aolarov

(written as a letter to my sister. she is will be a freshman at North next year)

 

Dear Veronica,

 

This is it – can you believe it? I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it so hard to wrap my head around the fact that my last day of high school is rapidly approaching. Now that I’m done with AP exams, finals, and most concerts, I finally have the time to stop and really think about what this means to me. 

 

As you already know, I’ve been doing a lot of writing this semester- whether it was for my English class, college applications, or some other activity. Writing has never been my favorite or my strong suit, so I’m sure you’re beyond sick of hearing me complain about my writer’s block these past months. However, writing blogs in AP Literature has emerged as the bright spot among the chaos of all these other assignments. 

 

At the beginning of first semester, writing blogs was just another task to check off my to-do list. My mindset has shifted since then – I now view them as an opportunity to explore different topics that interest me and they’ve allowed me to rediscover the appreciation for writing that I lost in elementary school. I also think I’ve really developed my voice as a result of writing blogs this past year. Like with any other skill, the only way to get better at writing is to practice, practice, practice! I never would’ve had the motivation to regularly write 750+ words every couple of weeks if it hadn’t been for this assignment.

 

My favorite second semester blog was “Unraveling Bolero,” in which I talked about Anne Adams- an artist and scientist whose neurological condition caused her to experience music in a unique way. Not only did her story combine music and science (my favorite subjects!), but the parallels between her life and that of Maurice Ravel, the composer of a piece that inspired her artwork are genuinely so fascinating to me. I went down so many rabbit holes while researching and I think the blog itself ended up being well over 1,000 words. You know how we were talking about people having Roman Empires last fall? Mine is probably her story.

 

Another meaningful assignment from this semester was our Voices project, in which we read a novel featuring an underrepresented perspective and did a research project inspired by that text. I chose to read How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, a novel by Julia Alvarez about four sisters who immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. While I was initially drawn to it because of the title (I figured I could relate to the themes of sisterhood and feeling caught between two cultures), I was ultimately convinced to pick up this book by its unique structure. The novel is actually a collection of short stories- only they’re in reverse chronological order. It was very interesting to see the way how the author portrayed the process of adjusting to a new culture through this structure. 

 

It was a pretty good read overall, but you should probably wait a couple years to read it so that you can better understand the points Alvarez is trying to make. I also know you’re not normally a fan of realistic fiction or even short stories, but I think it’s so interesting to see how much an author can do in a limited amount of pages through their choice of words. It’s worth checking out if you’re interested in learning more about the Latin American experience or if you’re just looking for something different. 

 

Anyways, that’s enough about literature for now. As my high school journey ends and yours begins, I have some advice for you:

 

1. Find your own balance. Preferably as soon as possible. 

 

I made the mistake of overloading myself with too many hard / time-consuming classes, when I already had enough going on outside of school. Everyone has their own limit of what they can take on, and I think I probably reached that a couple times this year. While I did make it through, I would’ve much preferred to have more time to spend with you and Melanie (and sleeping!) instead of struggling to keep my grades up. 

 

1. Get out and participate!

 

Okay, maybe this seems like it contradicts my first point, but I really do think that you should try to incorporate fun high school activities into your balance- especially when you’re a senior. Go to Senior Celebration, go to Airband, go to prom. Go to a Crosstown game, or really any kind of sports match, especially if you’ve never been. Take that blended class, go off campus for lunch. Try not to skip class too often, but take at least one ditch day for yourself. After all, these are your last couple years with this particular group of people- so make the most of it!

Much love,

your older, somewhat wiser sister,

Anna-Maria <3

It’s officially April, which means that the concert season is in full swing! High school orchestras and other youth ensembles all over the country are currently scrambling to put together one final concert before we all break for the summer. 

 

For me, I guess you could say that concert season began in March. Right before spring break, I had the incredible opportunity to play the Dvorak Cello Concerto together with the school orchestra. As I wrote in a previous blog, this is a piece that I’ve dreamed of playing for years, and I’m so glad that I was able to learn it and perform it before leaving for college. 

 

I was nervous going into that week. We’d had very limited time to rehearse as a full symphonic orchestra (an ensemble composed of both “band” and “orchestra” instruments) and many of the entrances were shaky. I was even more worried about my own playing- there were many difficult passages technique-wise that I didn’t know if I could play well enough for the conductor to be able to follow me. However, after lots of practice and a whole three run-throughs of the entire 12 minute long piece on the day of the concert, I’m proud to say that we pulled it off. 

 

I knew we were going to be okay from the very first opening notes of the concerto. This probably isn’t a good way of thinking about things, but for me, if the first passage of the piece goes well in a performance, then the rest of it will be fine. Otherwise it’ll mess with your head for the rest of the concert. Thankfully, it did go well. I think my tone for those first eight notes was the best it’s ever been. 

 

From that point on, everything was exactly where it needed to be. Entrances were on time, balance was on point, my fingers were flying across the board. I think the adrenaline got the best of me as soon as the sixteenth notes section started, but I got back on track eventually. Overall, it went really well and I’m very proud and pleased with myself and with my classmates for being able to pull it off. I hope to perform it again at least once more in the future after it’s had time to live in my brain for a while. 

 

—

 

So what’s next? Unfortunately for my sleep schedule, this next month is when the concerts really start to pick up. 

 

At school, my next performance will be as part of the pit for this year’s musical, Matilda! It’ll be interesting this year because I’m the only string player. Usually there’ll be a couple violinists, perhaps a violist, but I guess the score only calls for a cellist (although I swear I can hear a violin in the recording). Pit is always a lot of fun, but it’s also very taxing and time consuming. Starting this week, I’ll be at school until 9:30pm almost every day until the show opens. It’ll be a lot, but being together with your friends and seeing / hearing the final product at the end makes everything worth it. This year should also be interesting because of the NPAC renovations. Hopefully we’ll have more room and better sound this time around. 

 

For curricular orchestra, our final concert will be on Tuesday, May 7th. We’ll only have five weeks total to prepare this time around; we’re playing slightly easier pieces this cycle as a result. Rehearsal has been going well so far, so I’m not super concerned about that. What I do need to worry about is the senior piece. Typically, the seniors get together and choose a piece to play together at the final concert. Rehearsals are going to be slightly complicated because we’re all in different periods, but I think we should be able to meet during WIN. 

 

Outside of school, I’m part of a local youth symphony and our concert is at the end of the month (it coincides with one of the musical performances unfortunately). Like with all the other ensembles, there’s limited rehearsal time but I’m really enjoying the pieces we’re playing this cycle. The first piece is Tchaikovsky’s fifth symphony, the final movement. I’ve played it before, which is nice because I don’t need to learn a completely new piece and revisiting it has been nostalgic. We’re also playing Finlandia by Jean Sibelius- which is a piece that I’ve always loved to listen to and wanted to play- as well as accompanying my friend’s concerto.  He’s a phenomenal cellist and he never fails to amaze me with the way that he’s able to play these super crazy passages as if they were the easiest things in the world. He’s been working on this piece for over a year, so I’m glad that he’ll finally get a chance to play it with full orchestra. 

 

But wait! There’s more. I won’t go into detail because I’ve already hit the word count, but I also have some chamber music and solo projects coming up. All in all, April is a very busy month- wish me luck!

Happy spring everyone!

 

… Or is it spring yet?

 

The exact starting date of spring can be a contentious subject for some. 

 

There’s those who take things very literally and say that spring begins right on the date of the spring equinox, which is on March 19th this year. The Sun will be directly in line with the Earth’s equator, thus causing our day and night to be approximately equal. Others are less swayed by astronomical occurrences and say that it begins when we finally leave winter’s snow and icy conditions in the past where they belong, and instead welcome fairer weather. Others still look for the blooming of spring flowers- although that might just be my sister. She says that spring begins when she sees the snowdrops blossom, but I think that’s only one of the signs that precedes the upcoming change in season. 

 

In any case, I personally believe that spring begins on March 1st, regardless of what the weather might look like around that time. In Romania, this is the date of “Mărțișor” (pronounced like mur-tzi-shor), a holiday that marks the beginning of spring. 

 

Every year around the beginning of March, my sisters and I eagerly await an envelope in the mail from my relatives. We never receive it quite on March 1st, as the postal service to and from Romania can be as unpredictable as Midwestern spring weather at times. (One time my mother sent out Christmas cards in mid December and somehow, my grandparents didn’t receive it until March). 

 

The envelope contains a card and a “mărțișor” for each one of us. A mărțișor is an object like the one in the picture above, typically given to women and children. It’s made up of two threads – one red, one white – that are intertwined. Depending on what kind of thread is used, each end of the threads will have a small tassel that’s reminiscent of a doll person. These twined threads are then further tied to a small charm of some sort. When I was younger, these charms were often cartoon characters like Tweety Bird or Mickey Mouse. Now that I’m older, I usually receive charms with “ghiocei” (snowdrops), four leaf clovers, ladybugs, etc. This year’s charm was a chimney sweep, which are considered signs of good luck in Romania just as they are in English speaking countries. 

 

These “mărțișoare” are then pinned on to one’s clothing and worn for a certain period of time. I usually just wear mine on March 1st, but I know that there’s people in other regions of Romania who wear it anywhere from eight days to a couple weeks. 

 

While I don’t know how this tradition came to be, I do know that there’s many different stories in Romanian folklore about the beginning of spring. 

 

One story goes as follows:

 

There once was a woman named Baba Dochia (which literally translates to “Old Woman Dochia”). She had a son, who fell in love with a girl from the village and eventually married her. Baba Dochia did not treat her new daughter in law very well and assigned her all sorts of impossible tasks. One day in late February, she gave her a piece of black wool, sent her to the river at the top of the mountain to wash it, and told her not to return until the wool was white as snow. 

 

No matter how hard the girl tried, she was not able to turn the wool white. A man (Jesus in some versions) saw her struggling and gave her a red flower. He told her to put the flower in the river with the wool and that it would turn white if she did so. She tried it and it was just as he said- the wool turned white. She returned home, white wool and red flower in hand. 

 

Seeing the red flower, Baba Dochia thought that spring had finally arrived and decided to take her goats up the mountain to graze its (definitely green) pastures. With each passing day as she climbed the mountain, she took off one of her coats and by the time she reached the top, she had taken off all eight of her coats. However, since it wasn’t actually spring yet, the top of the mountain was bitterly cold. Baba Dochia froze to death and her son and daughter in law lived happily ever after. 

 

For this reason, the first eight days of March are known as “zilele babei” or “the old woman’s days.” It’s said that you should choose one of these days, and depending on how the weather is on that day, that’s how your year will be. 

 

—

 

I think that folk traditions in general are fascinating and it’s so cool to see how a tradition of the same name can be interpreted and celebrated so differently across regions. I’m so grateful to my relatives for finding ways to include us in our culture, even though there is an ocean between us. 

 

 

Much to the chagrin of English students everywhere, E. E. Cummings has a reputation for writing poems that are difficult to comprehend from the first reading. This poem, “mortals)” is no exception. It is not your conventional, tightly structured poem- rather, even without reading it, its unusual shape reveals its disjointed and irregular form. I must admit, I had no idea what to make of this poem the first time I saw it, but through careful analysis of the poem’s components, I was able to form an interpretation.

 

The very first thing that I did was to look at the title. As I learned from the class discussion on Longfellow’s “Mezzo Cammin,” the title often reveals a key bit of information that provides context for the rest of the poem. This title was slightly different from the other poems that we’ve read in that it’s also the first word of the poem itself. Something that stood out to me was that there was a parenthesis appended to the end of the word “mortals.” I thought this placement of the punctuation mark was significant because, just as someone or something that is mortal eventually comes to an end, so too is the parenthesis typically used to end an addition to a passage. 

 

Second, as previously mentioned, the poem is incredibly disjointed and irregular in its structure. Even without reading the words of the poem, you can see that the poem has a unique shape characterized by these seemingly random indentations and by the breaking up of a word onto multiple lines. However, on closer inspection, I realized that the shape of the poem actually reflects what is being written, which then influences the meaning of the poem. In particular, the word “climbing” is broken up into “climbi” in line 2 and “ng” on line 3, which when combined with the indentation of line 3 and the length of the fourth line, results in a staircase form. This shape reflects the action of climbing. Later on, Cummings shifts to writing about somersaults and trapezes and the shape of the poem follows suit. Unlike climbing which is only in one direction, this motion goes in multiple directions. This is reflected in the poem through the arrangement of words and indentations that give the dizzying sensation of moving back and forth. A possible interpretation of this section is that the subject of the poem is oscillating between life and death. Alternatively this could represent uncertainty about mortality itself. The staircase shape makes a reappearance on the second page, and from there on it’s all downhill. The word “and” is separated letter by letter in order to give the appearance of something falling. Again, this directly connects to the idea of mortality; the placement of the words in this descending order are reminiscent of the end of one’s life. 

 

Now that I had analyzed the structure of the poem, I then began to focus on the words themselves.  I had to read it out loud to myself a couple of times without regard to the indentations or spacing in order to get the whole picture: “Mortals climbing into eachness begin dizzily swingthings of speeds of trapeze gush somersaults opening hes shes…” Even still, while this made the poem somewhat more cohesive, I still had trouble understanding what he was trying to say. It seemed like he was just placing random words together, but I knew that there had to be some meaning.

 

(This was also where I realized that the poem was separated into two pages and that I had only been looking at the first half. I was very confused by the poem’s abrupt “ending”, so I went back to the poetry website and realized that there was another part that I completely missed.) 

 

I then switched the scope of my search to Something else that stuck out to me was the use of “hes” “shes” “theys” and “im.” Through this word choice, Cummings includes everyone in his interpretation of mortality. I think he’s saying that all humans go through life and eventually die. Once again as in the first line, the poem ends with a parenthesis attached to the end of a word, in this case “im.” Not only does it seem to cause a sense of finality, but I believe it’s also meant to be symbolic of mortality, of the end of one’s life. 

 

While I now have somewhat of an understanding of the poem, I still think that there’s something that I’m missing. I realize that he is alluding to the larger concepts of life, death, and mortality, but I’m not quite sure about his commentary on that. What is he saying? What does the speaker of the poem believe about these concepts? The explanation that makes the most sense in my head is that he’s saying that death is inevitable, but I suppose we’ll never know his exact intentions.

Welcome back to my blog! I’m back with another music-related post, only this time, it’s not strictly focused on a particular composer. Rather, it’s about the surprising connections that can sometimes occur between other fields and music- in this case, art and neuroscience. 

 

Let’s get into it!

 

—

 

By all accounts, Anne Adams was a brilliant scientist. Holding degrees in physics and chemistry, she went on to get her PhD in cellular biology before taking a position as a professor at a local college. She even went on to work in cancer research, developing a new cell line that- according to her husband- is still used today. 

 

However, the trajectory of her life was forever changed after a car accident in 1986 left her son severely injured. She decided to put her career on hold in order to be able to stay home and care for him. It was during this period that she began to paint.

 

At first, it was merely a way to pass her time. After all, she hadn’t really had the opportunity to do art since high school and it was a good way to take her mind off of her son’s condition. Her artwork focused on what she saw around her, mostly landscapes and still-lifes.

 

Then she converted one of the house’s rooms into a studio.

 

Then she began spending the majority of her day in the studio. 

 

Then her son made a full recovery and resumed his previous activities. She continued to paint. 

 

Soon enough, she decided to quit science entirely and to paint full time. This time was a period of intense creativity and productivity. Whereas before her art had been rooted in reality, now it was abstract and very elaborately planned. 

 

In 1994, she began to develop an obsession with the piece “Boléro” by the French composer Maurice Ravel. It gave her the inspiration for her next project: she decided that she was literally going to paint the music. 

In order to accomplish this, she represented each measure as a rectangular figure and meticulously deconstructed the music into its elements- for example- dynamics (volume), note (as in pitch), and instrumentation (what instruments are currently playing, brass/winds/strings?). Each one of these elements was assigned a corresponding visual component: the dynamics were represented by the length of the rectangular figure and the instrumentation was depicted by silver, gold, and copper paint. Of course, there’s more than one note in the measures of Bolero, so she chose what she thought was the most interesting note in each measure and assigned it a color. For example, she assigned the note G to this Prussian blue-ish color, so for every measure where she thought that G was the most interesting note, the background color of its corresponding rectangular figure was painted blue.

 

If you listen to the piece, you’ll hear how it starts off with one quiet rhythm played by the snare drum and then gradually gets crazier and crazier as Ravel layers more instruments into the piece. It’s incredibly fascinating to see how Adams was able to capture these intricacies of the piece and translate it visually onto canvas. 

 

—

 

By now, you’re probably thinking that this sounds a lot like synesthesia. That’s what I thought too when I first heard this story- after all, synesthesia is when one sense is stimulated but another is perceived. Perhaps she was able to hear colors?

 

While we might never know if she did have synesthesia, we do know that her obsession with art and the repetition present within Boléro was caused by something far more debilitating.

 

—

 

By 2000, Adams began to make grammar mistakes in her speech and found it increasingly difficult to communicate. Her language capabilities only deteriorated from there. Four years later, doctors at UCSF found that she often required ten to fifteen seconds to begin to speak, and even then, she could only speak in three to four word phrases. These symptoms exhibited by Adams were first determined to be primary progressive aphasia, a disorder in which a person gradually loses the ability to comprehend or express speech. That wasn’t the full picture however, later brain scans revealed that she actually suffered from frontotemporal dementia. The cells in her frontal cortex, the part of the brain that deals with language processing, were dying- which greatly affected her speech. 

 

Since her brain was no longer able to focus on language, researchers involved in her case believe that her frontotemporal dementia caused more activity in other parts of her brain as a result. Many patients with FTD become very visually oriented but the images that they see are characterized by this repetition. While researchers don’t know why that is yet, Adams’ case is particularly interesting because her paintings provide remarkable insight into what was happening in her brain as the disorder progressed. Even though it was years before her symptoms became evident through her speech, we’re still able to tell when the disorder began affecting her brain by looking at when she began to paint these beautiful abstract, yet repetitive paintings. 

 

But wait, there’s more!

 

Maurice Ravel himself, the person who composed the piece that inspired Adams, also suffered from primary progressive aphasia and is now thought to have had FTD. 

 

Ravel was one of the pioneers of the impressionist movement in music, which is characterized by the lack of a strong rhythmic pulse and using pitches, not so that they fit into an overall chord progression, but rather because they contribute to the overall atmosphere of the music. It’s very fluid and evocative of various moods, unrestrained from the conventions and norms of Romantic music.

 

In other words, it’s the complete opposite of Boléro.

 

Instead, Boléro is very rigid and repetitive. Again, if you listen to it, you’ll hear the snare drum playing the same exact rhythm for 340 measures. That’s around 15 minutes. Within those 15 minutes, there are maybe three different melodies. 

 

Just as with Adams and “Unraveling Boléro,” we now know that the original Boléro was one of the first signs that something was not quite right with Ravel’s brain. When the condition began to affect Adams, her art changed from landscapes to these abstract depictions of concepts. When the condition began to affect Ravel, his music changed from being flowy and unrestrained to having this very metronomic quality to it. 

 

Even the time frame matches up! Six years after Ravel wrote Bolero, he began to experience aphasia symptoms and lose his ability to speak. Six years after Adams painted “Unraveling Ravel,” she began to lose her ability to speak. 

 

Here we have two people, separated by time and space, and yet connected by their shared condition and a piece of music. As the podcast Radiolab describes it, there’s a strange symmetry between them. How does that happen? What drew her to that particular piece? Was there something within Adams’ mind that recognized fragments of itself within Ravel’s music? Did Adams’ ever find out that they were connected in more ways than Boléro? I suppose we’ll never know, but I do know that her story will live in my mind for a while. 

 

Sources:

The original paper: https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/131/1/39/346188 

Podcast transcript about paper: https://radiolab.org/podcast/unraveling-bolero

Definitely check out the links above if you’re interested in this story! They do a much better job at explaining it that I could ever do.

The piece itself by Ravel: Ravel: Boléro – BBC Proms 2014 (it may or may not get stuck in your head)

 

Between college apps, extracurriculars, and just school in general, this semester has been a whirlwind of activity. At least for me, it felt like things were in constant motion and everything seemed to be changing. However, one thing that I could always count on was being assigned to write a blog post every couple weeks. 

 

At the beginning of this semester, the assignment felt like just that. An assignment. Another item on my to-do list, another chore that I needed to complete. As the semester progressed however, it became less of a burden and more of a way through which I could learn more about myself and others. I came to the realization that I could use the blog as a way to learn more about the things that interested me and even started to enjoy writing the posts. 

 

I think I enjoyed writing the blog about the history of the Romanian language the most. Linguistics is a topic that interests me, but I don’t know too much about it so I enjoyed learning more information. The topic was also of personal interest and relevance to me because I speak Romanian at home. Before having the idea to write about the language, I had a very general understanding of the context through which it was developed and in some ways, took it for granted. It was just the language that I spoke at home and the language that allowed me to communicate with my friends and family. Now after doing some research on it, I know so much more about its origins and why certain words are the way that they are. I had a great time learning and writing about it, and ultimately, I think I came away with a very interesting and informative post. 

 

I was very glad to find out that others seemed to enjoy it just as much as I had enjoyed writing it. I had some interesting conversations with them through comments as well as in person. 

 

Not only did I learn about other topics, but writing a blog also became a means through which to improve my writing skills. I’ve never thought of myself as a writer. I find it difficult to verbalize my thoughts in a timely manner. However, like with any other skill, the best way to improve is to practice and writing a post every couple weeks was a great way to do just that. 

 

As a result of writing blogs, I believe that my writing stamina has improved (I’m able to write for a longer period of time) and have gotten a chance to explore different styles of writing as well. I’ve also gotten more opportunities to write in an informal tone. Every other English class I’ve taken has required a specific sort of academic writing, so being able to write these blogs has been a nice change of pace. 

 

Besides being a way to practice my own writing, I have learned so much from reading my classmates’ blog- both about how to write as well as through the content in their blog posts. Reading other blogs and responding to them was probably my favorite part of the blog cycle. I think it was a great way to learn more about other people, especially since the freedom of assignment allowed us to write about any topic of our choosing so you could tell that they were excited by whatever they were posting. I love learning more about topics that interest my friends and getting glimpses inside their brains. What interests them? What motivates them? What do they value? There’s a lot that can be garnered from reading others’ posts. 

 

As for what I learned about writing specifically, through reading blog posts, I was able to be exposed to different kinds of writing styles and structures- which was helpful when I needed inspiration for my own writing. 

 

So what have I learned from this whole experience?

1. Writing 600-700 words is not as horrible as I initially thought.
2. I can connect with others through my writing, not just through reading other’s ideas.
3. I am capable of more than I imagined

 

That’s all for now, I look forward to future blog posts and the new year!

Antonin Dvorak: his life and work

Dvorak (usually pronounced dvor-jahck in English) was a prominent Czech composer in the late 19th century. This puts his music in the Romantic era of music, meaning it was generally characterized by passionate melodies and flexibility in rhythms, harmonies, and dynamic contrasts. He was heavily influenced by the folk music of his native Bohemia, a region in the northern part of the Czech Republic. While many of his pieces do contain motifs and rhythms native to that area, he also took inspiration from other cultures, for example, American music after a trip to the United States. 

 

He’s also one of my favorite composers. I love the way his pieces sound and they often stay present within my mind for a long time after I play them or hear them be played. I think another reason why I like his music so much is because I love hearing pieces inspired by different cultures. It’s a way for me to learn about the world and it’s so interesting to hear the different types of melodies, harmonic structures, and rhythms that exist in different parts of the world. 

 

Now, without further ado, here are some of his most notable works:

 

Symphony 9 – New World

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iortco3KiPg (CSO)

 

Not only is this symphony one of Dvorak’s most well known works – it’s one of the most popular symphonies of all time. Even today, over 100 years after it was written, it is part of the standard repertoire for any reputable orchestra around the world. 

 

It was written in 1893 while Dvorak was visiting New York, towards the end of his trip to the United States. The piece is notable for Dvorak’s use of elements from American music such as themes reminiscent of African American spirituals and Native American music- which he believed were the key to the future music of America. The symphony as a whole evokes feelings of wide open spaces and longing, likely as a result of his experiences while traveling through the country. 

 

Cello Concerto in B minor

 

This concerto was written in 1891, often considered to be among the greatest cello concertos. 

 

It’s been my dream to be able to play it ever since I first heard it played in eighth grade. I’m beyond excited to be learning now, but I have to say, I definitely didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. It definitely deserves its reputation and is proving to be extremely difficult, but I think I’ll be able to make it through eventually. 

 

In my opinion, the reason it’s so difficult is because not only are there passages that require a lot of technical difficulty (and make my fingers want to cry), but it also takes a lot out of the performer. There’s just such a range in articulation, dynamics, expression necessary to constantly consider in order to play it well. In some passages, the cello sings and it seems like all the world is good. In other passages, the music is frantic and almost angry. Even though it requires a lot of stamina, it’s also beautiful. It’s during pieces like this that you truly see how the cello is the closest instrument to emulate the human voice.

 

American Quartet

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b_rwtDlUXA (Emerson String Quartet)

 

Arguably the most famous of his chamber music works, the “American” Quartet is written for a string quartet (two violins, viola, and cello) and is so called because it was composed while he was staying in Iowa on his tour of America. There was a high population of Bohemian immigrants in the area he was staying near, so Dvorak felt at home in the community despite being thousands of miles away from his homeland. 

 

Critics are divided as to whether Dvorak meant to incorporate elements of American music or Bohemian music into this work. He employs a pentatonic (five-note) scale throughout, something that is common in both certain kinds of American music and in Eastern European music, and really throughout the whole world. 

 

While I don’t know what he intended, I enjoy listening to the piece and seeing if I can assign a meaning to different motifs. For example, the rhythm of the cello in the fourth movement has always reminded me of a train moving across the countryside. There’s a trill in the third movement that is said to be inspired by a red bird he saw while on his trip. It’s almost like the piece serves as a sort of diary, a record of his new experiences in America. 

 

Dumky Trio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDPkMvUAgqo (Beaux Arts Trio)

It’s written for a piano trio (piano, violin, and cello) and is unique in that its structure does not follow the typical pattern for a chamber piece from the Romantic era. Usually, you’d expect there to be three to four movements. This piece however has six movements that almost seem connected – they flow into each other. Its title, “Dumky” comes from the Ukrainian word “Duma,” a musical genre from that country that refers to a ballad. Free from the traditional form, Dvorak is able to explore a wide range of emotions through the different movements. Some moments are lighthearted and cheerful, others are darker and filled with a sense of longing. 

 

I’ve had this one on repeat lately! Unlike American Quartet and some of the others, I haven’t played it yet but would love to do so at some point, maybe sometime after college apps are over. I think Dvorak does a wonderful job of capturing the character of the region in this piece especially, and I look forward to maybe playing it!

More than you ever wanted to know about the Romanian language

Before we begin, here’s a brief pronunciation guide to certain letters in Romanian. 

• Ă is pronounced like “uh.”
• These two are more difficult to describe, but Â/Î are pronounced sort of like “ih” except the sound comes from lower in the back of your throat.
• Ș is “sh.”
• Ț is “tz.”
• U has a soft “oo” sound.

Romania is a country located in southeastern Europe, specifically in the Balkans. Throughout its history, it has undergone periods of being ruled by other countries before finally becoming an independent country in 1859, echoes of which can be heard throughout the Romanian language. 

 

Like English (and most other languages), Romanian has been changed over time as a result of outside influences. It retains a strong Latin character despite being surrounded by countries that speak Slavic languages and is considered a Romance language, similar to Spanish and French. However, there are some words that have a Turkish, Slavic, or in modern times, even an English origin. 

 

1. Region that is now Romania gets taken over by the Roman Empire, 106 AD – 275 AD

As you might’ve been able to guess from the name Romania, this region was part of the Roman Empire at some point in time. Previous to this period, the area was first inhabited by a people known as the Dacians. While scholars don’t know the complete extent of their influence, there are some remnants of their ancient language present within modern Romanian. These words are mostly nature related, reflecting the agricultural nature of that early civilization. 

 

Examples:

• Copac = tree
• Mazăre = peas
• Mânz = colt

 

In the early second century, the Romans became interested in the region inhabited by the Dacians and sought to conquer it. After years of long battles, they succeeded under Emperor Trajan and the romanization of Dacia began (Trajan later commemorated his win by constructing Trajan’s Column in Rome). The two cultures intermingled and the original language was forever changed. Out of the two cultures, the Romans definitely had the most impact on the language- making up the core of the modern Romanian language today. While my vocabulary is limited, I would estimate that maybe 75% of words in Romanian have a Latin origin. Not only did they influence the etymology of many words, but even Romanian’s grammar structure is said to be similar to that of Latin’s. 

 

Examples of words:

• Duminică = Sunday (similar to Spanish “Domingo” and French “Dimanche”)
• Roșu = red (similar to Spanish “rojo” and French “rouge”)
• Lumină = light (similar to Spanish “luz” and French “lumiere”)

 

There’s even Roman names that are relatively common in Romania today. Here’s a couple examples from what I’ve heard among relatives and friends: 

• Ovidiu (from Ovid)
• Marius
• Livia

 

2. Area that is now Romania borders many Slavic-language-speaking communities 

 

Many people think that Romanians speak a Slavic language because of its location in Eastern Europe and proximity to countries that do speak a Slavic language such as Ukraine and Serbia. However, as demonstrated above, Romanian is much closer to Latin-based languages. As a result of that same proximity, there has been a significant Slavic influence on Romanian.

 

Like with the Romans and Dacians before, the two cultures intermingled and influenced each other’s language. Many words with some kind of emotional connection have Slavic origins. 

 

Furthermore, many church services were held in Old Church Slavonic (the first Slavic literary language) during this time period. As a result, some of the words used to describe religious concepts were loanwords from this language. 

 

Examples:

• Dragoste = love
• Război = war
• Zăpadă = snow
• Rai = paradise / heaven

 

3. Area that is now Romania gets taken over by the Ottomans – 15th century

During the Middle Ages, the Ottoman Empire took over much of the Balkans and parts of what is now Romania. There were many battles during this period as Romania struggled for independence- eventually retaining some degree of freedom as a vassal state, but ultimately under Ottoman rule. 

 

As before, elements of the Ottoman Turkish language remain present in the Romanian language today. Ottoman Turkish itself has Persian and Arabic influences itself, resulting in the Middle Eastern origin of some words in Romanian. 

 

Examples:

• Ciorapi = socks (similar to Ottoman Turkish “çorap” and Persian “jurâp”)
• Musafir = guest (similar to Ottoman Turkish “musafir” and Arabic “musafir”, both meaning traveler)
• Ghiozdan = backpack (similar to Ottoman Turkish “cuzdan” and Persian “jozdan”)

 

4. Area that is now Romania gets taken over by … Romanians

After centuries of long battles and wars, Romania finally became independent in 1859 when Alexandru Ioan Cuza united the principalities of Wallachia and Moldova. While they had been united politically, there was a push to bring the country together linguistically as well through the standardization of the language. This nationalization movement can be seen in other spheres of culture as well, including through literature, music, and the arts during the late 19th to early 20th century.

 

Language-wise, this period solidified the Latin influence on Romanian. French culture was all the rage among the Romanian elite, who wanted to emulate them in any way possible. Romania’s capital, Bucharest, was even known as Little Paris because of the architecture’s resemblance to that of Paris. As a result, there was a movement to favor the Latin-based alternatives to various words. 

 

5. Area that is now Romania gets taken over by the world

 

The 1900s was a very eventful and tumultuous century for Romania. We went from being a monarchy to a fascist dictatorship to a communist dictatorship to a democracy all within the span of a few decades. The fall of the Iron Curtain combined with the emergence of the internet led to the emergence of global influences on the Romanian language. 

 

Examples:

• Weekend – While a Romanian equivalent does exist (sfârșit de săptămână) most people, especially younger people, prefer to use the simpler and more convenient English alternative.

 

• Computer – Again, technically the Romanian word is “calculator” but most people opt to use the English alternative, reflective of how English is the language of the Internet.

 

• Drujbă – this word means “chainsaw” in Romanian and “friendship” in Russian. During the Cold War, Romania imported many things from the Soviet Union, including chainsaws. Most chainsaws were imported from this one company, “Drujba,” the name of which was written on the blade of every chainsaw. As a result, people began to associate the name of the company with the name of the item, and so, “drujba” became synonymous with “chainsaw.”

(cyriillic script says “druzhba”)

Bonus cool infographic!

 

Backpack backpack!

 

I’m walking home, exhausted after a long day of school and after-school activities. My thoughts are dulled by the average sounds of Ogden Street- cars flying past me and the occasional honk. An unzipping sound snaps me out of my reverie and I feel my backpack become lighter. Quickly, I unloop one of the straps from around my arm and bring it forwards, looking behind me to make sure that nothing has fallen out as I zip it up. Newly aware of my backpack’s shortening lifespan, I start bringing both zippers to one end of the seam whenever I close it in order to avoid these types of situations. 

 

Months pass, and one day between third and fourth period, I’m horrified to discover that one of the zippers is no longer attached to both edges of the fabric, unable to bridge the gap. I don’t have a whole lot of time to fix it, but I manage to reattach it to the other side and then go about my day as usual. 

 

Except it happens again between fifth and sixth. 

 

And at the end of the day. 

 

I decide that it’s not worth it to keep doing the same thing, when my solution clearly isn’t working for more than a couple hours, so I resolve to find a different way to fix it once I get home. 

 

I try using pliers to compress the zipper’s opening. This lasts a few weeks before the zipper is deformed again. I try completely removing the zipper and realigning it. This too, does not work. Sadly, I conclude that the zipper is simply out of commission and now it stays off to the side as I use the one remaining functional zipper for everything. 

 

At this point, you may be wondering, why don’t I just get a new backpack? It’s the same question my parents ask me when they see me struggling to fix it. It’s the same question my friends ask me as I’m struggling to attach the two sides of my backpack as we get ready to leave for lunch.

 

The truth is, I’ve grown rather attached to it.

 

It has accompanied me to school and so many more places since fourth grade. I still remember feeling very excited to get a “grown-up” backpack. I was going to be unstoppable that school year! With its multicolored rainbow stripes and numerous pockets that could hold everything from my brand-new chromebook to books to two water bottles, it was certainly miles above my previous flimsy backpack that could barely carry a few folders. Its pattern even matched a scarf that I’d wear in the winter (another staple of my wardrobe that I still regularly wear eight years later).

 

I went everywhere with my backpack- to school, back home, and beyond. It carried my lunch when we visited Sue at the Field Museum in fifth grade. It attended a Shakespeare play with me in seventh grade. It even visited my extended family in Europe with me, carrying snacks for my sisters and I, entertainment for the long flights, and always an extra pair of clothes in case we ever got stuck somewhere. 

 

I know that eight years is a long time, but I’m still not happy that I will have to get a new backpack soon. I think part of the reason that I’m so upset is because I’m frustrated with how so many things nowadays- from electronics to certain clothing- break down or become unusable after a short period of time, making it necessary to purchase a replacement. In my opinion, things should be made to last a significant period of time.

 

Anyways, my goal now is to be able to continue using it through senior year. I hope that it will last me until graduation. Once I start college, I’ll look for a (sturdier, more durable) new one, with plenty of pockets. 

 

If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting for the bus, 2017

Kinder Chocolate, ranked

When I was younger, Kinder was one of my favorite chocolate companies. It wasn’t too widespread in the United States yet, so I was very appreciative of relatives who’d give us it as presents to take back home. Whenever I saw the orange and white packaging with an image of a child and his mother smiling back up at me, I smiled back, knowing that I would be in for a treat. 

Originally created in 1968 Italy by Michele Ferrero (the same Ferrero behind Ferrero Rocher and Nutella), Kinder has become one of the most widely sold and beloved chocolate brands in the world.  It is sold in over 125 countries and over the years, have come up with many different products for children and adults alike to enjoy worldwide. 

Now without further ado, let’s get to the ratings. 

Kinder Chocolate Bar – 7/10

The sweet creamy confection that launched the company in 1968, Kinder Chocolate is the original chocolate bar. With its milk chocolate exterior and milky interior, it holds a special place in my heart for being one of the first chocolate bars I remember receiving as a gift. It seems to have been created with children in mind, coming in small, individually wrapped portions and being easily breakable to ensure maximum sharing potential. 

While I will always associate it with fond memories of visiting family and friends, it’s also more basic compared to Kinder’s later creations. Nowadays, I’d opt for something else, but it will always remain a classic. 

As of September 2023, Kinder Chocolate is now being sold in the United States, so I will definitely be sure to keep an eye out for it next time I visit a grocery store.  

Kinder Joy – 9/10

Kinder Joy is one of my all-time favorites! Packaged in an egg-shaped container, one half contains a mystery toy that one must assemble using the provided instructions while the other includes two layers of cocoa and milk cream along with two round chocolate-covered wafer bites that are also filled with cocoa cream. You don’t have to worry about utensils, as each egg comes with a small plastic spoon nestled between the two halves. 

When I was younger, I used to take a wafer bite and just let it melt in my mouth. I would scoop up minuscule amounts of the cocoa cream in an attempt to make the candy last for as long as possible because I knew it would be a while before I could have it again. I did this for a while before I came to the realization that I couldn’t even taste the chocolate in such tiny portions. 

The toys were always a delight as well. I enjoyed being able to build them myself and my favorites were any variation of a race car. My sisters and I would act out scenes from movies with the little plastic characters, or have competitions with the kids who lived in my grandmother’s neighborhood to see whose top could spin the longest without being knocked over by another. We’d hold races, seeing how far the cars could go on the makeshift track.The possibilities were endless. 

Kinder Joy is not nearly as rare as I remember it being. In fact, it’s becoming more and more popular in the United States- I could walk over to my local Jewel Osco and get one from the checkout aisle if I really wanted. Seven-year-old me would’ve been beside herself. 

Kinder Surprise – 5/10

This one is the product that is banned in the United States and several other countries due to safety concerns. Like the Kinder Surprise, it’s egg-shaped and contains a toy, but the similarities end there. Its “shell” is composed of two thin layers- one chocolate and the other white chocolate. Inside this shell, it has a “yolk” or yellow capsule that has a small toy inside. It’s easy to see why this might be considered a hazard- young children and small objects do not mix well. 

To be quite honest, I never liked this one as much. It lacks the pizzazz that some of the other Kinder products have. My sisters and our other young family friends are obsessed with it, but I don’t understand why anyone would want to have Kinder Surprise when Kinder Joy tastes better, has a toy as well, and is just better in every respect. In my opinion, the only reason that it’s even appealing to them is that it’s banned in the United States and therefore more rare in their eyes. 

I will say however, the yellow capsules are useful for storing small objects. I would use them as a way to organize beads, Lego pieces, and occasionally Rainbow Loom bands, so it gets five points for that. 

Kinder Bueno – 10/10

This one is my current favorite! It has four wafer “capsules” with chocolate hazelnut cream inside, and of course, the exterior is also covered in chocolate. I had one earlier today, it was very good. 

Other honorable mentions – 

Kinder Happy Hippo – 8/10

These are super fun! It’s very similar to the Kinder Bueno, except it doesn’t have as much chocolate and is shaped like a hippopotamus. 

Kinder Chocofresh – 6/10

I vaguely remember having this one years ago, but I don’t think it was anything mind blowing. Then again, I should probably have one again before saying anything about it. 

Kinder Country – 6/10

Theoretically, I should’ve enjoyed this one. It’s a chocolate bar filled with cereal pieces inside, so I thought it was going to be like a Crunch bar. It was not like a Crunch bar. 

The texture of the cereal pieces was reminiscent of styrofoam packing peanuts and it tasted strange, which detracted from the overall chocolate flavor. Unfortunately, I do not recommend it. 

Kinder Cards – 8/10

Kinder Cards are thin wafers filled with cocoa cream and shaped like, well, cards. Nothing memorable, but it does have that classic Kinder taste. 

 

 

So, which chocolate is your favorite from the list above? Is there something that I forgot? Anything you’d like to try? Let me know!