Economics Business Music Politics Altruism

Polarization in Asia Pacific-Possible Rocky Roads Ahead

So much negative newsprint has been devoted to the situation in North America and Europe that perhaps Asia Pacific has been over-rated as the region that has done relatively well. As I seat back and ponder on the various hot spots in Asia Pacific, I grew more concerned as I live in Singapore which is part of Asia Pacific. Whether we should trea these situations as hair line cracks or a slow but sure polarization with dire consequences for the world.

Pakistan

Starting with the western end, Pakistan should worry us not so much with the assassination of of Punjab Governor Salman Taser. His death could represent a step backward for those championing secular democracy as opposed to a muslim democracy. Pakistan seems to be one of the few countries with a sizable muslim population that seems to be US friendly. This assassination would be more than an embarrassment for the Obama administration. Pakistan has been a key ally of the US in helping to maintain peace in the region as well as a purveyor of US oil interest into the neighboring oil rich Middle East.

What made this a bigger blow was how did his bodyguard that killed him pass the same screening process that Pakistan has so convinced the world that people manning their nuclear arsenal are screened to exclude muslim fundamentalist. The assassin proudly admitted to his act and was thrown roses on his way to court as if hailing him as a hero. This might signal a certain level of worrying possibility on the level muslim fundamentalism has infiltrated the populace in general.

My next question is on the nuclear arsenal in Pakistan. Is it in safe enough hands and whether the government has enough control over it to prevent muslim fundamentalists from using it to hold the world at ransom or worse spark off a nuclear conflict with India or against countries deemed as having a anit-muslim agenda directly or indirectly.

The hero like treatment of his assassin could also signal rising support for muslim democracy as opposed to secular democracy that Salman Taser has championed all his life. This could worsen the long standing conflict between Pakistan and India as the main raison d'etre for the conflict is religiously motivated more than anything else.

Korean Peninsula

North and South Korea who are technically still at war is definitely very tensse. South Korea has for the longest time a US ally and North Korea is both reclusive and hermit like towards the rest of the world perhaps with the exception of China.. It has been speculated that North Korea might have nuclear warfare capabilities and is definitely in the midst of power transition from Kim Jong-Il to his youngest son Kim Jong Un as the elder Kim as there has been rumors about the state of his health.

An unstable North Korea not only spells trouble for South Korea alone but for the Asia Pacific region as well as the world at large. South Korea is now a major economy in Asia Pacific and can send shock waves to an already unstable world economy. In addition, a conflict could politically draw the supporters of North and South Korea ie China and US to sucked into this conflict indirectly and raising the stakes of a wider conflict between China and US.

Russia and Japan

Russian and Japanese relations has been put to the test over the disputed Kuril Islands. This contest is not likely to be based economic or military motive but most probably due to the political bargaining chip for greater things or to feed the ego of the politicians.

China

In warfare strategy, there is no need to be on parity on all fronts with your opponents. The ability to threaten the capabilities of your opponents can be as effective. China's air-craft carrier killer missile is a case in point as the various US carrier group that has been freely roaming the international waters of water of their allies in the region without much threat and a show of force would be more restrictive especially nearer to Taiwan where China has claimed to be one of its provinces. China's readiness on the carrier killer missile would change the naval balance of power in the Asia Pacific and could also means the US carrier groups sphere of operation or influence. In addition, China has of late been taking a harder stand on international matter and does not yield easily to US or international pressure. This is evident in the its posture of their permanent seat on UN security council as well as the dialogue between the two presidents when the Chinese president visited the white house.

On the economic front, China is now the largest holder of US treasure bonds over-taking Japan recently and this will give China the capabilities to rock the US economy if she wants to or to use it as a bargaining chip. While the Chinese currency RMB is not ready to takeover US$ as a major medium of international trade as well as an international reserve currency, China is slowly but surely loosening its grip on the RMB to allow it to be used for bilateral trade with China as well as relaxing currency control measures.

Although we can hail democracy as the leading means of governance with the fall of the Berlin wall as well as Russia losing control over eastern europe, China could very well proof to the world that communism might be a viable form of governance. This would become more distinct if the capitalistic regime of US and Europe undergoes further crisis.

Thailand

Thailand's King has been the stabilizing force whenever the kingdom is in a power struggle and yet be able to let the democratically elected prime minister and his cabinet to rule freely during peace time. However, in the past 2 years, the unification strength of the King might have dwindled somewhat or the King has chosen not to interfere more actively as before. In addition, he is getting on in years and it seems that his heir apparent might not wield the same level of influence as the current king; at least not initially. This can be worrying as it can bring political and economic turbulence to a kingdom that is much in need of a stable platform to grow the economy and reduce poverty in the more remote parts of the kingdom. This is critical as some of the remote parts of the kingdom have muslim instead of buddhist majority and that can be an ingredient for separatists elements to fix a brew.

While we pay heed to the more substantial problems in US and Europe, we must also keep a watching brief over Asia Pacific also.

Cheers,,,, Pete aka http://lkypeter.blogspot.com

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Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copyrights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

192K 24 Bits Linnrecords Mozart Symphony

I have always loved recordings from LinnRecords for their consistent recording and have been buying their SACDs both via internet as well as from retailers. Last night I bought their 192K Studio Master of the above by the late Sir Charles Mackerras conducting the Scottish National Chamber Orchestra and was blown away by it as I seems to be able to turn up the volume and not have the jarring violin and brass. It blew me away....

I compared with the sister recording by the same conductor, orchestra but playing Mozart Symphonies 38, 39, 40, 41 on SACD and certainly there is a difference in the sound.

I am going for 192K to the extend that my finance allows it as it is not cheap as the 192K is USD 27 per CD which is dearer than SACDs.

The equipment I am using for the 192K playback are as follows:

1 .Buffalo NAS Linkstation Quad
2. Gigabit Ethernet
3 .MacMini Core2Duo 2.4 GHz 4GB OSX 10.6.6 iTunes 10.1.1 (AIFF files in 192K 24 Bits)
4. USB Cable-Stock from DAC Box
5. Wyred4Sound DAC2
6. Acrolink 6N-A2200II Interconnect
7. ModWright SWL 9.0 SE Tube Pre-Amp
8. Nanotech Golden Strada #201DCS Interconnect
9. Wyred4Sound Multi-Channel 4 Channel PowerAmp-BiAmp
10. Nanotech Golden Strada #79 Speaker Cables
11. Vandersteen 2ce Mark II speakers

The equipment I am using for the SACD playback are as follows:

1. Marantz SA11S2 SACD Player

2. IXOS Interconnect

3. ModWright SWL 9.0 SE Tube Pre-Amp

4. Nanotech Golden Strada #201DCS Interconnect

5. Wyred4Sound Multi-Channel 4 Channel PowerAmp-BiAmp

6. Nanotech Golden Strada #79 Speaker Cables

7. Vandersteen 2ce Mark II speakers

Cheers,,,, Pete aka http://lkypeter.blogspot.com

Safe Harbor
Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copyrights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

Beethoven Piano Concerto No 2 in B flat major Op 19-The Half Price Concerto

Having wrote two commentaries on Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 opus 15 and No. 5 opus 73; his first and last for this genre, sometime back, I am into his piano concerto again. I shall be chronological at least in terms of the date of publicity based on opus number and write about his second concerto opus 19. The reason why opus number is not a good chronological gauge as it is common for composers to publish their work about a year or so later to ensure that they are the only performer and provide little basis for comparative critique especially when the piano is Beethoven's instrument of choice. In fact Beethoven himself said that musical policy demands that one should keep the best concertos to oneself for a time. Actually after more recent discovery of Beethoven's undoubted first piano concerto that pre-dates opus 15 named Piano Concerto in E flat major WoO 4 as no opus number was assigned as it was not published during his lifetime. Perhaps he considered this work too amateurish or juvenile to be associated with it like the phrase "I would not be caught wearing that dress".

Why half price? In selling this concerto to Hoffmeister, Beethoven only asked for 10 ducats instead of the usual 20 ducats as he remarked that he believe that this is not among his best. From this remark, scholars have argued both ways why it is his first attempt in composing the piano concerto genre. Those arguing why it is the first reasoned that it is likely his first attempt as it is less matured in many ways when compared to his piano concerto No. 1 opus 15. Those on the other side reasoned that after having published his piano concerto No. 1 opus 15, this remark is a comparative statement that it is not as good as the previous opus 15.

The concerto opens with a lively orchestra tutti that some remarked that the beginning is fashioned after Mozart flamboyant style while others opined that it is much more reflective of Haydn's gallantry especially the ending of the first movement and the most of the third movement. My favorite portion of this movement is the zesty orchestra tutti that launches this concerto as well as the ending where the soloist displays his ability to divorce his left hand from his right hand to execute the rhythmically polarized portions. On this note, I think that Martha Argerich interpretation of this solo part is my favorite as it sounded so effortless like a walk in the park.

Beethoven's imprint and style is so obvious in this lyrical second movement and to me, it could be connected to his sixth symphony. This is the movement to sit back and soaked up the gentile Adagio like a walk in the beautiful black forest of Germany during spring time.

The finale is the movement that Beethoven has done most modifications from differential in the various manuscripts that survived to the extend that one of them believed to be the original finale has actually been named as a standalone Rondo without opus number Wo4 in B flat major due to the large differential with later manuscripts. Barry Cooper of University of Manchester puts technical brilliance as what sets this movement apart from the rest of the concerto. The resolution at the end of this movement actually sums up not only this movement also the entire concerto nicely.

I have listened to 7 versions of this concerto in writing this concerto and tempo wise, it seems a reversal in trend. The later recordings like the version by Pierre-Laurent Aimard with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting being the slowest and earlier recordings the version by Alfred Brendel with Heinz Walburg conducting seems a tad hurried. Harnoncourt was a percussionist before taking up conducting and these are the artists that put the most emphasis on the tempo.Here are the versions pictorarily.

The Betrothal-Wieniawski Légende Op 17 in G minor

Henryk Wieniaswki composed this piece out of desperation as Henryk was facing objection from Isabelle Hampton's parents for them to be engaged. It was not recorded what was the nature of their objection was clear but after hearing Légende composed by Wieniawski, her parents changed their mind and allowed the two lovers to be engaged and later marry and have children.

With such a romantic backdrop to this piece, I decided to listen more in depth into this piece and before long, I was humming it. This piece and composer was never on my radar screen of classical music but all that changed after this piece.

I am not going to mention how many versions I have as it would be embarrassing to have and not play and appreciate it. Suffice to all, it does not exceeds using all the limbs of a human being as counters.

This short piece of slightly over 7 minutes can be divided into 3 sections. Quite a rarity for such short pieces in my opinion. The orchestra or piano introduces the pieces for a few short bars before the solo violinist joins in. Perhaps the Henryk wanted to show his sadness in not being able to engage Isabelle. Before you know it, the piece launches itself from G minor to G major whilst maintaining the motif intact. With the transition from minor to major key, the moods brightens so does the tempo. This is perhaps to convey the sweetness of his love for his daughter. The second section ends with a dramatic descending chromatic scale and bring the piece back to the original G minor key. The descend perhaps as a parallel to her parents objection and how this decision could result in a sadness for both Henryk and their daughter Isabelle conveyed in the 3 section in G minor.

I have taken a lot of liberty in interpreting this piece and if you do not agree, I can fully understand. This piece so moved me and I was trying to search for its interpretation but found very scarce information and decided to write one myself.

Some of my recommended recordings IMHO are:
1. Anne-Sophie Mutter/James Levine/Weiner Philharmoniker-Carmen Fantasy-Track 2-DG

2. Itzhak Perlman/Lawrence Foster/The Abbey Road Ensemble-A la Carte-Track 8-EMI

3.Gil Shaham/Lasrence Foster/London Symphony Orchestra-Wieniawski Violin Concerto 1 & 3,
Sarasate, Zigeunrwisen-Track 7-DG

Guys, perhaps this could add to our bag of tricks to get the girl of our dreams or to dream on.

Economist-Wisdom of Recognizing Limitations

In medical-pharmacology, new drugs are put through a series of test both within the laboratories as well as in the field to ensure their safety and efficacy are known before they are released for general use. Even with such rigors, it is by no means a 100% guarantee. We continue to have issues surfacing way after their their release for general use. Some of these were a result of ethically questionable treatment of information during trials to conceal information like in the case of Vioxx but many are due to our honest lack of knowledge as the human body is a very complex and we are no where near a complete understanding of although we have made great strides in recent past.

I used to discuss with my mentor Uncle John that recognizing how little we do not know about the unknown is one of the mark of maturity. Being a very curious and inquisitive teenager, I was hungry to understand all I could like reading the encyclopedia and dictionary from cover to cover. It dawned upon me one day how little I knew and it was a very humbling sensation.

Although mankind has made great stride in discovering the unknown especially in recent past, I doubt any worthy scholar would dare say that he has full understanding of everything in his field of speciality. In fact, it is sometimes such people that raise red flag to beware of the unknown.

Against the backdrop of the recent global economic meltdown, governments and central banks reacted differently and even for those that reacted similarly, the outcome varies. Unlike medical-pharmacology
discipline, economics is a relatively younger science or perhaps art where laboratory for controlled experiments for testing hypothesis is badly lacking due to the subject/object that simply cannot be contained in a laboratory for controlled studies. Most studies are a result of what I call a rear view mirror historical analysis and synthesis. Even with such studies, the limitations are vast due to its subjective nature.

Given such challenging vagaries that economists are subjected to, should they just throw caution to the wind and toss a dice instead. I think not. Rather I would venture to postulate that we need people with certain psyche where the unknown/blind corners are their best partners in crime and yet be able to apply what they deemed as appropriate in a very moderate manner.

I believe that economics has been plagued by extremism, dogmas and larger than life characters in addition to fashion and fades. It is so severe that economists are proud to trumpet their "religion" without any need for apologies. Milton Friedman, a proponent of free market and minimal government. Lord John Maynard Keynes on the other hand championed the limitations of free market and the need to for fiscal intervention. Leading the monetarist camp, we have Anna Schwartz where supply and demand of money becomes the central theme. Inflation buster like Alan Greenspan with a strong faith in the free market in pricing risks and the firm belief that central banks should titrate interest rate to control inflation. The list goes on ad infinitum.

Under such a situation, perhaps we should champion situational economics for those who that are prepared to park their egos at home, recognize that what they know constitute most probably the tip of the ice berg. Like all good sailors navigating through ice berg infested water, it is the unseen and unknown that will most probably decide their fate.

Parting thought from Ronald Rumsfleld about the middle east war "[T]here are known knowns; there are things we know we know.We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know."

Cheers,,,, Pete aka http://lkypeter.blogspot.com

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Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copyrights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

Plato 'Republic' on Democracy, Freedom, Equality, Anarchy and Corruption-Singapore Perspective

The ancient philosopher Plato wrote in the 'Republic' to criticize why direct unchecked democracy might not be the best form of government. Firstly, freedom by itself is a laudable value to pursue but the danger of excessive freedom of doing as one likes can lead to lost of freedom for others. One of my friend paraphrase it as 'democracy without law leads to anarchy' and it was this sentence that sets me thinking. Secondly, he espoused that equality is also a value worth pursuing but related to the belief that everyone has equal rights and capacity to rule. This could bring to politics all kinds of power-seeking individuals, motivated by personal gain rather than public good. This he say can make democracy highly corruptible that can lead to demagogues, potential dictators, and can thus lead to tyranny. All these are almost literal quotations taken from the 'Republic' by Plato.

Tracy Quek who is senior correspondent based in Washington for The Straits Times wrote an interesting article on 1st August 2010 edition of The Sunday Times which is the sister publication of The Straits Times on 'US "undermedia" undermines media' as a reflection on the fiasco in Obama's cabinet leading to the dismissal of Ms Shirley Sherrod a mid level aide and subsequent reinstatement of her job and apology from the president himself when the entire transcript was examined. Since the government in Singapore has openly admitted that unfettered press freedom of the genre of American press freedom is not suitable for the brand of democracy practiced here with an asian culture overtones, I can only guess that the raison d'tre for her article is to showcase how american brand of press freedom can lead to chaos. If this is Singapore's motive, it has strike while the iron is hot.

Firstly, all these so called evolvement of press freedom and democracy being one of the yardstick of human progress can readily be challenged as thinkers of ancient time like Plato has grasped the implications of such political arena long time ago. I believe that the main differential between ancient and current time lies mainly in the extent and the cultural overtones that has made the canvas of democracy and press freedom a modern art form. This is where we need to separate the ideas and the various adaptation of the ideas in our society and profit much from it in the process of doing so by learning from the thinking these old sages have thought through so that we can be spared the agony of repeating the walk along the same old yellow brick road. It seems that this is an almost an impossibility as each succeeding generation is likely not to heed these learnings and want to experiment in the belief that time and tide has changed and time to toss out the old ideas and start afresh. This is where I would like the government to have a re-think on the de-emphasis they have put accidentally on liberal arts education in favor of more technological and scientific based higher education. I believe that our nation as a whole is no longer living from hand to mouth and can afford time, space, money and a larger sand box on liberal arts. There is room for us to venture out of our more monolithic and almost homogenous pursuit of tangible materials in our society.

Cheers,,,, Pete aka http://lkypeter.blogspot.com

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Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copy Rights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

Bach Concertos for 2 Violins in D minor BWV 1043-Perfect 10

After listening mostly to Piano pieces, I have switched to Violin pieces. An article on Gramophone Vol 88 on a mock court to decide which interpretation of Elgar Violin Concerto by soloist Albert Sammons accompanied by New Queens Hall Orchestra under the baton of Sir Henry J Wood for the prosecution and soloist Lord Yehudi Menuhin accompanied by London Symphony Orchestra directed by the composer Sir Edward Elgar himself for the defense. I was at first elated to discover that I actually have the Yehudi Menuhin's version in my collection. I was about to pop the champagne to find that I also have another version of the piece but it was to be by soloist Nigel Kennedy accompanied by City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle (recorded before Nigel Kennedy turned to the dark side and became a crossover) and not Albert Sammons. I had a good listen to both pieces and according to the article, Yehudi Menuhin was far too slow but Nigel Kennedy's version was even slower and had a more inconsistent tempi and I take it that Sir Edward Elgar must have approved of Yehudi Menuhin as he was the conductor and he had intended this piece to be emotively played with much headroom for the soloist to vary the tempi.

After scanning through some of violin pieces, I stopped at Bach Concerto to 2 Violins as I was surprised to find that I have 10 full versions of it and many of them by big name artiste and I was surprised myself how on earth did I accumulate this much. Could be my failing memory as a sign of growing old when making purchases or this piece must have caught my fancy sometime in the past as about half were not purchases in recent years. I recalled that while I was younger, I had some intention to use the second movement of this piece for my organ competition but did not. First, let me pen down the versions and thereafter made some comments about the piece as there is something in common with Elgar Violin Concerto as the variation in timing between the various artistes were also wide ranging.

1. Andrew Manze/Rachel Podger,Academy of Ancient Music-Andrew Manze

2. Elizabeth Wallfisch/Catherine Mackintosh,The King's Consort-Robert King

3. Julia Fischer/Alexander Stitkovetsky,Academy of St. Martins in the Fields-Andrey Rubstov

4. Hilary Hahn/Jeffrey Kahane,Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

5. Isaac Stern/Itzhak Perlman,New York Philharmonic Orchestra-Zubin Mehta

6. Baiba Skride/Daishim Kashimoto,Royal Chamber Orchestra-Shunsaku Tsutumi

7. Arthur Grumiaux/Arpad Gerecz,Les Solistes Romands

8. Anne-Sophie Mutter/Salvatore Accardo,English Chamber Orchestra

9. Itzhak Perlman/Pinchas Zukerman,English Chamber Orchestra

10. Yehudi Menuhin/Leon Goossens,Bath Festival Orchestra-Christian Ferras

This piece of work is popular even in current times like in Woody Allen's film 'Hanah and her sisters' and 'Children of a lesser God' and many more. This could have been the reason for being a choice recording by many artiste but most probably not in the recorded to death category.

The first movement is where you will hear the most differential in interpretation by the various artiste. Bach has marked it as vivace which means lively and fast or above 140 bpm according to Harvard Music Dictionary but the metronome was not yet in existence during Bach's time and 140 bpm did not exist in the dictionary then. However, you will find that the more contemporary artiste tend to take it as 140 bpm as the minimum and in Rachel Podger and Julia Fischer interpretation, it was more like catching the A train. Personally, I still like the versions by Arthur Grumiaux, Isaac Stern and Yehudi Menumin albeit the slower tempi, it sort of brings out the sweet aroma of the melody in an unhurried manner. Perhaps Bach meant lively more than fast when he uses the term vivace for the first movement.

I have always been fascinated by Bach music as it was in his era commonly known as the Baroque era that music started to start some form and structure and yet he his music is seems so simple but deeply matured. For example, parts of his Well Tempered Clavier is so simple that it is graded a beginner's piece and yet so deeply matured that it is played and recorded by many grand masters. With being religious, it is sometimes like the Bible that is simple enough for the simpleton and yet has enough mystery and depth to confound scholars through the ages. I think that when Bach personally remarked playing music is as simple as playing the right notes at the right time, he might not meant it as a joke really as some of his music can be so simple to be enjoyed and played by many and yet so deeply profound for the grand masters that want to have a full understanding of it.

Cheers,,,,Pete aka http://lkypeter.blogspot.com

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Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copy Rights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

Singapore Women's Charter – Time for a Re-Think

Sandra Leong wrote on 'Making defaulters pay' in November 1^st 2010 edition of The Straits Times which is somewhat connected to the Singapore Women's Charter ( which is commonly known in legal circles as Chapter 353 ). Although the title seems to champion the female half of the population in general but it also included a remark on “wider ranging submissions ..... and the possible renaming of the Women's Charter to the gender neutral Family Charter. To see such opinion in print is to me that Singapore as a nation has grown more matured being a relatively young nation that is about 45 years old.

This was song to my ears as I have been swimming blindly around on this topic which I have been meaning to write on. It has gone on countless iterations made and un-made after wise counsels from a good cross section of my circle of more opinionated friends consisting of male/female as well as married/singles/divorced. After reading Sandra's article, I was infected with a rush of inspiration on a totally new angle to approach my article. By the way, all these writings are on a pro-bono basis that have no sponsor and I do it as a matter of hobby-craft. It is in that sense quite clear of conflict of interest normally except that I am a married male which could be a potential conflict of interest in this rare case.

A democratic society like Singapore that has equality as a cornerstone of our core value should never have a partisan act called Women's Charter without a suitable Men's Charter also in place. Perhaps there is cause for it to be deemed unconstitutional and struck off. To even think that it survived the passage of the legislative due process then to become law can be quite un-thinkable. Pardon my strong language and it is not to be taken literally but as a figure of speech as I am cognizant of the social climate of Singapore around 1961 when the act was passed into law warranted it.

These words sound very derogative and perhaps not respecting of the leaders then who were responsible for the legislative due process then but no dis-respect is intended. Or perhaps quite un-Singapore in a more colloquial sense but allow me to put things back in the balance. I am not an outright bigot that equality only exists in nirvana and all effort in achieving it on mother earth is useless. Or to borrow a favorite phraseology of my friend that “resistant is futile”. On the reverse, it is my firm believe that society as a whole should pursue equality in access fearlessly and not cave in on the reasoning that it is not attainable. Or perhaps delegate it to the 'invisible hands' of Adam Smith to get the job done not that free and sound economic basis is not tenable but we have to use the right tools for the right job.

There is always room for a partisan act like the Women's Charter and it can be something of permanence like the children or young people's act in many countries to protect children and young people which would never achieve equalization on its own as we live in a predominantly adult dominated world for lack of a more elegant and appropriate term.

On the other hand, there is room for partisan act as a type of affirmative action with a discernible time horizon for equilibrium equality or self maintaining equality to mushroom. On the same note, I am a skeptic of such partisan acts in the name of achieving equality over time through a serious of measures. Look around the countries that have such practices like the first nation act etc. to help the under class. These acts normally end up as permanent crutches that leaves the under class permanently dis-advantaged as they grow accustomed to these privileges that is enough to sustain them to a level of contentment and not further progress. You could say that the therapeutic treatment to get them well has somehow become an opium that they cannot do without. This normally excavate into generational spiral of being disadvantaged. In the longer term, it might also lead to the general populace to question the need to support their habit and can lead so societal upheaval if not handed properly. There is no easy answer to these issues but we need to tackle them very pragmatically and normally a broad brush legislative or policy have difficulties in being as effective due to the limited flexibility that can normally be built into legislatures and policies. There is a role that NGOs, humanitarian and charity could play a more effectively. Normally, there is an inverse relationship between the effective tax burden and populace participation in charity. Simply put, if the government tax more, they should do more socially. The comparison between Europe and USA in the 1980s is a case in point.

Along this line of reasoning, isn't it high time that the Women' Charter be re-looked at fundamentally or perhaps be renamed into a more gender-neutral name like what Sandra has listed in her article. Women, in their quest for equality cannot on the the same breadth argue that they need a stronger crutch because they are weaker now than before. I am very sure that the various measures of equality will speak to the contrary. I would support the continuation of the Women's Charter as man and woman are equal but are made differently and therefore have slightly different roles in society. This is not a clarion call for 'Me Tarzan, You Jane' sort of maxim but man and woman are functionally different on some planes that will not change in the foreseeable future like only woman can take on the gestation role in pro-creation.

On the point of marriage being a sort of special class of social contract with some vital differences like:

Potential off springs from such union become an integral part of this contract not by choice as the contract pre-dates them in most circumstances.
It is a template contract made by the law of the land. In Singapore, it is either the Syriah or civil court.

I would not open the can of worms on the validity of pre-nuptial agreements under Singapore law.

I use to joke with my friends in the legal fraternity that in nirvana, lawyers only need to perform priestly duties to bless that new contracts that they have a hand in making. However, more often than not, when things go south on the contract, settlement and litigation lawyers are there also to perform their priestly duties but more akin to last rites metamorpjically speaking.

Lawyers always draw out the pomp and circumstances leading to the breakdown from their client perspective as ethically as possible. The opposing lawyers would try to out do each other to occupy the higher moral ground for an advantage just like soldiers would do so physically to occupy a higher vantage position on the battle field. Such posturing is important as it is one of key factors in who is whiter than white and who is darker than Darth Vader in StarWars speak. In reality, it is not the opposite end of the axis but the different tone of grey that makes the case.

Under the current Women's Charter, this attainment of moral high ground seems like a due process that has little or no girth as grounds for divorce can be as flippant as incompatibility for god knows what is the real reason. I am glad that HDB and the courts have decided to open their eyes and reduce the number of divorces on grounds of non-consummation because the legal marriage was to be legible to apply for a HDB housing that takes time to realize and couples could have fallen out of love without going through a customary marriage rite. I believe that the law is very clear that a marriage registered under the law is binding whether or not it is followed by a customary marriage rite.

Divorce laws can be widely divided into jurisdiction that are 'No Fault' or otherwise. It is difficult to debate on the merits of each type but the execution is important as it affects the outcome. More often than not, when a divorce is in motion, the possibility of saving the marriage is next to nil and what matters most are the terms of separation.

The compounding factor that makes divorce in Singapore especially for man in general more painful is that the settlement is ruled by the Women's Charter and has little or no regard to the circumstances leading to the divorce especially if the party in default is the woman. This would make it look like double jeopardy of sort as the innocent party not only suffers an emotional and social set back but also financially to continue supporting the ex-wife and losing custody of their children

I believe that the groundswell in the number of non-conformance by husbands in discharging their court sanctioned maintenance to their ex-wife could be an indication to either the judiciary in their interpretation of the law and/or the legislative responsible for making the laws that 'justice' in how the common man sees it is not serve by the current framework and either of both would have to be tweak.

Cheers,,,, Pete aka http://lkypeter.blogspot.com

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Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copy Rights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

"Northern Chopin"-Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor Opus 16

The Nordic countries in Europe normally stands out from people in continental Europe just by being themselves perhaps due to the relatively harsher weather they are subjected to as well as the intimacy they have with nature. Edvard Grieg, a Norwegian composer is noted for two things in my view. Firstly, a large portion of his compositions are either for Piano or based on the Piano that some scholars nick named him the 'Chopin of the North' perhaps like Chopin, he is also a pianist that writes lots of piano based music. Secondly, his unique harmonic skills in infusing Nordic Folk songs into his compisitions in an elegant manner to qualify as main stream classical music. Classical music is used loosely here to refer to music that pass or surpass the theoretical sandbox of musical laws rather than the classical era that pre-dates the romantic era.

My reason for choosing to write on this piece is in line with my aim of creating or keeping interest in classical music alive in Singapore. It saddens me to see shops reducing their classical music sections or doing away with it altogether. Some of you might think it is strange as Grieg is not a household name along the lines of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms or the triple Bs. However, many of us would have heard excerpts of this piece as it is widely used as background music in numerous shows with acknowledgements of it so miniscule that we will surely miss it one way or another. Most do not even bother as copyrights to this piece has expired as Grieg has died for more than 70 years now. Arvid Vollsnes is of the opinion that there are more recordings of this piano concerto than any piano concertos written during the Romantic era. I beg to differ as Google it and you will find that it is most probably either Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov Piano Concertos that occupies this spot and definitely not Grieg. Perhaps it is true in the Nordic part of the world.

Like Beethoven fifth symphony, Grieg Piano Concerto have a very distinct introduction. In the case of Beethoven, some scholars termed it as death knocking on the door. We cannot be totally sure about this as Beethoven himself did not explain the passage. For Grieg, the introduction is what I would term as surprising reality staring at your face. I got this notion from noticing film directors penchant for using this introduction to inject an element of surprise, fear, reality and almost exclusively in a negative sense. Like most minor keyed pieces, it is like starting a painting on a dark canvas metaphorically speaking. The examples are far too many to quote and do keep a look out for it.

In addition to the signature introduction, the first movement also have a too definite ending. It is not uncommon for hear a premature applause or two from the audience at this juncture mistaking it for an end to the paino concerto as the first movement is over 10 minutes. I would like to think that it is mostly a positive premature applause as opposed to a sarcastic applause that they have heard enough rubbish from the performers.

The second movement has a quieter entrance compared to the first movement and also a daring departure from the minor key to a contrasting major key. Most of the opinion that the second movement is thematically an island by itself but try putting on your thematic development facility and stretched your imagination a little further and you can most probably hear the thematic linkages between the 2 movements. This is a very unconventional posture and I am ready for volleys of canon from main stream opinion leaders.

The third and final movement takes a surprising detour to a Rondo like form away from the ABA form in the first two movements but it is done very cleverly by the composer to back link it to the theme of the first movement and leading it to a well resolved finale.

I though that there were only two versions of the Piano Concerto; the original (1868) and the final (1907). To my surprise, there are a total of seven principal versions. Most modern rendition is based on the Final (1907) version. You can still find recordings of the original (1868) version. For the other five versions sandwiched in between, I have not been able to lay my finger on them. Perhaps it is out there somewhere.

With an Opus number of 6, I would think that this Piano Concerto must have been done earlier in Grieg composing career but Opus 6 was assigned to the original version when Grieg was in his twenties with a wife and an infant in tow. The final version was autographed six weeks before Grieg death. This piece of music must have occupied a special sentimentality for Grieg to make life long revisions perhaps as a quest for musical nirvana or it is his favorite composition.

After rummaging through my collection and borrowed or stole some from my friends, I finally assembled the following recordings of this Piano Concerto.

Original Version (1868)

1. Derwinder/Hirokami/Norrkopping Symphony Orchestra

Final Version (1907)

1.Knardahl/Ingebretsen/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

2.Richter/Matacic/Monte Carlo National Opera Orchestra

3.O'hara/Judd/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

4.Ogawa/Rudd/Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Bergen premiered this piece)

5.Perahia/Davis/Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

The differential between the Original and Final version lies mainly in the orchestration and only small changes were made in the solo piano part. I could not lay my hands on any of the sandwiched versions to make a comparison.

Of the six renditions listed above, it is not surprising that the one by Richter stands out from the rest. Not only is the dynamic range between ppp and fff being more pronounced, the emotive force is also the strongest without compromising too much on technical correctness. This should not be surprising as Richter has publicly aired his view that he plays what he likes and does not care about the audience. I take it not as a prima donna with a bad attitude but perhaps Richter has discovered that by playing for himself, it will enable him to deliver the best music to his audience. Not many might agree as Richter has quite a character like last minute no show even on very special performances for the diplomatic corp.

Other giants in the list are Perahia who made his name in his Mozart and Beethoven interpretations and Knardahl who is noted for her interpretation of Nordic works. From my listening sessions, the renditions of these two giants sounded a bit main stream with little differential. Perhaps for more popular pieces like this Grieg Piano Concerto, the differential between the great and the greatest is so small that differentiating them calls for skills beyond my reach.

Happy listening.

Cheers,,,, Pete aka lkypeter

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Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copy Rights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

Paganini Violin Concerto No. 1 Opus 6

Italians are renowned for their flair in design and the Germans for fine engineering. Furniture wise, we normally have great looking Italian pieces that sometimes lacked functionality and durability. German furniture on their hand are normally well engineered and durable but might not be as appealing to the eyes compared to Italian pieces in general. So it would be great to have the Italian conceptualize the design and the Germans to engineer and build it. Why the comparison about furniture on a piece of musical work? I have on hand a great Italian masterpiece in Paganini Violin Concerto No. 1 Opus 6 but my favorite rendition thus far is by solo violinist Hilary Hahn who is of Germanic stock. Could be a marriage made in heaven if you consider the combination of Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Japanese conductor Eiji Oue in the same breathe. Swedish being associated mostly with safety like Volvo car ( although Volvo car now belongs to Ford ) and Japanese for their consistent quality of their produce.

Noticed that I have not keyed the title as there are some interesting angle as it can be in either D major or a combination of D major for the soloist and E flat for the orchestra as originally envisioned by Paganini. He originally wrote the orchestra score in E flat major and the soloist part in D major but have the soloist tune his violin half a semitone higher to match with the orchestra. Paganini did not state the reason for doing so but contemporary opinions being either he felt that E flat major being more appropriate tonality wise or because the soloist part is more easily executed in the key of D major. Almost all modern interpretations are done on D major for both the solo violinist and the orchestra.

With the violin being one of the instruments Paganini plays, it is therefore not a surprise that this piece was written with quite a fair emphasis on the solo violinist especially in the first and last movements. The total time for the piece is about 36 minutes with the middle movement occupying only about 5 plus minutes and the longest first movement of about 21 plus minutes. To attain a fuller enjoyment, I would recommend both listening and watching it as the solo violin portions contain a good dose of showmanship ( meaning in both gender ) like double stops in which the solo violinist have to bow on 2 strings simultaneously and portions of the piece that takes the soloists to almost the end of the upper register of the scale for violin and quick alternating notes between the first and last string of the violin.

I have always loved the lower middle registers of the violin where at the hands of a good violiniss and a good violon makes for a very unique tonality which I can only describe as very tunefully close to the human voice. Some like this portion to be played with vibrato but I beg to differ as I love the more ancient playing style with less or no vibrato. This is also one of my reason for preferring Hanh's rendition with less vibrato.

The piece promises lots of cadenza where the soloist is at their own devices with the orchestra silent. Having said that, this is certainly not a sonata disguised as a concerto but the more tuneful blending between the orchestra and the soloist is more prevalent in the brass and woodwind portions with a good dose of accentuation from the percussion group. The string section is mostly deployed in a more harmonic support manner in my opinion.

As this is my first writing on Paganini, it would be good to note that like most warm blooded Italian being more southernly geographically, his life is not short on excitement and uniqueness especially on the romantic front as he was ever quoted saying he is not handsome but when women hear him play, they would come crawling to his feet. Gambling was also one of his many favorite vices. Later in life, he even attempted to make money out of his gambling habit by opening a casino but it lead to financial ruin for him personally and he had to wind it up. The juiciest rumor is about his alleged pact with the devil to grant him special musical talent in exchange for something sinister. It does not help that when asked about it, he was quoted at replying how else could he be so good musically. I am of the opinion that this is most probably an egotistical and mischievous reply not to be taken seriously as he has quite a flamboyant and sanguine character. This alleged rumor could also be one of the reasons why his body was denied a timely decent Catholic burial until a few decades later.

Before penning off, some of the other more noted renditions of this work you might want to listen to besides my favorite by Hahn/Oue/Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra are:

1.Accardo/Dutoit/London Philharmonic

2.Grumiaux/Bellugi/National Orchestra de la Opera Monte Carlo

3.Perlman/Foster/Royal Philharmonic

4.Rabin/Gossens/Philharmonia Orchestra

5.Menuhin/Monteux/Orchestra National de Paris

Happy reading, listening and watching hopefully in that order.

Cheers,,,,, Pete aka lkypeter

Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye