Music
Concerts in 2023-2024 season:
| Time | Location | Performed by | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/22/2023 | Cleveland, Ohio | Emerson String Quartet | Beethoven String Quartet No.13 (Op.130) with Grosse Fuge (Op.133) |
| 10/07/2023 | Philadelphia | Phil Orch | Gershwin Piano Concerto |
| 10/15/2023 | Cleveland, Ohio | Emerson String Quartet | Beethoven String Quartet No.14 (Op.131) |
| 11/05/2023 | Fair Lawn, NJ | Adelphi Orch | Sun, 2pm, Beethoven Violin Concerto |
| 11/10/2023 | NYC | NY Phil | Fri, 8:00pm, Beethoven Violin Concerto |
| 11/17/2023 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Fri, 2pm, Beethoven Symphony No.6, “Pastoral” |
| 12/01/2023 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Fri, 2pm, Mahler Symphony No.1 |
| 12/03/2023 | Phildadelphia | Staatskapelle Berlin | Sun, 7:30pm, Brahms Symphony No.3 & No.4 |
| 01/05/2024 | NYC | NY Phil | Fri, 2:00pm, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4, Brahms Symphony No.4 |
| 01/13/2024 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5 |
| 01/26/2024 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Fri, 2pm, Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem |
| 02/24/2024 | New Brunswick, NJ | Itzhak Perlman | Sat, 8pm |
| 02/29/2024 | Phildadelphia | Haochen Zhang & Phil Orch | Thu, 7:30pm, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 & Symphony No.7 |
| 03/01/2024 | Phildadelphia | Hagen Quartet | Fri, 7:30pm, Beethoven String Quartet No.15 (Op.132) |
| 03/05/2024 | Phildadelphia | Orchestre Métropolitain | Tue, 7:30pm, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 |
| 03/19/2024 | NYC | NY Phil | Tue, 7:30pm, Beethoven Symphony No.5 |
| 03/21/2024 | NYC | Quatuor Van Kuijk | Thu, 7:30pm, Beethoven String Quartet No.14 |
| 05/01/2024 | Phildadelphia | Bavarian Radio Symphony Orch | Wed, 8pm, Mahler Symphony No.6 |
| 05/03/2024 | NYC | Dame Imogen Cooper | Fri, 7:30pm, Beethoven Piano Sonata No.31 |
| 05/04/2024 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.3 |
| 05/11/2024 | Buffalo, NY | Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra | Sat, 7:30pm, Beethoven Symphony No.9, “Choral” |
| 05/15/2024 | Phildadelphia | Evgeny Kissin | Wed, 8pm, Pieces of Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev |
| 06/07/2024 | NYC | NY Phil | Fri, 8:00pm, Mahler Symphony No.2 “Resurrection” |
| 06/18/2024 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Tue, 8pm, Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6, Swan Lake (suite), the 1812 overture |
Concerts in 2024-2025 season:
| Time | Location | Performed by | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/05/2024 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Mahler Symphony No.3 |
| 11/23/2024 | NYC | NY Phil | Sat, 7:30pm, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3 |
| 11/30/2024 | NYC | NY Phil | Sat, 7:30pm, Chopin Piano Concerto No.2 |
| 01/11/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Mahler Symphony No.9 |
| 01/25/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6 |
| 02/22/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Brahms Symphony No.4 |
| 02/23/2025 | New Brunswick, NJ | NJ Symphony | Sun, 3pm, Chopin Piano Concerto No.1, Brahms Symphony No.1 |
| 03/01/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 |
| 03/08/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Beethoven Symphony No.3, “Eroica” |
| 03/15/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto |
| 03/29/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Schumann Cello Concerto |
| 04/06/2025 | New Brunswick, NJ | NJ Symphony | Sun, 3pm, Beethoven Symphony No.9, “Choral” |
| 04/10/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Thu, 7:30pm, Mahler Symphony No.6 |
| 04/24/2025 | NYC, Carnegie Hall | Boston Symphony Orchestra | Thu, 8:00pm, Shostakovich Symphony No.11, “The Year 1905” |
| 04/26/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Sat, 8pm, Schumann Piano Concerto & Beethoven Symphony No.4 |
| 05/29/2025 | Phildadelphia | Phil Orch | Thu, 7:30pm, Beethoven Symphony No.9, “Choral” |
Some of my favorite pieces:
Beethoven Symphony No.9 in D Minor, Op.125
Among all composers in history, Ludwig van Beethoven is always my favorite. His last symphony, in my opinion, is the greatest music artwork of all time which represents the peak of wisdom of human kind. My eyes are filled with tears every time I listen to this masterpiece.
Brahms Symphony No.4 in E Minor, Op.98
The best symphony after Beethoven and before Mahler. Only after I listened to it I realized why Brahms is thought to be the greatest composer after Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. The tragedy involved in 4th movement always touches me deep inside.
Beethoven String Quartet No.13 in B-flat Major (Op.130) and Grosse Fuge (Op.133)
Grosse Fuge was originally the last movement of String Quartet No.13, which is really difficult to understand. It is described as “an absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever” by Stravinsky. Its value was not recognized by people at that time, but nowadays it’s thought to be one of the greatest pieces of Beethoven. Besides Grosse Fuge, the exquisitely heartfelt Cavatina movement (5th movement) is also astonishing.
Bach, Chaconne, Partita No.2 in D Minor, BWV 1004 (Piano Transcription by Busoni)
I was immediately attracted by the theme at the very beginning when I listened to this piece for the first time. Brahms wrote: “Using the technique adapted to a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings.”
Beethoven Piano Sonata No.31 in A-flat Major (Op.110)
One of my favourite piano pieces. I was fortunate to have listened to Evgeny Kissin’s performance of this piece in Philadelphia. Very impressive.
To be continued…