What Classical Music Means To Me

In my childhood, I remember seeing clips of orchestras playing in ads on TV. As an adult I would come to realise that orchestras are used in commercials because they represent a high standard of quality, or so I think. To produce a single person who can play an instrument to a level of mastery takes years of dedication, anguish, and some divine intervention. A great orchestra is made up of 60, 80, 100 musicians who have all reached that nigh-impossible standard. It is akin to any technological marvel, whether it is the 1800s or the 2020s.

Classical music to me is something that is divine. Because it requires so much discipline to do well, humans have to transcend being human. To me it represents the highest form of living, and one of the greatest things that humans can create.

Thank you for visiting! My name is Rini and I'm a 30-something amateur classical musician who likes playing in chamber ensembles. To be frank though, there's nothing extraordinary about my musical abilities. My husband, Ahmad Aliff, is the real deal. The two of us are on a long-term mission to make classical music more accessible in our home country, Malaysia. We may or may not achieve our musical vision in our lifetimes, but there will always be a place for music in our lives.

I'm so happy that Neocities is providing a space for the personal web to exist again, and glad to find others who created websites as a form of rebellion against the modern commercialised web.

PS: There is a blue shark hidden somewhere on this site! Clicking on him will bring you to a “secret” page.

Pixel art portrait
LATEST UPDATES
2024.03.27 2024.01.18 2024.01.16 2023.11.01 2023.10.10

Live As Much As Possible

Although recordings are a remarkable tool for preservation, classical music is meant to be heard live, preferably in a specialised venue for acoustic instruments. The sonority and reverberation of the collective instruments in that space is what pierces the heart and soul to leave a lasting impression.

Acquaintances, friends, and family who have raved about being moved by classical music have done so because they've heard a live orchestra perform in a grand hall. Even the best-engineered recordings listened through the best custom hi-fi system cannot replicate the real thing. That said, not everyone can always watch a live performance so recordings are better than nothing. As with any music, it requires repeated listening to develop a sense of familiarity before enjoyment can be derived.

Below is a recording that I really like. The bass has been tastefully exaggerated and was delightfully scary the first time I listened to it through my earphones, especially at about 0:27, 1:45, and 2:55.

Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, BWV 1041: I. Allegro
Elizabeth Wallfisch and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
3.7 MB

Concert Posters

The following poster designs were made entirely using Apple Pages (not recommended) in the days before we bought graphic design software. We also created our own tickets and programme books. It was usually fun except when there wasn't enough time to develop a design or when borderless designs were printed with borders.

Classical Emotions poster An Orchestra Holiday poster Evening Radio Classics poster Sunday at the Symphony poster Chamber Night poster Simfoni Aidilfitri poster String Showcase poster Galant & Gravity poster

A Dedication

Ahmad Aliff is a rare person with calibre and taste who does music without hidden agendas. In the local circle he is stuck with a reputation for being nothing more than a good violinist, but his talents go much further than that.

Since the first time we met I'd always thought that he would go far, but reality is not so kind. Even though he has already accomplished miracles before he turned 30, my life's wish is that he would be granted proper support to exploit his full potential.

To what good to have the talent, when one must pass one's life at teaching the infants?
-from The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit
Four Malay Dances thumbnail
View Ahmad Aliff's Malay dance suite
The first Malaysian to publish an original work on IMSLP, the online music score library. Our string quartet premiere is published on YouTube.

Featured Performance