Chie
@chienakano.bsky.social
Mad about classical music & opera! Serial concertgoer.
Certified Midlife & Relationship Coach. Level 3 NVC-trained.
Freelance Foreign Rights Consultant in book publishing.
See FB link for coaching tips:
https://www.facebook.com/compassioncentredcoach
Certified Midlife & Relationship Coach. Level 3 NVC-trained.
Freelance Foreign Rights Consultant in book publishing.
See FB link for coaching tips:
https://www.facebook.com/compassioncentredcoach
I've always hated karaoke. But a Prosecco-fuelled Christmas do with colleagues bellowing out nostalgic love songs turned out to be unexpectedly therapeutic.
“I died a hundred times…you go back to her… and I go back to...blaaack, blaaack, blaaack, blaack.”
youtu.be/d7z5YjouK44?...
“I died a hundred times…you go back to her… and I go back to...blaaack, blaaack, blaaack, blaack.”
youtu.be/d7z5YjouK44?...
youtu.be
November 18, 2025 at 12:31 AM
I've always hated karaoke. But a Prosecco-fuelled Christmas do with colleagues bellowing out nostalgic love songs turned out to be unexpectedly therapeutic.
“I died a hundred times…you go back to her… and I go back to...blaaack, blaaack, blaaack, blaack.”
youtu.be/d7z5YjouK44?...
“I died a hundred times…you go back to her… and I go back to...blaaack, blaaack, blaaack, blaack.”
youtu.be/d7z5YjouK44?...
So good to see Simon Rattle on top form after his cancelled Proms appearance last summer. The BRSO really is the “Rolls Royce” of orchestras! 👏
Bruckner’s 7th was sublime, with that gorgeous Wagnerian Adagio — rings of Valhalla!
And I loved the searing orchestral drama of Janáček’s Taras Bulba!
Bruckner’s 7th was sublime, with that gorgeous Wagnerian Adagio — rings of Valhalla!
And I loved the searing orchestral drama of Janáček’s Taras Bulba!
November 12, 2025 at 11:14 PM
So good to see Simon Rattle on top form after his cancelled Proms appearance last summer. The BRSO really is the “Rolls Royce” of orchestras! 👏
Bruckner’s 7th was sublime, with that gorgeous Wagnerian Adagio — rings of Valhalla!
And I loved the searing orchestral drama of Janáček’s Taras Bulba!
Bruckner’s 7th was sublime, with that gorgeous Wagnerian Adagio — rings of Valhalla!
And I loved the searing orchestral drama of Janáček’s Taras Bulba!
Another fab evening: James Ehnes in astonishing performance of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata with @lporchestra.bsky.social & Ed Gardner. Thunderous applause!
I couldn’t love Ehnes more — the gorgeous, singing tone from his Stradivarius is magical!
His Bach Violin Partita No. 3 encore moved me to tears.
I couldn’t love Ehnes more — the gorgeous, singing tone from his Stradivarius is magical!
His Bach Violin Partita No. 3 encore moved me to tears.
November 8, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Another fab evening: James Ehnes in astonishing performance of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata with @lporchestra.bsky.social & Ed Gardner. Thunderous applause!
I couldn’t love Ehnes more — the gorgeous, singing tone from his Stradivarius is magical!
His Bach Violin Partita No. 3 encore moved me to tears.
I couldn’t love Ehnes more — the gorgeous, singing tone from his Stradivarius is magical!
His Bach Violin Partita No. 3 encore moved me to tears.
Kian Soltani & Benjamin Grosvenor at the Wigmore Hall–a spectacular collaboration between two of my favourite musicians! Five stars for virtuosity, creativity, a well thought-out programme and so much warmth and humour.
My heart nearly burst during the 3rd movement of César Franck's Sonata in A! ♥️
My heart nearly burst during the 3rd movement of César Franck's Sonata in A! ♥️
November 7, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Kian Soltani & Benjamin Grosvenor at the Wigmore Hall–a spectacular collaboration between two of my favourite musicians! Five stars for virtuosity, creativity, a well thought-out programme and so much warmth and humour.
My heart nearly burst during the 3rd movement of César Franck's Sonata in A! ♥️
My heart nearly burst during the 3rd movement of César Franck's Sonata in A! ♥️
This excellent review by @markvalencia.bsky.social in @bachtrack.com reflects how I experienced it.
Yes, I'm one of the unversed ones and was left very confused...
"I’d defy anyone unversed in The Makropulos Case to unravel the story amid so much visual noise. But, oh, the glorious sound of it."
Yes, I'm one of the unversed ones and was left very confused...
"I’d defy anyone unversed in The Makropulos Case to unravel the story amid so much visual noise. But, oh, the glorious sound of it."
My night with EM @bachtrack.com
The glory and the grind: The Royal Opera stages its first Makropulos Case
✍️ Mark Valencia
bachtrack.com/review-janac...
✍️ Mark Valencia
bachtrack.com/review-janac...
November 5, 2025 at 5:33 PM
This excellent review by @markvalencia.bsky.social in @bachtrack.com reflects how I experienced it.
Yes, I'm one of the unversed ones and was left very confused...
"I’d defy anyone unversed in The Makropulos Case to unravel the story amid so much visual noise. But, oh, the glorious sound of it."
Yes, I'm one of the unversed ones and was left very confused...
"I’d defy anyone unversed in The Makropulos Case to unravel the story amid so much visual noise. But, oh, the glorious sound of it."
Applause, booing, and quite a lot of empty seats marked RBO’s opening of The Makropulos Case. More versed in Katie Mitchell than Janáček, I’d say: opera purists may bristle, but Mitchell devotees will recognise her signature blend of bold feminism and multimedia. Critics will be divided, I’m sure.
November 4, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Applause, booing, and quite a lot of empty seats marked RBO’s opening of The Makropulos Case. More versed in Katie Mitchell than Janáček, I’d say: opera purists may bristle, but Mitchell devotees will recognise her signature blend of bold feminism and multimedia. Critics will be divided, I’m sure.
I could barely hold back the tears at Benjamin G’s encore: the solo piece from the 2nd mov of Ravel’s Piano Cto. On the way home, I listened to Martha Argerich & the Royal Stockholm Phil. Orch. playing it on YouTube and cried again.
It’s such a blessing there’s always music when words fail us.
It’s such a blessing there’s always music when words fail us.
October 24, 2025 at 9:44 PM
I could barely hold back the tears at Benjamin G’s encore: the solo piece from the 2nd mov of Ravel’s Piano Cto. On the way home, I listened to Martha Argerich & the Royal Stockholm Phil. Orch. playing it on YouTube and cried again.
It’s such a blessing there’s always music when words fail us.
It’s such a blessing there’s always music when words fail us.
Absolutely stunning recital by the ultra-talented Benjamin Grosvenor: Chopin, Ravel and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, which I love a little more every time I hear it! 💕
I can’t wait to hear Benjamin play with Kian Soltani (another fave of mine) at the WH next month!
I can’t wait to hear Benjamin play with Kian Soltani (another fave of mine) at the WH next month!
October 24, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Absolutely stunning recital by the ultra-talented Benjamin Grosvenor: Chopin, Ravel and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, which I love a little more every time I hear it! 💕
I can’t wait to hear Benjamin play with Kian Soltani (another fave of mine) at the WH next month!
I can’t wait to hear Benjamin play with Kian Soltani (another fave of mine) at the WH next month!
"I sat with my anger long enough, until she told me her real name was grief."
This stirs something deep and inexpressible within.
This stirs something deep and inexpressible within.
October 22, 2025 at 12:43 AM
"I sat with my anger long enough, until she told me her real name was grief."
This stirs something deep and inexpressible within.
This stirs something deep and inexpressible within.
“…more akin to the contemporary gilded canvases of Klimt in a deliquescence of musical gesture, as notes inexorably [dissolve into] silence.”
I love reading reviews that feel as inspired – and as inspirational – as the performance itself! 💕
#Mahler9
I love reading reviews that feel as inspired – and as inspirational – as the performance itself! 💕
#Mahler9
Choose life: Oramo's Mahler 9 leaves death for the last page
✍️ Peter Quantrill
bachtrack.com/review-oramo...
✍️ Peter Quantrill
bachtrack.com/review-oramo...
October 6, 2025 at 11:34 PM
“…more akin to the contemporary gilded canvases of Klimt in a deliquescence of musical gesture, as notes inexorably [dissolve into] silence.”
I love reading reviews that feel as inspired – and as inspirational – as the performance itself! 💕
#Mahler9
I love reading reviews that feel as inspired – and as inspirational – as the performance itself! 💕
#Mahler9
What a way to open the season – BBCSO & Sakari Oramo w/a sublime Mahler 9! 💕
An orchestra friend told me she kept “losing it slightly” in rehearsals and “barely kept it together” last night, re the Adagio. That last mov. is everything! Big emotions from me too; so many reflections on life & death.
An orchestra friend told me she kept “losing it slightly” in rehearsals and “barely kept it together” last night, re the Adagio. That last mov. is everything! Big emotions from me too; so many reflections on life & death.
October 5, 2025 at 1:00 PM
What a way to open the season – BBCSO & Sakari Oramo w/a sublime Mahler 9! 💕
An orchestra friend told me she kept “losing it slightly” in rehearsals and “barely kept it together” last night, re the Adagio. That last mov. is everything! Big emotions from me too; so many reflections on life & death.
An orchestra friend told me she kept “losing it slightly” in rehearsals and “barely kept it together” last night, re the Adagio. That last mov. is everything! Big emotions from me too; so many reflections on life & death.
Mahler’s 4th Symphony with LPO, Ed Gardner & Jennifer France – being a Mahler fan, my expectation was huge, and I really wanted to say I loved it…But I didn’t. More meh than yay. 😒
I’m now placing my bets on Mahler 9 tomorrow with BBCSO & Oramo. Their Mahler 4 last April did not disappoint!
I’m now placing my bets on Mahler 9 tomorrow with BBCSO & Oramo. Their Mahler 4 last April did not disappoint!
October 3, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Mahler’s 4th Symphony with LPO, Ed Gardner & Jennifer France – being a Mahler fan, my expectation was huge, and I really wanted to say I loved it…But I didn’t. More meh than yay. 😒
I’m now placing my bets on Mahler 9 tomorrow with BBCSO & Oramo. Their Mahler 4 last April did not disappoint!
I’m now placing my bets on Mahler 9 tomorrow with BBCSO & Oramo. Their Mahler 4 last April did not disappoint!
If you're a workaholic, or someone in your household is, this piece may resonate. So often our drive to overwork stems from a skewed belief that the love and approval of others can only be earned in this way...
Here's a PDF version in case you can't access the article: tinyurl.com/mrv6h4dn
Here's a PDF version in case you can't access the article: tinyurl.com/mrv6h4dn
September 27, 2025 at 10:20 PM
If you're a workaholic, or someone in your household is, this piece may resonate. So often our drive to overwork stems from a skewed belief that the love and approval of others can only be earned in this way...
Here's a PDF version in case you can't access the article: tinyurl.com/mrv6h4dn
Here's a PDF version in case you can't access the article: tinyurl.com/mrv6h4dn
Duolingo just *forced* me to sign up for a free trial of Duolingo Super Family by not giving me an option to say no and continue my lessons! I really really don't want it. Does anyone know how to cancel it?
In real life as in an app, not being given the choice to say 'no' is called coercion! 😡
In real life as in an app, not being given the choice to say 'no' is called coercion! 😡
September 24, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Duolingo just *forced* me to sign up for a free trial of Duolingo Super Family by not giving me an option to say no and continue my lessons! I really really don't want it. Does anyone know how to cancel it?
In real life as in an app, not being given the choice to say 'no' is called coercion! 😡
In real life as in an app, not being given the choice to say 'no' is called coercion! 😡
Reposted by Chie
'The Concerto', Queen's Hall, Langham Place (c.1935) by Cyril Power
September 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
'The Concerto', Queen's Hall, Langham Place (c.1935) by Cyril Power
How do you show you're obsessed with Mahler without saying you're obsessed with Mahler?
Every time you write the verb to paint in German ('malen'), you spell it 'mahlen' and lose points on Duolingo! Gah... ❌⚠️😁
Every time you write the verb to paint in German ('malen'), you spell it 'mahlen' and lose points on Duolingo! Gah... ❌⚠️😁
September 23, 2025 at 10:59 PM
How do you show you're obsessed with Mahler without saying you're obsessed with Mahler?
Every time you write the verb to paint in German ('malen'), you spell it 'mahlen' and lose points on Duolingo! Gah... ❌⚠️😁
Every time you write the verb to paint in German ('malen'), you spell it 'mahlen' and lose points on Duolingo! Gah... ❌⚠️😁
Reposted by Chie
The Labour Party has a tradition of antiracism campaigning. It’s supposed to be in the party’s DNA. That they cannot say it’s just straightforwardly wrong to alarm families who choose Britain to live, work and raise children in is a total moral failure.
Keir Starmer’s spokesperson asked for the PM's response to Nigel Farage’s plan to deport hundreds of thousands of people living and working completely legally in the UK, replies that he thinks it is “unworkable” and “unfunded”.
So his objection is that they’ve got their sums wrong
So his objection is that they’ve got their sums wrong
September 22, 2025 at 11:59 AM
The Labour Party has a tradition of antiracism campaigning. It’s supposed to be in the party’s DNA. That they cannot say it’s just straightforwardly wrong to alarm families who choose Britain to live, work and raise children in is a total moral failure.
Back at the Barbican with the LSO & Pappano for Shostakovich’s Tenth (after the Ninth on Thursday). That fierce, relentless 2nd movement had my heart racing – I barely breathed! Might be my favourite Shostakovich yet. Spectacular from start to finish!
My Shosta fever has gone up a notch this week…
My Shosta fever has gone up a notch this week…
September 21, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Back at the Barbican with the LSO & Pappano for Shostakovich’s Tenth (after the Ninth on Thursday). That fierce, relentless 2nd movement had my heart racing – I barely breathed! Might be my favourite Shostakovich yet. Spectacular from start to finish!
My Shosta fever has gone up a notch this week…
My Shosta fever has gone up a notch this week…
And…can I just say how much I appreciate the @londonsymphony.bsky.social programmes? Delightful programme notes tonight by Stephen Johnson & Andrew Mellor–notes so informative and well written, you actually learn something new and can enjoy the music all the more because of them. Thank you!🙏
September 18, 2025 at 10:21 PM
And…can I just say how much I appreciate the @londonsymphony.bsky.social programmes? Delightful programme notes tonight by Stephen Johnson & Andrew Mellor–notes so informative and well written, you actually learn something new and can enjoy the music all the more because of them. Thank you!🙏
My 1st non-Prom concert of the new season! ♥️
The virtuosic Seong-Jin Cho made the fiendishly difficult Prokofiev Piano Cto no.2 seem like child’s play. But for me it was the final piece–Beethoven’s Fifth–w/ LSO & Antonio Pappano that blew the roof off the Barbican tonight! Simply exhilarating! 👏 👏
The virtuosic Seong-Jin Cho made the fiendishly difficult Prokofiev Piano Cto no.2 seem like child’s play. But for me it was the final piece–Beethoven’s Fifth–w/ LSO & Antonio Pappano that blew the roof off the Barbican tonight! Simply exhilarating! 👏 👏
September 18, 2025 at 10:10 PM
My 1st non-Prom concert of the new season! ♥️
The virtuosic Seong-Jin Cho made the fiendishly difficult Prokofiev Piano Cto no.2 seem like child’s play. But for me it was the final piece–Beethoven’s Fifth–w/ LSO & Antonio Pappano that blew the roof off the Barbican tonight! Simply exhilarating! 👏 👏
The virtuosic Seong-Jin Cho made the fiendishly difficult Prokofiev Piano Cto no.2 seem like child’s play. But for me it was the final piece–Beethoven’s Fifth–w/ LSO & Antonio Pappano that blew the roof off the Barbican tonight! Simply exhilarating! 👏 👏
As "Lin" of Duolingo always says, "Remember, I'm always listening."
Looks like she was also spying my socials because they just magically switched the new battery system to *add*, not deplete more "energy" with correct answers. 😆
Looks like she was also spying my socials because they just magically switched the new battery system to *add*, not deplete more "energy" with correct answers. 😆
September 17, 2025 at 10:47 PM
As "Lin" of Duolingo always says, "Remember, I'm always listening."
Looks like she was also spying my socials because they just magically switched the new battery system to *add*, not deplete more "energy" with correct answers. 😆
Looks like she was also spying my socials because they just magically switched the new battery system to *add*, not deplete more "energy" with correct answers. 😆
Reposted by Chie
Mandelson Crisis
Starmer Acts!
The new Private Eye is out now.
Starmer Acts!
The new Private Eye is out now.
September 17, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Mandelson Crisis
Starmer Acts!
The new Private Eye is out now.
Starmer Acts!
The new Private Eye is out now.
“As a conductor, you have to have a strong moral backbone. It’s like running a company — you have responsibility. You’re in the public eye. Maybe nobody cares what you say, but it has some influence. It’s important to do whatever we can to stop the cycle of helplessness.”~ Ilan Volkov
Respect!
Respect!
Very thoughtful article by @jessicaduchen.bsky.social
"Conductor Ilan Volkov: Why I had to condemn Israel at the BBC Proms"
www.thetimes.com/culture/clas...
"Conductor Ilan Volkov: Why I had to condemn Israel at the BBC Proms"
www.thetimes.com/culture/clas...
Conductor Ilan Volkov: Why I had to condemn Israel at the BBC Proms
After speaking out from the podium at the Royal Albert Hall, the Israeli maestro says he will no longer perform in his home country, in protest against the war in Gaza
www.thetimes.com
September 14, 2025 at 6:53 PM
“As a conductor, you have to have a strong moral backbone. It’s like running a company — you have responsibility. You’re in the public eye. Maybe nobody cares what you say, but it has some influence. It’s important to do whatever we can to stop the cycle of helplessness.”~ Ilan Volkov
Respect!
Respect!