All Men Should Be Brothers

Lang Lang Played Emperor

2011-11-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

Last evening, Lang Lang performed Beethoven's fifth concerto with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Jean-Marie Zeitouni at the podium. Opposite to what many professionals say, he did extremely
well . . . a beautiful performance and even better with Liszt's Romance as the encore.

Vancouver Symphony was excellent as always, but the conductor was not at the level of VSO, did not succeed in getting a nice sound--as Maestro Tovey does--from the orchestra. Many times, some string played pizzicato today, some others the day after! And the second movement of the symphony was too slow, very boring!

A few quick notes:

- Opposite to most soloists, Lang Lang was looking at the front row audience most of the time. He is a good actor too!

- The volume of the sound of Dale (concertmaster) was too high, almost like a solo. He and the conductor should control it in the future.

- Nick is doing quite well in place of Brent (principal second) although Brent is really different, both in the leading role and as a gentleman.

- Jeanette was perfect in absence of Karen (assistant second) too.

- It was good to see that Jennie (assistant concertmaster) fixed the colour of her hair (it was half red half black for a few months) which was only good for a rock band!

VSO Played Beethoven & Mozart

2011-10-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

I’m just back from Orpheum…another fabulous concert of Vancouver Symphony.

It was strange…after forty years of continuous concert going, I was thinking in the interval, how this habit of mine to sit in the first row started when it’s not an interesting location for the overall sound heard, nor the best place for visual purposes…the best can be viewed is the strings section and only the first rows! Then I went back, with the wings of imagination, to my home town 40 years back, when viewing Henryk Szeryng, for instance, playing Beethoven with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra from the closest distance possible was a once-in-a-life-time chance, especially for a young 14-year boy.

Anyway, Maestro Tovey opened the concert with “Earth Songs” by Professor Stephen Chatman, Head, Composition Division at The University of British Columbia. This piece was commissioned by the UBC in honour of its centenary four years ago (2007). Vancouver Bach Choir joined the VSO in performance of this work. A beautiful work...made me buy the CD at the interval!

The all-classic part of the evening started after that with the beautiful second concerto of Beethoven, totally a Mozartian type. Opus number 19 shows it all. The 39-year-old pianist from Vienna, Till Fellner played the solo part...very soft and pretty much beautiful performance.

First movement begins with a long introduction by tutti in the tonic key of B-flat major. Solo enters after a few chromatic passages and a full classic conversation between the solo and tutti continues the movement.

Adagio is one of the charming Beethoven’s movements in the subdominant key of E-flat major.

And finally comes the finale, again a totally classic 7-part rondo in a 6/8 rhythm. A Beethoven typical musical joke can be heard right before the last appearance of the rondo theme when solo moves to a G major key by mistake but tutti guides the solo to the correct tonic key!

After the interval, the glamorous Symphony No. 40 of Mozart was performed. The amazing sound of the orchestra of our town shows much better in symphonies far from natural mistakes of the soloists that distract the average audience. And Maestro Tovey, as I told him once in the West Vancouver Library, is as wonderful as his guru, the late Leonard Bernstein I loved.

The first theme is just charming, although a bit dark and sad. It starts in the tonic key of G major with the accompaniment of the lower strings. This technique was widely used later by early romantics. An example is the beginning of Mendelssohn’s first violin concerto.

Slow movement moves to E-flat, the submediant major of the main key.

The minuet is a true Mozartian-classic ¾ dance including a happier trio. To me, it was performed too fast for an eighteenth century court dance...should be more elegant. Probably Maestro Tovey wanted to finish the fastest concert (under two hours) even faster and go home!

Finale, allegro assai in the tonic G minor is a very rhythmic live movement, a happy ending for a great symphony.

This time, nothing exciting happened, no baton flew in the air, no D string of the second violins broke…nothing!

Iron Ring

2011-10-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

Reference: The Iron Ring Website

The history of the Calling of an Engineer dates back to 1922. Seven past presidents of the Engineering Institute of Canada (then so called) had a meeting in Montreal with other engineers.

One of the speakers in the meeting was Professor Haultain of the University of Toronto. He recommended establishing an organization to bind all members of the engineering profession in

Canada

. He felt that an obligation or statement of ethics needed be developed to which a young graduate in engineering could subscribe. The past presidents of the Engineering Institute of Canada were very receptive to this idea.

Haultain wrote to Rudyard Kipling, who had made references to the work of engineers in some of his poems and writings, asking him for his assistance in developing a suitably dignified obligation and ceremony for this purpose. Kipling was very enthusiastic in his response and shortly produced both an obligation and a ceremony formally entitled "The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer."

The Ritual is now administered by a body called The Corporation of the Seven Wardens Inc. The seven past presidents of the Engineering Institute of Canada in 1922 were the original seven Wardens. The Corporation is responsible for administering and maintaining the Ritual and, in order to do so, creates Camps in various locations in

Canada

. The Ritual is not connected with any university or engineering organization. It is an entirely independent body. The Ritual has been copyrighted in Canada and in the

United States

The Iron Ring has been registered too and may be worn on the little finger of the working hand by any engineer who has been obligated at an authorized ceremony of the Ritual of the Calling of the Engineer. The ring symbolizes the pride which engineers have in their profession, while simultaneously reminding them of their humility. The ring serves as a reminder to the engineer and others of the engineer's obligation to live by a high standard of professional conduct. It is not a symbol of qualification as an engineer which is determined by the provincial and territorial licensing bodies.

Your Hands

2011-07-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

I see myself—without you,

All alone, lonely alone,

Wherever I go, anywhere I now step in,

I can but feel you, your image visible to me.

I can clearly remember your eyes,

Filled with pain, full of grief,

The story of your loneliness,

Was long, enough to suit tens of books.

Your memories are with me, anywhere I go,

Softly burning the days of my life…

* * * * *

You were shining like the sun for me,

In the cold, dark world of mine,

Of the always wet cheeks of mine,

Thus your fingers wiped the tears.

Where are those beautiful hands now?

Those good, kind hands of yours,

Why cannot be heard anymore,

The fairy tales from your crimson mouth?

No, I can never believe it ever,

All those lovely memories are gone,

The true lover of the blue of the skies,

Has left my heart behind the window.

The blue of the sky has turned to stone gray,

Dear God might be in deep sleep,

Not looking down from that high above heavens,

Not seeing all tears flooding on my cheeks.

Your memories are with me, anywhere I go,

Softly burning the days of my life…

A quick translation of an old Persian song

Advice From Snopes

2010-05-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

By now, most people are familiar with Snopes

and/or TruthorFiction for determining whether information received via an e-mail is true or false. Both are excellent sites. Below is their advice.

1) Any time you see an e-mail that says forward this on to '10' of your friends, sign this petition, or you'll get bad luck, good luck, or whatever, it almost always has an e-mail tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and e-mails of those forwarded addresses. The host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of 'active' e-mail addresses to use in spam e-mails or sell to other spammers.

2) Almost all e-mails that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to the little kid in Florida who wanted to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards. All it was, and all any of this type of e-mail is, is a way to get names and 'cookie' tracking information for telemarketers and spammers--to validate active e-mail accounts for their own profitable purposes.

You can do your friends and family members a great favour by sending this information to them; you will be providing a service to your friends, and will be rewarded by not getting thousands of spam e-mails in the future.

If you have been sending out (forwarding) the above kinds of e-mails, now you know why you get so much spam! Do yourself a favour and stop adding your name(s) to those types of listings, regardless of how inviting they might sound. You may think you are supporting a great cause, but you are not. Instead, you will be getting tons of junk mail later. Plus, we are helping the spammers get rich. Let's not make it easy for them.

Also, e-mail petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress or any other organization. To be acceptable, petitions must have a signed signature and full address of the person signing the petition.

Furthermore, please remove all e-mail addresses still attached before you forward a message. It is putting everyone's name out there. Most people use a nickname for their e-mail just so their real name is not out there on the internet. But if you have listed their real name in your contacts, it will also show up next to their email address. Be a friend and delete all the names before forwarding. Even better, send everything by BCC; that's Blind Carbon Copy. That way no names will ever show up on an e-mail.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T13:03:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day... to all lovers around the world!

Christmas Carols

2009-12-21T14:41:00.001-08:00

Happy holidays everybody! I have selected the sheet music of the most beautiful carols. Please click on the sheet you wish to enlarge; then you can download and print it. The First Noel

Jingle Bells

Joy to the World

Silent Night, Holy Night

O Christmas Tree

The Twelve Days of Christmas

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Santa Parade

2009-12-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

There was a fascinating Santa Parade last weekend, Vancouver downtown. What I can remember other than my photos is cold and cold and cold, about -10 C windchill! Please watch the pictures on my photoblog.

Vancouver Convention Centre

2009-04-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

When I started my Canadian career in 2004, I was very lucky to start with an amazing project, Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, an expansion part to the existing building.

The building is over 135,000 square metres in 6 storeys. Design of the floor beams (horizontal elements to carry vertical loads in the load path, technically speaking) was a big challenge because of:

- Very long spans, up to 70 m
- Cranked beams spanning from one level to another with up to 50 deg slopes
- Heavy loads
- Limited deflections at most locations
- Limited beam height at certain locations

Built-up beams (WWF technically) with heights over 1,000 mm and masses over 500 kg/m were used very often, while some customized heavy girders with heights of up to 2,500 mm and customized high strength steel (Fy = 450 MPa, technically) were used for exceptional long spans and cantilevers.

I have to add, I was double lucky to start my Canadian career not only with a great project, but also with a great consulting firm, Glotman.Simpson, and under direction of a great structural engineer, Mr. Rob Simpson.

This beautiful building was inaugurated last week followed by an open house last weekend. Watch a short video of the open house:

See photos of the open house on my photoblog. See a panorama of the building under construction one year ago. This panorama would be best seen downloaded to full screen.

World without Engineers

2009-03-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine a world without engineers? Well, let me help you...

How about a flight for a dream vacation

And transportations

The other side of the bridge? No problem! Try this bridge

Listen to your MP3s

Or watch your favourite TV show

Computers, select from latest models, laptop or desktop

Communicate with friends and colleagues

Good night!

Declan

2009-03-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

Declan Galbraith (born 19 December 1991) is an English singer of Scottish and Irish origin.

He and his family live in Hoo, a village near Rochester, Kent. His grandfather was in a band, played several instruments, and took Galbraith to the concerts he was participating in, and the mix of Scottish and Irish musical traditions inspired Galbraith and became his early musical influence.

Although he is a British citizen and singer, Declan is more famous and well known abroad. The extent of his fame is widest in Germany where most of his albums were promoted, his songs recorded, and videos made. His first album in Germany had soon sold 200,000 copies within the year of release. As well as Germany, many other countries in Europe consider Declan as one of its well loved celebrities.

Watch a phenomenal song by Declan Galbraith, Tell Me Why

Source: Wikipedia

Major & Minor Scales

2009-02-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

Natural scales

Flat scales

Sharp scales

Transformation of Logos

2009-01-28T21:20:00.000-08:00

Heiligenstadt

2008-10-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

206 years ago this day, Beethoven felt so bad that decided to commit a suicide. It was October 6, 1802, in Heiligenstadt, a small village near Vienna.

But in a testament, well known as the Heiligenstadt Tetament, he wrote to his brothers:

For my brothers Carl and [Johann] Beethoven

O you men who think or say that I am malevolent, stubborn or misanthropic... how greatly do you wrong me. You do not know the secret causes of my seeming; from childhood my heart and mind were disposed to the gentle feelings of good will, I was even ever eager to accomplish great deeds, but reflect now that for six years I have been a hopeless case, aggravated by senseless physicians, cheated year after year in the hope of improvement, finally compelled to face the prospect of a lasting malady (whose cure will take years or, perhaps, be impossible). Born with an ardent and lively temperament, even susceptible to the diversions of society, I was compelled early to isolate myself, to live in loneliness, when I at times tried to forget all this. O how harshly was I repulsed by the doubly sad experience of my bad hearing, and yet it was impossible for me to say to men speak louder, shout, for I am deaf. Ah how could I possibly admit such an infirmity in the one sense which should have been more perfect in me than in others, a sense which I once possessed in highest perfection, a perfection such as few surely in my profession enjoy or have enjoyed.

O I cannot do it, therefore forgive me when you see me draw back when I would gladly mingle with you, my misfortune is doubly painful because it must lead to my being misunderstood, for me there can be no recreations in society of my fellows, refined intercourse, mutual exchange of thought, only just as little as the greatest needs command disposition, although I sometimes ran counter to it yielding to my inclination for society, but what a humiliation when one stood beside me and heard a flute in the distance and I heard nothing, or someone heard the shepherd singing and again I heard nothing, such incidents brought me to the verge of despair, but little more and I would have put an end to my life... only art it was that withheld me, ah it seemed impossible to leave the world until I had produced all that I felt called upon me to produce, and so I endured this wretched existence--truly wretched, an excitable body which a sudden change can throw from the best into the worst state... Patience, it is said that I must now choose for my guide, I have done so, I hope my determination will remain firm to endure until it please the inexorable parcae to break the thread. Perhaps I shall get better, perhaps not, I am prepared. Forced already in my 28th year to become a philosopher... O it is not easy, less easy for the artist than for anyone else. Divine One thou lookest into my inmost soul, thou knowest it, thou knowest that love of man and desire to do good live therein. O men, when some day you read these words, reflect that you did me wrong and let the unfortunate one comfort himself and find one of his kind who despite all obstacles of nature yet did all that was in his power to be accepted among worthy artists and men.

You my brothers Carl and [Johann], as soon as I am dead if Dr. Schmid is still alive ask him in my name to describe my malady and attach this document to the history of my illness so that so far as possible at least the world may become reconciled with me after my death. At the same time I declare you two to be the heirs to my small fortune (if so it can be called), divide it fairly, bear with and help each other, what injury you have done me you know was long ago forgiven.

To you brother Carl I give special thanks for the attachment you have displayed towards me of late. It is my wish that your lives be better and freer from care than I have had. Recommend virtue to your children, it alone can give happiness, not money, I speak from experience, it was virtue that upheld me in misery, to it next to my art I owe the fact that I did not end my life with suicide. Farewell and love each other. I thank all my friends, particularly Prince Lichnowsky and Professor Schmid. I desire that the instruments from Prince L. be preserved by one of you but let no quarrel result from this, so soon as they can serve you better purpose sell them, how glad will I be if I can still be helpful to you in my grave. With joy I hasten towards death... if it comes before I shall have had an opportunity to show all my artistic capacities it will still come too early for me despite my hard fate and I shall probably wish it had come later, but even then I am satisfied, will it not free me from my state of endless suffering? Come when thou will I shall meet thee bravely.

Farewell and do not wholly forget me when I am dead, I deserve this of you in having often in life thought of you how to make you happy, be so.

Heiligenstadt October 6,1802 Ludwig van Beethoven

For my brothers Carl and [Johann] to be read and executed after my death.

For a strange reason still unknown, he has left the name Johann blank throughout the text.

Ironically, this was my lucky day, 26 years ago... I married my lovely wife the same day Oct 6, 1982.

Vancouver Children's Choir

2008-10-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

It was couple of years ago when I had a post introducing the stunning Vancouver Children’s Choir. I also wrote down the lyrics of their beautiful performance of the song “Can You Imagine?” The song was so touching that made me translate the lyrics into Persian then. Now, I’ve prepared a video clip of the song for you. Please watch:

Bokeh

2008-05-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

Boke is a Japanese word meaning fuzzy. The spelling has been changed to bokeh since 2000, maybe to suggest the correct pronunciation to English speakers, in photography. It is now a photographic term referring to out-of-focus areas (generally background) in photos. Bokeh techniques are mostly used in the portraiture and flower categories of photography. A blurred background makes the subject stand out and making the image look like three dimensional.

A well blurred background can be achieved with:

1. Wide opening the camera’s pupil (aperture)… the wider the opening, the more blur or, in photographic terms, the shallower depth of field.

2. Keeping the subject as close as possible to the camera with a long space between the subject and the background.

3. Using large focal length which simply means, in non-slr cameras, zooming in, and in slr’s, changing the lens to a longer one.

A combination of all three techniques above would definitely yield to much better results.

Method number one needs more clarification. The aperture (camera’s pupil) can be wider using small f numbers. By definition, f number is:

f# = Lf / D . . . . . (1)

Where f# is the scale used to control the aperture size, Lf is the focal length in millimetre, and D is the diameter of the opening in millimetre. Note that Lf in equation (1) is the real focal length and not the 35mm equivalent. As an example, let’s see how wide would an f/2.8 in an slr camera with 36mm focal length open the aperture:

f# = Lf / D . . . . . eq. (1)
2.8 = 36 / D
thus D = 12.86 mm.

This diameter is a very good size for a nice bokeh, assuming other factors are appropriate. Next, let’s calculate what f# could open the pupil of a point-and-shoot camera with 6mm real focal length that much:

f# = Lf / D . . . . . eq. (1)
f# = 6 / 12.86 = 0.47 say f/0.5.

Further, it would be of interest to know how effective (wide) could an f# of 2.8 in a point-and-shoot camera be compared to an slr:

f# = Lf / D . . . . . eq. (1)
thus D1 = Lf1 / f#1 and D2 = Lf2 / f#2.

Index 1 shows the p&s while index 2 shows the slr. We want to find the f# in an slr to open the aperture as much as that of f/2.8 in an point-and-shoot, so

D1 = D2
Lf1 / f#1 = Lf2 / f#2
6 / 2.8 = 36 / f#2
f#2 = 16.8 say f/16.

What does this calculation say? It clearly shows that f/2.8 in a simple point-and-shoot camera is equivalent to f/16 in an slr! Have you ever tried to get a bokeh with f/2.8 setting on your camera and not succeeded much? Well, this is the reason! With point-and-shoot cameras the best you can do for a nice bokeh is zooming as mch as you can or your camera lets. Zooming in zoom lenses dramatically raises the focal length. Assuming your regular (no zoom) focal length to be 6 mm, at 6x zoom you get a focal length of 36 mm similar to an slr, and this is the ground you can stand on with a real f/2.8 for instance.

Watch an interesting short video discussing depth of field:

Video taken from YouTube

Grammy Winner Vancouver Symphony

2008-05-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

It was tenth evening of February 2008 when Maestro Bramwell Tovey and James Ehnes received the 2007 Grammy Award in the category of “Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra” for the CBC recording of the violin concerti by Barber, Korngold, and Walton with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Later, in May, this award was completed with a Ju no for Best Classical Album of the Year for the same compact disc.

Maestro Bramwell Tovey was born on July 11, 1953 in England. He was educated at the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London as a pianist and composer. His second instrument was tuba.

Tovey was the music director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra between 1989 and 2001. He was appointed the music director and conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in September 2000. Meanwhile, in Europe, he was music director of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra from 2002 to 2006.

Tovey has conducted the “Summertime Classics” series with the legendary New York Philharmonic since the inception of the series in 2004.

James Ehnes was born on January 27, 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba. He started his music lessons at 5 with his father who was a trumpeter and music teacher.

Ehnes won the Juno Award for Best Classical Album of the Year in 2001 and was named Young Artist of the Year at the Cannes Classical Awards in 2002. He graduated from the Juilliard School in 1997. He mostly plays on a 1715 Marsick Stradivarius which belongs to the Fulton Collection. His recording of Paganini’s 24 caprices in 1995 was acclaimed as a fine recording of these difficult pieces. Ehnes also won the 2007 Juno for the recording of Mozart’s violin concerti.

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), founded in 1919, is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver. Each year, over 240,000 people attend the VSO concerts. The orchestra’s home is the beautiful Orpheum Theatre. VSO is the third largest symphony orchestra in Canada with 140 concerts per season and annual operating budget of $10 million.

Watch a short video of Maestro Tovey conducting the orchestra at Orpheum:

Video taken from YouTube

Persian Ballet

2008-03-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

The art and culture society “Ballet Afsaneh” is a professional non-profit performing arts company based in the San Franciso Bay, California. This dynamic group presents performances and activities featuring dance, poetry, and music of the Silk Road—the historic trade route that stretched 11,000 kilometres across Central Asia from the China Sea in the east to the Mediterranean in the west.

The group performed a Persian ballet at the San Francisco City Hall last year during the Persian New Year (Norooz) celebrations in March 2007. The beautiful dance was accompanied by stunning Iranian music performed with Ney and Daf, Persian classical music instruments.

Watch a short video of the program:

Canon S5 IS

2008-03-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

Canon S5 IS is the best prosumer high end, SLR like camera available.

This little S5, 120mm long, 80mm wide and 80mm deep, 450g camera (550g with batteries) is flooded with fantastic features. Let me list a few:

- Remote control of the shutter from pc; you can control the zoom lever, aperture and shutter time, and many more controls from your pc
- Amazing face detection; detects up to 3 faces
- 12x optical zoom combined with 4x digital zoom with a very efficient image stabilizer IS up to the far tele end of the zoom; also effective in video recording, thanks to the super silent zooming motor of Canon; both optical 12x and digital 4x (48x total) can be used in video recording
- Stereo sound in video recording
- Stereo sound recorder
- Aperture and shutter time(1) priority modes for professionals, full automatic mode for beginners, and also a full manual control of everything including focus for professionals and creative amateur photographers
- Two levels of macro, regular effective 100 to 500mm from the lens, and super macro effective zero, that’s right, 0 to 100mm from the lens
- Flash with 3 levels of light intensity (output) up to 5.2m effective
- Easy to use menus with each and every control at the finger tip
- Exposure bracketing with 3 shots at the compensation levels you define
- Focus bracketing with 3 shots at the focus levels you define
- Dedicated scenes mode with amazing preset controls for indoor, snow, fireworks, and many more situations
- Live light histogram which shows the light condition before shooting the photo
- Focus check right after the shot
- Red eye reduction in the camera needless of a software
- Swap colours mode, lets you switch the colour of the subject to whatever colour you’d wish!
- Dedicated rotating LCD and excellent electronic view finder EVF

When investigating the tons of reviews for this camera along with a competitive model, Panasonic FZ18 with a seducing 18x zoom, I noticed two major complaints about S5, the lens cap pops off very easily, and the noise is not acceptable in ISO settings over 400. It should be noted, this camera is not a professional SLR and it can be assumed the user of this S5 will never need prints larger than 4”x6” and very rarely up to a letter size 11”x17”, and in such sizes noise cannot be noticed even with ISO1600 for the 4x6 print and up to ISO 800 for the 11x17 print. Actually, the noise can only be clearly seen in what professionals call 100% crop in their reviews. Besides, everything should be paid for; reducing noise equals losing details on the other side! So, clean details versus noise should be balanced at some reasonable point. And about the lens cap, I really can’t imagine what pressure would have been on the motor if the lens cap did not pop off easily! You—just like myself—will definitely forget to take off the cap before turning on the camera more than 50% of the times, I assure!

The 18x zoom announced for a few other cameras including FZ18 works mostly on the wide side, say from 28mm equivalent focal length. Also, the IS does not work well on the tele side and you will have issues with your hand shake anywhere above 12x!

Bottom line… I highly recommend this magic Canon S5. I would suggest adding a set (possibly 2 sets) of NiMH batteries and charger along with a lens hood and adaptor. You can also add a UV filter to leave in place all the time to protect the lens, only, you’ll need a larger bag for this system.

Lions Gate Suspension Bridge, 2km away, full wide 36mm, 2sec, f4.0, ISO100

Same bridge, same vantage point, full optical zoom 12x, 432mm, 2sec, f4.0, ISO100

A coin almost zero distance from the lens at super macro mode, 6mm, 8sec, f2.7, ISO100... please note, when you cover the subject with the large 58mm diameter lens at zero distance, there will not be enough light for the shot, and this is the reason for this long shot with shutter time of 8 seconds! A tripod is a must in such super macro cases.

Watch a video introducing Canon S5 IS:

There are a few more samples on my photoblog. Also more professional reviews can be seen on Steve’s Digicams and Digital Photography Review.

(1) Professional photographers use the term "shutter speed" but this term stands for the length of time that the shutter remains open to let the light pass the aperture, and the unit of this quantity is seconds; so, I would rather call it "shutter time".

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's day...

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's day, filled with love and happiness.

Pictures at an Exhibition

2008-02-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

It was Feruary 1874 when Mussorgsky visited an exhibition of the paintings of his newly deceased friend, Viktor Alexandrovich Hartmann (1834-1873), the Russian artist and architect. Impressed by most of the watercolours, Modest composed the famous suite, Pictures at an Exhibition, for piano solo. The music is considered a showpiece for virtuoso pianists; however, it is so gorgeous that has been arranged for orchestra many times by many musicians so far. The arrangement by Ravel is the most often performed and recorded. Most of the paintings inspired by the great composer are lost; either yet undiscovered or, sadly, destroyed by time.

Mussorgsky uses and repeats a theme that represents the movements of the visitor from one picture to the next. This is just like leitmotiv used by Wagner or idee fixe used by Berlioz in his fantastic unique symphony to show a specific idea repeating all the time. Mussorgsky calls it Promenade. It’s generally in b-flat major key, with alternating 5/4 and 6/4 rhythms. The melody is melancholic, showing the musician’s deep grief for his gone friend.

Video part 1
Promenade (0:24 to 2:05)

Picture No. 1: The Gnome (2:05 to 4:40)
In e-flat major with a 3/4 timing, shows a little gnome, clumsily running with crooked legs.

Promenade (4:40 to 5:38)

Picture No. 2: The Old Castle (5:38 to end)
In g-sharp minor with a 6/8 rhythm, shows a medieval castle and a troubadour singing in front of it. This is said to be a Hartmann’s watercolour of an Italian castle.

Video part 2

Promenade (0:00 to 0:35)

Picture No. 3: Tuileries (0:35 to 1:36)
In b major 4/4, shows the gardens of Tuileries around the castle at the centre of Paris. The original painting only shows an empty garden but, for musical purposes, Mussorgsky added to the image children chattering and playing in the garden.

Picture No. 4: Cattle (1:36 to 4:12)
In g-sharp minor with a 2/4 rhythm, shows a Polish cart moving on enormous wheels.

Promenade (4:12 to 5:00)

Picture No. 5: Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells (5:00 to 6:16)
In f major with a 2/4 timing, the original work by Hartmann is a set decoration design for a ballet. The original work was Tribly Ballet scored by Julius Gerber and choreographed by Petipa performed in 1870.

Picture No. 6: Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle (6:16 to end)
In b-flat minor 4/4, this picture is sometimes called Two Polish Jews, but the title provided above is the one as seen in the original Mussorgsky’s manuscripts. These were 2 separate paintings by Hartmann combined in one single musical movement.

Video part 3
Picture No. 7: The Market at Limoges (0:00 to 1:30)
In e-flat major with a 4/4 rhythm, shows women quarreling in a market in Limoges, a city in central France.

Picture No. 8: The Catacombs (1:30 to end)
In b minor 3/4 (largo) and then in b minor 6/8 (andante), shows the artist (Hartmann) examining the Paris catacombs by the light of a lantern.

Video part 4
Picture No. 9: The Hut on Fowl’s Legs (0:00 to 2:58)
In c minor 2/4, shows a clock in the form of Baba Yaga’s hut on fowl’s legs. Baba Yaga is, in Slavic folklore, the wild witch and mistress of magic.

Promenade (2:58 to 4:05)

Picture No. 10: Great Gate of Kiev (4:05 to end)
In e-flat major with a 4/4 time, shows Bogatyrs, heroes in Russian epics and a sketch of a monumental gate designed by Hartmann but never built.

Photoblog

2007-12-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

I would cordially invite all friends of this weblog to visit my new photoblog, "Pictures. . . at an Exhibition".

As I mentioned in the previous posts, I have recently fell in love with photography as a new hobby. It actually happened last December, although I started photography with a Canonet 28 when I was 14!

So, please do not expect some professional exceptional photos, but only a few pictures of mine as an amateur and with basic gear as well.

Wonderful Time

2007-11-26T18:10:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again.

We wish you a merry Christmas,
And a happy new year...

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin,
Good tidings for Christmas and a happy new year...

Please watch the beautiful carol played by a beautiful Japanese group, Vanilla Mood:

Also, the beautiful all time charming carol, Jingle Bells:

Christmas in Vienna

2007-11-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

Months ago I had a post about a concert by Diana Ross with Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo in Vienna.

This was actually type of a new year concert in 1992 with the legendary Vienna Philharmonic and two of the famous three tenors.

Please watch "Amazing Grace", one of the beautiful pieces performed in that concert which I have recently found on the superb website YouTube.

Sirena

2007-11-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

Sirena is a beautiful charming young lady violinist.

Sirena Huang, born in 1995, started violin lessons at 4 and bagan her professional music life at 9 in a concert with Taiwan Symphony Orchestra.

Last year, she performed at TED Conference in Monterey, California when she was only 11 years old and did wonders not only in brilliant performance on the violin but also as a professional lecturer on the design and construction of the instrument.

Watch a short video clip of her performance at TED:

TED Conference 2006
Sirena Huang: Violin
25 minutes

Rodrigo

2007-07-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre (22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999) was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being blind from an early age, he achieved great success. Rodrigo is considered to be among the composers most responsible for popularizing classical guitar music.

He was born in Valencia, and lost his sight almost completely at the age of three after contracting diphtheria. He began to study piano and violin at the age of eight, but despite being best known for his guitar music, he never mastered the instrument himself.

In 1925 he received Spain's National Prize for Orchestra for Cinco piezas infantiles (Five Children's Pieces). From 1947 Rodrigo was a professor of music history, holding the Manuel de Falla Chair of Music in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, at Complutense University of Madrid.

His most famous work, Concierto de Aranjuez, was composed in 1939 in Paris. The central adagio movement of the concerto is one of the most recognizable in 20th century classical music, featuring the interplay of guitar with English horn.

In 1991, Rodrigo was raised to the nobility by King Juan Carlos; he was given the title Marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez (Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez). He received the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award—Spain's highest civilian honour—in 1996. He was named Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 1998.

He married Victoria Kamhi, a Turkish-born pianist, on 19 January 1933, in Valencia. Their daughter, Cecilia, was born 27 January 1941. Rodrigo died in 1999 in Madrid at the age of 97. Joaquín Rodrigo and his wife Victoria are buried at the cemetery at Aranjuez.

Listen:
Rodrigo, Serenata al Alba del Dia
Second movement, Allegro (1:55 min 471 kb)
Guitar Rachel Gauk
Flute Susan Hoeppner

Source: Wikipedia

All Men Should Be Brothers

2007-06-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

Last week Beethoven’s 9th was performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra with Maestro Bramwell Tovey at the podium, Canadian-American Erin Wall soprano, Anita Krause mezzo soprano, Colin Ainsworth tenor, Russell Braun baritone, and Vancouver Bach Choir, in the gorgeous theatre of Orpheum.

Listen to part of the finale:

4. Presto, allegro ma non troppo
Baritone Bryn Terfel
Berlin Philharmonic
Claudio Abbado
1.64 Mb 6:59 Mins

Original German lyrics:
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere
anstimmen und freudenvollere.
Freude! Freude!
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
(Schillers Original:
Was der Mode Schwert geteilt;
Bettler werden Fürstenbrüder,)
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küße gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muß er wohnen.
Finale repeats the words:
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Seid umschlungen,
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Freude, schöner Götterfunken

English translation:
Oh friends, not these tones!
Rather let us sing more
cheerful and more joyful ones.
Joy! Joy!
Joy, thou glorious spark of heaven,
Daughter of Elysium,
We approach fire-drunk,
Heavenly One, your shrine.
Your magic reunites
What custom sternly divides;
All people become brothers
(Schiller's original:
What custom's sword separates;
Beggars become princes' brothers)
Where your gentle wing alights.
Whoever succeeds in the great attempt
To be a friend of a friend,
Whoever has won a lovely woman,
Let him add his jubilation!
Yes, whoever calls even one soul
His own on the earth's globe!
And who never has, let him steal,
Weeping, away from this group.
All creatures drink joy
At the breasts of nature;
All the good, all the evil
Follow her roses' trail.
Kisses gave she us, and wine,
A friend, proven unto death;
Pleasure was to the worm granted,
And the cherub stands before God.
Glad, as his suns fly
Through the Heavens' glorious plan,
Run, brothers, your race,
Joyful, as a hero to victory.
Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the star-canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell.
Finale repeats the words:
Be embraced, ye millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Be embraced,
This kiss for the whole world!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods

Jacqueline du Pré

2007-05-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Jacqueline Mary du Pré (1945-1987) was a British cellist, today acknowledged as one of the greatest exponents of the instrument.

Born in Oxford, England, on 26 January 1945, Jacqueline du Pré was the second child of Derek du Pré, an accountant, and pianist Iris du Pré. At age four du Pré heard the sound of the cello on the radio and asked her mother for "one of those." She started with lessons from her mother, who composed little pieces accompanied by illustrations, before beginning study at the London Violoncello School at age five. Before long she was entering and winning local music competitions alongside her sister, flautist Hilary du Pré. Du Pré’s main teacher, from 1955 to 1961, was the celebrated cellist William Pleeth. Subsequently she also participated in a Pablo Casals masterclass in Zermatt, Switzerland in 1960, as well as short-term studies with Paul Tortelier in Paris in 1962, and with Mstislav Rostropovich in Russia in 1966. So impressed was the legendary Rostropovich with his young pupil that at the end of her study with him, he declared her "the only cellist of the younger generation that could equal and overtake his own achievement."

Du Pré primarily played two Stradivarius cellos, the instrument of 1673, and the 1712 Davydov Stradivarius. Both instruments were gifts from her godmother, Ismena Holland. She performed with the 1673 Stradivarius from 1961 until 1964 when she acquired the Davydov. Many of her most famous recordings were made on this instrument including the Elgar Concerto with Barbirolli, the Schumann Cello Concerto with Barenboim and the two Brahms Cello Sonatas.

rom 1969 to 1970 du Pré played a Francesco Goffriller cello, and in 1970 she acquired a modern instrument from the Philadelphia violin maker Sergio Peresson. It was the Peresson cello that du Pré played for the remainder of her career until 1973, including a second, live recording of the Elgar Concerto, and her last studio recording in 1971 of the sonatas by Frederic Chopin and César Franck.

Jacqueline du Pré met pianist Daniel Barenboim on New Year's eve in 1966. They married in June 1967; some commentators have compared this musical marriage to that of Clara and Robert Schumann. This was evidenced by the many performances of du Pré with Barenboim as either a pianist or orchestral conductor.

Du Pré’s sister Hilary was married to conductor Christopher "Kiffer" Finzi, with whom Jacqueline had an affair from 1971 to 1972. According to Hilary and her brother Piers in their book, A Genius in the Family, which was made into the film Hilary and Jackie, the affair was conducted with Hilary's consent as a way of helping Jacqueline through a nervous breakdown.
In 1971, Jacqueline du Pré’s playing began an irreversible decline when she began to lose sensitivity in her fingers, as well as in other parts of her body.

She took a sabbatical in 1971 until 1972, recording her last studio album of sonatas by Chopin and Franck in December 1971. Although she did perform during her sabbatical, they were very rare occurrences.

In 1973 du Pré resumed her concert activities, but by this time, the symptoms had become severe. In January 1973 she toured North America and some of the concert reviews from that period were less than complimentary. It was an indication that her condition had worsened, although there were moments of brief respite from the symptoms, during which she played without noticeable problems. She performed the Elgar Concerto for her last London concerts in February 1973 with Zubin Mehta and the New Philharmonia Orchestra.

Her last public concerts were in New York in February 1973, where she was scheduled for four performances of the Brahms Double Concerto with Pinchas Zukerman, and Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic. Du Pré later recalled that she had problems judging the weight of the bow, and even opening the cello case had become difficult. As she had lost sensation in her fingers, she had to rely visually, to know where she had to play on the fingerboard.

Although she managed three of the four dates, she canceled the last performance. Isaac Stern stepped in to replace du Pré, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.

In October 1973, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the disease that caused her health to deteriorate until her death in London on October 19, 1987, at age 42.

She left her Davydov Stradivarius to Yo-Yo Ma, while Lynn Harrell acquired the 1673 Stradivarius naming it the du Pré Stradivarius as a tribute. The 1970 Peresson cello is currently on loan to Kyril Zlotnikov, cellist of the Jerusalem Quartet.

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major
3. Allegro molto
Cello Jackueline du Pre
English Chamber Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim
1.57 Mb 6:42 Mins

Source: Wikipedia

Mozart Verdi Puccini

2007-04-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Die Zauberflote
Finale, Papagena 601Kb 2:28 mins

Papageno (Tenor): Olaf Bar
Papagena (Soprano): Eva Lind
Ambrosian Opera Chorus

Chorus Master: John McCarthy
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Sir Neville Marriner

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
La Traviata
Atto Primo, Introduzione 1100Kb 4:42 mins

Violetta: Renata Scotto (Soprano)
Alfredo: Alfredo Kraus (Tenor)
Giorgio: Renato Bruson (Bariton)
Flora: Sarah Walker (Mezzo Soprano)
Annina: Cynthia Buchan (Mezzo Soprano)
Barone Duphol: Henry Newman (Bariton)

Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Chorus Maters: John McCarthy
Philharmonia Orchestra
Riccardo Muti

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
La Boheme
Questo Mar Rosso 1060Kb 4:30 mins

Mimi: Mirella Freni
Musetta: Elizabeth Harwood
Rodolfo: Luciano Pavarotti
Marcello: Rolando Panerai

Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Chorus Master: Walter Hagen Kroll
Berlin Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan

Rain 300/365

2007-03-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

There's a humour which says it's rainy over 300 days a year in Vancouver. Well, it may be true that it's not sunny 300 days a year in Vancouver, but it means a lump sum of cloudy and rainy and a few snowy days.

Anyways, it's most likely you regularly see our beautiful city as I've seen through the lens in these pictures.

Bach Arias

2007-03-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

It has very rarely happened that two great soloists join to make incredible historic recordings. There are so many recordings by the best soloists but just intermediate orchestras and conductors, and vice versa. As a matter of fact, I can never forget the conventional vinyl record I got 30 years ago which really disappointed me; Beethoven’s concerto op. 61 performed by Christian Ferras with Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Herbert von Karajan. Ferras, although a great violinist of the time, was by no mean in the rank of that orchestra and that phenomenal a conductor.

Anyways, one of such rare records is a Deutsche Grammophon recording of Bach’s arias by the incredible soprano Kathleen Battle and the great violinist Itzhak Perlman. Please listen to two tracks of this CD:

Bach, Arias
Soprano, Kathleen Battle
Violin, Itzhak Perlman

1. Vergnugen und Lust, 0.80 Mb 3:16 Mins
2. Ich Esse mit Freuden mein Weniges Brot, 1.15 Mb 4:55 Mins

Make Your Itunes Page

2007-02-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

If you do not already know about it, Itunes is a software from Apple, including music libraries and a very nice player as well.

Let me show you how to install it step by step:

1. Go to the download page, where you can download the latest version 7.0.2 for free.

2. At the left side of this page, enter your e-mail address and push the DOWNLOAD button. That’s it. If you wish to keep a backup of the software select SAVE and give the destination folders, otherwise just select RUN. The download and installation process would take a few minutes, so please be patient.

3. Open Itunes by clicking on the icon which should have been added to your task bar and/or desktop by now.

4. At the left side, there are a lot of options from radio stations to podcasts. If you click on RADIO for instance, you’ll see tens of free radio stations from 60’s pop to classics, country, hard rock, Latino, and much more. You can even find a Traditional Persian music station in the CLASSICAL category.

5. In the PODCASTS option, you can subscribe to many TV shows, which will automatically be downloaded right after the new show is released weekly or daily or whatever. What I love about the podcasts is that the new episode of the show remains there in the list and you may watch it whenever you’d wish.

Let me give you another recipe for setting your podcasts as this is the greatest feature of Itunes. I select Photoshop TV for illustration purposes, which is a weekly show on Mondays, and the phenomenal photographer and author of photography books, Scott Kelby, is among the three instructors.

1. Click on ITUNES STORE right at the left side menu.

2. At top right corner type PHOTOSHOP in the search field and ENTER.

3. A list of tens of related links opens in a few seconds.

4. At the very first lines look for Photoshop TV and click on SUBSCRIBE under the PRICE column.

5. A verification window pops up. Push the SUBSCRIBE button again.

6. Click on PODCASTS now. The show is added to your podcasts. Double click on the line (any point) if it does not start loading down automatically the first time only. In a few minutes you can watch the most recent Monday show. Each episode is around 27 minutes and 100Mb.

You can follow the download process by clicking on DOWNLOADS at the same left side menu.

You explore other features of the software… and… enjoy!

Piano Poet

2007-02-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

On such a sacred day was born the poet of the piano, Frederic Francois Chopin. It was 197 years ago in 1810.

Let’s listen to a few of the most charming pieces he wrote for the instrument:

- Ballade No. 1, g minor Op. 23
10:09 mins
Vladimir Horowitz

- Ballade No. 3, a-flat major Op. 47
7:43 mins
Claudio Arrau

- Nocturne No. 8, d-flat major Op. 27-2
4:43 mins
Maurizio Pollini

More Snow

2007-01-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

Moon Light Shadow

2007-01-16T20:38:00.000-08:00

Snow in Vancouver

2006-12-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

Herbert von Karajan

2006-11-08T19:41:00.000-08:00

In 1940, when Herbert von Karajan was 32, and only 2 years after conducting the legendary Berlin Philharmonic for the first time, he performed the overture to Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg) with the orchestra in Berlin.

You can watch a short clip (1 min 20 secs) of this performance here:

Xmas in Vienna

2006-10-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

Diana Ross was one of the legendary pop artists of our generation, youngsters of 1970’s.

It was a decade back, in late 1990’s that Ross performed a concert with two of the three great tenors, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo, singing Christmas carols and related arias with Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Some of these are among the most beautiful performances ever. Please listen:

1. Jingle Bells
222 Kb 0:53 Mins
2. Most Wonderful Day of the Year
560 Kb 2:17 Mins
3. Carol of the Drum
647 Kb 2:40 Mins
4. White Christmas
562 Kb 2:18 Mins

Aminollah Andre Hossein

2006-10-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Months ago (Feb 2006) I wrote a short biography of late Aminollah Andre Hossein, the great Persian-French musician and composer. I didn’t have access to my archive of conventional vinyl records and cassettes left in Iran before emigration then. But as many non Persians left comments how much they wished to listen to Hossein’s works, I prepared some pieces.

1. Persian Miniatures
Orchestre du Theatre National de l’opera de Paris
Conducted by Jean Claude Hartemann
1-1. Danse de I’Echanson, 1.08 Mb, 2:42 Mins
1-2. Avant le Combat, 0.99 Mb, 2:24 Mins

2. Sheherazade
Orchestre du Theatre National de l’opera de Paris
Conducted by Jean Claude Hartemann
2-1. Palais de Shahriar, 1.29 Mb, 3:14 Mins.
2-2. Bataille, 1.01 Mb, 2:31 Mins

3. Symphony Persepolis
Orchestre du Theatre National de l’opera de Paris
Conducted by Pierre Dervaux
3-1. Maestoso, 2.66 Mb, 6:39 Mins

Sir Malcolm Arnold

2006-09-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Sir Malcolm Arnold, the British composer and musician, died in hospital yesterday after suffering from a chest infection.

He was born in Northampton in 1921. Arnold's first instrument was trumpet. He was best known for his symphonies and original movie scores.

Oriana Fallaci

2006-09-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

Oriana Fallaci, the Italian journalist best known for her startling interviews with some of the most famous politicians of the twentieth century, died yesterday at 77.

Fallaci, who had been ill with cancer for several years, died at a private clinic in her home city of Florence overnight. She had returned to Florence in the last days of her life after living for decades in New York. In recent years, she had gained a second notoriety for her vitriolic writings on Islam.

Small, beautiful, and extraordinarily tough, Fallaci was an Italian resistance fighter who became a war correspondent in the 1950s and 1960s, covering the Vietnam War and conflicts in the Middle East and Latin America. She was shot three times and beaten by Mexican police covering student riots in 1968.

But it was her one-on-one interviews with politicians, generals and religious leaders, conducted, as she said "with a thousand feelings of rage" that were translated and published all over the world, often with extended transcripts showing the full extent of her blunt, acerbic inquiries.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last king of Persia, Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, Golda Meir, the Israeli Prime Minister, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Iranian revolution, all met Fallaci, but perhaps none regretted the experience more than the former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger.

Fallaci never married and leaves no children.

15 Websites Changed the World

2006-08-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

There are 15 websites that changed the world in terms of life styles, shopping, search, etc. in the past 15 years, Guardian writes today. These websites are summarized here:

1. Ebay
Founded by Pierre Omidyar, 1995 US
Auctions & shopping
Users 168M

2. Wikipedia
Founded by Jimmy Wales, 2001 US
Online Encyclopedia
Users 912K / day

3. Napster
Founded by Shawn Fanning, 1999 US
File sharing
Users 500K paying subscribers

4. Youtube
Founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Jarim, 2005 US
Video sharing
Users 100M / day

5. Blogger
Founded by Evan Williams, 1999 US
Weblog publishing system
Users 18.5M unique visitors

6. Friendsreunited
Founded by Steve & Julie Pankhurst, 1999 UK
School reunion
Users 15M

7. Drudgereport
Founded by Matt Drudge, 1994 US
News
Users 10M page views / day

8. Myspace
Founded by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, 2003 US
Social networking
Users 100M

9. Amazon
Founded by Jeff Bezos, 1994 US
Online retailer of books, CDs, and DVDs
Users over 35M

10. Slashdot
Founded by Rob Malda, 1997 US
Technology news
Users 5.5M / month

11. Salon
Founded by David Talbot, 1995 US
Online magazine
Users 3M unique visitors / month

12. Craigslist
Founded by Craig Newmark, 1995 US
Network of online urban communities
Users 4000M page views / month

13. Google
Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, 1998 US
Search engine
Users 1000M search requests / day

14. Yahoo
Founded by David Filo and Jerry Yang, 1994 US
Internet portal
Users 400M

And last, and evidently least, which I don't like, but Guardian has added to have one more UK in the list:

15. Easyjet
Founded by Stelios Haji-Loannou, 1995 UK
Budget airline
Users 30M passengers 2005

Hossein Tehrani

2006-08-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

Maestro Hossein Tehrani was born in 1912 in Tehran. He loved the sound of percussions, so once he decided to make an instrument himself. He made a hole at the end of a clay vase and covered the bigger mouth with skin and started playing his first strokes of tonbak on it.

His father did not wish Hossein to practice music, so he was able to practice only when his father was at work. According to his interviews he started learning tonbak seriously in 1929. In 1938 he became acquainted with the late Maestro Abolhasan Saba, the multi-instrumentalist Persian best known as a violinist, and this was an important point in his life.

After the establishment of Radio Tehran in 1940, he and some other artists collaborated with the radio. He was the first to write books and scores for tonbak which made this instrument more and more popular.

He was very kind, and always well dressed and smiling although he had lost one of his eyes while he was working in a technical workshop in his youth. That’s the reason he was always wearing dark glasses. After a long indisposition, he passed away in February 1974.

Maestro Tehrani playing tonbak
Video 49 Sec. 954 Kb

Train sound with tonbak
Audio 1:50 Min. 451 Kb

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

2006-08-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Dec 9, 1915 – Aug 3, 2006) among the most renowned opera and concert sopranos of the 20th century, died yesterday at her Austrian home at the age of 90, local media reported.

The German-born Schwarzkopf sang for a galaxy of famed conductors, including Herbert von Karajan, in a career that originated with training in Berlin during Germany's Nazi era and wound up four decades later in 1975.

Known for her charm and vivacity, Schwarzkopf appeared at the world's greatest concert halls from Covent Garden to La Scala and the Metropolitan in New York.

Lessons in Logic

2006-07-31T17:27:00.000-07:00

I received some funny quotes from a friend:

- I was born intelligent… Education ruined me!

- Practice makes perfect… But nobody is perfect... So why practice?!

- It’s true that we are here to help others... But what exactly are the others here for?!

- Light travels faster than sound… People appear bright until you hear them speak!

- How come “abbreviated” is such a long word?!

- Money is not everything... There’s Mastercard and Visa!

- If your father is a poor man, it is your fate... But if your father-in-law is a poor man, it’s your stupidity!

- Behind every successful man, there is a woman... And behind every unsuccessful man, there are two women!

- Every man should marry... After all, happiness is not the only thing in life!

- The wise never marry... If they do, they become otherwise!

- Success is a relative term… It brings so many relatives!

- Never put off the work till tomorrow… what you can put off today!

- Your future depends on your dreams... So go to sleep!

- There should be a better way to start a day... than waking up every morning!

- Hard work never killed anybody... But why take the risk?!

- Work fascinates me... I can look at it for hours!

- God made relatives... Thank God we can choose our friends!

- The more you learn, the more you know... The more you know, the more you forget... The more you forget, the less you know... So... why bother learning?!

- A bus station is where a bus stops... A train station is where a train stops... On my desk I have a work station... What should I do now?!

Ravi Shankar

2006-07-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

Ravi Shankar, the legendary sitar player and composer is India's most esteemed musical ambassador and a singular phenomenon in the classical music world of east as well as west.

As a performer, composer, teacher and writer, he has done more for Indian music than any other musician. He is well known for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the west. This however, he did only after long years of dedicated study under his illustrious guru Baba Allaudin Khan and after making a name for himself in India.

Always ahead of his time, Ravi Shankar has written many pieces for sitar and violin, most of which were performed and recorded by the legendary violinist Sir Yehudi Menuhin and himself.

Ravi Shankar (b1920)
Prabhati for sitar and violin 4:11 Min 0.99 Mb
Violin Sir Yehudi Menuhin
Sitar Ravi Shankar
Tabla Alla Rakha

Can You Imagine

2006-07-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

Can You Imagine? This title is taken from a commissioned work premiered by Vancouver Children’s Choir in December 2001. It was dedicated to Nadia, a ten year old girl from Afghanistan, who lived in Faizabad refugee camp in 2001.

(1)
Can you imagine a land far away,
A land without love and a land all in ruin?
Where streets are all rubble, no children at play,
Can you imagine a land so far away?

(2)
Can you imagine a life full of fear,
A life with no parents and a life all in ruin?
No visits with granny, nor friends we hold dear,
Can you imagine a life so full of fear?

(Chorus I)
Cry out! Let’s cry out for freedom!
Let’s cry out! Let’s cry out for justice!
Cry out! Cry out! We’re in this together,
We can help all the children to…
Cry out! Cry out! And tell all our friends,
A NEW TIME is at birth…

(3)
Can you imagine no music all day,
A day with no dancing or singing with friends?
Other harsh rules, no kite flying at play,
But can you imagine no music all day?

(Chorus II)
Cry out! Let’s cry out for freedom!
Let’s cry out! Let’s cry out for justice!
Cry out! Cry out! We’re in this together,
We can help all the children to…
Cry out! Cry out! We’re all in this family,
Our family’s called Earth, so let’s…
Cry out! Cry out! And tell all our friends,
A NEW TIME is at birth…

(4)
There’s no need to imagine a land far away,
Children without love, full of fear and in ruin.
There’s no need to imagine they struggle everyday,
Cause this is no fable, a land not so far away.

(Chorus III - Final)
Cry out! Let’s cry out for freedom!
Let’s cry out! Let’s cry out for justice!
Cry out! Cry out! We’re in this together,
We can help all the children to…
Cry out! Cry out! We’re all in this family,
Our family’s called Earth, so let’s…
Cry out! Cry out! And tell all our friends,
A NEW TIME, A NEW TIME is at birth…
Cry out! Cry out!
Cry out! Cry out!

In A Persian Market

2006-06-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

Albert Ketelbey (1875-1959)
1. In A Persian Market 5:46 Min 1.35 Mb
2. Bells Across the Meadows 4:54 Min 1.15 Mb
3. In the Mystic Land of Egypt 5:56 Min 1.39 Mb
4. In A Chinese Temple Garden 7:11 Min 1.68 Mb

Mezzo Soprano Jean Temperley
Tenor Vernon Midgley
Piano Leslie Pearson
Ambrosian Singers
Chorus Master John McCarthy
Philharmonia Orchestra
John Lanchbery
Recorded 1978

Albert William Ketelbey was born in Birmingham in 1875.

In his youth he was head chorister at St Silas's Church. At the age of 11 he composed a Sonata for Pianoforte which he played not long afterwards to an admiring Edward Elgar. In 1998, the manuscript for this work came up for auction at Sotheby's and was purchsed by the City and is now in the Archives of the Central Library.

He studied at the Midland Institute School of Music. After a further spell as a student at Fitzroy College, London, Ketelbey attended the Trinity College of Music, where he beat the runner-up, Gustav Holst, for a musical scholarship. He distinguished himself in numerous fields, especially in composition. His first works were in the classical style and a Quintet for Strings was awarded the Sir Michael Costa prize.

However, he developed a talent for descriptive writing and, of all his many works, it is those of this genre, In a Chinese Temple Garden, and In a Persian Market that show his ability to catch atmospheric tone.

He was active in several other fields including being music editor to some well-known publishing houses and for some years Musical Director of the Columbia Gramophone Company.

He was a popular conductor and was well esteemed in the theatre world where he conducted for Andre Charlot at the Vaudeville Theatre, London. He also conducted many concerts of his own works in London and the Provinces and, as guest conductor with well-known orchestras on the continent, including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. His reputation on the continent was probably higher than in his own country. In fact, a Viennese music critic once said of Ketelbey's music that it came second only to that of Johann Strauss and Franz Lehar.

Ketelbey died in 1959 at his home, Egypt Hill, Cowes, Isle of Wight, aged 84.

Source: Birmingham City Council

Carlo Is Gone

2006-06-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Carlo has gone to the stars. . . A colleague. A friend. A nice one, very nice. . .

Months ago, his eyes was shining when he offered me a couple of tickets he had received as a gift for the Symphony concert. He was glad somebody could enjoy the program.

His water bottle is still on his desk, with the cap open. . .

Beautiful Miller Girl

2006-06-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Die Schone Mullerin (The Beautiful Miller Girl) is a cycle of 20 lieds Schubert composed on poems by Wilhelm Muller. The cycle is performed by a piano accompanying a vocalist, often a Baritone, but sometimes transposed to higher range to suit tenors or even sopranos.

Listen to 3 gorgeous lieds of the cycle:

Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828)
Die Schone Mullerin
Tenor Peter Schreier
Piano Andras Schiff
1. Das Wandern (Wandering) 2:48 Min 681 Kb
3. Halt (Halt) 1:33 Min 384 Kb
16. Die Liebe Farbe (The Favourite Colour) 4:01 Min 973 Kb

1. Das Wandern
Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust,
Das Wandern!
Das muß ein schlechter Müller sein,
Dem niemals fiel das Wandern ein,
Das Wandern.
Vom Wasser haben wir's gelernt,
Vom Wasser!
Das hat nicht Rast bei Tag und Nacht,
Ist stets auf Wanderschaft bedacht,
Das Wasser.
Das sehn wir auch den Rädern ab,
Den Rädern!
Die gar nicht gerne stille stehn,
Die sich mein Tag nicht müde drehn,
Die Räder.
Die Steine selbst, so schwer sie sind,
Die Steine!
Sie tanzen mit den muntern Reihn
Und wollen gar noch schneller sein,
Die Steine.
O Wandern, Wandern, meine Lust,
O Wandern!
Herr Meister und Frau Meisterin,
Laßt mich in Frieden weiterziehn
Und wandern.

1. Wandering
Wandering is the miller's joy,
Wandering!
He must be a miserable miller,
Who never likes to wander.
Wandering!
We've learned this from the water,
From the water!
It does not rest by day or night,
It's always thinking of its journey,
The water.
We see this also with the wheels,
With the wheels!
They don't like to stand still,
And turn all day without tiring.
The wheels.
The stones themselves, heavy though they are,
The stones!
They join in the cheerful dance,
And want to go yet faster.
The stones!
Oh, wandering, wandering, my joy,
Oh, wandering!
Oh, Master and Mistress,
Let me continue in peace,
And wander!

3. Halt
Eine Mühle seh ich
Aus den Erlen heraus,
Durch Rauschen und Singen
Bricht Rädergebraus.
Ei willkommen, ei willkommen,
Süßer Mühlengesang!
Und das Haus, wie so traulich!
Und die Fenster, wie blank!
Und die Sonne, wie helle
Himmel sie scheint!
Ei, Bächlein, liebes Bächlein,
War es also gemeint?

3. Halt
I see a mill looking
Out from the alders;
Through the roaring and singing
Bursts the clatter of wheels.
Hey, welcome, welcome!
Sweet mill-song!
And the house, so comfortable!
And the windows, how clean!
And the sun, how brightly
it shines from Heaven!
Hey, brooklet, dear brook,
Was this, then, what you meant?

16. Die Liebe Farbe
In Grün will ich mich kleiden,
In grüne Tränenweiden:
Mein Schatz hat's Grün so gern.
Will suchen einen Zypressenhain,
Eine Heide von grünen Rosmarein:
Mein Schatz hat's Grün so gern.
Wohlauf zum fröhlichen Jagen!
Wohlauf durch Heid' und Hagen!
Mein Schatz hat's Jagen so gern.
Das Wild, das ich jage, das ist der Tod;
Die Heide, die heiß ich die Liebesnot:
Mein Schatz hat's Jagen so gern.
Grabt mir ein Grab im Wasen,
Deckt mich mit grünem Rasen:
Mein Schatz hat's Grün so gern.
Kein Kreuzlein schwarz, kein Blümlein bunt,
Grün, alles grün so rings und rund!
Mein Schatz hat's Grün so gern.

16. The Favourite Colour
In green will I dress,
In green weeping willows;
My sweetheart is so fond of green.
I'll look for a thicket of cypresses,
A hedge of green rosemary;
My sweetheart is so fond of green.
Away to the joyous hunt!
Away through heath and hedge!
My sweetheart is so fond of hunting.
The beast that I hunt is Death;
The heath is what I call the grief of love.
My sweetheart is so fond of green.
Dig me a grave in the turf,
Cover me with green grass:
My sweetheart is so fond of green.
No black cross, no colourful flowers,
Green, everything green all around!
My sweetheart is so fond of green.

Celine Dion

2006-06-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Celine Dion has sung a few songs with the superstars of the world of music such as Luciano Pavarotti and Barbara Streisand. Listen to one of these gorgeous songs, see the lyrics, and download the sheet music:

Celine Dion & Pavarotti
I hate You Then I Love You
From “Let’s Talk About Love”
Song 4:45 Min 1.11 Mb
Sheet Music 690 Kb (Zip)

I'd like to run away from you,
But if I were to leave you I would die,
I'd like to break the chains you put around me,
And yet I'll never try.

No matter what you do you drive me crazy,
I'd rather be alone,
But then I know my life would be so empty,
As soon as you are gone.

Impossible to live with you,
But I could never live without you,
For whatever you do / For whatever you do,
I never, never, never,
Want to be in love with anyone but you. . .

You make me sad,
You make me strong,
You make me mad,
You make me long for you / You make me long for you.

You make me live,
You make me die,
You make me laugh,
You make me cry for you / You make me cry for you.

I hate you,
Then I love you,
Then I love you,
Then I hate you,
Then I love you, I Love You more.
For whatever you do,
I never, never, never,
Want to be in love with anyone but you.

You treat me wrong,
You treat me right,
You let me be,
You make me fight with you / I could never live without you.

You make me high,
You bring me down,
You set me free,
You hold me bound to you.

I hate you,
Then I love you,
Then I love you,
Then I hate you,
Then I love you more / I love you more.
For whatever you do / For whatever you do,
I never, never, never,
Want to be in love with anyone but you.

I never, never, never,
I never, never, never,
Want to be in love with anyone but you.
But. . . you. . .

A Star Is Born

2006-06-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

If you were a teenager in 1970s, it’s most likely you remember the musical love story “A Star Is Born”.

Talented rock star John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) meets the innocent, pure and very talented singer Esther Hoffman (Barbra Streisand). As one of his songs in the movie says "I'm gonna take you girl, I'm gonna show you how." And he does. He shows Esther the way to stardom while forsaking his own career. As they fall in love, her success only makes his decline even more apparent. It was a great love story and a great film for the time.

Listen to the most charming song “Evergreen” as the movie finale, sung by Barbara Streisand live in a concert years after:

Evergreen 3:03 min 742 Kb

Love soft as an easy chair,
Love fresh as the morning air,
One love that is shared by two,
I have found with you.
Like a rose under the April snow,
I was always certain love would grow,
Love ageless and evergreen,
Seldom seen by two.
You and I will make each night a first,
Every day a beginning. . .

Spirits rise and their dance is unrehearsed,
They warm and excite us, cause we have the brightest love.
Two lives that shine as one,
Morning glory and midnight sun,
Time we've learned to sail above,
Time won't change the meaning of one love,
Ageless and ever evergreen. . .

Glenn Gould

2006-06-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

Listen to one of the most beautiful performances of the first piano concerto by Brahms, performed by Glenn Gould, with Leonard Bernstein conducting New York Philharmonic. The quality is poor due to the live recording with the equipment used in 1963, but it definitely is worth listening. Also a pre-concert talk by Maestro Bernstein, and a short radio interview with Glenn Gould about the program would be interesting to listen to.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Piano Concerto No. 1, D Minor Op. 15
Piano: Glenn Gould
New York Philharmonic
Leonard Bernstein
Recorded 1963, live at concert

1. 1st Movement, Maestoso, poco piu moderato [6.04 Mb 25:49 min]
4. Pre-concert talk, Leonard Bernstein [0.99 Mb 4:12 min]
5. Radio interview about the concert [0.91 Mb 3:45 min]

Notes about Glenn Gould (1932-1982):

- Gould was born Glen Gold in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 25, 1932. His family was Protestant and changed their name soon after his birth, fearing that it would otherwise be mistaken as Jewish during the growing anti-Semitism of the time.

- Glenn Gould frequently hummed along while he played, and his recording engineers varied in how successfully they could exclude his voice from his recordings. Gould claimed this singing was unconscious, and increased proportionately with the inability of the piano in question to realise the music as he intended.

- Gould also was known for his peculiar body movements while playing and for his insistence on sameness. He would only play concerts whilst sitting on a chair his father made. He continued to use this chair even when the seat was nearly worn through. His chair is so closely identified with him that it is shown in a place of honour in a glass case in the National Library of Canada.

- Gould was very afraid of being cold and wore very warm clothes, including gloves, at all times, even when he was in warm places. Gould also disliked social functions. He had an aversion to being touched and in later life he refused to talk to almost anyone in person, relying on the telephone and letters for communication. He conducted interviews with himself, wrote unusual personal advertisements about himself which he submitted to newspapers, and recorded other people's conversations in public places. When he was still performing publicly, he did a concert with the Cleveland Orchestra, after which conductor George Szell remarked, "No doubt about it - that nut's a genius".

Carmina Burana

2006-06-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Carl Orff (1895-1982)
Carmina Burana, A Scenic Cantata
1. O Fortuna (Audio, 2:37 min 637 Kb)
New England Conservatory Chorus
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa

Lyrics, Latin
O Fortuna, velut luna, statu variabilis,
semper crescis, aut decrescis;
vita detestabilis, nunc obdurat, et tunc curat
ludo mentis aciem, egestatem, potestatem
dissolvit ut glaciem. . .

Sors immanis, et inanis,
rota tu volubilis, status malus,
vana salus, semper dissolubilis,
obumbrata shadowed
et velata and veiled
michi quoque niteris;
nunc per ludum, dorsum nudum, fero tui sceleris. . .

Sors salutis
et virtutis, michi nunc contraria,
est affectus, et defectus
semper in angaria.
Hac in hora, sine mora
corde pulsum tangite;
quod per sortem, sternit fortem,
mecum omnes plangite!

Lyrics, English
O Fortune, like the moon, you are changeable,
Ever waxing, and waning. . .
Hateful life, first oppresses, and then soothes,
As fancy takes it, poverty, and power,
It melts them like ice. . .

Fate, monstrous, and empty,
You whirling wheel, you are malevolent,
Well-being is vain, and always fades to nothing,
You plague me too;
Now through the game,
I bring my bare back, to your villainy. . .

Fate is against me,
In health, and virtue,
Driven on, and weighted down, always enslaved.
So at this hour, without delay,
pluck the vibrating strings,
Since Fate, strikes down the string man,
Everyone weep with me!

Pathetic

2006-05-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

The last symphony No. 6 was premiered nine days before the pathetic death of the composer. It’s often called Tchaikovsky’s suicide note because of the sad aspects of the music.

Finale, after the brilliant second and third movements, returns to the darkness of the first. Without ever quickening, after the shivering sound of the tam-tam, the movement meanders off into a quiet end, leaving a feeling of despair and sadness.

The best performance of the symphony and especially the finale is definitely by the New York Philharmonic under the amazing baton of Leonard Bernstein.

Listen to a small part of this performance:

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Symphony No. 6 B Minor Opus 74 ‘Pathetic’
4. Finale, Adagio lamentoso – Andante
4:14 Min 1.79 Mb

Karajan in Rehearsal

2006-05-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

For those who love the extraordinary conductor Herbert von Karajan, listening to his voice in a rehearsal session with the phenomenal Berlin Philharmonic would be amazing, although in German:

W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 39 E-flat K.543
Second Movement Andante con Moto

Niccolo Paganini

2006-05-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

The first string (E) was torn right in the middle of the main part of the concert that night. Niccolo pretended to be disappointed for seconds. But when he continued playing on 3 strings and the second string (A) was torn minutes later too, everybody at the concert could understand what was going on!

It was written in the papers on the morrow, “In the concert last night, the young violinist Niccolo Paganini played the theme and the first variation on four strings, the second variation on three strings, the third on two strings, and the last variations on one last G string. Only those who could play without any strings may compete with Paganini!”

It was said Devil assisted this nineteenth century violinist from Italy. It’s also said the laughter of Devil could be heard in his thirteenth caprice of the 24 caprices opus one. You listen to the caprice, and decide.

N. Paganini, Caprice No. 13 44 Sec 653 Kb
From 24 Caprices Opus 1
Violin Salvatore Accardo

Poem by Malcolm X

2006-04-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

When I was born, I was Black,
When I grow up, I’m Black,
When I go out in Sun, I’m Black,
When I’m scared, I’m Black,
When I’m sick, I’m Black,
And when I die, I’m still Black. . .

And you White fellow,
When you’re born, you’re pink,
When you grow up, you’re white,
When you go out in Sun, you’re red,
When you’re cold, you go blue,
When you’re scared, you go yellow,
When you’re sick, you’re green,
And when you die, you’re purple. . .

And you have the nerve to call me coloured?!

Milad Tower

2006-03-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

Four tallest structures in the world are:

1. KVLY-TV mast, Blanchard, North Dakota, USA, 629 m (2063 ft) high;
2. Petronius Platform, Gulf of Mexico, 610 m (2001 ft) high;
3. CN Tower, Toronto, Canada, 559 m (1865 ft) high; and
4. Milad Tower, Tehran, Iran, 435 m (1427 ft) high.

Three of these tallest man made buildings are seen to be in North America, but the fourth and third are enough reasons for me - as a structural engineer - to feel proud, being in my first and second countries, respectively.

The Rls750 billion ($95 million) Milad tower, is part of The Tehran International Trade & Convention Centre. The project, first scheduled to be completed in 2005, and now estimated to be finished in March 2007, includes the Milad telecommunication tower offering rotating restaurants at the top with spectacular views of Tehran, a five star hotel, a convention centre, a world trade centre, and an IT park. The tower will cover over 95% of Tehran for communications services.

The complex also features a parking area of 27000 square metres, an exhibition hall, and an administrative unit.

Although known as the fourth tallest free standing (cantilever) structure in the world, it is the first considering the vast functional 12 storey structure on the top, also the only tower with octagonal base, symbolizing traditional Persian architecture.

The overall height of the tower is 435 metres from base to the tip of the antenna, while the reinforced concrete shaft is 315 metre high. The shaft weighs 80000 metric tonnes, and is constructed using sliding formwork. The raft foundation is 66 metres in diameter and 9 metres deep.

Milad means "birth" in Persian.

Brief History of Computers in Structural Engineering

2006-03-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

1976- This is the first time I’m working with computers. This is my second year at Tehran Polytechnic (Amirkabir University of Technology), and as students of "Numerical Analysis" we have access to an IBM 370 mainframe. The input data is given in the complex formats of Fortran IV using the punched cards, and the output device is a large size printer. The system as a whole occupies some 4000 square feet.

1979- We use the same computer, now in analysis of our steel and reinforced concrete final projects, using the only reliable software of this time, STRESS II. This program is written in FORTRAN IV using the stiffness matrix method, for plane frames only. It takes some one hour to complete the analysis of a 5 storey 5 bay plane frame, for 2 load cases and 3 load combinations, enough for elastic (allowable stress) design.

1983- The first job of my career is started in an office, fortunately equipped with the first personal computer I have ever seen and used: Radio Shack 16, with 16 KB memory, and a BASIC86 interpreter. People are strongly advised not to say kilo bytes (to computer experts, it's a crime!) as kilo means 1000, but this new K means 1024 instead. My supervisor, the chief structural engineer, has prepared a few useful programs for analysis of plane frames using Takabeya Method (a moment distribution method just like Cross and Kani, but much easier and faster), and design of steel and reinforced concrete members using AISC and ACI respectively. There is not any local code in Iran yet, so most engineers use the American codes (UBC, ACI, and AISC), while others use British (BS), French, or German (DIN) codes of practice. A few months later... an extra memory of 48 KB is purchased and added to the system, which makes it 64 KB in total. Wow... 64 K-bytes! Who could even think of it?! Now it is time to start writing a brand new program for frame analysis using stiffness matrix method. It works great for 2 to 5 storey buildings. But in solving the equations, we'd rather use Cholesky Method which is faster than Gauss Elimination Method. The results of the analysis are exported to a cassette, and then imported to design programs. I’m so happy that with these programs, we are not using the computer as a typewriter!

1984- Same firm: a big step forward, with an NCR DM5 personal computer, using an MS Dos operating system for the first time, with 640 KB memory now called RAM, with a couple of 5-1/4" floppy disk drives, and 2 hard disks each 5 MB. It’s unbelievable... 10 MB of storage! It’s enough for a large size m storey n bay frame... and even more unbelievable is the speed of access to the hard drive, you say what file you need, and there it is; you don’t have to find the beginning of the file as you did on cassettes before, and you don’t have to verify the file loaded either. It’s now possible to store a few of the photos which would be taken some 20 years later by digital cameras, in the hard drives! The processor is now called 8088, and you should still wait a few more years to hear about the 80X86 series of computers, known as IBM compatible.

1991- The new company I join, has recently purchased the first 80286 generation computer, still 640 KB RAM, but with a hard drive of 40 MB. MS Dos 5 is released, and the very first version of AutoCAD is under curious investigations by some companies. There is not any structural analysis reliable software in the market yet.

1993- The processor is upgraded to 80386, and the hard drive is increased to a storage capacity of up to 80 MB. The R10 AutoCAD is now widely used in engineering offices. PC Tools and Norton Commander are now replaced by a new software released by Microsoft, Windows 3.1. It does whatever needed in managing the files, that is, copies, deletes, and renames files very easily at a glance. Fortran, Cobol, and even Pascal are almost forgotten, and everybody talks about new versions of BASIC which are called Quick Basic and GW Basic. First versions of Berkley SAP80 structural analysis software is capturing the market. But the format of data input as well as output process is a real pain. It’s neither as interactive as STRESS II before, and nor as easy as the graphic versions to come after 2000, but is a powerful program in analysis of plane and 3-D frames instead.

1995- 90's versions of SAP are replacing SAP80. AutoCAD R12 is used widely. Not many rulers, pens, and erasers may be found in engineering offices any more! New Windows 95 is not only a powerful file managing tool now, but also an incredible operating system based on MS Dos 6.2.

1998- Processors are upgraded to 80486, and in a few months will be replaced by 80586 or Pentiums. AutoCAD12 is used worldwide, and Windows 98 is taking the place of the previous 95 version.

2001- High frequency processors and large size RAM's, along with GB hard disks are available now. Various versions of Windows, 2000, Millennium, and others are being tested everywhere. Most programs are now Windows oriented, and Dos programs are being forgotten little by little. After a short period, the first Windows based AutoCAD14 is replaced by AutoCAD2000. SAP2000, ETABS2000, SAFE, and many more analysis and design softwares are now used by structural engineers all around the world. Good bye FORTRAN formatting of input and output data! Try drawing your structure in a whole graphic environment instead now. Many structural member types such as plates and shells are now added to the analysis programs.

2006- Windows XP in two Home Edition and Professional categories are beeing used for years. Giga bytes sounds like jokes or kid toys now: 2 GB RAM, and 250 GB hard drive. Multimedia, DVD, flat monitors, it’s like a dream.

I often think how long it took to travel by jumbo jets instead of carts and horses, and how many years and months and days are passed since I was that much happy with my NCR DM5 with 640 KB RAM and 10 MB hard, which I used so efficiently with my own programs. It must be a dream. It is a dream... or is it?

Forough

2006-03-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

The controversial and revered poet Forough Farokhzad (1935-1967) is Iran's greatest contemporary poet, one of the most influential writers of the Middle East, and one of the world's best loved women poets of the twentieth century.

During her short lifetime Forough became a legend. Having sold over a million copies of her work, Forough holds a significant place in world history because she was the first woman in twenty-five hundred years to have a major body of work published in Iran and to emerge above all of Persia's contemporary poets as the greatest poet--a woman who in the land of heroes became a heroine.

Forough was not only a polemical figure during her lifetime, but since her death her poetry has come to be a powerful anthem for freedom. During the Iranian Revolution, for example, students would publicly recite her poem "My Heart Aches for the Garden" in protest to the tyrannical Khomeini regime. In fact, her work was considered such a threat to the dictatorial policies that when her publisher refused to stop printing her poems, he was put into jail and his factory was burned down to the ground.

With rare emotional depth, Forough's work is sincere, sensual, earthy, evocative, and an intriguing combination of love story, stormy passions, loss, betrayal, freedom, and most importantly, renewal. A poet of the 1960s, her poetry reverberates with issues of love and freedom and speaks to us as much today as when she first wrote them.

Here is a translation of one of her poems, "All That Is Left Behind . . .":

Why should I stand still?
Why?
The birds have gone looking for water
The horizon has been turned upside down
And motion spills out like a fountain

As far as the eye can see
Radiant planets are spinning
Earth reaches its apogee and repeats its orbit
And the blackholes in the atmosphere
Turn into tunnels that are connected to each other
While daytime occupies such space
That in the small mind of a newspaper
Not even an earthworm can fit

Why should I stand still?
The road passes from in between the tiny capillaries of life and continues
The climate: the atmosphere surrounding the uterine ship of the moon
Destroys any rotten cells
And in the chemically charged air after sunrise
All that is left behind is sound
A sound which will become one with the particles of time
Why should I stand still?

What can a swamp be?
What can it be other than a place where degenerate insects lay their eggs
The thoughts of a morgue counting swollen corpses
A coward hides his lack of manhood in the darkness
And a cockroach . . . ah
When a cockroach speaks
Why should I stand still?

The marriage of newspaper and ink is useless
The marriage of newspaper and ink will not save a small mind
I am an offspring of the trees
Breathing stale air is oppressive
(A bird that died told me to learn its flight)

The ultimate end of all forces is unification
To unite with the source of the sun
And to disperse into rays of light
It is only natural
For windmills to dry out and crumble
Why should I stand still?

I will take the unripe sheaves of wheat to my breast
And give them milk
Sound, sound, sound
The pleading sound of clear running water
The sound of light pouring down from the stars
Over the feminine body of the earth
The sound of the union of egg and sperm
The unbound thoughts of consummated love
Sound, sound, sound, all that is left behind is sound

In the land of dwarves
The standard of measurement always orbits around zero
Why should I stand still?
I abide by the laws of the four elements
And the task of writing out the constitution of my heart
Is not the work of the blind local government

What do the long savage howls
Of the reproductive organs of animals have to do with me?
What do the infinitesimal movements of a maggot
In decaying flesh have to do with me?
My life is bound up with the bloodline of flowers
Do you understand the bloodline of flowers?

The article is written and the poem is translated by Meetra A. Sofia, American Poetry Review

Norooz

2006-02-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

In harmony with rebirth of nature, the Persian New Year, Norooz, always begins on the first day of Spring, March 21st of each year. Norooz ceremonies are symbolic representations of two ancient concepts: End and Rebirth, light and darkness, Good and Evil. A few weeks before the New Year, Iranians clean and rearrange their homes. They make new clothes, bake pastries and germinate seeds as sign of renewal.

But the celebrations start on the last Wednesday Eve of the old year, and ends on 13th day of the new year (April 2nd.)

On last-Wednesday-eve of the year (Chahar Shanbeh Soori = Rouge Wednesday Eve,) bonfires are lit in public places and people leap over the flames shouting: May your beautiful red colour be mine, and my sickly pallor be yours! With the help of fire and light symbols of good, people hope to see their ways through the unlucky night, into the arrival of Spring’s longer days.

The new year is not supposed to start at mid night every year, but it is rather calculated precisely on the basis of Omar-Khayyam calendar, measured 365 days, 6 hours and fractions from last Norooz. So it may happen in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

Minutes before the clock strikes New Year, all the members of the family in their clean and new outfits gather around the Norooz table called Haft-Seen, which means seven articles the names of which start with the Persian letter seen (=s.) These are (1)Sabzeh or sprouts, usually wheat or lentil representing fertility and rebirth; (2)Samanu, a pudding in which common wheat sprouts are transformed and given new life as a sweet, creamy pudding and represents the ultimate sophistication of Persian cooking; (3)Seeb which means apple and represents health and beauty; (4)Senjed, the sweet dry fruit of the lotus tree representing love. It has been said that when a lotus tree is in full bloom, its fragrance and its fruit make people fall in love and become oblivious to all else; (5)Seer which means garlic in Persian, and represents medicine; (6)Somaq or sumac berries, representing the colour of sunrise when the sun appears and Good conquers Evil; and (7)Serkeh or vinegar, which represents age and patience.

The family begins the New Year with a prayer for health, happiness and prosperity. After the initial celebration to welcome the New Year, the members of the family hug and kiss each other, eat the bounties prepared for the New Year and wish each other the best. Then all family members present the New Year's gift to each other.

The two-week-long Norooz celebrations end with 13-Be-Dar, which is the process of getting over with or passing over the thirteenth day of the New Year. This day is usually celebrated outdoor in a picnic style.

Fikret Amirov

2006-02-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

Fikret Meshedi Jamil oglu Amirov, great Azerbaijani musician, was born on November 22nd, 1922, in Ganja, Russia. He was a prominent Azerbaijani composer. His music perhaps has been heard outside of Azerbaijan more than that of any other Azerbaijani composer.

Fikret Amirov grew up in an atmosphere of folk music. His father, Meshedi Jamil Amirov, was a famous singer from Shusha, who composed and played tar.

During his childhood and early adolescence, Fikret began composing pieces for the piano. After graduating from Ganja Music College, Fikret entered Baku State Conservatory. But when World War II broke out in 1941, Amirov, who was only 19 at the time, was drafted, and his studies at the Conservatory interrupted. He was wounded and hospitalized and then demobilized from the military service and returned to Baku to continue his studies at the Conservatory.

Amirov's music was strongly influenced by Azeri folk melodies. His symphonic music were performed by many renowned symphony orchestras throughout the world, such as Houston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

Amirov was a prolific composer. His most famous pieces include symphonic works such as "Shur" (1946), "Kurd Afshari" (1949), "Azerbaijan Capriccio" (1961), and "Gulustan Bayati-Shiraz" (1968.) His ballets include "Nizami" (1947) and "1,001 Nights," which premiered in 1979. Amirov wrote the opera "Sevil" in 1953. He also wrote a number of pieces for the piano including "Ballad," "Ashug's Song," "Nocturne," "Humoreska," "Lyrical Dance," "Waltz," "Lullaby" and "Toccata." He also wrote numerous film scores.

Amirov was honoured as People's Artist of the USSR (1965) and awarded the USSR State Prize (1949, 1980). Fikret Amirov died on February 20th, 1984, in Baku.

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

Every February, across the world, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday?

The history of Valentine's Day - and its patron saint - is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men, his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Chopin

2006-02-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

Today is the 196th anniversary of Chopin’s birthday.

Frédéric François Chopin (1810-1849), Polish composer and pianist (often called The Poet of the Piano) of the romantic school, is regarded by some as the greatest of all composers of music for the piano.

Born Fryderyk Chopin in Żelazowa Wola, near Warsaw, of a French father and a Polish mother, he preferred to use the French name Frédéric. He began to study the piano at the age of four, and when he was eight years old he played at a private concert in Warsaw. Later he studied harmony and counterpoint at the Warsaw Conservatory. Chopin was also precocious as a composer: His first published composition is dated 1817. He gave his first concerts as a piano virtuoso in 1829 in Vienna, where he lived for the next two years. After 1831, except for brief absences, Chopin lived in Paris, where he became noted as a pianist, teacher, and composer. He formed an intimate relationship in 1837 with French writer George Sand (Lucile Dupin). In 1838 Chopin began to suffer from tuberculosis and Sand nursed him in Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, and in France until continued differences between the two resulted in an estrangement in 1847. Thereafter his musical activity was limited to giving several concerts in 1848 in France, Scotland, and England. He died in Paris of tuberculosis.

Nearly all of Chopin's compositions are for piano. Although an expatriate, he was deeply loyal to his war-torn homeland; his mazurkas reflect the rhythms and melodic traits of Polish folk music, and his polonaises are marked by a heroic spirit. Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini also influenced his melodies. His ballades, scherzos, and études exemplify his large-scale works for solo piano. His music, romantic and lyrical in nature, is characterized by exquisite melody of great originality, refined—often adventurous—harmony, subtle rhythm, and poetic beauty. Chopin greatly influenced other composers, notably the Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt, German composer Richard Wagner, and French composer Claude Debussy. Chopin's many published compositions include 55 mazurkas, 27 études, 24 preludes, 19 nocturnes, 13 polonaises, and 3 piano sonatas. Among his other works are the Concertos in E minor and in F minor, both for piano and orchestra, the cello sonata, and 17 songs.

Click here for scores of a few of works by Chopin.
Click here to listen to his music.

A. Hossein

2006-02-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

In the history of human culture, Persian artists and scientists have a great share. Aminollah Andre Hossein is one of these Persians.

Hossein was born in 1905 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (then part of Soviet Union), in a rich family of Persian descent who had emigrated from Iran. The first pieces of music Aminollah heard were vocals of the Persian master singers his mother often played on gramophone.

Soon the family moved to Moscow, looking for better educational opportunities for young Aminollah. There they experienced the Bolshevik Revolution of Russia in 1917. Aminollah was sent to Germany to finish high school and enter the medicine school. But variabilis fortuna (=ever changing fortune, from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff) made the young music lover move to Paris to study music, although he took precious lessons in piano and composition from the great German musician Artur Schnabel during high school years. It seems his father, disappointed from having a physician in family, stopped financial support after that, because he often suffered financially after entering France. “After the world premiere of Symphony Persepolis which was highly appreciated by the French audiences, on my way walking home, I did not have a penny in my pocket to have supper,” told me the maestro years after that in 1977. Matter of factly, the only source of income for Aminollah was movie music. Later in 1970s he composed original music for almost all of the pictures his son Robert Hossein directed.

Hossein was the first Persian to graduate from Conservatoire de Paris. His music is full of Persian melodies. Despite the fact he lived in Iran not more than 7 days, he loved Iran, and Persian culture. He spoke Persian fair well, and wrote it perfect. He even used Persian tonalities in most of his works. Two great symphonies “Persepolis” and “Aria” are amongst the best in twentieth century. Orchestral works such as “Persian Miniatures” and “Sheherazade Suite” were composed in 1975, and were then combined and added to more orchestral pieces to form “Sheherazade Ballet”, later performed At Tehran Roudaki Hall in 1977, when he traveled to Iran for the first and last time.

Aminollah Hossein played the Persian instrument Tar professionally, and composed four short pieces for it; two “Persian Rhapsodies” for Tar and Tombak in Persian tonalities, “Zarathustra’s Prayers”, and “I Love You My Country” for solo Tar.

Hossein’s music for solo instruments other than Tar, is limited to short piano pieces based on the poems by Omar Khayyam. And of course three superb piano concertos are brilliant works for his main beloved instrument, piano, and orchestra. Most of Hossein’s works were recorded in 1970s by the best recording companies of the time such as Philips.

Aminollah Andre Hossein died in 1983 in Paris.

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

2006-01-29T22:12:00.000-08:00

I feel proud! The symphony orchestra of my town sounds great.

In the second night concert of the Mozart’s 250th birth date celebrations, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Bramwell Tovey, main conductor and the musical director of the orchestra, performed a bunch of most beautiful works by the genius, at the tremendous Orpheum Theatre.

The program started with The Abduction from the Seraglio Overture, which was followed by the incredible A Major Violin Concerto No. 5. This is the last one of the 5 concerti all completed in 8 months at the age of 19. It’s sometimes called “Turkish” because of the Turkish melodies in the finale. Soloist Joan Blackman, associate concertmaster of the orchestra, seemed to be a little bit nervous, and made a dozen of recognizable false sounds especially in the opening movement. I recalled a 1976 concert by Tehran Symphony Orchestra, performing the same concerto, in which George Mardirosian, Iranian-Armenian concertmaster of the orchestra played the solo part so smoothly and so perfect. Like many Mozart's solo parts, the whole work is emotionally hard to do, while it's not technically that much tough to play.

The second part started with Mozart’s selected arias, from The Marriage of Figaro. First prize winner of the prestigious Plácido Domingo "Operalia" Competition in 2000 and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee medal, Canadian-Armenian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian was the soloist of this part. With an angel's voice coming from above, she made an impressive series of appearances in the 2003/2004 season, including return engagements at Chicago Lyric Opera and Los Angeles Opera as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and at the Metropolitan Opera as Teresa in Benvenuto Cellini. She made a critically acclaimed debut at San Diego Opera as Leila in Les Pêcheurs de Perles and performed recitals and concerts in Toronto with Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Tafelmusik (a program of Cleopatra arias, which was recorded for her 3rd CD with CBC Records), Vancouver, New York, Minnesota, Atlanta and San Francisco.

And the Kochel 183 Symphony No. 25 was the last piece of the concert. Often called “Little G Minor” comparing to Symphony No. 40, it’s one of the most charming symphonies among the forty one. The main theme of the first movement is that used in the Milos Forman’s picture, Amadeus, at the opening sequence.

Mozart

2006-01-26T20:01:00.000-08:00

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Austrian composer, is considered one of the most brilliant and versatile composers ever. He worked in all musical genres of his era, wrote inspired works in each genre, and produced an extraordinary number of compositions, especially considering his short life. By the time Mozart died at age 35, he had completed 41 symphonies, 27 piano concertos, 23 string quartets, 17 piano sonatas, 7 major operas, and numerous works for voice and other instruments.

As a child prodigy Mozart toured Europe and became widely regarded as a miracle of nature because of his musical gifts as a performer of piano, harpsichord, and organ and as a composer of instrumental and vocal music. His mature masterpieces begin with the Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major (Jeunehomme, 1777), one of about a dozen outstanding concertos he wrote for piano. Also successful as an opera composer, Mozart wrote three exceptional Italian operas to texts by Italian librettist Lorenzo da Ponte: Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro, 1786), Don Giovanni (1787), and Così fan tutte (All Women Do So, 1790). They were followed in 1791 by his supreme German opera, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute).

Mozart’s works were catalogued chronologically by Austrian music bibliographer Ludwig von Köchel, who published his catalog in 1862. The numbers he assigned, which are called Köchel numbers and are preceded by the initial K, remain the standard way of referring to works by Mozart. The Jeunehomme Concerto, for example, is K. 271.

Mozart was born in Salzburg. From his father, violinist and composer Leopold Mozart, he received his early musical training. By age six he had become an accomplished performer on the clavier, violin, and organ and was highly skilled in sight-reading and musical improvisation. In 1762 Leopold took his six-year-old son on his first concert tour through the courts of Europe. The young Mozart absorbed the musical styles of the time through travel to Austria’s capital, Vienna; the German cities of Munich and Mannheim; Paris, France; London, England; and various centers in Italy. From 1762 to 1766, while he was often touring, he composed several symphonies, a few sacred works, and a number of sonatas for keyboard and violin.

In London in 1764 Mozart met then-popular German composer Johann Christian Bach, son of Johann Sebastian Bach. The eight-year-old Mozart played four-hand piano sonatas with Bach while sitting on the composer’s lap. The symphonies of the younger Bach and of Carl Friedrich Abel, another German composer living in London, offered models for Mozart’s first symphonies (K. 16 and K. 19), written in 1764 and 1765 when he was eight and nine years old. In 1767, at age 11, Mozart transformed piano sonatas by various composers into his first four piano concertos through the addition of interludes and episodes for orchestra. He intended these works (K. 37, K. 39, K. 40, and K. 41) for his own performance. In 1768 he composed his first opera buffa (comic opera), La finta semplice (The Simple Pretense), and his first German operetta, Bastien und Bastienne. The following year La finta semplice was performed at the palace of the Salzburg archbishop, who appointed Mozart his concertmaster.

From 1769 to 1773, Mozart made three extended journeys to Italy with his father, during which he was remarkably productive and wrote not only symphonies and operas but also string quartets and several sacred works. In Milan he was commissioned to write an opera seria—that is, a serious opera in Italian on a heroic subject. The opera, Mitridati, rè di Ponto (Mithridates, King of Pontus), was produced in 1770 in Milan under Mozart’s direction with success. Also that year the pope made Mozart a knight of the Order of the Golden Spur.

From 1775 to 1780 Mozart was based mainly in Salzburg working for the archbishop Hieronymous von Colloredo. Although dissatisfied with the low pay and limited opportunities his employment offered, Mozart composed many works during this period, including his first important piano sonatas (K. 279 to K. 284, 1775). Despite his mother’s death in 1778 during a trip they made to Paris, he completed his Symphony No. 31 in D Major (Paris, K. 297) and Piano Sonata No. 8 in A Minor (K. 310) during the journey. In 1780 he received a commission from the court at Munich for an opera seria. He fulfilled this commission with Idomeneo, rè di Creta (Idomeneo, King of Crete, 1781), the most important opera seria of Mozart’s maturity and perhaps the greatest opera seria ever written.

Demeaning treatment from Colloredo, who had little interest in music, led Mozart to ask for dismissal from his service in 1781. This Mozart received, along with a kick in the rear as he departed, delivered by an employee of the archbishop. Mozart then began a career as a freelance musician in Vienna.

While working in Germany in 1777, Mozart fell in love with a singer, Aloysia Weber. His father warned him against marriage in a letter: “… it depends wholly on your own good sense and good conduct, whether you become a commonplace artist whom the world will forget, or a celebrated Capellmeister, of whom posterity will read hereafter in books—whether, infatuated with some pretty face, you one day breathe your last on a straw sack, your wife and children in a state of starvation, or, after a well-spent Christian life, die peacefully in honour and independence, and your family well provided for.” Aloysia did not return Mozart’s feelings, however. Despite opposition from his father, Mozart married Aloysia’s sister, Constanze, in August 1782. Two years later he joined the fraternal order of Freemasonry.

In the years after his marriage Mozart experienced some notable professional successes. These included an enthusiastic response from Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, the dominant figure in music at the time. Haydn was particularly impressed by a set of six string quartets (K. 387) that Mozart composed in 1785 and dedicated to Haydn, his admired friend and source of inspiration. A series of inspired piano concertos that Mozart composed for his own performance began with No. 14 in E-flat Major (K. 449) in 1784 and culminated in the premiere of No. 24 in C Minor (K. 491) in March 1786. Moreover, The Marriage of Figaro was first performed later that year in Vienna, Prague (in what is now the Czech Republic), and other cities to enthusiastic public response. In 1787 the premiere of Don Giovanni in Prague received a similar response.

During the last years of his life Mozart was plagued at times by financial difficulties, as revealed in a series of letters he wrote to his fellow Freemason Michael Puchberg, in which he begged for loans. The resounding success of The Magic Flute, which had its premiere in late 1791, would have solved these problems, but it came too late for Mozart, who died on December 5, 1791. He spent his last months in feverish activity. In September he completed an opera seria, La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus). On his deathbed, Mozart labored on the Requiem Mass in D Minor (K. 626), while suffering from delusions that he had been poisoned. He died with the Requiem unfinished. The cause of his death is uncertain and has been the subject of much speculation.

Mozart’s music can be divided into periods of stylistic assimilation and stylistic innovation. From childhood he showed skill at imitating virtually any type of music, including the sacred style of church music and the so-called galant (courtly) idiom. The elegant though often superficial galant style dominated much instrumental music of the 1760s and 1770s. Mozart’s mastery often demonstrates itself in an ability to expand and deepen the stylistic possibilities of the time. The manner in which he extended the character and form of the concerto, for instance, owes much to his experience in writing operatic arias.

In the masterful Jeunehomme Concerto of 1777, the slow middle movement in C minor contains passages suggesting vocal recitative (music structured to resemble the tones and rhythms of speech). The movement’s heartfelt but dignified tragic aura recalls the operas of an earlier German composer, Christoph Willibald Gluck. The first and third movements of the concerto brilliantly exploit dramatic contrasts between the piano soloist and the orchestra. At the beginning of the first movement, the pianist surprisingly answers the orchestra’s opening phrase, although the usual practice called for this section to be given exclusively to the orchestra. The third and final movement of the concerto introduces a lyrical minuet, or dance tune, in the middle of a lively musical form called a rondo. The rondo, in which musical themes recur, is played in a rapid tempo, with virtuosic solo passages, called cadenzas, given to the pianist.

Many of Mozart’s most impressive works date from the last decade of his life, 1781 to 1791, which he spent primarily in Vienna. His comic German opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio, 1782), which takes place in a Turkish palace, shows an exceptional range of musical characterization. The “stupid, surly, malicious Osmin,” as Mozart described the overseer of the palace’s seraglio (harem), is depicted in the opera with frenzied music that is intended to sound Turkish; the music’s colorful orchestration (combination of instruments) includes piccolo, triangle, cymbals, and drum. On the other hand, Constanze, the German woman Osmin holds captive, has an elaborate aria that gives noble expression to her heroic defiance of her captor, no matter what tortures she might suffer. The aria, “Martern aller Arten” (“Tortures of Every Kind”), is introduced by a long passage of 60 measures, featuring solo parts for flute, oboe, violin, and cello that express a range of emotions. By the time of Idomeneo and Die Entführung, Mozart had found musical equivalents for an entire spectrum of dramatic events and human responses.

Mozart was especially proud of his Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major (K. 452) from 1784. As far as scholars know, this is the first quintet ever composed for piano and woodwinds (oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn). In Mozart’s piano concertos from this time, the wind parts become independent, departing from the usual practice of doubling (playing the same notes in different octaves) the string instruments (violins, violas, and cellos). The Piano Concerto No. 15 in B-flat Major (K. 450) from 1784 opens with solo woodwinds, and later concertos show a resourceful use of woodwinds for solos as well as for color. Particularly innovative in Mozart’s later work is his use of the clarinet, which was not a fixed member of the orchestra at that time. His writing for this instrument culminates in two works written for Austrian clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler: the Clarinet Quintet in A Major (K. 581, 1789) and Clarinet Concerto in A Major (K. 622, 1791).

Few composers have written so unforgettably in minor keys using chromaticism, in which all of the tones and semitones (half steps, as from F to F-sharp) of the musical scale are employed. Chromaticism means composing with tones that are not part of the established key, as Mozart does, for example, at the beginnings of the String Quartet in C Major (Dissonance, K. 465, 1785) and the Piano Concertos No. 20 in D Minor (K. 466, 1785) and No. 24 in C Minor (K. 491, 1786).

Mozart associated the key of D Minor with music that conveys vengeance and fear, as in the music heard at Don Giovanni’s confrontation with the stone guest near the end of Don Giovanni. Here, Mozart combines chromaticism with majestic contrasts in sonority (sound) and an orchestration featuring trombones to evoke a powerful sense of foreboding and terror. Mozart deepens the dramatic evocation of the demonic by foreshadowing this D-minor music at the beginning of the overture to the opera, and throughout the opera he associates references to Don Giovanni’s slaying of the Commendatore (whose statue is later the stone guest) with ominous references to the key. Similar associations with this key appear in other works, such as in the D-minor revenge aria of the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute.

Another key closely associated with Mozart is G minor, which he employed to convey agitation and emotional turbulence in his Symphony No. 25 (Little G Minor, K. 183, 1773), Symphony No. 40 (K. 550, 1788), a string quintet in this key (K. 516, 1787), and the moving lament “Ach, ich fühl’s” (“Ah, I feel it”) sung by Pamina in Act II of The Magic Flute.

During his Vienna years, Mozart could combine the most popular tuneful charm with the most learned compositional devices, as in the serenade Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music, K. 525, 1787). He absorbed the older styles of German composers George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach, even arranging some Bach fugues (works based on interwoven melodies) for string instruments. Fugues also appear in the last movement of Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major (K. 459, 1784) and in the overture to The Magic Flute, in which Mozart blends music of a vivacious, humorous character—marked by quick, repeated notes—with rigorous fugal structure.

Two other examples of Mozart’s stylistic resourcefulness are the three dances in the finale of the first act of Don Giovanni and the remarkable final movement of the Symphony No. 41 in C Major (Jupiter, K. 551, 1788). In Don Giovanni, Mozart combines three dances that embody the different social positions of the characters. The musical confusion creates almost unbearable tension before the peasant girl Zerlina stops the dancing by crying out for help during Don Giovanni’s attempt to seduce her. In the last movement of the Jupiter Symphony, the climactic last section, or coda, contains a simultaneous presentation of nearly all the motifs (short segments of melody or rhythm) and themes (repeated melodies) of the movement.

The most celebrated of Mozart’s sacred compositions is the unfinished Requiem (K. 626), which combines learned fugue techniques with the vocal features of opera. Masonic elements also are present in the Requiem, as in The Magic Flute where they are represented in the music of the wise and benevolent Sarastro. In the Requiem, Masonry is reflected in the use of basset horns, late-18th-century instruments associated with the order, and in the hymnlike solemnity of the music, sometimes reminiscent of the music for Sarastro. Before his death Mozart reportedly discussed the completion of the Requiem with his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who may have received specific directions from the composer. Süssmayr’s completion remained the version of the Requiem used in most performances until recently. Debate over its merits and shortcomings continues, and several scholars have offered alternative completions of the Requiem.

Mozart is one of the most universal of composers and one of the greatest geniuses of Western civilization. His output was huge (more than 600 works). Drawing on various national traditions, he brought the classical style to its highest development. This style, which evolved from about 1750 to 1800 when Vienna was the center of European music, is characterized by lively contrasts of themes and by symmetry of forms. In the dramatic genres of opera and concerto, Mozart enjoyed unique success. The richness of musical characterization and the psychological insights of his operatic masterpieces find parallels in much of his purely instrumental music. In the concertos he demonstrates that powerful expressive forces can coexist with serene formal structures.

Although Mozart has been viewed as the quintessential composer of the classical period, early-19th-century critics such as German romantic writer and composer E.T.A. Hoffmann regarded him as an archromantic, much in their own image. (Elements of the supernatural and fantastic figure in Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute, as they do in romanticism.) Mozart’s music also influenced innovative German composers of the romantic period, including Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner, as well as the 20th-century creator of the twelve-tone chromatic tone system, German composer Arnold Schoenberg. Mozart’s influence stems not just from the graceful beauty of his music, but also from its flexible phrasing, startling contrasts, and unstable chromaticism. At the time of their first performance, many of his works were regarded as difficult, with “too many notes,” as Austrian emperor Joseph II purportedly said. If Mozart’s music embodies something of the elegance and refinement of the privileged aristocratic world before the French Revolution (1789-1799), it also affirms values subversive to that world. He lodged this critique in the depiction of flawed aristocrats in Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, and in the glorification in The Magic Flute of the ideals of the Freemasons, who were deemed dangerous by Vienna’s aristocracy. Many of his finest instrumental works in their beauty and perfection also acknowledge the darker sides of human experience.

Source: Encarta Reference Library 2003

Conservative Government

2006-01-24T09:32:00.000-08:00

Conservatives defeated Liberals 124-103 (36%-30%).

Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party will be 22nd prime minister of Canada.

Prime Minister Paul Martin called Governor General Michaëlle Jean on Tuesday morning to tell her he would resign following his party's election loss on Monday.

Hours after winning a minority government, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper promised to get to work implementing his top campaign priorities.

Hingis Is Back

2006-01-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Martina Hingis is back.

After 4 years of injuries, the Switzer legend, 3 times Australian Open winner in row (1997, 1998, 1999), one time Wimbeldon winner (1997), and one time US Open winner (1997), is back to ground.

Martina defeated Vera Zvonareva 2-0 in the first round, Emma Laine 2-0 in the second, and Iveta Benesova 2-0 in the third round of the Australian Open Grand Slam.

She is also taking part in mixed doubles with the Indian Mahesh Bhupathi.

Superstars

2006-01-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

As a music lover, you may know a lot about classical music. You may know what a sonata or symphony or concerto is, but if you don’t, you can still enjoy the music. But one thing you definitely know is when you go to a music store to buy a Beethoven’s symphony, or Bruckner’s, or Mahler’s, nothing less than Berlin or New York Philharmonic under the superb baton of Maestro Herber von Karajan or Leonard Bernstein would satisfy you. Of course some former extraordinary superstars such as Arturo Toscanini are temporarily ignored here, just because of the poor quality of their recordings, although it is still worth a lot to listen to these mono archives, especially for music students and professionals.

Herbert Von Karajan was born in Salzburg on April 5, 1908. He began studying the piano at the age of four and performed for the first time in public at a charity concert the following year. Karajan studied at the Mozarteum Conservatory in Salzburg from 1916 until 1926 and was taught by Bernhard Paumgartner, who encouraged him to be trained as a conductor.

Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1918. He took piano lessons as a boy and attended the Garrison and Boston Latin schools. At Harvard University he studied with Walter Piston, and Edward Burlingame-Hill. Before graduating in 1939, he made an unofficial conducting debut with his own incidental music to The Birds and directed and performed in Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock. Then, at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied piano with Isabella Vengerova, conducting with Fritz Reiner and orchestration with Randall Thompson.

Notice specifically the great names as instructors in both cases: Bernhard Paumgartner, and Fritz Reiner, two great conductors of their time.

Karajan made his conducting debut in Salzburg on January 22, 1929. He first participated in the Salzburg Festival in 1933 and the following year conducted the Vienna Philharmonic for the first time. In 1938, he began his long association with the Berlin Philharmonic, but it took 18 years before 1956 when he was awarded the music director of the orchestra for life, after his precedent Wilhelm Furtwangler had died in 1954.

Bernstein was appointed to his first permanent conducting post in 1943, as assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. On November 14, 1943, he substituted on a few hours notice for the ailing Bruno Walter at a Carnegie Hall concert, which was broadcast nationally on radio, receiving critical acclaim. Soon orchestras worldwide sought him out as a guest conductor. In 1945 he was appointed music director of the New York City Symphony Orchestra, a post he held until 1947. After Serge Koussevitzky died in 1951, Bernstein headed the orchestral and conducting departments at Tanglewood, teaching there for many years. At last, Bernstein became music director of the New York Philharmonic in 1958.

Therefore in late 1950s, two incredible orchestras started a golden era of some 30 years under the batons of two superstars, and conquered the world with live concerts and tours as well as many immortal audio and video recordings.

Karajan’s long and distinguished recording career with the Berlin Philharmonic made him an international superstar. Over the years, these recordings consistently set new audio and musical standards against which other performances were judged, and of course most of them were with Deutsche Grammophon. Among his many honors, Karajan received two Gramophone awards for recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1981: Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, best orchestral recording; and the complete Parsifal, record of the year. Throughout his career, Karajan championed the use of visual media and new audio technology to enhance musical expression. Beginning in 1965, Karajan produced films of concerts and operas in association with French film director Henri Georges Clouzot. Always interested in improving the listening experience for his audience, Karajan quickly adopted technological innovations. In January 1980, for example, Karajan made the first digital recording of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and at the Salzburg Easter Festival on April 15, 1981, joined Polygram, Philips and Sony in introducing the “Compact Disc Digital Audio System” to the music world.

Bernstein, for much of his career, including his legendary tenure as music director of the New York Philharmonic, recorded exclusively for Columbia/CBS Masterworks, which is now Sony Classical. This vast legacy of recordings, featuring his work as both composer and conductor, is now being remastered and collected in a comprehensive new Sony Classical series entitled Bernstein Century.

There are certain differences to keep in mind when dealing with these two stars. First of all, recordings of Bernstein seem to be much more natural, just the same as a live concert. You cannot draw a line between forte and fortissimo, for instance. Sometimes even the breathing of the players could be heard. But Karajan supervised the recording process himself, and used technology to balance the sound effects and dynamics. It would be of great interest to compare these two in the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s fourth. The wide range of extreme piano (pppp) to extreme forte (ffff), just as the composer needed, could be heard in the Karajan’s recording, but in extreme pianissimo parts nothing can be heard unless the volume is increased! Secondly, Karajan often uses faster tempos, maybe a result of the players’ virtuoso and pride that obviously has certain influence on the conductor too. Compare Karajan with Karl Bohm (with his Vienna Philharmonic) in the Mozart’s 40th symphony, first movement. The former is faster in tempo by at least 10 beats per minute.

And at last, in Karajan’s recordings of concertos, not so many great names could be recognized. Maybe again as a result of his pride, he thought his name on the record cover would be more than enough. Compare, for instance, the Beethoven’s Violin Concerto performed and recorded by the two legendary artists. The Karajan recording, of course with Berlin Philharmonic and Christian Ferras as soloist, is one of the worst recordings of the concerto, while the Bernstein performance conducting New York Philharmonic with Isaac Stern playing the solo part, is absolutely the best.

In total it is advisable to forget both Karajan and Bernstein when dealing with the Baroque or early classics, and preferably listen to Imusici with Felix Ayo, or St. Martin-in-the-fields with Neville Mariner for Baroque music, and Vienna Philharmonic with Karl Bohm for early classic music and specifically Mozart, instead.

Karajan was the recipient of many honours and awards, including the “Médaille de Vermeil” in Paris, the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society in London (other conductors who have received this award include Arturo Toscanini, Sir Thomas Beecham and Bruno Walter.)

Bernstein received many honours as well. He was elected in 1981 to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which gave him a gold medal. The National Fellowship Award in 1985 applauded his lifelong support of humanitarian causes. He received the MacDowell Colony's gold medal; medals from the Beethoven Society and the Mahler Gesellschaft; the Handel Medallion, New York City's highest honor for the arts; a Tony Award (1969) for distinguished achievement in the theater.

Herbert Von Karajan never composed a single piece of music, at least something that could be named.

Inspired by his Jewish heritage, Leonard Bernstein completed his first large-scale work, Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah” in 1943. The piece was first performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1944, conducted by the composer, and received the New York Music Critics' Award. Koussevitzky premiered Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety” with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Bernstein as piano soloist. His Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish”, composed in 1963, was premiered by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Kaddish is dedicated "To the Beloved Memory of John F. Kennedy." Other major compositions by Bernstein include Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (1960); Halil for solo flute and small orchestra (1981); Missa Brevis for singers and percussion (1988); Thirteen Anniversaries for solo piano (1988); Concerto for Orchestra: Jubilee Games (1989); and Arias and Barcarolles for two singers and piano duet (1988.)

It may be of interest to know that Bernstein was a Jewish (and not a Zionist, two terms that are often mistaken), while Karajan was accused of being a Nazi. When he set foot in New York to perform music in 1940's, 750 members of the American Federation of Musicians signed a petition seeking to prevent the Berlin Philharmonic concerts and protesting the US Government subsidy of the tour. At the opening concert, pickets representing Zionist Youth marched in front of Carnegie Hall. But the fact is that all Karajan’s life was concenterated on music. He lived in a world of music, and he was never interested in politics. Nazi or not, not a single artist has done what he has done in performing the nine Beethoven’s symphonies, Mahler’s, Brahms’, and Bruckner’s symphonies, and Richard Strauss symphonic poems. You listen to “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” under Karajan with Berlin Philharmonic, and you will not bear to listen to any other performances of the masterpiece.

Herbert von Karajan died in Salzburg on July 16, 1989. Karajan was the father of two daughters: Isabel, and Anabel.

Leonard Bernstein died in 1990. Bernstein was the father of three children: Jamie, Alexander, and Nina, and the grandfather of two: Francisca, and Evan.

Maria Callas

2005-12-25T18:08:00.000-08:00

Maria Callas (1923 – 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and perhaps the best-known opera singer of the post World War II period. She combined an impeccable bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts, making her the most famous singing actress of the era. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria, such as Spontini's La Vestale to late Verdi and the verismo operas of Puccini.

Born Maria Anna Sofia Cecilia Kalogeropoulos to Greek parents in Brooklyn, New York, she moved with her mother to Athens, Greece at the age of 13. There she received her musical education and became a pupil of the well-known soprano Elvira de Hidalgo at the Athens Conservatory. After a few appearances as a student and in secondary roles, she made her professional debut at the Athens Opera on July 4, 1941, as Tosca, going on to sing Santuzza and Leonora during the next three years. In 1947, Callas made her Italian debut at the Verona Arena in La Gioconda under the baton of Tullio Serafin. Together with Serafin, Callas subsequently recorded and performed many bel canto operas, contributing greatly to the bel canto revival of the 1950s.

Throughout the 1950s, Callas made numerous appearances at the world's great houses: La Scala in Milan, Opera Garnier in Paris, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Dallas Opera (Dallas, Texas), Royal Opera House in London, Mexico's Palacio de las Bellas Artes, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. By the mid 1950s, strain on her voice started to become apparent; by 1958 it reached a point where she was no longer suitable for many roles. Her later stereo recordings evidence masterly musical interpretations with an increasingly unstable higher register that wobbled uncontrollably at times. Her last new production at La Scala was Donizetti's Poliuto in 1960. The role was well chosen for her vocal capacities. The premiere was on La Scala's traditional opening day, 7th December, Saint Ambroise Day. It was a great success and is still remembered today as a model.

In her final years as a singer, there were performances of Medea, Norma and Tosca , most notably her Paris, New York, and Royal Opera House Covent Garden "Tosca"s of January/February 1964 and, her last performance on stage, on 5th July 1965 at Covent Garden.

Callas was romantically involved for many years with the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, and their love affair received much publicity. She was introduced to him in 1957, after a performance in Donizetti's Anna Bolena, at a party given in her honor by Elsa Maxwell. In November 1959, she left her husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, for Onassis. According to one of her biographers, Nicholas Gage, Callas and Onassis had a child, a boy, who died hours after he was born on March 30, 1960. The relationship ended nine years later, when Onassis left Callas for Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of assassinated US president John F. Kennedy.

Heartbroken ("First I lost my voice, then I lost my figure and then I lost Onassis," she once said), Callas spent her last years living largely in isolation in Paris, and died in 1977 from a heart attack at the age of 53. The funeral service was held at the Greek Orthodox Church on Rue Georges-Bizet on September 20, 1977, and her ashes were buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery. After being stolen and later recovered, they were scattered into the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Greece.

In late 2004, opera and film director Franco Zeffirelli made a bizarre claim that Callas may have been murdered by her female lover, Greek pianist Vasso Devetzi, motivated by Callas' $9,000,000 USD estate. As Devetzi carried out Callas' wishes in founding the Maria Callas Foundation, which provides international scholarships for young singers, this seems unlikely. A more likely explanation is Callas' overuse of quaaludes. Devetzi may have conned Callas' sister, Lakintha, into signing her share of the estate over to herself.

Greatly admired by many opera fans, disliked by others, Callas was a controversial artist. Her supporters called her "La Divina" and raved about the dramatic intensity and ravishing portayals she brought to the opera stage. Callas' detractors believed that she regularly pushed her voice beyond its natural limits, achieving her dramatic effect at the expense of beauty of tone.

Seismic Test

2005-12-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

Click here to watch a video of a shake table test of typical Japanese post and beam houses. The test was done Nov. 21, 2005 at the recently completed US$500 million lab near Tokyo called E-defense. The test facility has a 15m x 12m 3-dimensional shake table capable of supporting a 1200 ton structure.

The two houses in the video are identical 30 year old post and beam homes (approx. 5.5m x 5.5m footprint) that were moved into the lab. One house was reinforced for seismic loads (plywood sheathing and steel connectors) and the other was not. The ground motion replicated the Kobe earthquake, the PGA of which was 0.65g.

Liel

2005-12-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

Liel, only 16 years old now, has become a star in Germany. She has done hundreds of performances all around the world.

She has turned a symbol and voice for peace since she sang the nostalgic beautiful song “Imagine” with President Clinton and two choirs including Arab and Jewish children singers.

Liel has also performed concerts with legends such as Sir Elton John, and Scorpions. She sings in five languages, plays guitar, and writes her own music.

Ever Loving Heart

2005-12-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

Some English talking friends have asked me to translate my Persian poems. Well, this may not keep the original form of the poem, but can definitely show the feelings that these friends are looking for. This is one written in 2002:

Life?
The land of grief and painfulness.
Mankind?
A blend of aches and sorrow.

Oh thou, life, naught be your being,
For what do I have to find your hidden secrets?
I want you not as of this very moment,
I will not be deluded by you humble world,
With all your colourful deceptions and tricks.

One moment you show me the gardens,
Full of flowers in variety of colours,
And intoxicating scents,
And butterflies in various colours over the flowers…

But the next moment,
You show me your talons and teeth as flower thorns.
Flower is naught but delusion,
The bare fact is nothing but the thorn,
Colour is naught but cold white light,
And all these butterflies are nothing but degenerated worms!

Well come forget it all,
There would be no antidote but death,
Death will overtake me one day,
And today could be that one day,
The reborn could get started any time.

Much could be learned from phoenix,
Into fire could be thrown this dusty body,
And get burned expecting another birth.

Surrounded by the worms,
Under the white light,
I can light the fire now.

Oh fire, the flame of thou will purify me,
Surround this impure body of mine,
Amorously and amatory in the warm hands of yours,
(In the warmth of which, there is no deceptions),
Make cold ashes of my body,
And puff it into the wind.

Later on,
No name, no infamy will remain,
Of me and of ashes of my ever loving heart…

Beethoven

2005-12-16T18:50:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday of the greatest and most beloved musician in history, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1927).

Regeneration

2005-12-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

From the first moment, at the very first glance,
I knew I had found a beauty, an angel,
Holding her tight in arms, caressing her hair,
I would forget the borders, Heaven, and the hell. . .

Dreaming of her crimson lips, over and over at night,
Thinking of the charming eyes, all day long,
Imagining the finger tips, dancing over the keyboard,
Has regenerated this old, at once into a young. . .

English Handwriting

2005-12-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

1. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) believed that FISH could be spelled GHOTI according to English handwriting: gh sometimes sounds f, as in cough; o may sound i, as in women; and ti may sound sh as in cautious!!!

2. Try how easily you can read and understand the following passage:

i cdnuolt blveiee taht i cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht i was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

azanmig huh? yaeh and i awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! any comnotts?!

Snow in Vancouver

2005-11-30T19:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, snow in our town! It can rarely be seen in Vancouver.

I remember we had all four distinctive seasons in Tehran: Spring from March 21st (Norooz), Summer from late June, Fall from late September, and Winter from late December. In Tehran we had a total of some 15 days of heavy snow (more than 200mm) a year. Good old days...

A Note from God

2005-11-20T07:18:00.000-08:00

I was there the day you were born, and I gave you special gifts to last a lifetime. I touched you, made you smile, helped you grow and watched you take your first step.

I even reassured you that everything would be okay when you lost your first tooth.

I saw you off on your first day of school, and I lingered by your side the whole day. I was there to console you every time you cried, and I held you every time you fell and scraped your knees.

I was there every day all through the years, and I always strived to give you direction. I helped you every step of the way, into adulthood, bringing you daily gifts of inspiration, hope, and love.

And I gave you trials so that you could grow into the warm and beautiful person that you are,
but I never abandoned you to them.

I've never for a single second, turned my back on you when you needed me, even when you thought that, you didn't need me. I heard you every time you spoke, and I answered every prayer, though sometimes for your best interest, I didn't answer them the way you hoped I would.

I'm still with you through your joys, your hopes, your tears, your dreams, through the bad day and the good days, through every day of your life.

And I will be there in the end, to give you comfort and see you safely home, where you will sit beside me, in all the glory of Heaven.

Source: Internet, anonymous

Netiquette

2005-11-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

Please review some of the frequently used netiquette (net + etiquette) rules:

- If your Internet access is through a corporate account, check with your employer about their policy regarding private e-mail.

- Don't assume any Internet communication is completely secure. Never put in a mail message anything you would not put on a postcard. Likewise, independently verify any suspect mail, as addresses can be forged.

- If you are forwarding or re-posting a message, don't change the original wording.

- If you are replying to a message, quote only the relevant parts.

- Never send chain letters, they are forbidden on the Internet. Notify you System administrator if you receive one.

- Take care with addressing mail.

- Allow time for mail to be received, and replied to, keeping in mind time differences around the world and other people's busy schedules.

- By netiquette default, it’s assumed you check your e-mails at least twic a day. So a reply within a maximum of 24 hours is expected. Otherwise, let people know using auto replies.

- If you want your mail to be read, don't make it too long unless the receiver is expecting a verbose message. Over 100 lines is considered long.

- Remember the Internet is a global community, and other peoples values and outlook on life may be different to your own. Be tolerant and careful with slang or phrases that may not be understood in another country.

- Use mixed case, UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING.

- Mail should have a subject header that reflects the content of the message. Never leave the SUBJECT field blank.

- Unsolicited e-mail advertising is unwelcome (and forbidden in many countries).

- When attaching files, don't send any larger than about 50k.

- On those rare occasions where it is necessary to send a group of people the very same e-mail, as a courtesy to those you are sending to, please list all of the recipients e-mail addresses in the BCC field. When an e-mail address is designated in the Blind Carbon Copy field, the recipient will get a copy of the e-mail while their e-mail address remains invisible and protected from the view of the other recipients of the e-mail.

- Never give out phone numbers or personal information without confirming you are communicating with a reputable party. Never give out personal contact information of others without their specific permission to do so.

Itzhak Perlman

2005-11-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

Born in Israel in 1945, Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and soon was propelled into the international arena with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Perlman won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964, which led to a burgeoning worldwide career.

Since then, Itzhak Perlman has appeared with every major orchestra and in recitals and festivals throughout the world. In November of 1987 he joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for history-making concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by this orchestra and soloist in Eastern bloc countries. He again made history as he joined the Israel Philharmonic for its first visit to the Soviet Union in April/May of 1990 and was cheered by audiences in Moscow and Leningrad who thronged to hear his recital and orchestral performances. In December of 1994 he joined the Israel Philharmonic for their first visits to China and India.

Itzhak Perlman has been honoured with four Emmy Awards, most recently for the PBS documentary Fiddling for the Future, a film about the Perlman Summer Music Program and his work as a teacher and conductor in that program. His previous Emmy Award recognized his dedication to Klezmer music, as featured in the PBS television special In the Fiddler's House.
During the past two years Perlman has also appeared on the conductor’s podium and through this medium he is further delighting his audiences. He has appeared as conductor / soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Toronto symphonies.

One of Perlman's proudest achievements was his collaboration with film score composer John Williams in Steven Spielberg's Academy Award winning film Schindler's List in which he performed the violin solos.

His presence on stage, on camera and in personal appearances of all kinds speaks eloquently on behalf of the disabled and his devotion to their cause is an integral part of his life.

Itzhak Perlman will play Beethoven’s violin concerto with the Vancouver Symphony Orchetra next January.

Finite Element in Music

2005-10-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

A finite-element reconstruction showing one of the acoustically important structural modes of the body of a violin is shown in the picture. The snapshot view shows, on a much exaggerated scale, the highly asymmetric vertical displacements and flexural vibrations of the instrument. The results were obtained when the displacement was at its maximum. Note that vibrations of all parts of the instrument are involved in the resonant mode. In particular, the resonances of the front and back plates cannot be considered in isolation from the rest of the instrument, as has often been assumed in the past.

Source: Physics Web

Cremonese Violins

2005-10-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

Is there really a lost secret that sets Stradivarius violins apart from the best instruments made today? After more than a hundred years, this question remains highly contentious, provoking strongly held but divergent views among players, violin makers and scientists alike. All of the greatest violinists of our time, certainly believe it to be true, and invariably perform on violins by Stradivari or Guarneri in preference to modern instruments.

Violins by the great Italian makers are, of course, beautiful works of art in their own right, and are coveted by collectors as well as players. Particularly outstanding violins have reputedly changed hands for over a million dollars. In contrast, fine modern instruments typically cost about $10000, while factory-made violins for beginners can be bought for under $100. Do such prices really reflect such large differences in quality? Is it not a fact that one of the reasons that the great Cremonese violins sound so wonderful is because we have always heard them played by the world greatest players?!

The violin is the most highly developed and most sophisticated of all stringed instruments. It emerged in Northern Italy in about 1550, in a form that has remained essentially unchanged ever since. The famous Cremonese violin-making families of Amati, Stradivari and Guarneri formed a continuous line of succession that flourished from about 1600 to 1750, with skills being handed down from father to son and from master to apprentice. The popular belief is that their unsurpassed skills, together with the magical Stradivarius secret, were lost by the start of the 19th century.

Taq-i-Kasra

2005-10-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

Taq-i-Kasra (translated as "The Arch of Khosrow"), now a ruined ancient city, 32 km SE of Baghdad, Iraq (part of Persian Empire, called Ctesiphon then); was constructed at the Sassanid era, Persian Empire Dynasty (224-651 CE.) Legend has it that locals swore that the magnificent vault was the work of genies. The structure was abandoned after Islamic forces defeated the mighty Persian Empire in the 7th century.

The height of the people watching the Taq in the picture may be a good scale to show the approximate span and height of the arch. The young structural engineers should notice that when this shell was designed and built, there were no computers, finite elements, theory of plates and shells, and nothing but engineering talent, touch and judgement.

Imagine

2005-10-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

Imagine… It was sung by John Lennon some 40 years ago for the first time, and then performed by many other singers and artists. I have always loved it since then, although I was a little kid. Maybe that's why I’d prefer the performances by Diana Ross and especially Nana Mouskouri which belong to my youth, years of life and love. See the lyrics:

Imagine there's no heaven,
it's easy if you try,
no hell below us,
above us only sky,
imagine all the people,
living for today.

Imagine there's no countries,
it isn't hard to do,
nothing to kill or die for,
and no religion too,
imagine all the people,
living in peace.

You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope someday you'll join us,
and the world will be one.

Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can,
no need for greed nor hunger,
a brotherhood of man,
imagine all the people,
sharing all the world.

You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope someday you'll join us,
and the world will live as one.

Grosse Fuge

2005-10-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

Heather Carbo, a librarian found a working manuscript score for a piano version of Beethoven's "Grosse Fuge," a monument of classical music when she was cleaning out an archival cabinet one hot afternoon in July. It was in the composer's own hand, according to Sotheby's auction house. The 80-page manuscript in mainly brown ink --a furious scattering of notes across the page, with many changes and cross-outs, some so deep that the paper is punctured-- dates from the final months of Beethoven's life. The score had effectively disappeared from view for 115 years, apparently never examined by scholars.

What's more, this manuscript is among Beethoven's last, from the period when he was stone deaf. It not only depicts his thought processes at their most introspective and his working methods at their most intense, but also gives a sense of his concern for his legacy.

Source: New York Times

Quotes

2005-10-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

Ludwig van Beethoven, on deathbed, 1827:
Applaud my friends, the comedy is over. (Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est.)

Nelson Mandela:
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.

Anonymous:
For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness.

Quit

2005-10-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well... I quit smoking! This is day #15. And believe or not, it's not tough at all, no mental or physical problems, although I smoked for some 27 years. . .

This is what I want my young friends and colleagues know. It's easy. Just try. Just do.

This post was recommended by a nice colleague of mine.

Best Cities

2005-10-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

Vancouver is now ranked 3rd in The Economist list of best cities for the second time, after being the first for 3 consecutive years in 2001 to 2003.

It is also good to have 5 Canadian cities among the first 25 cities, whish is a proof of the life quality in this country.

"The overall quality of life ranking is based on an evaluation of 39 quality of life criteria," writes The Economist; among which political and social environment, economic and socio-cultural environment, medical and health considerations, schools and education, recreation, and housing could be named.

Destiny Dice

2005-10-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

My heart is no more empty,
The clouds are no more gray,
That is in a warm nice love,
This is shiny fuchsia today.

May God make you look at me,
May you share the love, warm and nice,
This is though the order of Cupid,
Sweet Venus has so thrown the dice. . .

New Weblog

2005-10-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it's now more than 6 months I've blogged in my Persian weblog. It has been so tough to organize everything in a Persian template with right to left settings, but it has thus been a good challenge and experience anyway.

And now I've started a new English weblog. The title "All Men Should Be Brothers" is taken from "Ode to Joy" by Frederich von Schiller, which was later used in the finale of the ninth symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven.

The weblog is dedicated to music, poetry, arts, and structural engineering as well.

O' Friends, Bernstein

2005-03-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Opus 125
Movement 4 Section 2, O’ Friends

Conductor: Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)