Happy Chinese New Year! A short trip to London

Jumped off at Heathrow by 8pm on 15th and boarded on the trip back by 8pm on 20th. What can one do in between with the jet lag???

The second day turned out to be most fruitful - met Doris my good friend at China Town (photo only showed me and Rose, forgot to take photo of Doris, sorry!); lined up in the rain (no hat, no scarf, no glove) and wind-chill factor of 5 deg for an hour before getting into the >100 exhibits strong van Gogh exhibit at the Royal Academy; had high-tea at Harrods and met my old school mate Albert Leung with his family over a wonderful Chinese meal (again, forgot to take a photo of Albert)!

Enjoy the famous English countryside probably??? - Ooops, unfortunately the sky was covered with blankets of Cumulonimbus with constant showers at most time but these taken at dawn still suggest an atmosphere of "Greensleeves" of Vaughan Williams!




Shirley and Felix (my sister and brother-in-law) and Angelina ("Squid" who helped me with the illustrations in my book) were all turned round and round with the East London Music festival lending essential helping hands to the event. Pascal my boy (shown in photo with Shirley - also his piano teacher) got a cup by playing jazz with the highest marks in the festival. Well done son!











Two tasteful and relaxed meals we had were Greek (Demetris in Woodford Green - with Felix, Pascal and Rose) and French (Le Julien near Barbican - with Felix, Shirley, Angelina, Rose and Pascal).










The Meursault we had with French was fresh with interesting fruit with a chewy palate though a bit acidic.










Wow! - finally met sunshine in the backyard of Felix's house.









Not to leave out leisure time spent on playing a bit my beloved pianoforte!






Alas - good times are always too short!!! Lots of thanks to Shirley and Felix!

Back to real life!!!

written with tremendous jet-lag (prob only slept 6 hours in the past 60 hours) 9pm, 23.2.2010

巴哈與行李篋

巴哈與行李篋(更新版)

Bach: 哎喲、主人，你哋又留下我哋在家中，要去旅行呀?













Bach: 等我諗吓計仔阻止佢地離開先!

、這個係主人用嘅行李篋喎，等我躲進去，或許佢地會帶埋我去玩呢！

























DiDi: 喂、老公仔，你做吔嘢呀?























Bach: 你識咩嘢呀？等我量量這行李篋是否合適我這標準嘅身材！


































Bach: 嘩！ Fit 哂！






















DiDi: 哎呀，弊啦，個蓋蓋上了，救命呀! 阿Bach，你透到氣嗎？























Bach: 好瘀啊！唔好望往我啦！ 喔嗚喔嗚喔嗚喔嗚!!!

馬勒第三: 充滿大自然和心靈氣息的音藥

馬勒第三: 充滿大自然和心靈氣息的音藥

馬勒第三的確是很長(一百分鐘, 六樂章的交響曲), 我這馬勒迷也是近年才接觸這巨著! 但是一聽就愛上了! 現在它就成為我最常能一次聽罷的馬勒作品!

馬勒在生的時候, 是位出色的指揮家, 但他自己的音樂, 卻未受當時的樂迷接受. “我的時候 – 將會來臨” (My Time will come!) 是他著名的斷言. 他的音樂真的要直至他死後五十年左右, 經愛戴他的指揮家如 Bruno Walter等不停地演奏才深入樂迷之心.

“第三”是他在1895 和1896 年在 Steinbach (Salzburg Alps) 他的夏季寫作小屋完成的 (見圖) (馬勒是利用夏季樂团休息時寫作的). 這首樂曲來自大自然和心靈深處的氣息於馬勒初稿的標題可見一班. 此曲有如他其他管弦樂, 雖然採用了加大碼的樂隊 (如兩組定音鼓; 整隊percussion; 八支French horns; trumpets, trombones, flutes, clarinets, oboes 各四支等等), 但fortissimo齊奏的時段不多, orchestration大多採用polyphonic music對位互奏. 所以雖然這是他最長的交響曲, 也是整體上最簡單完美的管弦小品, 聽畢整曲也毫無冗長之感.




Edo de Waart 和HK Phil 於11.2 (這次第二晚的加塲演出) 演出初時只是一般: 例如, 第一樂章” 夏季像檢閱地進來” 開始時欠缺那令人屏息的凝聚力, 音樂於高潮樂段後更顯散漫! 有幸伸縮號(Trombones) 的準誠和充滿音樂個性的演奏為樂曲挽回不少面子! 當晚還不幸有不少音樂呆子像胡鬧似的在每一樂段後傻傻地拍手(抱歉不能自制的語帶譏諷侮辱, 因我覺得這是作為管弦樂聽衆踏入音樂廳起碼需具備的知識!!!), 令我差點搖頭離塲!

雖然 de Waart 不是我首選最佳 conductor, 但他的 Germen-Austrian repertoire 包括 Mahler, Bruckner, Wagner的確有他不流入俗套自我見地. 除了第四樂章加入女中音 "What night tells me”的雙簧管著名的小鳥句子”oboe glissando”不用glissando 失去原味, 我不同意外, 第四, 五, 六樂章的 – 那讓心靈訴說般的音樂自然浮現出來的演譯, 真的不是能常聽到(尤其在香港)! 我經常說馬勒第三的第五及六樂章是要一同聽的: 那從天堂天使的歌聲中轉變回地上蕩氣迴腸愛的訴說是極具感染力的音樂片段!

最後還要一提: 一塲”完美”(no, 不用完美這詞語吧, 用”美好”吧,不然很多人又用指頭向著我) 的音樂會, 除了演奏者的演出外, 也要有良好音響效果的Concert Hall – 關於這一點我一定要說香港文化中心Concert Hall那遠比City Hall Concert Hall差的效果永遠不能容立像馬勒三的大型作品 – 一到Fortissimo的情況下只覺音塲狹窄吵耳, 亳無闊度可言!!! 還有, 如我是演出者, 一次再次給那些胡鬧音樂呆子的掌聲騷擾, 我會怎樣想? 可能是”又是對牛彈琴, 幹嗎那麼認真?”

OK, 為HK Phil / de Waart / 馬勒的音樂 和 知音者乾杯!

Michael 寫於牛年大除夕

心肝寶貝(1)

心肝寶貝(1)

家裡有一對心肝寶貝 (史納莎)。男的是三歲多，銀灰白色的”巴哈” (Bach)。女的黑灰白則只一歲半，叫DiDi。雖然共同有史納莎超頑皮，好玩，破壞王的性格，各自卻有自己極端的個性！

DiDi 可算是門口狗，”巴揸”妹，material girl。在家”係威係勢”，吠過不停，吃東西一定排第一，睡覺一定霸佔最舒服的地方。出街則耳朶下垂，行埋一邊! 是一隻甘心於做狗的狗!

“巴哈” 雖然只有三歲多，不知是否在DiDi一年半前買入門的時侯，沒有顧及他的感受，給DiDi喧賓奪主，巴哈在家常像沒精打采，抑鬱老人似的。除非像相片中有新玩具刺激，他較愛躲在冰冷的廁所內！他不時更像不甘心只作一隻狗------像想做個人!像人般睡覺(zzzzzzzz)，像人般思想(thinker)，像人般說話(嘰哩咕嚕)!!!

DiDi 和 “巴哈” 雖然只是狗狗，但卻毫不保留地表達著它們的感情，和它們相處生活有著很真實、像可觸摸到的感覺! 不知倒轉它們又怎樣看我們呢?

Michael 10pm, 9.2.2010

Seraphine (花開花落): Ecstasy Vs Realism

Yesterday I saw this unusual movie – Seraphine, directed by Martin Provost. Why unusual? – maybe unusual just in the eyes of Hong Kong people (heard people said its pace is too slow, there is no “great” story, 3D effects or even “pretty” sceneries or actress / actor). After all, it has won 7 Caesars – French Oscars!!!

The life of L. Seraphine of Senlis - the painter was a very difficult one (played by Yolande Moreau). Her lowly means of life as a servant could only earn herself very basic life essentials but she painted as if there was a need and vocation pouring out from her soul. She was self-taught, so called a Visionary artist of naïve style. Painting in absolute solitude chanting to herself, her passionate colorful pictures, sometimes huge in dimensions were inspired directly from nature and the stained glasses of churches.

Fortunately she was able to make her name known for a while through patronage of the German art collector Wilhelm Uhde though the latter did lose contact with her due to the First world war. Support was also halted in 1929 when the Great Depression set into Europe. While her inspired spirit was soon distanced from her supporter and disconnected with real life so full of mundane, she turned into a mentally cripple. She was taken to the Hospital in Clermont since 1932 where she died in 1942.

While modern life as happening now – some 100 years after the days of Seraphine, has emphasized the perfection and technicalities of the professionals: the doctor, the lawyer, the engineer, the businessmen, the chef, the musician, the artist etc etc etc, how many genius are being unrecognized just because they have to manage their everyday life and not admitted the “right school”? How many natural and great thoughts and ideas are unexposed, just because they don’t have a chance to be developed and discussed?

When you are really going for this film, be prepared for the pace akin to the natural 19th century French countryside, the simple story, and the startling paintings that make you start wondering or even chanting!

Michael 5pm 7.2.09
Acknowledgement: http://dithob.blogspot.com/2009/07/seraphine-louis-de-senlis-reflection-of.html

愛上寫作的腫瘤科醫生 – 我的非醫療博客

醫生不是「診症」的麼？幹嗎愛上寫作？莫非腫瘤科醫生的工作，天天與病人共同出生入死，生活沉悶，或積壓著滿肚牢騷，要找發洩的渠道？

就像今天早上剛從診症室目送一位失望的擴散肺癌者離開，跟著進來的一名患早期腸癌的女士，說不想作手術。前者苦苦哀求道，「我仔細老婆嫩，錢不成問題，請醫生你把我的病醫好吧！」我心想道：「太遲了，這不是錢的問題。有遠端器官擴散的肺癌的治療目標只能盡量控制病情。」後者則差點把我氣昏說：「只是一點兒腫瘤吧，我想試幾個月中藥，盡量都不想作手術，割腸很傷身的！」

人就是這樣的，總是「拗頸」。遲來了的重症說急著要根治，早期可治癒的卻偏偏選擇拖廷。腫瘤科醫生時常遇上這些事情，令我們看透了人！要寫作的題目，實在多著!

但從診症轉移到寫作，談何容易﹖雖然曾幾可時，書不離手，不能創作也能抄！但那是三十多年前中學時代了。隨後人生的歲月被學習與行醫的工作佔據了。一本又一本厚厚的醫書，驟眼看來冊冊都一樣的醫學期刊取代了各式各樣的讀物。每天書寫的都是一式一樣的病歷紀錄或轉介信。現時的語文能力可說是低至極點！

一個月前出版的處女作“變‧驚‧擁抱”絕不是偶爾之作。將癌病人心底裡要問的問題寫下來這主意已孕育多年。書中也借題抒發了自己對生命對生死的價值觀。最後更無保留地，暢快地寫下自己非醫生的一面，又隨書附送了自己彈奏鋼琴的音樂光碟。感覺是自己得益比讀者更多！看來嘗試寫作踏出了第一步，停下來也難！

將來寫些什麼﹖醫療腫瘤的故事一定要寫，但更想寫一點有趣的題目：如音樂、戲評、狗狗、飲飲食食、旅遊、甚至時事熱門話題如“八十後”、“五區請辭”、“豬流感疫苗”等等。我將視寫作為表達自我的藝術平台，將來以博客、手繪畫冊、論文、短篇文章、甚至小說與大家分享感受、思想和論調。

不知道誰人對醫生寫非醫療的題目有感興趣?