• About Jeff von der Schmidt, the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble & LA International New Music Festival

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

~ A blog about new music, travel and food

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

Tag Archives: Asia

One Ocean, Two Coasts: The Dragon Bridge of Taiwan and the Bixby Bridge of Big Sur

17 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Big Sur, Composers, Contemporary Music, Elliott Carter, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Taipei, Travel, Uncategorized

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Asia, Baxian Caves, Big Sur, East Coast of Taiwan, Elliott Carter, Henry Miller, Highway 1, LA International New Music Festival, Pt. Lobos, San Francisco, Sanxiantai Bridge, Toru Takemitsu

The Pacific Ocean touching Big Sur.

The Pacific Ocean touching Big Sur.

A few weeks before he passed away, Toru Takemitsu wrote postcards to his friends with a poignant message concerning his approaching reincarnation.

“I’d like to become a whale that swims in an ocean that knows no east nor west.”

I’ve reflected on this idea often since my friend Peter Grilli made me aware of Takemitsu’s last thoughts.  As you know, I’ve been traveling up Highway 1 from Santa Barbara to Big Sur for an important meeting about the next LA International New Music Festival. Jan and I have been talking about Elliott Carter with his friend Virgil Blackwell near Pt. Lobos and Big Sur. Composing brilliantly until 103, Carter is one of the greats. There is a sage wisdom in all the late works waiting to be explored. And we will be doing just that as part of future festivals.

Finding Carter in Big Sur and Pt. Lobos felt just right.

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The Flowers of the Months: The Day Autumn Arrived in Hong Kong

03 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Hong Kong, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Tea, Travel, Uncategorized

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Asia, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Park, John Cage, Lock Cha Tea House, Peter Drucker, Tao Te Ching, Tea

Jan at Lock Cha Tea House in Hong Kong Park.

Jan at Lock Cha Tea House in Hong Kong Park.

Happy New Year for 2014!

I want my first post of the new year to begin with a big thank you to the over 2,000 readers in 62 countries who follow my Los Angeles International New Music Festival blog. From Saudi Arabia to Hong Kong, Mexico to Vietnam, South Africa to India, I’m encouraged by your interest and promise to keep the posts coming on a regular basis.

As promised in my last blog, I’m going to describe the day autumn arrived in Hong Kong this fall as Jan and I ventured into a full day in Hong Kong Park.

Got teacups?

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From the Fragrant Harbor of Hong Kong: Thank You, Harry Woo!

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Contemporary Music, Food, Hong Kong, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Taipei, Tea, Travel

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Asia, China, Chinese, Chinese tea, Cong Caphe, Hanoi, Health, Hong Kong, Hongkong, Katz's Deli, Kowloon, Lin Heung Kui, Lin Heung Kui Dim Sum, Los Angeles, MIng Cha Tea, Phoenix Deli, Star Ferry

Hong Kong & Kowloon.

Hong Kong & Kowloon.

Trying to describe Hong Kong is like writing an encyclopedia – you’re going to need a lot of pages to cover all the subjects and possibilities. My marriage is a combination of Hollywood and Broadway: I’m from Los Angeles, California and my wife Jan is from Newark, New Jersey. Which means she spent all her teenage weekends in the Big Apple, as in attending the first Earth Day. Grandma took her to Radio City Music Hall with, of course, white gloves. She still has family in Brooklyn. I used to wait in the parking lot of 20th Century Fox with my uncle for my mom to get off work. Between the two of us, we know the two largest cities in the U.S. from childhood.

Each major city holds a lifetime of experience. I don’t think you’d get tired of any of them. Worn down by traffic and congestion, sure. But tired? Not me. Big cities equal endless opportunity. And just crossing from Kowloon to Hong Kong on the Star Ferry is the single greatest commute on Planet Earth.

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In the Month of Wintersweet Tea

11 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Contemporary Music, Food, Hong Kong, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Taipei, Travel, Uncategorized

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Asia, De Ye Cha Chi, Hong Kong, Kenting National Park, Marilyn Monroe, New York Times, Taipei, Tea, Teapot

The Autumn Fire Dragon in Shanghai.

The Autumn Fire Dragon in Shanghai.

Maybe it’s because my wife’s family is from Western Massachusetts. Perhaps it’s good luck or a gravitational pull that is mysterious and karmic. But we’ve now been pulled three times to Asia in the autumn. Be it China, Taiwan or Hong Kong, it’s a mirror image of my wife’s New England fascination with changing light and color this time of year. And now with the last final days of autumn leading into winter, we’ve arrived at the month of Wintersweet Tea.

I like epiphanies. Mine with tea happened in Taipei.

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Tea For Two in Kyoto, Shanghai, Hanzhou, Taipei & Hong Kong

01 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Education, Food, Hanzhou, Hong Kong, Kyoto, LA International New Music Festival, Southwest Chamber Music, Taipei, Travel, Uncategorized

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Asia, Hanzhou, Hong Kong, Ippodo, John Cage, Kyoto, Ling Yin Temple, Ming Cha, Ryoanji Temple, Shanghai, Taiwan, Tea

The viewing & tea of Haiku master Basho in Kanazawa, Japan.

The viewing & tea pavilion of Haiku poet master Basho in Kanazawa, Japan.

I’ve started writing this post the day after Thanksgiving here in the U.S. I’m so gratified that over 50 countries have followed my blog in its first three months. Holidays are good moments to rest and reflect. After an energetic trip to Hanoi, Luang Prabang and Hong Kong married to a trip to the Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas last week, the combination of Thanksgiving with Hanukkah – Thanksgivakkuh – has put me in a mood to unwind.

And there is no better way to do that than with a slow gong-fu (read complicated) tea ceremony…

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Cộng Cà Phê in Hà Nội: The Greatest Coffee in the World

04 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Cong CaPhe, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Asia, Cong Caphe, Hanoi, Juilliard School, LA International New Music Festival, New York City, Nguyen Thien Dao, Vietnam

Above the French Quarter.

Bird’s eye view of a section of Hà Nội’s French Quarter.

I am dreaming of one beverage the Vietnamese do better than anyone else on earth. Having spent a lot of time in Asia, jet lag has arrived for me in LA with a ferocity that is a reminder of having been on the other side of the world. Doing this without coffee is impossible.  The jet lag always lifts, but my memory takes me back quickly to Hà Nội.

If you like coffee please read on – Cộng Cà Phê (Cong Coffee) in Hà Nội is the greatest coffee on Planet Earth.  Thank God I brought a pound back with me!

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Paradise Found: The Kuang Si Falls in Luang Prabang, Laos

24 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, LA International New Music Festival, Laos, Luang Prabang, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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Asia, California, Kuang Si Fall, Lao, Luang Prabang, Mekong, Pak Ou Caves, Travel and Tourism

At the head of the Kuang Si Falls in Luang Prabang. Wish you were here...

At the head of the Kuang Si Falls in Luang Prabang. Wish you were here…

Though the photo above somewhat reveals the impact of the last of the numerous Kuang Si Falls outside of Luang Prabang in Laos, I am going to create a photo journey for you to share what is, for me, one of the most lovely places on Planet Earth I’ve seen.

If you’ve been searching, the Kuang Si Falls might be Shangri La.  Make that Shangri Laos…

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4,000 Buddhas: A Journey on the Mekong River to the Pak Ou Caves

21 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, LA International New Music Festival, Luang Prabang, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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Asia, Lao, Luang Prabang, Mekong, Pak Ou Caves, Southeast Asia

The meeting of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers in Luang Prabang.

The meeting of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers in Luang Prabang.

The view north up the Mekong River from Luang Prabang beckons with mystery. Soft clouds, ranges of mountains both close and far, a strong current flowing south to Cambodia and Vietnam, a breeze coming from distant China in the north. Autumn in the air.

And the 4,000 Buddhas of the Pak Ou Caves at the end of a two hour Mekong journey.

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The First New Moon of October: Đom Đóm Lights up the Night

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Apple, Asia, DOM, Experimental music, Grateful Dead, Hanoi, Hans Werner Henze, Miles Davis, Nguyen Thien Dao, Vietnam, Vietnamese language

Dom Dom's opening night at Zone 9, October 5.

Đom Đóm’s opening night at Zone 9, October 5 with Jakob Riis & Friends in Hà Nội.

Now it’s official. To a packed house of creative music fans, Trần Kim Ngọc’s Đom Đóm Music, the hub for experimental music and art in Hà Nội, opened on Saturday night October 5 to great acclaim. Set for the auspicious date of the first new moon in the lunar cycle for this month, a sense of event was in the air between the numerous Vietnamese and a few eager Europeans and Americans in attendance.

Đom Đóm at Zone 9 is a breaking point for a serious Vietnamese musical avant garde movement to take hold and move onto the international scene in the next decade.

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The Dragon Awakes: New Music in Hà Nội

05 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Education, LA International New Music Festival, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alexandra du Bois, Asia, Hanoi, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Nguyen Thien Dao, United States, Vietnam

The Temple of Literature in  Hanoi

The Temple of Literature in Hà Nội.

Việt Nam exists in a world of continuity brought together by a reverence for teachers. The second major holiday here, the Thanksgiving to our Christmas, is Teacher’s Day each November.  The country shifts its gears.  Everyone is obligated to bring a gift to their teacher as a thank you to be guided in life by their example.

That’s right. By national obligation going back for centuries, the person who teaches you in school to talk, add and subtract, write and study, remains important to you for your entire life. No wonder Việt Nam has prevailed over foreign invasion from China (for a 1,000 years), France then Japan then France again, and then us during the Việt Nam War.

The whole country is a Temple of Literature…

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