A Band of Grands
Grand pianos, that is. 7 of them, to be precise. Arranged in a circle on a stage with nothing but their respective players and dramatic lighting. At a sign from the conductor practiced hands lifted to lightly rest on the ivory keys. Silence was observed as each musician became, for a moment, indistinguishable from graceful marble statues reposing in a museum. Thus composed, the performance began.
Our television, an ancient relic passed down to countless numbers of ALTs upon their arrival at City Hall, doesn’t do much in terms of a breathtaking auditory experience. And yet… as the pianists began their work of reproducing everything from swing to famous pieces featured in the cinematic world, the white drywall around me fell away as I stood, captivated, by the power of those grands. The rich notes that poured from the seven giants, black polish glistening, produced a fullness and astonishing depth in their music that I’ve rarely experienced.
It was a fabulous, first class hour of Japanese programming :)
1 comment:
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Japanese TV is way better than the stuff we have in the states. Sure there's a program here or there that might be decent for a season or two and then the writers screw it up trying to extend a plot they hadn't planned on doing for more than two seasons because they didn't know it was going to be as popular as it became, but most of it is just terrible (which is why I only watch about an hour of non-ESPN a day, if even that much). We never have anything as cool as that over here.
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