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of personal anecdotes is equally impressive john cage cooked lunch for me two days before he died pepe danza ace percussionist rafique rashid what about asza s music well i thought they were a perfect music festival item the group offers a very palatable mix of musical innovation with occasional displays of superb musicianship a mature theatrical sense an easygoing humorous rapport with their audience and the asza sound is guaranteed to stimulate the most stultified musical imagination it was great to hear the canadian group asza fy a well known dayak ditty during the intro randy bowed his sape like a viola to delightful effect inspiring fresh options for contemporary as well as traditional musicians when it came time for the grand finale all the performers were invited on stage for an impromptu jam session conducted by pepe danza usually these are somewhat cacophonous affairs but so high and happy was the entire ensemble that for over twenty minutes everyone played and sang in perfect magical harmony even the solemn faced melanau drummers were grinning and the shaman flashed me a small knowing smile when our eyes fleetingly connected and midway through the finale we all did a countdown for merdeka never has the word freedom rung truer than on that unforgettable night when performers and audience joined their spirits in uninhibited euphoric celebration under the ancient and benign gaze of mount santubong an abridged version of this article was published in the november 1998 issue of men s review share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading leave a comment posted in festivals malaysian arts culture music and tagged akar umbi anak dayung dr wan zawawi ibrahim minah angong rainforest world music festival randy raine reusch sarawak tourism board bookmark the permalink the salieri syndrome revisited posted on february 8 2020 by antares maitreya f murray abraham as antonio salieri i saw miloš forman s film of peter shaffer s amadeus five times at the same cinema and i ve watched the vcd at home at least three times what impressed me most was f murray abraham s oscar winning portrayal of antonio salieri court composer to the hapsburg emperor joseph ii today everybody agrees that wolfgang amadeus mozart was a divinely inspired genius a few of us know he died a pauper at 35 and was buried in a mass grave and that his monumental musical legacy lay largely forgotten for more than 70 years until ludwig von köchel published a descriptive catalogue of the 626 works mozart composed in his short but intense career portrait of wolfgang amadeus mozart in shaffer s fictionalization of mozart s story salieri s professional envy of the gifted upstart becomes the central motif of the drama salieri is one of a small handful of academic musicians with sufficient savvy to appreciate the full extent of the man s extraordinary talent but he chooses to thwart mozart s destiny in every way possible nevertheless mozart succeeds in seizing a brief burst of popularity with his vibrant operas the pious salieri eventually loses his faith in god and murders mozart by posing as an anonymous count and commissioning a requiem with an impossible deadline and a monetary reward mozart couldn t possibly refuse being in heavy debt owing to his hedonistic habits salieri thereby pushes the already frail genius beyond the edge of exhaustion to an untimely demise for his efforts salieri ends his days in an insane asylum where he pontificates about the rectitude of mediocrity and blesses his fellow inmates for their lacklustre and wasted lives two centuries down the line nobody remembers a single melody written by antonio salieri while amadeus triggered a worldwide mozart revival which would have made wolfie posthumously richer than lord andrew lloyd webber sir paul mccartney and sir elton john combined god bless the mediocre the theme of genius unrecognized and unrewarded i must confess has obsessed me for the greater part of my early life in my schooldays only three teachers noticed i was a precocious kid and one of them happened to be a peace corps volunteer from baltimore this may have encouraged me to spend a year in the u s as an exchange student and it was then that i finally received the ego nourishment my soul craved ironic that the glitzy culture that spawned coca cola mcdonald s and pre emptive war has also provided me with the greatest amount of positive feedback perhaps the land of superlatives got that way by giving its kids the hearty encouragement all kids require to grow up brimming over with initiative and innovative chutzpah my own initiation into adulthood in malaysia taught me not to bother applying for a government grant unless i snip off my foreskin which brings us to the malaysian dilemma here we are a feudal society abruptly thrust into the digital age by market forces that emphasize competition over cooperation no matter how often we yell malaysia boleh and no matter how much official sponsorship is invested in some guy who sails solo around the world to claim his datukship or that well heeled lady who solo trekked across the antarctic only to have her victory inundated by the most spectacular tsunami within memory we ve shot ourselves in the foot so many times one could remark that our national ego has clay pigeon feet at least we can brag about our fantastic marksmanship it s no mean feat you know to shoot your own foot when you have to crane your neck just to see where your feet are well burp there are no starving hordes in evidence in potbellyland and that s something we can be proud of without even trying lord farquaard in shrek so are we really doomed to remain a mediocracy forever is there no cure for the salieri syndrome indeed there is you only have to take a stiff swig of this ancient chinese prescription one does not grow taller by chopping off other people s heads that s right folks ego insecurity breeds jealousy which is i keep reminding people especially my wife the root of all evil for that matter one does not grow taller by wearing platform shoes either but that s an entirely different disease called tlfc the lord farquaard complex which can be easily treated with a little bit of dragon magic originally published in the april 2005 issue of vida share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading leave a comment posted in film and tagged amadeus antonio salieri f murrat abraham miloš forman peter shaffer bookmark the permalink birds of a feather posted on september 5 2018 by antares maitreya fancy poultry still chirpy after 15 years antares takes a tentative nibble at fancy poultry s first gig fancy poultry is what they call themselves four very yummy chicks and a couple of not too macho guys with delicious voices and a burning desire to entertain their debut at the actors studio was a one night stand with a cutesy rhyming name strings and tones from multiple zones the evening s fare a couple of evergreens a dash of bossa nova a touch of gospel a bit of song and dance some recycled pop tunes done a capella even a tribal chant and the 007 theme a pretty eclectic mix but that s what they promised and that s exactly what they delivered they opened with a tongue in cheek a capella arrangement of michael jackson s thriller complete with slinky choreography which nicely established the tone of the program we knew we could lean back in our seats relax and be amused and amazed by some truly promising up and coming musical talents in our midst no need to get overly critical or nitpick after all a good proportion of the audience happened to be friends and relatives of the performers so the atmosphere was friendly and receptive but the whole show had the ambience of a very polished college glee club production perhaps the actors studio proved too formal and formidable a venue for fancy poultry s first outing the performers were understandably experiencing their share of opening night anxiety and the casual setting of a club or a more intimate theatre space would have better supported the mood everything went without a hitch apart from a falling guitar and everyone worked through their paces with impeccable precision the only elements missing were the extra sparkle the supreme confidence and the sheer verve we would remark as star quality but it would be unreasonable to expect such from an amateur group taking their first bold steps towards professional showbiz and indeed they have the potential to really shine in what they do playing a round of corporate dinner shows would be a great way for fancy poultry to up their voltage and learn to relax before a paying audience without worrying about making mistakes nicole ann thomas in the fancy poultry lineup were nicole ann thomas mezzo soprano vivian lessler alto lilian boo soprano ha wei na soprano azneal azam baritone bass and ho soon yoon tenor baritone backing them up were zalila lee on guitars and percussion and gerral khor on bongos and djembe this was part two of viva voce a vocal series presented by soundworks whose trademark has been a high level of musicianship technically the show was impressive the arrangements were complex and elegant requiring hours of practice to do right and the back up musicians totally disciplined and inspired voice quality was generally superb and familiar numbers like the boy from ipanem a summertime mr bojangle s and scarborough fair sounded sweet and fresh the balance between solo and ensemble items worked well and it was obvious that a great deal of effort and thought had gone into the repertoire gerral khor s percussive backing was tight and restrained to the point of reticence while zalila lee s sensitive guitarwork provided solid support to the vocalists all they needed was to turn the exuberance level up a couple of notches and not appear so apologetic or demure on stage after all theirs is the sort of glee club act that works best in an atmosphere of freedom and fun and being down home malaysian kids i guess they ll just have to reinstall the spontaneity factor systematically programmed out of our youth by an initiative thwarting killjoy political culture one reason why an aussie a capella ensemble like the song company is so watchable is that they successfully convey a nonchalant playfulness coupled with astonishing technique and self discipline fancy poultry already has the technical chops now they only need to do a few more gigs until they overcome their inherently malaysian self consciousness and learn to totally let themselves go as performers we also look forward to the prospect of their expanding their repertoire beyond middle of the road fare to include some original works especially some home grown stuff but as a debut outing strings and tones from multiple zones was undoubtedly a triumph one of these days we ll be seeing these well dressed chickens and ducks turn into majestic eagles and swans let s have another couple of encores please 17 november 2003 share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading leave a comment posted in music theater and tagged lilian boo neal azam nicole ann thomas vivian lessler yin bookmark the permalink dreaming the body beautiful at the royal durian academy of ballet posted on november 9 2017 by antares maitreya performance pics courtesy of wong horng yih goddess trainer nell ng as a hardcore and unrepentant goddess lover i am bound to be biased about any project involving nell ng in any case i ve never subscribed to the belief that objectivity serves better than subjectivity especially when it comes to expressing an opinion or viewpoint after all how we experience an event is largely determined by the general state of mind we happen to be in even what we had for breakfast well on the 5th of october 2016 my digestion could only handle a breakfast of cream crackers soaked in condensed milk no thanks to the fresh pineapple juice i had consumed a couple of days earlier at the local mamak my late lunch of refried spaghetti didn t help either i had to use the loo at least twice before leaving home to expel the ominous rumblings in my gut i was sorely tempted to message nell and apologize for canceling out on the royal durian academy of ballet s stepping out performance but it was on for only one night and i really did want to be present at this momentous event so i braved the perils of a fragile belly to witness the birth of adult ballet in malaysia why momentous well for one thing it was to showcase the results of a whole year of sweat and tears perhaps even a few drops of blood endured by nell ng s guinea pig class of adult ballet students which began with an enrolment of 20 and ended up with only 11 who managed to stay the grueling course among them were some of the most scintillating divas and goddesses in local showbiz like carmen soo nikki palikat ida mariana janet lee elvira raul bihzhu and here i ll include alia kearney because she s getting there in quite a hurry a few of them probably attended ballet classes as youngsters but they had all gone on to become actresses models singers mothers entrepreneurs accountants lawyers housewives as principal of the royal durian academy nell ng was formally trained in classical ballet early in her life but has since carved a prominent niche for herself as actress director choreographer scriptwriter radio host emcee producer and co founder and artistic director of pan productions why royal durian well nell is passionate about this thorny pungent king of fruits and i suppose the durian aptly symbolizes what this project is about the outer skin is tough and prickly like beginner s ballet classes but once the breakthrough is achieved the rewards are orgasmically sweet in between performance pieces each dancer was given the stage to share a bit of personal experience and everyone testified that surviving a whole year of beginner s ballet under nell ng in dominatrix mode had totally changed their lives for the better for a start getting to monday morning classes on time week after week had made them all far more disciplined nell ng reportedly has an extremely low tolerance for any student who says sorry i m late this inspired a frenetic and fast moving number titled i m late set to a staccato con prestissimo jazz piano piece by eliane elias which yielded some extremely funny moments as to be expected there was a generous dose of kinetic humor added to the choreography nell ng has the uncanny knack of infusing even the most serious moments with inspired wit and this quality was most evident in aaron teoh s engaging performance wherein he utilized his diminutive form to hilarious comedic effect aaron brought the house down with his description of some of nell s extreme training methods the students would be made to lie flat on their backs with their legs raised perpendicular to their torsos while nell woul...
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