Thanks to my wife, I went to see a performance today by the pianists who took 1st and 2nd place at the Queen Elisabeth Competition.
I know next to nothing about music, but thanks to steadily going along and listening with my wife, at least I no longer doze off or get bored easily at these performances.
The performances were excellent, and above all, listening to Wataru Hisasue, who took 2nd place, play Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57, ‘Appassionata,’
I found myself thinking about what passion meant to Beethoven and how he expressed it — a fun and thought-provoking time.
And surely the performer interpreting and playing it, and each audience member receiving it, each carried their own idea and interpretation of what that passion was.
When I asked my wife, she said Beethoven may have titled it ‘Appassionata’ himself, or it may have been named later — either way, it left me thinking, ‘so that’s what passion sounded like to Beethoven,’ and wondering how I would have expressed it if I could compose music myself.
And from there my thoughts kept spiraling into what form of passion I have right now — or whether I even have any.
It turned into a time of listening to great music, reflecting on what passion is, and thinking about the shape and direction of my own.
I’m reminded that having moments of space like this, once in a while, to open up your thinking really does matter.
My thanks, as always, to Gyeonggi Arts Center for putting on such great performances, and to the pianists — Nikola Meeuwsen and Wataru Hisasue — for today’s wonderful playing.
#ClassicalMusic #Beethoven #PianoPerformance #QueenElisabethCompetition #Passion #Reflection #LifelongLearning #Mindfulness
