𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 — 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐜 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

[FourcedowErsert]

@stella_vigo

Although, they might because they have ordered stuff and shipped them to my dorm. I better ask a month or two from my birthday so that I can secure my gifts. I already have some presents in mind. They definitely won’t be too pricey.

Ooh, nice! xD Interesting way of doing things.

@stella_vigo

Haha, hope you don’t get too stressed! Glad conversations are helping you. In my case, I always have writing and my private chat to help de-stress, and piano-playing too.

Thanks. Yeah, I’ve done little rants on my private chats as well haha. Piano-playing sounds amazing.

@stella_vigo

I think I’ll have to devote more time to actually practicing the songs they’re teaching us in class, because my sight-reading still sucks and I keep getting the fingerings wrong when I do scales >.>

Yeah, it’s hard with those. I hope it works out for you, you’ll only get better and better!

@stella_vigo

However, there is a store downstairs that offers a bunch of snacks, drinks, and light meals. Those on a meal plan can get a certain amount or combination of food for free. That’s what I’ve been doing this whole time: taking advantage of the free food and adding to my stocks

Oooh, really? That sounds so nice. How often can you get stuff? I would totally keep getting free food haha.

@stella_vigo

EDIT: SOMEONE NAMED A MUSICIAN THAT ENDS WITH “S” ON MY GAME THREAD REPLY BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES

EDIT 2: NVM SOMEONE REPLIED ALREADY BUT I REPLIED TO THAT PERSON AND THE NAME ENDS WITH R SO YEAH

EDIT 3: NVM someone replied again

AHHHHH I KNOWWW, I SAW AND THEN I WAS LIKE, NOOOO I WAS GONE THIS WHOLE TIME AND MISSED IT! XD Argh, I’m never around at the right time

[stella_vigo]

@FourcedowErsert

Yeah, I’ve done little rants on my private chats as well haha. Piano-playing sounds amazing.

How many replies do you have on your Wacky private chat? I have 144 and it’s only been a little over a month.

I told you the number of replies would blow up

I remember watching this video that said that musicians are athletes of the finer muscles, since you can’t see the results but you can hear them after exerting all the effort. I agree with that. You can’t tell a good musician from a beginner just by looks; you have to get them to play first before you can judge.

@FourcedowErsert

I hope it works out for you, you’ll only get better and better!

Thanks!

@FourcedowErsert

How often can you get stuff? I would totally keep getting free food haha.

I think you can enter as many times as you want, but when you enter a meal plan you have to choose how many free meals you want a week. I have about a dozen a week so I have to plan which meals are free and which ones aren’t. You can exchange your free meals for the free food from the store downstairs, but you can only exchange three free meals per entry.

@FourcedowErsert

AHHHHH I KNOWWW, I SAW AND THEN I WAS LIKE, NOOOO I WAS GONE THIS WHOLE TIME AND MISSED IT! XD Argh, I’m never around at the right time

I was like “where is she someone’s gonna reply oops someone replied wait I can make this an R let’s hope she replies soon oh wait never mind”

Actually, try replying to the thread and I’ll come up with a name that ends in R or S

[FourcedowErsert]

@stella_vigo

How many replies do you have on your Wacky private chat? I have 144 and it’s only been a little over a month.

I told you the number of replies would blow up

Wow, good for you! xD I actually don’t really use my wacky private chats, I mostly use the ones on other media. Like WhatsApp or Insta or something. Or my notes app hehe. So my wacky ones have pretty much stayed the same… Haha.

@stella_vigo

I think you can enter as many times as you want, but when you enter a meal plan you have to choose how many free meals you want a week. I have about a dozen a week so I have to plan which meals are free and which ones aren’t. You can exchange your free meals for the free food from the store downstairs, but you can only exchange three free meals per entry.

Oh woww, that sounds so nice. That’s so many free meals! Wait, so how exactly does your meal plan work? Is there like a fee you pay beforehand? Or do you just enter money and use it whenever? That system sounds so different from how it works here. Here, you essentially just buy a plan and that money gets transferred to your student card, which you use to buy food. You save on tax, though.

@stella_vigo

I was like “where is she someone’s gonna reply oops someone replied wait I can make this an R let’s hope she replies soon oh wait never mind”

yeahhh…

@stella_vigo

Actually, try replying to the thread and I’ll come up with a name that ends in R or S

Hmm, I don’t know. I’ll see if I can think of any.

Edit: oh dang it someone posted right as I was about to post x.x

[stella_vigo]

@FourcedowErsert

Wow, good for you! xD I actually don’t really use my wacky private chats, I mostly use the ones on other media. Like WhatsApp or Insta or something. Or my notes app hehe. So my wacky ones have pretty much stayed the same… Haha.

Oh, I see. I also use the ones on WhatsApp when I’m not on Wacky. So when I’m on Wacky during the weekends, the replies blow up. And then when I’m on my phone but not on Wacky, I resort to WhatsApp. I have a bunch of replies there too

@FourcedowErsert

Oh woww, that sounds so nice. That’s so many free meals! Wait, so how exactly does your meal plan work? Is there like a fee you pay beforehand? Or do you just enter money and use it whenever? That system sounds so different from how it works here. Here, you essentially just buy a plan and that money gets transferred to your student card, which you use to buy food. You save on tax, though.

Oh so you pay in advance every year, and it depends. There are different meal plans and they each come with a different number of free meals and food currency. The lowest meal plan has eight free meals a week, while the highest one has twenty-one.

So you get all your free meals per week at the start of the week and you can use any number of them. They don’t carry over to the next week as far as I know and you can use any amount in a day, whether they be zero or four. They reset after the week ends.

As for the food currency, half of it is deposited into your student account during the first semester and you can use your ID card to buy food using that currency on any on-campus food place. The next half is deposited at the start of the second semester, and if you have some left over from the first semester they carry over to the next one. They don’t carry over from year to year if I remember correctly.

You can also deposit additional money to spend on food on campus, though I personally don’t do that.

@FourcedowErsert

Hmm, I don’t know. I’ll see if I can think of any.

Edit: oh dang it someone posted right as I was about to post x.x

I’ll try my best to get that opportunity for you. Watch my thread

EDIT: REPLY NOW BEFORE SOMEONE DOES IT ENDS WITH AN S

[FourcedowErsert]

@stella_vigo

Oh, I see. I also use the ones on WhatsApp when I’m not on Wacky. So when I’m on Wacky during the weekends, the replies blow up. And then when I’m on my phone but not on Wacky, I resort to WhatsApp. I have a bunch of replies there too

Ah, yes. xD I don’t spend as much time on wacky nowadays, so… Yeah. xD

@stella_vigo

Oh so you pay in advance every year, and it depends. There are different meal plans and they each come with a different number of free meals and food currency. The lowest meal plan has eight free meals a week, while the highest one has twenty-one.

Wow, that free meal thing sounds so good. I wish we had free meals Our meal plans are technically supposed to last us two bought meals per day for the semester, but all the food items are more expensive than they account for x.x

@stella_vigo

As for the food currency, half of it is deposited into your student account during the first semester and you can use your ID card to buy food using that currency on any on-campus food place. The next half is deposited at the start of the second semester, and if you have some left over from the first semester they carry over to the next one. They don’t carry over from year to year if I remember correctly.

That’s a good way to do it. I kind of like your system.

@stella_vigo

EDIT: REPLY NOW BEFORE SOMEONE DOES IT ENDS WITH AN S

YEEEEEEE I DID IT

[stella_vigo]

@FourcedowErsert

I don’t spend as much time on wacky nowadays, so… Yeah. xD

High five

@FourcedowErsert

Wow, that free meal thing sounds so good. I wish we had free meals Our meal plans are technically supposed to last us two bought meals per day for the semester, but all the food items are more expensive than they account for x.x

Well technically they aren’t free because we paid in advance, but it feels like it’s free.

Wait, how is the food more expensive than the plan? That doesn’t make a lot of sense. It sounds more like a heavy discount to me.

@FourcedowErsert

YEEEEEEE I DID IT

You finally did

Also, I just realized that Alexandre Tharaud actually visited and performed at my university a few years ago! I was searching stuff about the Steinway at my university and then I came across an article and I was like “wait WHAT ALEXANDRE THARAUD CAME TO MY SCHOOL?!”

I was a few years too late ;-; it wasn’t a solo performance, though. He was accompanying another musical group if I remember correctly

[FourcedowErsert]

@stella_vigo

High five

@stella_vigo

Well technically they aren’t free because we paid in advance, but it feels like it’s free.

Ah, I see. But wait, isn’t the payment you made converted into currency though?

@stella_vigo

Wait, how is the food more expensive than the plan? That doesn’t make a lot of sense. It sounds more like a heavy discount to me.

Uh, I have no idea. It’s not exact, it’s just an estimate. There are multiple shops everywhere and they all vary in price. The amount you pay is just stored and used whenever you want. So yeah, if I run out, guess I’ll just have to pay tax

@stella_vigo

Also, I just realized that Alexandre Tharaud actually visited and performed at my university a few years ago! I was searching stuff about the Steinway at my university and then I came across an article and I was like “wait WHAT ALEXANDRE THARAUD CAME TO MY SCHOOL?!”

WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT NO WAYYYYYYYY!!! HE DID??!! OH MY GOODNESS AAAAHHHHH. AKASLSKSJAHDJSKAKSKSJSJAJ THAT IS SO COOL THOUGH, NOT FAIR, HE SHOULD COME TO OURS Tharaud is like one of my favourite pianists xDDD Since when did you know about him?

@stella_vigo

I was a few years too late ;-; it wasn’t a solo performance, though. He was accompanying another musical group if I remember correctly

Awwww. Would’ve been so cool to see that. GAHHHH I WANNA GO TO ONE OF HIS CONCERTS SOMEDAY AJSHSKSLSJDJSJSJS. He frequents Quebec quite often. Well duh, they all French-speaking I want to visit sometime but I hardly know any French

[stella_vigo]

@FourcedowErsert

Ah, I see. But wait, isn’t the payment you made converted into currency though?

Oh, a small part of the payment for our meal plan is converted into currency. Most of it goes into the free meals. That’s why they’re “free”

@FourcedowErsert

Uh, I have no idea. It’s not exact, it’s just an estimate. There are multiple shops everywhere and they all vary in price. The amount you pay is just stored and used whenever you want. So yeah, if I run out, guess I’ll just have to pay tax

Oh, I see. In our case it’s exact XD

@FourcedowErsert

WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT NO WAYYYYYYYY!!! HE DID??!! OH MY GOODNESS AAAAHHHHH. AKASLSKSJAHDJSKAKSKSJSJAJ THAT IS SO COOL THOUGH, NOT FAIR, HE SHOULD COME TO OURS Tharaud is like one of my favourite pianists xDDD Since when did you know about him?

I first learned about him when you did the goosebumps thread, and then I looked up the piece on YouTube and I was like “oh, this is nice”

Yeah, he is a good pianist. For me, it’s hard to say who my favorite is. I’d say Evgeny Kissin and Arthur Rubinstein are some of them. I need to listen to more classical music, because I mostly judge based on their Chopin performances

Speaking of which, I really need to work on A Dose of Debussy. Yet, my brain thinks the Chopin Selection doesn’t have enough waltzes and nocturnes and feels like adding 11 more pieces to make it a nice 111 >.> XD

@FourcedowErsert

Awwww. Would’ve been so cool to see that. GAHHHH I WANNA GO TO ONE OF HIS CONCERTS SOMEDAY AJSHSKSLSJDJSJSJS. He frequents Quebec quite often. Well duh, they all French-speaking I want to visit sometime but I hardly know any French

I think you have a better chance. I’m stuck in a small town in the US, and I doubt my parents would let me just go to another city to indulge myself when they’re already spending a fortune to send me here

But maybe I’ll be able to catch a concert in Canada when I visit my relatives there. I’ve been to Toronto twice and Montréal once. They’re both nice.

I just want to go to any classical concert as long as it has Chopin maybe a Kissin concert? Or, oooh, Argerich!

Same about French. I hardly know any French, but I want to re-learn it.

[FourcedowErsert]

@stella_vigo

Oh, a small part of the payment for our meal plan is converted into currency. Most of it goes into the free meals. That’s why they’re “free”

Ahh, I see their logic But to be honest, that sounds like a much more convenient way. Must be nice not to pay. Oh cool, that rhymes. xD

@stella_vigo

Oh, I see. In our case it’s exact XD

Yep, it would be so much simpler and easier to keep track of if it was like that.

@stella_vigo

I first learned about him when you did the goosebumps thread, and then I looked up the piece on YouTube and I was like “oh, this is nice”

Ah, I see! Hehe yeah, his interpretation of that one is just… No words. His Chopin interpretations are delicious, too.

@stella_vigo

For me, it’s hard to say who my favorite is. I’d say Evgeny Kissin and Arthur Rubinstein are some of them. I need to listen to more classical music, because I mostly judge based on their Chopin performances

Yep, they’re amazing too xD I also like Ashkenazy Hehe. Yeah, same though, I tend to judge based on how they play the composers I like most xD

@stella_vigo

Speaking of which, I really need to work on A Dose of Debussy. Yet, my brain thinks the Chopin Selection doesn’t have enough waltzes and nocturnes and feels like adding 11 more pieces to make it a nice 111 >.> XD

OH BUT YESSS DO THAT XDD I loveeeeee Chopin’s nocturnes, they’re so beautiful. I was just listening to a playlist of them yesterday. And the day before that. And… yeah I’m currently a bit obsessed with Op. 27 no. 2 in D flat major xD

Anyways good luck with the Debussy playlist I’m looking forward to that too.

@stella_vigo

I think you have a better chance. I’m stuck in a small town in the US, and I doubt my parents would let me just go to another city to indulge myself when they’re already spending a fortune to send me here

But maybe I’ll be able to catch a concert in Canada when I visit my relatives there. I’ve been to Toronto twice and Montréal once. They’re both nice.

Hmm, perhaps. I’ll have to keep my eyes and ears peeled. Maybe tune into that classical radio station more and see what news they got Man, I’m so glad they have that here. Except I haven’t listened to it at all since moving in… There’s obviously no radio I could listen online, but that ruins the experience a bit. Oh well. Better than nothing. But I hope you’re able to attend one someday!

@stella_vigo

I just want to go to any classical concert as long as it has Chopin maybe a Kissin concert? Or, oooh, Argerich!

Same about French. I hardly know any French, but I want to re-learn it.

Yesss, that would be amazing!!! Argerich is so good. Yes yes. I need to go to one of the famous big-named people’s concerts someday

@stella_vigo

Same about French. I hardly know any French, but I want to re-learn it.

Me too. I tried learning on Duolingo before but that was not the best experience… It’s not very structured.

[stella_vigo]

@FourcedowErsert

His Chopin interpretations are delicious, too.

I haven’t heard his other ones. The only one I’ve listened to is his interpretation of the prelude in E Minor, Op. 28 No. 4. I’ll check those out

@FourcedowErsert

I tend to judge based on how they play the composers I like most xD

Same XD although it’s not just the composers, but the pieces as well. For me, I’m just like “whatever you do, don’t butcher Waltz in C-Sharp Minor Op. 64 No. 2”

which is why I don’t listen to Valentina Lisitsa I didn’t like her interpretation of the waltz, and it left me with a sour taste

Actually, that may be why Kissin is one of my favorites—his interpretation of the waltz is my favorite XD

But that’s not the first time I’ve listened to him. Remember the Tchaikovsky Collection? The pianist playing in one of the concerto recordings is a young Kissin. So when I saw a live video of him performing the waltz on YouTube, I was like “wait, that name’s familiar”

@FourcedowErsert

OH BUT YESSS DO THAT XDD I loveeeeee Chopin’s nocturnes, they’re so beautiful. I was just listening to a playlist of them yesterday. And the day before that. And… yeah I’m currently a bit obsessed with Op. 27 no. 2 in D flat major xD

They are. Op. 9 No. 2 is actually my joint favorite classical music piece, along with the Waltz in C-Sharp Minor. (And a certain someone’s as well.)

I remember reading someone’s comment about Chopin pieces. Specifically, this one:

And that got me thinking about one of his nocturnes (I’m pretty sure you know which one I’m referring to). You know how the structure of this nocturne is AABABAC? It got me thinking about the second A, particularly that initial part from G5 down to B4 and then ascending in pairs of notes until it descended? That comment gave me a new perspective. It was like someone was holding back tears, but what resulted was more intense bawling instead. Wow. No wonder it can be so tear-inducing. Sometimes they’re so beautiful, they hurt.

why does this remind me of Chapter Nineteen haha

Hold on, let me check my Chopin playlist and see if I listed that nocturne. I swear, there were a bunch of pieces that I cut out for the sake of saving space.

Oh, that wasn’t listed. The Op. 27 No. 1 is listed, though. I remember listing it when I was compiling the playlist but I must’ve cut it out. Okay, I’m going to add that. I just checked it on YouTube and I recognize it.

It’s official. I’m adding eleven more pieces to the longest playlist on my thread

If you think I’m a Chopin fangirl, oh boy, Eddie’s an even bigger fan. I almost included dialogue of that too in Book Two

Also, the Chopin piece I’m currently obsessed with is the funeral march, specifically Arthur Rubinstein’s version and Eddie’s version. It’s just *chef’s kiss*

Speaking of Chopin, if you visited my profile on the Wacky writing site, you’d notice that I’ve added a quote. You can only see it when you’re in dark mode for some reason. Anyway, the quote is related to Chopin and my favorite character.

@FourcedowErsert

Anyways good luck with the Debussy playlist I’m looking forward to that too.

Thanks! I’m hoping to get it up before this year ends.

@FourcedowErsert

But I hope you’re able to attend one someday!

Thanks! I hope I’ll be able to attend any concert. The last one I went to was years ago

I hope you’ll be able to attend a big-name concert too!

@FourcedowErsert

I tried learning on Duolingo before but that was not the best experience… It’s not very structured.

Oof. I guess I won’t try that then

[FourcedowErsert]

@stella_vigo

I haven’t heard his other ones. The only one I’ve listened to is his interpretation of the prelude in E Minor, Op. 28 No. 4. I’ll check those out

Ah, I see. I adore his Fantaisie-Impromptu one, it’s like one of the best I’ve heard. Oh! I think that’s actually how I was introduced to him. Yes, it was. I was looking for a good interpretation of that and I couldn’t really find one I liked, but then I heard his and I was like, YES THIS IS THE ONE XDD

@stella_vigo

Same XD although it’s not just the composers, but the pieces as well. For me, I’m just like “whatever you do, don’t butcher Waltz in C-Sharp Minor Op. 64 No. 2”

Yesssss, that too! I totally agree. xD Ain’t nobody allowed to get Piano Concerto No. 2 wrong xD Or any of the others I like.

@stella_vigo

which is why I don’t listen to Valentina Lisitsa I didn’t like her interpretation of the waltz, and it left me with a sour taste

Hmm, I don’t think I’ve heard that one before. I will check it out later and see what you mean xD

@stella_vigo

Actually, that may be why Kissin is one of my favorites—his interpretation of the waltz is my favorite XD

But that’s not the first time I’ve listened to him. Remember the Tchaikovsky Collection? The pianist playing in one of the concerto recordings is a young Kissin. So when I saw a live video of him performing the waltz on YouTube, I was like “wait, that name’s familiar”

Yess, his are always so full of passion. I like that about his pieces.

@stella_vigo

And that got me thinking about one of his nocturnes (I’m pretty sure you know which one I’m referring to). You know how the structure of this nocturne is AABABAC? It got me thinking about the second A, particularly that initial part from G5 down to B4 and then ascending in pairs of notes until it descended? That comment gave me a new perspective. It was like someone was holding back tears, but what resulted was more intense bawling instead. Wow. No wonder it can be so tear-inducing. Sometimes they’re so beautiful, they hurt.

Ok wow, that’s so true about the tears though, it’s exactly how I feel. That captured it perfectly. They are so beautiful, they’re painfully beautiful. Yeah, I love his nocturnes. They’re so intense and gentle at the same time and they make you feel things. I could listen to them for a lifetime and still feel like crying every time.

@stella_vigo

why does this remind me of Chapter Nineteen haha

@stella_vigo

It’s official. I’m adding eleven more pieces to the longest playlist on my thread

Let’s gooo!

@stella_vigo

If you think I’m a Chopin fangirl, oh boy, Eddie’s an even bigger fan. I almost included dialogue of that too in Book Two

You should haveeee xDDD That would be cool. Maybe you should make a compilation of scenes that you could’ve put in but didn’t.

@stella_vigo

Also, the Chopin piece I’m currently obsessed with is the funeral march, specifically Arthur Rubinstein’s version and Eddie’s version. It’s just *chef’s kiss*

Yeah that piece is eternal. I find it a very… fitting mood. xD It’s a good one to get immersed in.

@stella_vigo

Speaking of Chopin, if you visited my profile on the Wacky writing site, you’d notice that I’ve added a quote. You can only see it when you’re in dark mode for some reason. Anyway, the quote is related to Chopin and my favorite character.

Oh? I will go take a look at that.

@stella_vigo

I hope you’ll be able to attend a big-name concert too!

Haha thanks! xD

@stella_vigo

Oof. I guess I won’t try that then

Yeah, it’s not the best way, unless you’re really desperate

[stella_vigo]

@FourcedowErsert

Ok wow, that’s so true about the tears though, it’s exactly how I feel. That captured it perfectly. They are so beautiful, they’re painfully beautiful. Yeah, I love his nocturnes. They’re so intense and gentle at the same time and they make you feel things. I could listen to them for a lifetime and still feel like crying every time.

Me listening to them, sometimes, especially a certain one of them.

@FourcedowErsert

You should haveeee xDDD That would be cool. Maybe you should make a compilation of scenes that you could’ve put in but didn’t.

I’ll be drafting that in my private chat it’s gonna be long though.

But in the meantime, you wanna see the dialogue where Michelle told him “You really are a Chopin fanboy”

@FourcedowErsert

I adore his Fantaisie-Impromptu one, it’s like one of the best I’ve heard. Oh! I think that’s actually how I was introduced to him. Yes, it was. I was looking for a good interpretation of that and I couldn’t really find one I liked, but then I heard his and I was like, YES THIS IS THE ONE XDD

I’ll check that one out XD I’ll compare his to the others and see. Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t have a favorite rendition of the Fantaisie-Impromptu. Time to compare

@FourcedowErsert

I find it a very… fitting mood.

The Funeral March be like me and my grades

EDIT: I’ve added ten nocturnes and one waltz to the Chopin Selection. The longest playlist on my thread is now even longer XD

EDIT 2: So I’ve compared the Fantaisie-Impromptu interpretations so this is a list of pianists whose recordings I compared (in no particular order):

• Kissin
• Ashkenazy
• Horowitz
• Rubinstein
• Pires
• Yundi Li
• Tharaud
• Arrau

I just realized that meant that I listened to about forty minutes of Fantaisie-Impromptu XD

Comparing them was hard, not going to lie. Unlike my two favorite pieces, I can’t pick just one preferred interpretation for this one but I’ll have to say my favorites are:

• Maria João Pires
• Vladimir Ashkenazy
• Arthur Rubinstein
• Alexandre Tharaud
• Yundi Li
• Daniil Trifonov

Yeah, a bunch of favorites I’ll re-listen to them tonight and try to pick the best from the ones I listed above.

EDIT 3: So I’ve re-listened to my top picks. I gotta say, these are my favorite interpretations of the Fantaisie-Impromptu (in no particular order):

• Arthur Rubinstein
• Yundi Li
• Daniil Trifonov

What about yours? Is Tharaud’s interpretation your number one favorite or do you have others that you really like?

And on a related note, do you have like just one favorite pianist (Tharaud) or are there others you equally like?

EDIT 4: So I’ve listened to Tharaud’s interpretation of my favorite waltz (Op. 64. No. 2 in C Sharp Minor). It’s really nice! I’d say it’s my second favorite interpretation, slightly lower than Kissin’s (emphasis on the slightly). I can say the beginning isn’t too fast, unlike some other interpretations, but I still prefer Kissin’s tempo. As for my other favorite piece… it’s also nice. I still think Arrau’s is definitely better, especially with the trills. I’d put his slightly lower than Rachmaninoff’s rendition of my other favorite piece (which is my second favorite interpretation).

In other words, he passed the test… unlike Lisitsa

Also, it’s a minute to midnight. See you next week!

[FourcedowErsert]

@stella_vigo

Me listening to them, sometimes, especially a certain one of them.

Haha definitely

@stella_vigo

But in the meantime, you wanna see the dialogue where Michelle told him “You really are a Chopin fanboy”

Ooh, sure xD

@stella_vigo

The Funeral March be like me and my grades

MOOD Marching into exam season >.>

@stella_vigo

I’ve added ten nocturnes and one waltz to the Chopin Selection. The longest playlist on my thread is now even longer XD

Yayyyyyy! I’m gonna take a look haha.

@stella_vigo

So I’ve re-listened to my top picks. I gotta say, these are my favorite interpretations of the Fantaisie-Impromptu (in no particular order):

• Arthur Rubinstein
• Yundi Li
• Daniil Trifonov

Ah, I see! Yeah, Daniil Trifonov’s was one of the better ones, I actually stuck with that one before I found Tharaud’s. xD I do like the use of volume in his, but I was really picky with this one Probably because I sort of had a connection to it beforehand. That’s just my preference though.

Okay, but it’s so funny, because I just went and re-listened to some of them and I could immediately pick out the differences xDD I mean, it’s just such a familiar piece that I have a clear preference haha. It’s not like that with all pieces, but it’s crazy how much you notice for the ones you like. The variation in tempo and volume, the emphasis of certain notes, the flow, all of it.

@stella_vigo

What about yours? Is Tharaud’s interpretation your number one favorite or do you have others that you really like?

So yeah… I’ll have to say his is my favourite. But second favourite would probably be Trifonov’s.

@stella_vigo

And on a related note, do you have like just one favorite pianist (Tharaud) or are there others you equally like?

There are some others, I do enjoy Ashkenazy too hehe. Lukas Geniusas is pretty good, especially for Rachmaninoff xD and also Elisa Tomellini. And I recently got introduced to Giovanni Umberto Battel when I was listening to Chopin, and he struck an impression. I like his interpretation of the etude Op. 25 No. 1 in A flat major. I don’t know, I feel like it’s not always one artist I favour, but depends on the piece, too. But I guess I like these styles, overall?

@stella_vigo

So I’ve listened to Tharaud’s interpretation of my favorite waltz (Op. 64. No. 2 in C Sharp Minor). It’s really nice! I’d say it’s my second favorite interpretation, slightly lower than Kissin’s (emphasis on the slightly). I can say the beginning isn’t too fast, unlike some other interpretations, but I still prefer Kissin’s tempo. As for my other favorite piece… it’s also nice. I still think Arrau’s is definitely better, especially with the trills. I’d put his slightly lower than Rachmaninoff’s rendition of my other favorite piece (which is my second favorite interpretation).

Oh, yes, I’ve heard that one too, it’s pretty good. But yesss, I think we can all agree that Arrau’s interpretation of that one is the undisputed best. xD It’s really amazing, I love it. Ooh but yeah, Rachmaninoff’s version is beautiful too. I do like Tharaud’s, though. They’re all kind of different. It’s like that a lot, sometimes I like certain aspects of some interpretations but other aspects of others. I always wonder what it would sound like if all the preferred aspects were combined.

@stella_vigo

In other words, he passed the test… unlike Lisitsa

@stella_vigo

Also, it’s a minute to midnight. See you next week!

It’s almost next week already, whoops. I forgot to reply until you reminded me today and I was like, wait… I thought I had but then I looked back and I hadn’t xDD But yeah, see you in a day, I guess.

[stella_vigo]

@FourcedowErsert

Ooh, sure xD

Here it is. Warning: it’s long

“If you could only listen to composers from only one country, which country would it be?”

“Easy. France.”

“Easy? I thought you’d be torn between choosing France and Poland, you know, because of Chopin.”

“Well, France has Debussy and Ravel. Plus, Chopin was half-French so he counts.”

“He doesn’t.”

“He does.”

“He doesn’t.”

“He does.”

“He doesn’t.”

“His last name is literally Chopin. Not to mention that his father was French, he was a French citizen with a French passport, and he spent the majority of his adult life in France.”

“But he got them to bring his heart back to Poland.”

“But the rest of him is in France. He has a beautiful grave, by the way.”

“You visited his grave?”

“Only a couple of times, whenever I visited Père-Lachaise."

“Wow.”

“It’s a tourist spot, Michelle! It’s also rather peaceful for a tourist spot.”

“The nickname Edmort really suits you; you don’t just look like death, but you hang around it too.”

(deadpan) “Ha ha, Michouchou.”

“You really are a Chopin fanboy.”

“Aren’t you a fan of his as well?”

“Yes, but not as much as you are. You’d probably marry him if you had the chance.”

“Of course not! I admire him and his music, but not to that extent. I’m not like those hormone-filled teenagers who write romantic fantasies about their musical idols. And besides, I’m only romantically interested in women.”

(Michelle laughs.) “Oh, right. You wouldn’t write Chopin fanfics. You’d read them instead.”

“No.”

“You’ve read one, haven’t you?”

“No I haven’t.”

“You’re lying.”

“No I’m not.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re lying.”

(Eddie struggles to lie.) “I’m not.”

(Michelle gives him a funny look.) “You’ve read a Chopin fanfic, haven’t you?”

(Eddie sighs.) “I wouldn’t really call it a fanfic, but it was a short story about him.”

(Michelle widens her eyes.) “You read a Chopin fanfic?”

“I didn’t know it was!”

“Oh la vache, Edmond! I was just about to say that I wouldn’t be surprised if you actually read a Chopin fanfic, but now I’m actually surprised.”

“Let me explain! So, I always thought his hair and eyes were brown, but I recently discovered that he was, in fact, blond and blue-eyed. I couldn’t believe it. I searched the internet to see if he really had blond hair and blue eyes, and then I clicked on a link that was titled 'Chopin’s Eyes.’ I thought it was going to be an article about his eye color. It was only after reading some paragraphs did I realize that it was a work of fiction because in it he was possessed and it… described his immodest relationship with George Sand in detail.”

“I don’t know what’s more surprising: the fact that dead composer erotica exists or the fact that you read it.”

“It wasn’t on purpose! You’d know I’d never actively look for such things.” (Eddie shudders in disgust.)

(Michelle reacts similarly.) “I’m glad I’m getting my memories erased so I can forget all of what you just said.”

“It’s your fault. You asked the question and you weren’t content with my lying.”

“It’s your fault for not being convincing.”

“Anyway, where were we again? Oh right. Contrary to what I thought, Chopin was actually blond, blue-eyed, and pale. I thought he had dark hair and dark eyes the whole time.”

“Blond, blue-eyed, and pale. Doesn’t that remind you of someone?” (Michelle smiles.)

---

Yeah, I had a ton of fun writing and thinking about it, especially Michelle’s reactions

And the thing about the Chopin fanfic… that actually happened to me a few days ago look, I just read somewhere that Chopin was actually blond and blue-eyed, and not a brown-eyed brunet like I thought he was. When I read that I was like WAIT WHAT HE DIDN’T HAVE DARK HAIR AND EYES THE WHOLE TIME?! So I just Googled “what is Chopin’s eye color” and stumbled across that. I only realized it was a work of fiction when it started describing his mature relationship with George Sand (Sand is a woman by the way) and had an element of fantasy in it. I don’t think it’s graphic enough to be considered written pornography, but it still described that with some amount of detail You know how people say Paganini sold his soul, that’s why he’s a prodigy? Well in that story Chopin was a genius because he was possessed, except he didn’t know he was possessed. Sand knew the whole time but she didn’t do anything because that beast/demon/whatever that was inside him made him a “strong and confident lover.” So she didn’t really love him in the story, but rather loved the way he—or the thing that possessed him, rather—made love to her. So he was used twice—used as a vessel by the demon thing, and used as an object of pleasure by his “lover.” Yeah. You can imagine my reaction I did some digging and apparently it was published on the website of a speculative fiction magazine, and the author of that work is a published author. Yuck. I just wanted to find out what his eye color was! Worst part is that it’s actually one of the first links that show up. So if you search “Chopin’s eye color” on Google and find a link titled “Chopin’s Eyes” written by a person whose name starts with an L DO NOT CLINK ON THE LINK unless you want to be scarred like me

So yeah, remember the biography Liszt wrote about Chopin? I checked it and Liszt described him as blue-eyed, fair-haired, and light-skinned. Chopin’s passport said that he had blue-grey eyes, blond hair, and a light complexion. Blond, blue-eyed, pale… doesn’t that ring a bell? but seriously, when I realized that he didn’t have dark hair and eyes the whole time, I was like “my life is a lie”

There’s another reason why I didn’t include the dialogue above in Book Two. So, uh, whatever you do, don’t call Chopin anything but Polish. Especially around Poles Eddie and I consider him French-Polish, but some (or a lot) can find that controversial, so I just omitted it from the book

Speaking of which, he’s been occupying my mind too. Like if you looked at my search history (I don’t save it, ever, but assume that I have) you’d notice that Chopin would come up often. I almost thought I was moving into the jazz phase but no, I reentered the classical phase. Well not really classical, more like a Chopin phase. My mind wants to add even more pieces to the playlist to make it a nice 123 and because it has a low amount of waltzes, preludes, and etudes. The playlist I should be adding pieces to is the Tchaikovsky one, and meanwhile Debussy’s just waiting for me to start working on his playlist

Dammit Eddie, when I said I wanted to be more like you, I was referring to your intelligence and musicality—not your obsession fascination with a certain composer

I think you can call me Wacky’s resident Chopin fangirl

But like that “fanfic” (*shudders*) got me thinking about a Wattpad story. Have you read Blaze in the Darkness by @/FireAlwaysReturns? So in her book she has a character who’s a vampire. He’s pretty cool when he’s normal, but during battle he’s "possessed.” His inner beast takes over and transforms him into a bloodthirsty killer. That, in turn, made me think about Edin and how he completely changes during battle—if blood is shed. Except in Edin’s case, he doesn’t have an inner beast or anything that possesses him. More like a trait. Oh, and sorry Arden, but when you marry him your kids will probably inherit that trait as well

@FourcedowErsert

MOOD Marching into exam season >.>

I’m gonna die three times in two weeks, with all these exams

@FourcedowErsert

Okay, but it’s so funny, because I just went and re-listened to some of them and I could immediately pick out the differences xDD I mean, it’s just such a familiar piece that I have a clear preference haha. It’s not like that with all pieces, but it’s crazy how much you notice for the ones you like. The variation in tempo and volume, the emphasis of certain notes, the flow, all of it.

Yeah, I notice that. Rubinstein’s particularly stands out because he’s playing a different version of Fantaisie-Impromptu than (probably) everyone else.

So the version that’s been played is the one edited by Julian Fontana, Chopin’s friend who published his works after his death. In the 20th century Arthur Rubinstein acquired an album that was owned by a female aristocrat, and in it he found a version of Fantaisie-Impromptu written entirely in Chopin’s hand. It was different from the one that Julian Fontana published. You can say the Rubinstein version is “more authentic.” That’s partially why I put Rubinstein up there, because it’d be unfair to compare different versions. I also gravitate towards the more authentic version because, hey, who can beat the originals? But even before I knew about this I just liked Rubinstein’s tempo. I think I’m more sensitive to tempo than other aspects XD

@FourcedowErsert

There are some others, I do enjoy Ashkenazy too hehe. Lukas Geniusas is pretty good, especially for Rachmaninoff xD and also Elisa Tomellini. And I recently got introduced to Giovanni Umberto Battel when I was listening to Chopin, and he struck an impression. I like his interpretation of the etude Op. 25 No. 1 in A flat major. I don’t know, I feel like it’s not always one artist I favour, but depends on the piece, too. But I guess I like these styles, overall?

The only pianist I recognize is Ashkenazy I’ll check out the other ones!

@FourcedowErsert

But yesss, I think we can all agree that Arrau’s interpretation of that one is the undisputed best.

You and I can agree. The other people who voted on my poll preferred other versions. I remember one voted for Rachmaninoff and another voted for Rubinstein. For me, Arrau reigns supreme.

@FourcedowErsert

But yeah, see you in a day, I guess.

And I’m back for about 48 hours

EDIT: So during music class I’d normally sit at the spot right in front of the professor, right across the nice Yamaha upright. So she ended class earlier than usual so I practiced the mystery piece in front of her. She then named the composer and asked if I had been playing for a while. I said that I used to learn basic piano from first to fourth grade, but my sight-reading is really slow and I mainly learn from MIDIs. She then leaned over the upright Yamaha to whisper “actually you’re doing better than the others” and she invited me to join the piano club here. I said that I only knew three songs and that I wasn’t good, but she was like “nah it’s okay, just join!” so I scanned the QR code on the door of her office and I’m part of the club’s group chat don’t know when they’ll meet up next.

I also bumped into more pianists. Some good, others average. You know what, I’m going to stop detailing the pianists I encounter on campus because there are just so many of them

EDIT 2: I got chores and work to do so I won’t be able to catch the two afternoon matches. However, I might catch the first part of Med’s match. I hope he ends it quickly so that I can watch it in full

And did you see that meme on Reddit where it said that Team Europe was like a bunch of awkward introverted exchange students who all secretly hated each other, while Team World was a bunch of rowdy guys who were just there for a good time? and then they showed the bench with Med and Tsitsi sitting on opposite sides and just being all quiet

EDIT 3: MED IS PLAYING THE LAVER CUP RIGHT NOW AGAINST SHAPO!

EDIT 4: HE WON THE FIRST SET AGAINST SHAPO 6-4 LET’S GOOOOOO!

If you’re wondering why there wasn’t a string of edits, that’s because I was eating dinner while watching

Oh and I listened to Giovanni Battel’s interpretation of the nocturne. It was too slow for my liking it was borderline mawkish, at least to me. I understand that the piece is andante, but it sounded closer to adagio for me. I haven’t listened to the others though.

EDIT 5: Med won the match 6-4 6-0! Brutal! Oh and he won the match in one of the funniest ways possible: by falling down he hit a ball, slipped and fell on his butt, but it didn’t matter because Shapo hit the ball to the net so he won the match what annoyed me was that the stream would show ads during changeovers >.> come on! This is the Laver Cup! The exchanges the players make at changeovers is one of the highlights of the tournament. We got so many iconic moments from watching players talk at the bench, like Rafa telling Stefanos “we need to talk about the finger”

EDIT 6: No wonder I’ve never heard of Elisa Tomellini—she hasn’t recorded a single Chopin piece and of course you’d listen to her, since she has two Rachmaninoff albums. Oh well. On to the next one, Lukas Geniusas.

EDIT 7: So I’m checking out Lukas Geniusas. He didn’t record my two favorite Chopin pieces, but he did record my favorite piano concerto: Piano Concerto No. 1. I’m listening to the first movement (my favorite piano concerto movement, ever) and the orchestra’s looking good so far. Good tempo. Still waiting for the piano to come in. There’s this certain part of the movement that’s my favorite, and I’m curious to see if he’ll pull it off. My current benchmarks are Kissin and Seong-Jin Cho.

EDIT 8: Speaking of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, remember when I said that I’m part of the piano club’s Discord server now? It had a list of rules, and one of them was mandatory listening of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and I was like YESSSS EVERYONE SHOULD LISTEN and then after that was a line that said “the above rules are lax. Just be a decent human being”

The version that was listed was the one by Seong-Jin Cho, and man, it was good. Same level as Kissin’s. To be fair, I only judged the first movement because I love the first movement, especially in the later part where it was as if the strings were following/echoing the piano and that hook at the beginning is just

EDIT 9: Okay, I’m at that part now. Actually there are two or three parts that I really like in this movement actually, I like the entire movement so much anyway, it was nice, but a tad too slow for my taste. The piece is marked allegro maestoso, and it didn’t sound fast enough to me. It’s still good, though. I’ll wait for that other part to come around.

EDIT 10: I’m at that second part. I was hoping it’d be faster, but it’s still a bit too slow for my taste.

Oh and Europe won the doubles tonight! You know what that means? If they win just one more match tomorrow, they win! It was a lot closer last edition. The final match was a decider between Sascha and Isner, and Sascha (and Europe) won. Man, Europe now is just steamrolling Team World. Looks like they didn’t need Fedalovic

EDIT 11: Wait I’m at the other part I like in the piano concerto, towards the end. The tempo is okay, faster than previously.

So if I have to rank the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 Allegro maestoso movements, then it’d look like this:

1. Evgeny Kissin and Seong-Jin Cho (tie)
2. Krystian Zimerman (the actual piano playing was beautiful, but sometimes the strings felt a tad too slow for my taste)
3. Lukas Geniusas

Hmm, I might compare the other ones. Oooh. There’s one by Trifonov. Another by Argerich. Ah, Yundi Li! But the movement is like 18–25 minutes long. I’ll compare them next time.

[Churro]

flies in using my duvet as a cape.

Sup?

[stella_vigo]

I just came back to the forums after a five-day break, and I’m doing well. Will disappear in 48 hours (again)

How about you?

[Churro]

I started writing, you?

[stella_vigo]

Oh, it’s great that you started writing! Hope the story goes out well. What’s it about?

I’ve managed to update a couple chapters for my WIP this week. Chapter IV should’ve been posted to Wacky by 8pm yesterday.

[Churro]

I have wolfboy, crazy man and the brothers to write about. Three projects lol.

Yay! I am happy for you.

[stella_vigo]

Three projects? Hope you can juggle them all. I sort of have three projects too though I have way more focus on one of them. The other two are poetry books and I don’t know when I’ll complete them; they’re just there for practice and fun.

Thanks!