the Easter holidays delayed the writing up of my March round-up again, but here it is - finally:
An Event I Enjoyed Attending
My father infrequently hosts music soirées in his downtown Vienna flat. This time he invited Ukrainian pianist Denis Yavorsky to play some high romantic pieces by Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, and others. While of all classical eras the romantic one isn't exactly my favorite, I still take great joy in private encounters like this. All in all, we had around 50 visitors, which even for the spacious flat is a lot, and I had a lot of wonderful conversations with a potpourri of cultural bohemians. Performed music shouldn't be restricted to large concert halls, and the art of hosting small events like this one is an almost forgotten one.
Music I Enjoyed
Zygurrat - Hide . Seek is a bit of an older find, but one I wanted to share with you nonetheless. It's the product of a studio session with four virtuoso musicians - their instruments ranging from modular synthesizers and electronics to trumpet, tenor saxophone, drums and percussion. It's really a great listening experience, you can truly sense the vibe that must have prevailed at the time of recording.
A Book I Enjoyed Reading
In March I finished the second part of Cixin Liu's "Three Body Problem" trilogy, titled "The Dark Forest". Without giving away too much of it, it does shed light on some of humanity's darkest corners, and can indeed be read as a metaphor to climate disaster. While I don't endorse the entirety of the techo-optimism it radiates, there's a connection to the magic that I felt when I first encountered the Star Trek universe. Though the premise of the book is gloomy, there’s always a glimmer of hope that Cixin Liu masterfully manages to keep alive. And hope is something that is much needed today.
A Studio Update
I've been busy making my studio workplace more cosy and "airy", transforming it into the kind of safe place I want my creative centerpiece to be. In that spirit, I've started upgrading the lighting by applying a Neon-style LED strip to the ceiling acoustic panel so I have soft but direct light from above. I 3D-printed custom holders which strap into the aluminum frame and glued the strip to it. Together with a dimming controller I can now fully control the light setting. I'm pretty pleased with the result!
And that was it from me for March! Take care and till next time - tata! Julian
