Stefan Jackiw in Hanoi 16th August 2011

duongquynhhoa ♦ August 17, 2011

Last night, Thanh & I went to the Opera House for the Asian Youth Orchestra Concert Tour in Hanoi. That was a cool summer night, not at all hot timid like what is typical at the peak of the tropical summer. We entered the hall happilly, expecting the least. However, what turned out was the best of all I ever seen on stage.

Yes, lots of people born with artistic gene. Among people who do things absolutely irrelevant to art, still they have the art in their blood. Like Thanh, a Vietnamese American, a lawyer in profession but draws a lot. Like me, pursuing the real estate development which supposed to be very tough but has a forever love for fashion design and art in general. There are many many more out there who work in fields that look rigid but still nurture the soul of love for art. And yesterday night, to all the people who came to the Concert, that was an extravaganza of love for music, especially for the captivating performance of the amazing Violin Soloist, Stefan Jackiw.

The Programe wrote:

“Violinist Stenfan Jackiw is recognized as one of his generation’s most significant artists, captivating audiences wiht playing that combines poetry and purity with an impeccable technique. He has performed with the symphony orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Philadenphia, Toronto, Pitsburg, Cleveland, Baltimore, San Francisco, Minesota and New York Phihamonic, and toured with the Asian Youth Orchestra in 2006 and the London Philharmonic in 2010.

In addition to his solo career, Stefan Jackiw is also an active recitalist and chamber musician. He has performed in numerous festivals and concert series, including Ravinia, New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival and Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Louvre Recital Series in Paris. Stephan Jackiw is also a founding member of the Tessera Quartet, an emerging New York-based ensemble formed under the guidance of the Juilliard String Quartet.

Born to parents of Korean and German descent in 1985, Stefan Jackiw began playing the violin at the age of four. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Havard University, as well as an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory”.

Besides of what was printed about Stefan Jackiw in Vietnam, I also want to describe my feeling for his performance even though more than ever I have become clumsy and speechless. I was wearing my daytime working skirt matched with a flowery patterned blouse and at the break, I told Thanh I wish I would have changed it to a proper night dress for a look that deserve to be in the crowd fantasized by Stefan’s music. The sounds from his violin was so special and his look was so in sync with the poetic expression of his magic fingers. For the 1st half of the Concert, I thought I was in a kind of dream, living the moments of beautifully purified sounds reflecting how this world is tendering, exciting and worth of staying.

Stefan Jackiw doesn’t have a look of a young man only 26 years old. He has a deep, self-controlled and mature manor in him. Sitting at the first row, we could see how thin he was, however that doesn’t mean he wasn’t attractive. Quite the opposite indeed. He is phenomenally attractive. Surely all the girls who favor romantic stories must find him like their dream prince. Watching him for nearly an hour, I don’t see even one minute of getting bored. His face structure is so well-defined that he looks extremely hot at every angle. His sleek body is well-blended with the simple material and style of his clothes. Perfect for a dream needed to revitalize this real life. He could have come straight out of the paintings of the Victorian age anytime without making people raise an eyebrow. I don’t think I have seen anything as beautiful as this on the stage before! Does Stephan Jackiw knows he is one of a kind?

I have become Stephan Jackiw’s lifetime fan from last night. I know I am. Thanh wrote an e-mail to him and got his reply the next day, which she forwarded to me in excitement. I admired her of that. I envy her a bit. She did it very naturally as if she wrote to other long-time -no-see friend. I want to be an American someday, to tell all the world what I really think about a man and approach him without a hesitation. She told me: “be yourself, he maybe just cool as any other guys, you never know”. I cannot do that. I need tons of never-cracking to claim that I will be his fan forever. In silence of course.

Art can enrich human’s life and open our eyes to the multiple existent forms of feelings for this wonderful walk at our life and nature. Art is incredibly powerful fore sure. And music, one of the very core components of Art can lead us to know that ourselves are precious by bringing us to the feast of the sounds!