Beethoven's ninth symphony

Beethoven's ninth symphony is one of the most popular symphonies in Japan. There are a lot of concerts of that at the end of years. The climax of the symphony is the last fourth movement. Four soloists and more than a hundred of people of mixed chorus join from the fourth movement. The finale is extremely exciting. It goes with tutti and extremely fast and vivid tempo. Every performer has to make the best efforts to keep up the tempo with the others. Everybody says that it's very difficult to sing and perform. Because every part has acrobatic tune and it's required to perform with very fast tempo.

The ninth symphony is the last symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was completed in 1824 in Vienna. At that time, he was 54. After 3 years, he passed away. In the early 19th century, the situation was extremely unstable in Europe. In that situation, he had never lost his ideal as a German. I think that the ideal is freedom from the former control. Freedom itself is the ninth symphony's story. Luckily, I had once taken part in the symphony's concert as a chorus member in Tokyo. It was an unusual concert. The concert was accompanied with ballet. Usually, audience are just listening to the sound at the concert. But this time you could enjoy not only the sound but ballet too. And the ballet would help you to improve your imagination.

There had been lots of rehearsals since six months before the concert. All chorus members had to memorize the lyrics. At that time, I didn't know German. It was very hard for me to read the lyrics written in German. To tell you the truth, I hadn't liked this symphony before because the performing time is too long. But, as the rehearsals progressed, I realized the deep emotions of the symphony. The more I knew the symphony, the more I liked it. There were hundreds people of orchestra, chorus and dancer on the stage. And there were thousands people in the audience in front of me. I was really moved by the concert. It was very a nice experience.

Care of my piano by Technician

Today, I got my piano tuned after all two years. Generally, pianos go out of tune across the ages. My piano have lasted pretty long, two years. My piano technician also restored it to optimal precision, in a process called regulation, which involves adjustments ranging from turning a small screw to sanding down a wood surface. Over five hours operation made my piano perfect!

Xmas party

I had a small Xmas party with friends today. I made lasagne again. This time, I could do it pretty easier than last time. The taste was not so bad. And a friend made minestrone soup. But the soup was pretty delicious than mine.

Ramen

I finished work pretty earlier than usual today. Then, I went to my Ramen shop with a co-worker. I like Yokohama style Ramen. The soup is made with crushed pork bones that have been boiled for hours and a soy-based sauce. Everybody says Yokohama style is the most difficult style. I heard keeping same taste every day is very difficult. It means it's not always good. So, today, their ramen was good. Maybe, I guess they could have made better one.

Sushi in Tsukiji

I had Sushi in Tsukiji on a whim today. I went to see a doctor in the morning. The diagnosis finished pretty earlier than I had thought. So, I got much free time after that. A friend who likes Sushi is coming to visit to Japan on New Year's eve. So, I was thinking about him at that time and I remembered that another friend had told me about a good Sushi restaurant in Tsukiji. That's why I decided to go to Tsukiji to have Sushi and look the Sushi restaurant and all over beforehand. I was surprised there are many Sushi restaurants around Tsukiji subway station. They all have old fashioned or traditional looks. The sushi restaurant that she told me is in TSUKIJI (fisher) MARKET. But unfortunately, she hadn't told me the restaurant's closing time. When I arrived at the restaurant, they just closed fifteen minutes ago. (they close at 2 p.m.) So, I had to go to another Sushi restaurant instead. The Sushi was pretty good!

On the way to home, I stopped off at Tower Record in Shibuya to check out new CDs. The background music was Beethoven's ninth symphony's fourth movement. I used to sing that as a chorus member in Tokyo. I can clearly remember all notes and lyrics even now! It's obviously common that they sing the song and listen to the symphony in December in Japan. Everybody in Japan might realize the fact that this year is about to end when they listen to the music

Having Coffee

I finally bought a coffee maker to enjoy having coffee after work at home. I've had hectic days at work and I get back to home late at night. Having coffee is good way to enjoy fleeting time before going to bed. And also, if I stumbled on good music at that time, it would be much better. I prefer to have coffee in winter. It makes me warmer.