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ちょっとだけ古巣に戻る
雅子さんが小学校から大学に入るまでの約10年間、ピアノ学校の同じクラスで学んだ旧友が、ニュージャージーでリサイタルを開くことになりました。演奏を聴くため、バスで里帰りした雅子さんは…。
Short Trip Home
By MASAKO YAMADA
My first month of grad school has been hectic. Although I've got accustomed to the new routine, it seems I'm always busy doing problem sets or studying for some exam. Also, since I went to a liberal arts school, it's been difficult for me to adjust to doing just
physics and nothing else.
In my department, most of the incoming students take three physics courses and serve as teaching assistants for 10-15 hours a week. This doesn't leave them much free time. Because I don't have to grade papers or lead discussion sessions for the undergrads, I've been able to take an extra course outside the department ― undergraduate elementary Chinese. It's a very unusual thing to do, but this is something I am treating myself to.
At Wellesley I spent about equal amounts of time taking physics
courses and English courses. In my senior year I also spent about four hours a
day practicing for various music ensembles, so it's almost shocking to think that I haven't touched a keyboard since June. In fact, I didn't listen to a real piano during my entire summer vacation.
Whenever I long to hear piano music, I listen to CDs, but a recording just isn't the same as a live performance. I occasionally listen to tapes we made of our college group performances, and I cringe at the awful mistakes I made but delight in the beauty of the ensemble work. Even that doesn't take the place of the real thing, though.
about 10 years from elementary school until we entered college, so I really
wanted to be in his audience.
Ryuji has been composing since
childhood. I remember him often playing his new creations for us during class. Although we were in the same grade, his spontaneous variations on the pieces we played were always a cut above mine.
was his first performance since he graduated from college, I knew it would
be a significant event. Having been, myself, in many ill-attended college concerts, I can also understand the importance of showing support for musicians just by "being physically present."
At Ryuji's recent concert, half of the program consisted of his own compositions. Therefore, not only was the sound of the piano alive; so was the actual content of the pieces. The two scherzi he composed were fairly "classical" sounding, but his "Twelve-Tone Rock" sounded completely contemporary. He used both the synthesizer and the piano for
this piece, and he sang his own lyrics, as well.
Rock music is well-known, of course, but twelve-tone pieces are rare. In the common Western scale, the 12 notes in each octave are "ranked" according to how important they are, but in twelve-tone music, all of the notes are
considered equally important. The resulting music can sound discordant to ears accustomed to harmony, but the effect can also be fresh and
startling.
After the concert, I greeted all of my old high school piano teachers and helped myself to the snacks that were served in the lobby. Ryuji was busy shaking hands with all the guests who were congratulating
him. Many asked him for his autograph, and some even wanted him pose in pictures with them. I waited until the crowd had thinned to say "Hi."
He seemed surprised and very happy to see me. We chit-chatted for a short while, and then he had to run off to his next engagement. It was clearly his night of glory. He is also performing in Japan, so I hope he can be as successful there as he was here.
I headed back to Boston along
with my mother and youngest brother. I was in New Jersey for less than 24
hours before returning to school, where a pile of untouched homework and a mechanics midterm test were waiting for me. The academic cost of
going home was admittedly high. But the value was, I think, higher.
My first month of grad school has been hectic. Although I've got accustomed to the new routine, it seems I'm always busy doing problem sets or studying for some exam. Also, since I went to a liberal arts school, it's been difficult for me to adjust to doing just
physics and nothing else.
In my department, most of the incoming students take three physics courses and serve as teaching assistants for 10-15 hours a week. This doesn't leave them much free time. Because I don't have to grade papers or lead discussion sessions for the undergrads, I've been able to take an extra course outside the department ― undergraduate elementary Chinese. It's a very unusual thing to do, but this is something I am treating myself to.
At Wellesley I spent about equal amounts of time taking physics
courses and English courses. In my senior year I also spent about four hours a
day practicing for various music ensembles, so it's almost shocking to think that I haven't touched a keyboard since June. In fact, I didn't listen to a real piano during my entire summer vacation.
Whenever I long to hear piano music, I listen to CDs, but a recording just isn't the same as a live performance. I occasionally listen to tapes we made of our college group performances, and I cringe at the awful mistakes I made but delight in the beauty of the ensemble work. Even that doesn't take the place of the real thing, though.
Recently, my friend Ryuji was to give a recital near our old piano school in New Jersey, and although I was busy as usual, I firmly decided to take a bus home that weekend and listen to him perform. We were in the same piano class for
about 10 years from elementary school until we entered college, so I really
wanted to be in his audience.
Ryuji has been composing since
childhood. I remember him often playing his new creations for us during class. Although we were in the same grade, his spontaneous variations on the pieces we played were always a cut above mine.
Because this
was his first performance since he graduated from college, I knew it would
be a significant event. Having been, myself, in many ill-attended college concerts, I can also understand the importance of showing support for musicians just by "being physically present."
At Ryuji's recent concert, half of the program consisted of his own compositions. Therefore, not only was the sound of the piano alive; so was the actual content of the pieces. The two scherzi he composed were fairly "classical" sounding, but his "Twelve-Tone Rock" sounded completely contemporary. He used both the synthesizer and the piano for
this piece, and he sang his own lyrics, as well.
Rock music is well-known, of course, but twelve-tone pieces are rare. In the common Western scale, the 12 notes in each octave are "ranked" according to how important they are, but in twelve-tone music, all of the notes are
considered equally important. The resulting music can sound discordant to ears accustomed to harmony, but the effect can also be fresh and
startling.
After the concert, I greeted all of my old high school piano teachers and helped myself to the snacks that were served in the lobby. Ryuji was busy shaking hands with all the guests who were congratulating
him. Many asked him for his autograph, and some even wanted him pose in pictures with them. I waited until the crowd had thinned to say "Hi."
He seemed surprised and very happy to see me. We chit-chatted for a short while, and then he had to run off to his next engagement. It was clearly his night of glory. He is also performing in Japan, so I hope he can be as successful there as he was here.
I headed back to Boston along
with my mother and youngest brother. I was in New Jersey for less than 24
hours before returning to school, where a pile of untouched homework and a mechanics midterm test were waiting for me. The academic cost of
going home was admittedly high. But the value was, I think, higher.
Shukan ST: Nov. 1, 1996
(C) All rights reserved
- hectic
- てんてこ舞いの
- (have)got accustomed to 〜
- 〜に慣れた
- routine
- 日課
- doing problem sets
- (物理の)問題を解く
- liberal arts school
- (教養学科のある普通の)大学
- adjust to 〜
- 〜に順応する
- incoming students
- (大学院の)新入生
- serve as 〜
- 〜を務める
- teaching
assistants
- 大学院生がアルバイトでなる)補助教師
- grade papers
- レポートの採点をする
- lead discussion
sessions
- 授業でディスカッション授業を担当する
- undergraduate elementary
Chinese
- 学部学生向けの基礎中国語
- something I am treating myself
to
- 自分自身が楽しむためのもの
- ensembles
- 合奏曲
- long to 〜
- 〜したい
- live performance
- 生演奏
- cringe at 〜
- 〜にぞっとする
- awful
- ひどい
- delight in 〜
- 〜を楽しむ
- ensemble work
- 合奏
- doesn't take the place of the real
thing
- 生演奏の代わりにはならない
- be in his audience
- 彼のリサイタルに出席する
- has been composing
- 作曲している
- creations
- 創作曲
- spontaneous variations on
〜
- 〜を生き生きと変化・展開させること
- pieces
- 曲
- a cut above 〜
- 〜より一段うわて
- significant
- 重要な
- Having been, myself, in many ill-attended college
concerts
- 私自身、観客がまばらな大学のコンサートを何度も経験しているので
- showing support for 〜
- 〜を支持を示すこと
- by being "physically present"
- 実際にそこに行って
- consisted of 〜
- 〜から成っていた
- compositions
- 作曲したもの
- not only was the sound of the piano
alive
- ピアノの音が生き生きしていただけでなく
- actual content of the pieces
- 曲自体
- scherzi
- スケルツォ(scherzo
の複数形)軽快な3拍子の楽曲
- "Twelve-Tone
Rock"
- 「十二音のロック」(1920年代に確立された作曲法である十二音技法を使ったもの)
- sounded completely contemporary
- とても現代的に響いた
- synthesizer
- シンセサイザー
- lyrics
- 歌詞
- In the common Western scale
- 普通の西洋の音階では
- octave
- オクターブ
- are "ranked"
- 評価されている
- notes
- 音符
- resulting music
- そうやってできた音楽
- can sound discordant to ears accustomed to
harmony
- 和音に慣れた耳には耳ざわりに聞こえるかもしれない
- startling
- びっくりするような
- greeted
- 挨拶した
- helped myself to 〜
- 〜を食べた
- autograph
- サイン
- wanted him pose in pictures with
them
- 彼と一緒に写真を撮りたがった
- crowd had thinned
- 人混みが少なくなる
- chit-chatted
- おしゃべりをした
- run off to 〜
- 〜のために急いで去った
- engagement
- 約束
- glory
- 栄光
- headed back to 〜
- 〜への帰途についた
- a pile of 〜
- 山積みの〜
- untouched
- 手をつけていない
- mechanics
- 力学の
- midterm test
- 中間試験
- academic cost of going home was admittedly
high
- 正直いって、里帰りしたためにかなり勉強が犠牲になった