Described in The Times as having “Passion, precision, warmth, a gold blend: these are the trademarks of this excellent Israeli string quartet,” the Jerusalem Quartet has been lauded in The Strad: “Whenever Shostakovich gives these fine players a chance to sing, they touch the heart in this music as very few before.” Formed in 1993, the quartet is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a world tour, and Taiwan will be its first stop. Performing in Taiwan for the first time, the quartet will be holding concerts in Kaohsiung on Jan. 12 and in Taipei on Jan. 14. The two concerts will include string quartets by Borodin, Beethoven, Smetana and Shostakovich.
The members of the quartet, which was formed in 1993 while they were all first-chair players in conservatory orchestras in Jerusalem, had actually started playing together in an ensemble at the age of 15. In 1996 these four musicians won the first prize in chamber music at the Jerusalem Academy, and then won a double prize at the Graz International Competition the following year for their interpretations of works by Bartok and Kurtag. They are a three-time recipient of the BBC Music Magazine Award in the chamber category and also received an ECHO Klassik Award in 2009.
Making its Taiwan debut, the quartet will be performing Shostakovich’s last string quartet, which it says was composed when his health was rapidly deteriorating and can therefore be considered the composer’s own personal diary. The plaintive mourning that pervades the piece becomes a foreboding of imminent death as well as a farewell to his loved ones. For this reason, all lights will be turned off in the concert hall during the quartet’s performance of the piece, leaving only the dim, tiny lights on the music stands lit, allowing the audience to delve deeper into the heart of the composer.
Photo courtesy of Felix Broede
照片由Felix Broede提供
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
他們的演出曾於《泰晤士報》被形容為「四條金黃色旋律線的完美交融」,《弦樂》雜誌則盛讚「他們讓蕭士塔高維契的弦樂四重奏悠然歌唱,動人心弦。」成軍於一九九三年的耶路撒冷弦樂四重奏,今年展開成軍二十周年世界巡迴之旅,第一站就到台灣,將分別於一月十二日與十四日於高雄與台北各舉行一場音樂會,帶來鮑羅定、貝多芬、史麥塔納、蕭士塔高維契等人的弦樂四重奏,這也是該團首度訪台演出。
耶路撒冷弦樂四重奏四位成員原都是耶路撒冷大學管弦樂團首席,十五歲就開始合作室內樂。一九九六年他們在耶路撒冷音樂學院贏得室內樂首獎,一九九七年則憑著對巴爾托克與庫塔克作品的優異詮釋,奪得奧地利國際舒伯特音樂大獎。爾後又連續獲得BBC音樂雜誌推薦為BBC新生代古典音樂家;二00九年拿下德國回聲唱片大獎。
首度訪台,台北場將演出蕭士塔高維契的最後一首弦樂四重奏,耶路撒冷弦樂四重奏表示,「蕭士塔高維契的十五首四重奏可以說是他的私密日記,最後一首是在他身體急速惡化的當下寫成的作品,以深切的哀愁表達了對死亡的預感,以及對親友的離別。因此我們決定在演出這首曲子的時候,關掉音樂廳的所有燈光,只剩下四份樂譜上的小燈泡,讓大家夠能更進入作曲家當時的內心世界。」
(自由時報記者凌美雪)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
There are several methods to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning in fruit. __3__ This lowers the pH level of the fruit tissue, causing the PPO to be far less active. Another method is to store the fruit in an airtight container or to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Doing this will reduce its exposure to oxygen. __4__ Although fruit that has undergone enzymatic browning may look less appealing, it is still safe to eat. However, by using one of these simple methods, you can enjoy fresh-looking fruit for a longer period. 有一些方法能避免或減緩水果的酶促褐變。其中一個有效的方式就是在切片水果的表面塗上酸性物質,像是檸檬汁或醋。這樣做能降低水果組織的酸鹼值,讓 PPO 更不為活躍。另一個方式是將水果存放在密封的容器內,或用保鮮膜將其緊緊包住。這樣做會減少水果與氧氣的接觸。快速蒸一下切片水果或將其短暫浸泡在滾水中也能使PPO失去活性,並終止 PPO 與空氣的作用。 雖然經歷酶促褐變的水果可能看起來較不吸引人,但仍然可以安全食用。然而,藉由採用這些簡單方法中的其中一個,你就能在更長的一段時間享用看起來新鮮的水果。 What Did You