library@esplanade

The Prestige

Peck Keong — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:57:35 +0000

The Prestige
Dir.: Christopher Nolan
Call No.: 791.4372 PRE

Are you watching closely?

Well, you’d better, or you’re sure to lose yourself in the convoluted storyline of The Prestige. The film presents itself in the three stages of a magician’s act: the Pledge, the Turn and the Prestige. Each act fulfils its respective purpose to inform, to distract and to surprise. Unfortunately, like Alfred Borden’s (Christian Bale) performances, the finale ultimately fails in its bid to delight because it sells its magic too fast, too cheaply. The audience is left mystified at the ending.

The Pledge
We are introduced to the main players. Alfred Borden and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) are two up-and-coming magicians. Borden is the greater magician, but he lacks the consummate showmanship of Angier. Working together with Cutter (Michael Caine), an engineer of magical illusions, they appear destined for great things on the stage, until one day, a possible mistake Borden makes results in the death of Angier’s wife, Julia (Piper Perabo). The tale then turns into one of revenge and obsession, as one tries to upstage the other in an increasingly deadly game of one-upsmanship that centres around an illusion called “The Transported Man”.

The Turn
The film drives along at a relentless pace that matches the obsessive nature of its protagonists, intersecting stories from three different timelines. In one, we follow the pair’s early days as apprentices and their violent confrontations with each other after the accident. In a second, we track Angier’s trip to Colorado Springs, USA, as he seeks a contraption from Nikolas Telsa (imagine that, David Bowie) that he believes will give him the edge over Borden. Finally, the third takes us to Borden’s jail cell in the present, as he stands accused of murdering Angier.

Director Christopher Nolan is a master at conflating storylines, as he demonstrated with his breakthrough film, Memento. Unlike that film however, the warped presentation of The Prestige seems to serve the sole purpose of creating the misdirection that would allow the magician Nolan to pull off his sleight-of-hand in the last act. Unfortunately, the Turn is less than perfect because the attentive movie-goer will be able to work out what’s coming up in the climax about a third through the film. And perhaps the less said about the Prestige the better.

The Prestige
The finale reveals to the audience the secrets behind both Angier and Borden’s versions of “The Transported Man”. One is believable, if not predictable, while the other unhappily veers so far off the tangent, it almost unravels all the good work that went before it. Nolan tries to pull a fast one on the audience here, but the attempt is too blatant to miss. Instead of surprise elation, what the audience gets, when the secret is unveiled, is head-scratching puzzlement.

Are you watching closely?
The Prestige is a good film marked by strong performances throughout. Captivating with its twists and turns, it sends the viewer on a diabolic journey into the heart of obsession, a world where paying the price is the only way to live. A pity then, that the show is let down by its weak denouement. This trick could have been top-notch.

Ed: For more on The Prestige, read this High Browse review of Christopher Priest’s award-winning book on which the movie is based.

Read Away Your Blues

Peck Keong — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:20:36 +0000

Ed: An old post gets a new life. When this series on all things blue-sy was posted, we didn’t expect the real blues of economic failures to hit, and hit hard. As things stand, now seems like an appropriate time to revisit these entries.

Come what may, life goes on. So pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start walking again. We hope these articles provide you with some reading antidote to the very real folk blues while you plot your next step ahead. Enjoy.

Step up to the stage with library@esplanade as we feel the blues with ya…

Prelude to the Blitz (in Blue)…
blue is the new white
Why is the blues, the “blues”?
blue is the new white
Jazz is jazz and blues is blues - are they related?
blue is the new white
Every time we see The Blue Angel, we can’t help Falling in Love Again.
blue is the new white
Feeling the Monday blues? Why not sing them away! 1/2
blue is the new white
Feeling the Monday blues? Why not sing them away! 2/2
blue is the new white
This Blue Kite flew away with awards aplenty, but also landed itself in a whole lot of hot water.
blue is the new white
He felt Kind of Blue and made the record that’s by Miles, one of the greatest jazz albums of all time.
blue is the new white
Seven directors, seven films, seven roads down the musical journey called The Blues.

o(^^o)(o^^)o (more…)

Get More Out of Us!

Peck Keong — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:03:22 +0000

From 1 July 2009, basic library members will be able to borrow up to 6 items, inclusive of a maximum of 2 audio visual items. Library users may also sign up as Premium Plus members and borrow up to 16 items, inclusive of a maximum of 8 audio visual items - for just $42 a year.

Borrowing Privileges

As a basic member, you are entitled to borrow SIX library items inclusive of a maximum of TWO music scores/audio-visual items from the lending section of the libraries.

The loan period for books/music scores is 21 days, while loan period for magazines/audio-visual items is 14 days. No renewal is allowed for audio-visual items.

Any book or magazine with an accompanying CD-ROM, when borrowed, will be considered as two loaned items. They are to be borrowed and returned together on the same membership card.

Audio-Visual Items
Library members can borrow DVDs, VCDs, Video Tapes and CD-ROMs from the public libraries, music CDs and Music Scores are only available at library@esplanade.

The loan period for audio-visual items is 14 days (excluding the day of borrowing). The loan period for Music Scores is 21 days.

No renewal is allowed for audio-visual Items.

Parental guidance is required for Child members to borrow/view AV items classified as G, PG and these items are to be checked out at the Customer Service Counter.

For more details, please visit the Public Libraries Singapore website.

SSO Pre-Concert Talk: Jul 09

epcl — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:04:17 +0000

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto Extravaganza Stephen Hough: “No. 2”
Fri, 3 Jul 09
6.30pm – 7.00pm
library@esplanade

Postcards from Spain
Fri, 31 Jul 09
6.30pm – 7.00pm
library@esplanade

Speaker: Mona Lim, music consultant, educator and composer

This July, embark on an exhilarating journey with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s Pre-Concert Talks as we bring you two exciting Fridays of musical discoveries. Join Ms Mona Lim as she brings music to life with captivating tales of distinguished composers and their selected works.

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SSO Pre-Concert Talks

Want to know interesting facts about the music and composers to be performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra?

Join our speakers one hour prior to selected concerts as they pour their passion and energy into bringing music alive for the novice and the experienced music lover alike.

Our talks are informal, informative and interactive. Get the most out of your concert-going experience by attending the concert after each pre-concert talk!

Admission to all Pre-Concert Talks is free.

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For ticketing and other information, please visit the SSO website.

THE IMPERIAL ICE STARS CINDERELLA ON ICE LOAN PROMOTION

epcl — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:46:11 +0000

BORROW 8 ITEMS AND STAND A CHANCE TO WIN A PAIR OF
TICKETS TO THE IMPERIAL ICE STARS CINDERELLA ON ICE

All items must be borrowed from library@esplanade.

Write your Name, NRIC, Telephone Number and Email at the back of the receipt.
Promotion ends 31 Jul 2009.
Tickets issued are not exchangeable

*Terms and Conditions apply

Ten Guitars One Passion: An Evening with Kevin Loh & Friends

epcl — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:20:10 +0000

Saturday, 11 Jul 2009
5.00 - 6.00pm
Ten Guitars One Passion: An Evening with Kevin Loh & Friends
Open Stage, library@esplanade

Kevin will be joined by 9 more of his guitar friends and will present to you a variety of songs as a soloist, duet as well as a guitar ensemble of 10 players.

Kevin Loh (11) started learning the classical guitar at the age of five with his father, Marcus Loh. He gave his first public solo performance at the age of five and continued to perform in locations such as The Art House and The Esplanade Concert Hall.

At nine-years-old, he was the youngest participant and soloist to make it to the semi-finals of the 3rd Singapore International Classical Guitar Competition 2007.

Kevin was featured in ChildAid 2008 and was featured at the Singapore’s Mosaic Music Festival 2008 as one of Singapore’s next “Bright Young Things”.

See details of Kevin’s previous performance at library@esplanade.

What is the relationship between classical music and mathematics?

Peck Keong — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:40:32 +0000

Ed: The journal articles cited below are mostly pulled from the eDatabase, JSTOR. You can access this database for FREE, if you are a NLB Digital Library Member. Registration is FREE. For details, please visit http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/.

To the answer proper then.

To say the least, this is a complex question on which debates and discussions continue to wage today. Based on what I’ve read about this topic, I think one can conclude that while music and mathematics share similarities and may be tightly-related, there is no proven, direct link between the two subjects.

To begin, let’s look at how H.L.F. Helmhotz describes music and mathematics as highly contrasting, yet inseparable “intellectual activities”:

Mathematics and Music, the most sharply contrasted fields of intellectual activity which one can discover, and yet bound together, supporting one another as if they would demonstrate the hidden bond which draws together all activities of our mind, and which also in the revelations of artistic genius leads us to surmise unconscious expressions of a mysteriously active intelligence (qtd. in Archibald 1).

Bonded they may be, but note how Helmhotz characterises this tie between the two subjects as a “hidden bond”. One might then say that mathematics and music are not exactly one and the same, and while somehow seemingly related, the link might perhaps be tenuous at best.

We only have to refer to Guy Warrack’s wry observation on this supposition to understand why the study of one does not necessarily mean you’ll excel in the other:

How often has it been said in conversation that ‘Music and Mathematics go together’? It is certainly no more absurd than most other such generalizations, but it is certainly no less so . . . Certainly many mathematicians are interested in music, and many musicians in mathematics, but that proves nothing. It would be easy to point to at least as many tone-deaf mathematicians and to as many musicians whose idea of mathematics is making an income-tax return ([and] probably getting it wrong) (Warrack 21).

What then, are we left with when we talk about Music and Mathematics? Professor Thomas Fiore gives a good suggestion:

Music and Mathematics are intricately related [but there] is not an equation that will model all works of music and we should not spend time looking for it. Nevertheless, there are certain mathematical structures inherent in all works of music, and these mathematical structures are not given by equations. The language of mathematics is a convenient tool for comprehending and communicating this underlying structure . . . [so as] to find a good way to hear a piece of music and to communicate that way of hearing (Fiore 5).

Needless to say, everyone will have his or her own ideas how best to listen to a piece of music, music theorists, mathematicians and musicians included.

Here then, is a list of selected journal articles that explore the relationship between music and mathematics, between art and science, between structure and flow within the enclosure of our minds:

[i]
Boettcher,Wendy S., et al. “Mathematics and Music: A Search for Insight into Higher Brain Function.” Leonardo Music Journal 4 (1994): 53-58. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/1513181. 16 Dec 2008.

Abstract:
A profound problem of historical origin and continuing interest is the relationships and similarities among higher brain functions relating to music, mathematics and chess. The authors present the results of detailed interviews with 14 professors of mathematics concerning their research and possible relationships between mathematics and music. The results provide interesting insights into higher brain function, suggesting a common theme of pattern development. In addition, the authors propose some new behavioral experiments.

[ii]
Hsu, Kenneth J., et al. “Fractal Geometry of Music.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 87.3 (Feb 1990): 938-941. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/2353742. 16 Dec 2008.

Abstract:
Music critics have compared Bach’s music to the precision of mathematics. What “mathematics” and what “precision” are the questions for a curious scientist. The purpose of this short note is to suggest that the mathematics is, at least in part, Mandelbrot’s fractal geometry and the precision is the deviation from a log-log linear plot.

[iii]
Vaughn, Kathryn. “Music and Mathematics: Modest Support for the Oft-Claimed Relationship.” Journal of Aesthetic Education 34.3/4. 2000: 149-166. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/3333641. 16 Dec 2008.

Librarian’s note:
This article investigates the relationship between music and mathematics based on the supposition that “if music is based on mathematical principles, and if an understanding of music requires some understanding of these principles, then it is possible that music education can lead to an improved understanding.” Its focus is on the relation between music and mathematics in education.

[iv]
Budden, F. J. “Modern Mathematics and Music.” The Mathematical Gazette 51.377 (Oct 1967): 204-215. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/3613237. 16 Dec 2008.

Librarian’s note:
Mr. Budden talks music with mathematical formula. A technical discussion of music and mathematics that should be rewarding for readers with an aptitude for both. Which basically means not me, heh heh.

[v]
Henle, Jim. “Classical Mathematics.” The American Mathematical Monthly 103.1 (Jan 1996): 18-29. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/2975210. 16 Dec 2008.

Librarian’s note:
An interesting treatise that argues that it is not music that is mathematical; instead it is mathematics that is musical.

[vi]
Siddharthan, Rahul. “Music, Mathematics and Bach.” Indian Institute of Science. http://www.iisc.ernet.in/. 16 Dec 2008.

Librarian’s note:
Mr. Siddharthan delves into the science of music with Bach as his focus.

List of Works Cited

Archibald, R. C. . “Mathematicians and Music.” The American Mathematical Monthly 31.1 (Jan 1924): 1-25. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/2298868. 16 Dec 2008.

Fiore, Thomas M. “Music and Mathematics.” Lectures on Mathematical Music Theory. http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~fiore/1/musictotal.pdf. 16 Dec 2008.

Warrack, Guy. “Music and Mathematics.” Music & Letters 26.1 (Jan 1945): 21-27. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/727804. 16 Dec 2008.

Note:

It isn’t quite possible for me to go into the historical breadth and depth of analysis that has been devoted to this question, so for a good overview, do consider looking up the entry, “Numbers and music” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 18. This is available at the library@esplanade.

Title: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Editor: Stanley Sadie
Call No.: RART q780.3 NEW v. 18
For Reference Only
Location: Arts Central

Another useful book for further reading would be Leon Harkleroad’s The Math Behind the Music:

Title: The Math Behind the Music
Author: Leon Harkleroad
Call No.: R 510 HAR
For Reference Only at Lee Kong Chian Reference Library

WIN Exclusive Tickets to the Singapore Arts Festival 2009!

Peck Keong — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:01:59 +0000

For every 4 items borrowed from library@esplanade, stand a chance to win tickets to Singapore Arts Festival 2009!

Read on to find out how! (more…)

SSO Pre-Concert Talk: King and Emperor

epcl — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:13:54 +0000

Fri, 24 Apr 09
6.30pm – 7.00pm
King and Emperor
Dr Rebecca Kan, Senior Lecturer (Music), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
library@esplanade

Thanks to its bold melodies and heroic spirit, Beethoven’s fifth and last piano concerto “Emperor” remains one of his most popular compositions. What is it about this work that makes it legendary? Join Dr Rebecca Kan as she brings new insights into one of the great concertos in the repertory.

Why is the direction of ballroom dancing always in the anti-clockwise?

Peck Keong — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:39:13 +0000

In ballroom dancing parlance, this movement in the anti-clockwise direction is usually known as “line of dance”, “line of direction”, or “ballroom direction”.

According to Don Herbison-Evans*,

the origins of the convention of progressing anti-clockwise around the ballroom dancefloor are obscure. It was clearly already evident in the the early 19th Century, when the Viennese Waltz became popular. Paradoxically this was achieved by only dancing ‘natural turns’, in which the couple turns clockwise. Not until the 20th Century did the ‘reverse turn’ become equally popular. Progressing anticlockwise while dancing the anticlockwise ‘reverse turns’ requires considerable skill and practice, and until the 20th Century was considered antisocial.

Perhaps the convention arose much earlier when dancing was disapproved of by the Church, and dancing was the [sic] associated with witches, and hence had to progress ‘widdershins’. Alternatively, perhaps doing ‘natural turns’ was considered more natural, as the turning direction was the same as the movement of the sun (in the Northern Hemisphere), and the anticlockwise progression around the floor was found by inexperienced dancers to be easier doing these turns.

Another possibility is that it has something to do with the men wearing swords on their left hip. This was the normal position for a scabbard, as it enabled the sword to be drawn more easily with the right hand than if the sword were worn on the right hip. Thus in an Allemande, the lady would normally be on the man’s right to avoid tripping over the scabbard, and it would be reasonable to progress anticlockwise, putting the man inside the circle, to avoid hitting the legs of the audience with the scabbard also (Herbison-Evans).

The last theory, that the anti-clockwise direction of ballroom dancing has its roots in men wearing swords on their left hip, is also mentioned by another website, DanceTutors.co.uk.

In addition, they suggest it may also have something to do with the lengths of the ladies’ skirts. As the experts from DanceTutors, with reference to the “closed hold [of hands when dancing]” write:

The ‘closed hold’ descended from the courts of Western Europe. It probably saw its origins around the 1500s, when men carried swords on their left side. As a result, ladies danced on the right of the man. In making turning, the men traditionally took the inside of the circle, to avoid hitting the surrounding audience with their sword. Also, ladies could not promenade backwards as the length of their skirts would become caught beneath their feet, As a result, couples promenaded anti-clockwise, which is why modern ballroom dances progress anti-clockwise around the floor (”The History of Ballroom Dancing”).

Finally, as books like The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Ballroom Dancing and The Complete Book of Ballroom Dancing explain, there is a very practical reason to standardise the movement of dancers around the dance floor: “It is a matter of courtesy to other dancers on the floor, and if everyone follows this progression there is less likelihood of interference or collision between couples” (Stephenson & Iaccarino 67) and also, a determined movement pattern like this helps to “maximise the available space for dance couples (Allen 122).

*Mr. Herbison-Evans is a member of the Advisory Panel of the Bachelor in Dance Education degree at the Australian College for Physical Education.