The Bayreuth Festival

The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany. My most memorable one was took place in 1951. The festival in the year was remarkable as it was its first music festival since World War II. On that evening, Beethoven's ninth symphony was performed by a German conductor, Wilhelm Furtwängler. Even now, you can get a live-recorded CD of the performance.

About fifteen years ago, I listened to the performance from the festival on a live-recorded CD and I was completely stunned by the magnificence of its performance. The performance was really energetic and attracted much interest as the dramatic recovery of the postwar music scene in Europe. I've listened to this symphony by other many performers so far. But I think no one could do it better beyond the performance in 1951. The live performance brought Beethoven's music closer to me. If there weren't that performance, my dedication to music might not be as strong as it is today.

Beethoven's fifth Piano Concerto

I made a beeline for a CD shop after work. Today, a CD that I had waited for the release came out. She has made some records of Beethoven like G major concerto, Choral Fantasy and some piano sonatas before. I think for sure her performance is very brilliant and impressive. But I have thought she'd be the last person to play Beethoven's fifth concerto. I couldn't imagine it matches her character.

I think this concerto is in special place compared to his other concertos. He was a totally progressive person and was always thinking of an ideal world. But this concerto has sort of freedom from his ideal. It's very bright and majestic and you would feel delight at freedom. This element 'delight at freedom' makes this concerto popular and very difficult to perform. She did a great performance on the demanding his last concerto. Her performance goes vividly and gives you a fresh delight. If you are looking for a new soundscape, you should listen to this CD.

I climbed Mt. Fuji again

I climbed Mt. Fuji. I was a little concerned about weather. In this season, late summer, weather in the mountain area is getting broken weather. It actually was very beautiful all the time. It was windy on the summit though, but it didn't rain and mist at all. So, I was able to watch the very beautiful sunrise, the crater and facilities on the summit such as the weather station, the post office and the shrine. I felt climbing was much easier than last time. I took me about 7 hours. It was a little slower than last climbing. If I had to sum up this climbing in a word, it would be 'impressive'.