Mendelssohn, Glière, and Pettersson

I went all the way to Lübeck for this one. And I have to say, it was absolutely worth it.

Penderecki, Brahms, Revueltas, and Ortiz

I attended another concert that was part of the Young Euro Classic Festival in 2026. This time, I attended the performance of the Orchestra of the Americas and Penderecki Youth Orchestra, conducted by Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto. It was an energetic evening, and was absolutely fantastic.

A Visit to Vienna: State Hall of the Austrian National Library

I think I just saw the most beautiful historic library hall in the world. I checked out the State Hall (Prunksaal) of the Austrian National Library while I was in Vienna, and I have to say, it was fantastic!

Book Review: Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar

Urgh. I hated this book. Perhaps it's one of those rare times when I hated it so much I was essentially abandoning it. But given that I really wanted to read it completely, I ended up skimming it. In the end, I absolutely hated it.

Published in 1963 by Argentine author Julio Cortázar, Hopscotch is a landmark masterpiece of the 1960s Latin American literary "Boom." Often described as a "counter-novel" (contranovela), it supposedly revolutionised narrative structure by breaking the traditional linear reading process and forcing the reader into an active co-creator of the text. I have to say, I thought that this was actually an interesting idea, and given my propensity for ergodic literature, this was also my motivation why I wanted to read this book in the first place. What I didn't realise is that it would just annoy me immensely.

A Visit to Vienna: Österreichische Postsparkasse

I was taking a stroll on the Viennese Ring Road, and at some point, I noticed a very majestic-looking building. It turned out to be the Österreichische Postsparkasse. I decided to take a peek inside.