophon (French)
16. Metropolitan Opera, Petr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin, Decca (Russian)
17. Metropolitan Opera, Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Deutsche Grammophon (Austrian)
18. Metropolitan Opera, Richard Wagner, Parsifal, Deutsche Grammophon (Austrian)
19. Bayreuth Opera, Richard Wagner, Lohengrin, Deutsche Grammophon (Austrian)
20. Glyndebourne Opera, Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, BBC/Opus Arte (Austrian)
21. Bayreuth Opera, Richard Wagner, Tannhauser, Deutsche Grammophon (Austrian)
22. Kirov Opera, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sadko (2006), Philips (Russian)
23. James Levine, Giacomo Puccini, Tosca, Deutsche Grammophon (Italian)
24. Riccardo Muti, Giacomo Puccini, Manon Lescaut, Tdk DVD Video (Italian)
25. Pierre Boulez, Claude Debussy, Pelleas et Melisande, Deutsche Grammophon (French)
26. Zurich Opera House, Ferruccio Busoni, Doktor Faust, Arthaus Musik (Italian)
27. Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Maurice Ravel, L'Heure espagnole, KULTUR VIDEO (French)
28. The Netherlands Opera, Olivier Messiaen, Saint Francois d'Assise, BBC/Opus Arte (French)
[The Musical DVDs]
1. James Lapine, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast) (1996), Image Entertainment (Broadway)
2. Terry Hughes, Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George (1986), Image Entertainment (Broadway)
3. James Lapine, Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods (1991), Image Entertainment (Broadway)
4. David Mallet, Andrew Lloyd, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (2000), Universal Studios (London)
5. Gale Edwards, Andrew Lloyd, Jesus Christ Superstar (2001), Universal Studios (London)
6. David Mallet, Andrew Lloyd, Cats - The Musical (Commemorative Edition) (1998), Universal Studios (London)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and a Japanese one-pot meal for dinner.
So far, my favorite pieces of classical and romantic music are Bach's Brandenburg Concertos #2 in F BWV1047 and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concertos #1 in B Flat Minor Op. 23 and Violin Concertos in D Op.35. My wife's favorite pieces of music are Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos #2 in C Minor Op.18.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a dish of Italian pasta for dinner.
It's no exaggeration to say that the most major contribution of Japan to the music world is Karaoke. It's very popular internationally, isn't it?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and a Japanese meal for dinner.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a dish of Italian pasta for dinner.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and pieces of Central Market pizza for dinner.
"This is an interesting topic found in the Science Magazine online news today". The following are my comments on it:
This topic reminded me of the Arthurian legend. The majority of physicists believe the existence of the so-called Cold Dark Matter, which has been postulated to exist in space since the 1930s but has never been found experimentally. It sounds like astronomers and cosmologists have been questing for the Holy Grail throughout the whole universe. However, a small minority of physicists still don't believe in the existence of the Dark Matter. According to this topic, some scientists still believe that other theories such as Modified Newtonian Dynamics might deny the existence of Dark Matter, just like the existence of Ether, which the Special Theory of Relativity completely denied in the early 20th century. These attempts shouldn't be criticized because Dark Matter has never been detected with any measuring device, so far. Scientists in one of these small minority sides are also given a very difficult mission to prove their proposed theory, for instance by directly measuring MOND on earth. It also sounds like the quest of the Holy Grail. Indeed, both quests have a difficulty to observe a very weak gravitational interaction due to the existence of many sources of stronger gravitational noises around. A primary object of concern on this matter will continue to rely mainly on the quests for their indirect evidence obtained by astronomical observations.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Got up at eight-fifteen in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch, and a Japanese meal for dinner. Stayed at home for the entire day.
In the Classical period of Western music following the Baroque period, the basic elements of music had been mostly established. During the period of Romantic music developed mainly in the 19th century, some composers had continued to advance the formalism of music but others had started pursuing the principle of art for art's sake by bringing in individually or ethically emotional essences, in some cases from folk songs, and had attempted to free themselves from the classical formalism. Following the Romantic period, in the modern period, popular music has been overpowering every other music by force of its popularity and commercial success, as ever seen. During this period of time, some romantic composers continued to advance their art for art's sake and others introduced some elements of jazz and popular music into their musical compositions. Some composers who were afterward classified as Neoclassical insisted on the importance of objective and strict formalism in music composition. Some avant-garde composers have groped for new composing styles such as the serial technique, music concrete, computer music, etc, and have adopted them experimentally.
It's my belief that electric (computer) music has great potential to be one of the future major genres of music, though the advancement of this genre had rapidly slowed down in the early 1990s after its big vogue during the 1980s, especially for general music devotees. It seems that electric (computer) music still has been actively developed in many academic fields, hopefully. Advanced software installed on a computer combined with specialized instruments should be capable of creating a sound that isn't a well-known discomfort electronic one, like buzzers, but is somewhat allied to a familiar acoustic one and is much more pleasant than any acoustic. Computer-created music should be much more accurate and can be faster and more kaleidoscopic than any human-created music with traditional instruments. It seems that even the human factors that are found only in excellent performances and are interpreted as artistic, passionate, sentimental, and melancholy elements can be analyzed and may be modeled and incorporated into computer music in the future.
Indeed, most of the music that people of today appreciate in their daily lives is the pattern of the digital or analog sounds that are played back, amplified, and radiated with the electric equipment (e.g. player, amplifier, speaker, earphone). All of the music blared from the devices that play back the vinyl records, the CDs or the music files are electric, interpreting in a broad sense. Genuine nonelectric music can be appreciated at an orchestra hall or a concert hall where musicians play only unplugged musical instruments. As many think, these sorts of genuine acoustic music should be cultural heritages and have to be patronized.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Got up at ten o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese rice porridge for lunch. Went out shopping at a grocery store this afternoon. Ate an American meal for dinner. According to the online news, The King's Speech won the Oscar for best picture this evening.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for lunch, and an American meal for dinner.
