{weekend polska}

This made me both nostalgic and happy this weekend. I watched, listened, over and over again. Frantically tried to play the tunes on my violin. Goodness. I long for [folk music in] Sweden again. Those summer evening where music was in every corner of Stockholm. The midsummer dance around a flowery maypole. Just to mention a few. I'm hooked. Yay! Happy Sunday everybody :o)


Lisa Rydberg and Gunnar Idenstam playing Grins Hans Jasspodspolska & Erik Isaks Polska.

{rosy notes: anne sophie mutter, mendelssohn's birthday}

Counting down to happy heart's day, I want everything rosy in my home and blog. Even the music. I start with this. One rosy note a day.



Violinist.com sent me a message on facebook: "Interview with Anne-Sophie Mutter: She has returned to the Mendelssohn Concerto, with a new recording and performances with the NY Phil this week in honor of Mendelssohn's 200th birthday."

Ow, one of my favorite violin concertos, on the hands of one of my favorite violinists, isn't that a fabulous combination! I jumped on the link. Landed on the page where Laurie Niles had the interview with the first lady of the violin. There she is, in turquoise gown with her ultra famous Stradivarius violin, surrounded by oh-so romantic pink petals, ready for a birthday party. A special one, Felix Mendelssohn's, the very one who composed the violin concerto Ms Mutter is playing.

Reading the interview, and looking at the pictures of the CD cover, it's just perfect for my must-listen list for the happy heart's day. Can't wait. I can already hear the concerto playing, the brilliant notes dancing in my head and suddenly a rain of pink petals surrounds me, so fragrant I'm transported to a rosy world full of loving hearts. It's only a start...

{d day: the concert}

Finally! The concert! One exciting musical hour of Vivaldi, Telemann, JS Bach, Pachelbel and Corelli. Now tired but happy, and it's time to take a little bit of rest :o)

{d day minus 1}

Busy (practicing), excited (to be on stage again), nervous (as usual), fun (of course!). It's tomorrow!

Today's rehearsal

{mr bach and new desktop wallpapers}

Being sick and having to stay at home when I was supposed to have fun practicing with the amateur chamber music ensemble...was not really nice, of course. But the flu was pretty bad, and I really had to rest hoping to get better really soon.

Turned my attention to Violinist.com. They have an interesting weekend vote this time: "Have you played some J.S. Bach today?" I have! I have! Mr Bach's work has been in my list every morning, whenever I'm home. There were times I didn't touch them, but since I'm back to the ensemble, it's Mr Bach before breakfast, as much as I can!

And why? Laurie Niles, the editor of Violinist.com has the answer:

"A short and simple list of reasons: It never gets tired, it never gets old, it's exercise for the fingers, it's yoga for the soul."

And somehow I got inspired to make these desktop wallpapers to remind myself of the daily Bach habit. Feel free to download them if you like :o)

{click on the picture, then save it to your own hard disk}

1280x800 pixels



1280x1024 pixels

{photo shoot}

I’m so glad I posted the new prints last Saturday – it’s busy busy busy after that ‘til now, starting with a rehearsal and photo shoots with the amateur chamber music ensemble on Sunday. Then the working week speaks for itself :o) Lots of photos taken on Sunday and I must pick one for my scrapbook. This one above is nice, methink. Everyone has big smiles. That was fun. Oh yes, the concert will be on 1 February. You're all invited :o)

{welcome 2009}

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I've been thinking and thinking what would be the best for my first entry to this blog in 2009. I was re-arranging my graphic site too this morning, so I came to see this quote by Cate Blanchett that I put on the 'about me' page. I like this saying, it rings really true to me. I like it I like it, so much. So why don't I gather some dreams for 2009, and a little bit of re-introduction perhaps?



First when I made this blog, I wanted to use this to post updates on my graphic site, Amreta's Graphics. But then I use it to post just about anything that I had in mind. I'm a dreamer and love to get inspired by what I see and meet on travels (and often it means 'armchair travel' through books, magazines and the internet), which I think is necessary as I live in a hectic, crowded big city like Jakarta, with a schedule that goes from full time job, to practicing the violin, playing with the amateur chamber music ensemble, drawing graphics, crafting, hunting for second hand magazines, fabrics and papers, to attending cultural activities, family gatherings, going to book stores, etc etc...so much to do, so little time! But I heard loving all that you're doing is a sign of an exciting life so I have no complain :o)



There are times I got so lucky that I have the chance to travel (real travel) and it is my favorite time to get inspired. Back to Cate Blanchett's words: my first trip was at age 9 to Bali, joining my dad's art class in a study tour, discovering the work and life of Balinese artists. My first time abroad was as an exchange student for a year in France, living with a french family, 'forced' to speak french, went to high school, simply lived like the french. Those first experiences really set my idea about travels. And somehow the next thing I know, similar 'arrangements' just fall into place with the other trips. I love it. There has been a big number of synchronicities playing around. In 2009 I wish that it will continue :o)



My dream? Traveling to Bhutan. It's intriguing. I heard about their Gross National Happiness concept. I saw articles about traveling to Bhutan, with focus on the art and design such as in Elle and Vogue, on the culture in National Geographic, and on the well-being in Yoga Journal and Yoga Plus.



Oh yes, they are some of my favorite magazines. Let me tell you about my another 'hobby' when it comes to magazine. Imported magazines are quite expensive in Jakarta, so I opt for buying second hand magazines. Old magazines, sometimes only a few months old, but recently I found Elle Decor that dates back in 1996! And much to my surprise it doesn't look old at all. And for some new ones, I subscribe to digital magazine through Zinio. It's worth it, good price and I can 'bring' the magazine everywhere in my laptop, very practical especially when traveling.



And though I live in a big city, I love the countryside and country style. Country Living has been my favorite magazine ever since I knew about it. My host families in France and Sweden all live either in a very small town or in the countryside, in their lovely homes surrounded by beautiful nature. And during my stays with these families I learned for the first time about decorating and entertaining 'the country style'.



And you know what? I love decorating 'the country style', though in practice what I do is 'decorating with what you have'. But I think, that's also what country style or junk-market style is all about. Currently I attempt to reorganize and redecorate my 3x3m2 bedroom cum work room. It was a necessity so I decided to blog about it, to be able to track the progress - and to motivate myself. I found the internet and my collection of decorating magazines to be very useful. Inspiration is everywhere!



When it comes to photography, I'm mad about taking pictures of flowers. I'm not a pro and am only armed with my 6.1 MP Kodak digital camera, but I have had so much fun with it.



The violin has been my passion since I was 13 year old, when I saw on TV Maestro Henryk Szerying play the Beethoven violin concerto, and then locked myself in the bathroom until my parents agreed to buy me a (cheap) violin and to send me to a violin teacher :o) I've been listening to classical music since far longer than I can remember, but am also really drawn into folk music recently. So don't be surprised if there are some posts about music as well.



I'm also a fan of flea markets and traditional markets. And hey, I'm an Indonesian and still deeply impressed by my Javanese childhood. When I have the chance I would also like to post entries about folksy things from Indonesia. Folksy things make me feel at home somehow. And it reminds me of the cultural richness of the world we live in.



So, basically, this blog is about my artwork, hobbies and things that inspire me. I love getting inspired. I hope you, too. Thank you for visiting and reading my blog, I've been enjoying putting together my thoughts in my entries and I appreciate all your comments and support. Let's hope for the better in 2009 :o)

{sunday rehearsal}

Today been out rehearsal with the amateur chamber music ensemble. No crafting :o)

Pictures during break, taken from my seat in the second violin section (and one or a few steps to the left).


Resting contrabass.


A peek on the score.


The violin on the seat in front of mine.


The instructor and the conductor. I wonder if they wanted to have a break.

{rearrangement continued}

Sunday! And I'm so excited today about cleaning up and rearranging my room...what else :-) I will get some help from my aunt and cousins {thankful for my family}. It's been sometime since I moved all my belongings from the flooded house to where I live now, and my aunt and I tried to find a weekend where both of us are free the whole day. So last week we decided it's today.

And came an sms from the cellist of our chamber orchestra: "tomorrow rehearsal at 2 p.m."

Oh no.

I explained to her the situation, the plan, the ship-wreck-looked room I'm now (oh, not that bad, actually!), that I desperately needed a peaceful Sunday for a joyful housework...

I always knew our cellist is a super nice one. She replied with "ok, see you next week then?"

It was almost midnight. I smiled and was ready to go to bed for a restful sleep before the big Sunday. When suddenly my cellphone once again gave a blink. A text coming in. From my pianist, our conductor: "don't forget tomorrow rehearsal at 2 p.m."

What should I say? :-D

Anyway, I'm ready for the big clean-up now and, I looked again at my own post about decorating ideas for small room with icy-blue painted wall. I also came across Alicia Paulson's website last night, and wow! Look at her studio!! It's exactly a look that I'm looking for! Fresh, cheerful, crafty, and well-organized.

I continued with reading Alicia's blog, and I felt like refreshed. It's nice when you wake up being inspired and looking forward to do something you'd been yearning for sometime, and knowing you have lovely ideas in hand!

Just look at some pictures of Alicia's studio here. My happy inspiration. Thanks Alicia! :-)

[.one.music.life.]

This used to be like this, all the time. My daily this-and-that merged intensely with my so-called music life. Doing exercises on the violin to retrain my fingers (and my brain) early in the morning was something I hardly missed. Then those weekly practices with my pianist (a set of sushi with lots of wasabi normally followed suit). Then to a gang of enthusiastic concertgoers I belonged.

No, not everything’s gone. I thanked my lucky star. Yesterday evening I once again found myself sitting at Goethe House, with my pianist on my right and a violinist friend on my left. The ever amazing Abegg Trio was on stage. Loved the happy-go-lightly Hayden’s trio, got agitated through the classic-modern composition on the second programme, then Dvorak’s Dumky Trio was a blast! Especially the first movement. I came to understand that I might be a dévotée to folk music, as listening to this best known of Dvorak’s piano trios of which colourful tunes of folk songs and dances were the joyful themes – I felt I was kind of ‘expanded’ and boy, the music must have restored the good chemicals in my brain!




Image courtesy of www.abegg-trio.de

Birgit Erichsson, cello. Gerrit Zitterbart, piano. Ulrich Beetz, violin.


Next plan? Marcel the pianist and I will re-start our regular practice this coming Sunday. My violin will be happy! Now would you excuse me, I have to say hi to Mr Bach and Mr Beethoven... :-)

[.saved.by.grace.]

Talking about a girl’s life, which is saved in a graceful way by so-called 'being inspired'.

After a couple of weeks of a sudden, unplanned pause, I finally reconciled myself with Mr Steinberg (that is the name almost invisibly written on an old piece of paper glued inside my violin), and his second best friend (that is the pianist I’ve been working with these past 13 years). Finally went again to concerts, finally argued again with the pianist about which pieces we might practice, and finally felt the happiness just by staring at a set of Red-Label Thomastik-Infeld with gold plated chrome steel E-string. My fingers would be delightedly happy. And that precious rosewood Flesch-style chinrest! Mr Steinberg obviously needs some adjustments here and there especially the bridge and most possibly the soundpost. But it is still for me a beauty.

And so I ponder. These little happiness I must have taken for granted in the past. It’s true you never know what you’ll miss until you lose them. Subsequently I just learned that sometimes you don't know what you lose until some inspirations struck, wake you up, and urge you to recollect those lost sparks. For me, these pictures of my favourite lady-virtuosos have proved their magic…


Hilary Hahn

Viviane Hagner

Anne Sophie Mutter

[.gothenburg.]

I didn't go to Gothenburg when I visited Sweden last month. Normally in my previous visits, I went there to see the sailing ship - the Gotheborg, or anything related to it. But this time when I found myself traveling in Sweden the ship was docked in Gävle. So there it was my destination.

How wonderful it was to see 'my' beautiful ship again! And she was as beautiful as always. Funny how I got certain 'emotional attachment' to this ship. And certainly I'm not the only one. Certainly and obviously! :-)

During that afternoon visit I got the chance to watch the movie from the ship's voyage reliving the historic route from Gothenburg to China and back in 2005 - 2007 (the ship stopped over in Jakarta for 10 days in June 2006, that's how I got to know her) - and toward the end of the film I was somehow stunned by the song accompanying the images of the ship's homecoming in Gothenburg. Then my Swedish friends there told me that the song was "Gothenburg" by Maia Hirasawa. In this internet age you know what I did then when I got home...searching the song in YouTube :-) Not only it is a really nice song, the clip was also stunning. Well, Ms Hirasawa, you've got one more fans...

[.Mr.Mozart.has.a.blog.too.]

Oh wow, this is fantastic. Mr Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has a blog. I had fun reading it today. The blog was even already started in 2005. Why on earth never did I think of it?



All those witty answers to tricky questions...this one is my favorite somehow:

"Dear Wolfgang,
If you were alive today, what instrument do you think you would master and create music with?"

-----
That would not change. I will always use my brain!

Wolfgang

:-)

[.tagged.in.pictures.]

Tagged by my Polish friend Joanna. Me in an afternoon chamber music playing in Jakarta a couple of months ago (now I have longer hair, and different glasses). Can you notice that Joanna's got a nice camera (and good eyes behind the camera:-))