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Category: Music

Memories of Sago Lane: Part 1: The Sounds of Childhood

Memories of Sago Lane: Part 1: The Sounds of Childhood

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In the heart of Chinatown today stand the less exciting remains of Sago Lane, “the Street of Dead People,” or “sei yan kai” in Cantonese. Originally a 250-metre-long street stretching from South Bridge Road to Keong Siak Road, it was cut into two in a massive do-over in the 1970s. Unfortunately, only the duller part of the street, the one leading to South Bridge Road, survived. The life and soul of Sago Lane, near to Keong Saik Road, was completely…

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Dreaming Up Music

Dreaming Up Music

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There are diagrams that explain how things work, diagrams that show the lay of the land, diagrams that explain complex ideas quickly when words fail, diagrams that give you sudden insight, and many others. But there is one type of diagram that stirs up a lot of joy and imagination in me—the orchestral seating plan. When I started playing music in my school band as a teenager, I became fascinated by the variety and complexity of sound produced by large…

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Discovering Chopin

Discovering Chopin

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Recently, while browsing the cache of digital photos I accumulated over the years, I found a picture of the Frédéric Chopin Museum in Warsaw, which I visited in 2011. The photo was not well taken, probably a surreptitious shot as there were no other pictures of the Museum except one on the external signage. I remember making a trip to the Museum while attending a conference in Warsaw. I wasn’t particularly keen on Chopin then, but it would be inexcusable…

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A Journey in Music

A Journey in Music

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A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything Gustav Mahler Beginning Mahler The first time I heard Mahler was in 1980 (maybe 1981 or 1982) at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It was full-house, and the only ticket I could get was for the balcony tier—no seats, need to stand throughout the concert. The balcony rail overlooking the stage was filled up, so I resigned myself to sitting on the floor behind the standing crowd. It…

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