Once Upon a Pumpkin: Live in Concert (broadcast/album release!)

Live Concert Video Broadcast:
Nov 28 @ 5:00PM EST on facebook.com/twangpiano

Album Release:
February 1, 2022
(Lunar New Year!)

The Story

Welcome everyone to “Once Upon a Pumpkin: A Musical Fairy Tale” in Four Chapters. We will journey through many worlds, stories, and my wish is that you will participate, so we can create some magic together.

Chapter 1. "Forest of Piano" Piano no Mori

We begin in the forest, amidst the Perfect World of Kai. This is a deeply touching anime I just finished this week about a boy who grows up in a red light district in Japan and escapes at night to play on an abandoned piano in the forest. One of the first classical pieces he learns later on is this Mozart 270 sonata. I teared up many times during this show because even if it’s a little cheesy, it really captures the immense difficulty, and at the same time, the joy and magic in what we do.

So, what is magic?

To me, magic is noticing. (Or as my beloved teacher Kyoko said yesterday, ‘fantasy in the heart’, which I adore). It’s often the simple things that are most profound and wondrous. And Mozart’s world is like that. There are infinite gems to discover. So as we traverse through Mozart and Kai’s Forest of Piano, I invite you to give the music with your full attention, curiosity, and imagination. Let me know what you notice.

Chapter 2. “A Kind of Cinderella”

Prokofiev always had a special place in my heart because he is so peculiar and eccentric. He loved fairy tales. And the stories he sets to music are often quite bizarre. In his opera “The Love of Three Oranges”, the prince is cursed to fall obsessively in love with - Oranges. And in his ballet of Cinderella, the prince is able to time travel because love allows him to defy the laws of time and space.

This ninth sonata, his final one, is deeply personal, and it really sounds to me like a musical fairy tale. It is at times intimate and introspective, at times boisterous, grotesque, and fantastical. I feel it really captures this yearning to return to that childhood world of amazement and wonder.

The opening melody is so sweet and lyrical, and when this same theme returns at the end of the final movement, the effect is incredibly touching, full of the most nostalgic tenderness. I actually had a lot of fun setting this melody to text:

“Oh once upon a time there was
A tender princess tendering hearts
But she was a melancholy dreamer too
(Betrayed by hope)
So what must she do when if wants to believe a-new
(In-- you---)”

Chapter 3. “Vampire Knight”

Now, we’re about to enter the world of romance, chivalry, and the macabre. There are two popular versions of the story that inspired Liszt’s second ballad. And I like this one, Lenore, a gothic horror story.

Death, disguised as a medieval knight, knocks at midnight. He is about to woo a young maiden, bringing her swiftly on horseback to a festive wedding at the gravesite, alongside dancing spirits and skeletons.

Chapter 4. “Once Upon a PumpQueen”

I often ask myself “What is it about storytelling and fairy tales that continues to capture my heart? It’s not really about being a princess. Or being rescued by some prince. Once again, it’s about magic.

I will share a quote by Roald Dahl. “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. “

The most simple and magical details are all around us all the time. Sometimes I’m also afraid of sounding too cheesy or sentimental, but I want to believe in magic. I believe it’s important for us all to keep that inner child alive. To look at our fantastical world wide-eyed and curious. To remember that playful, silly, hopeful, brave, imaginative way of interacting with the world.

So I hope you enjoyed this little adventure, and thank you again for coming tonight.