who am i?

Who am I? When I first made this web-site, I had written in this section - and consequentially it could be drawn that I believed this best described me - that I aspired to be a musician. But the issue is: I don't know if I do anymore...I had a sort of realisation not too long after writing that my goal's being the concert hall was quite/very unrealistic, but also that I wouldn't so much mind being a musicologist. So, I'd rather define music as the primary joy of my life, and say that this emcompasses both its study and its performance. Piano is my main focus but I also play cello and pipe organ very amateurishly. My favourite composers are Messiaen, (Richard) Strauß, Ravel, Schubert, Bach (obviously), the list goes on (it's actually very difficult to make a list of favourite composers; I only know that Messiaen is my absolute favourite...but I couldn't live without the others either...and there are some, e.g. Boulez and Gesualdo, for whom I'm only in the mood once or twice a month...or some who wrote a couple of masterpieces (Sorabji with Gulistan and Il tessuto d’arabeschi (which, ironically, he wasn't proud of, if I remember correctly) and Schostakowitsch with his seventh symphony and second piano trio) but a tonne of...meh...). Besides music, I like words, and things that look nice.
Writing: I write - both fiction and non-fiction but the fiction is bad...if I don't think something particularly serious I have written is suitable for publication, but I'd still like to share it, I'll post it here. In the unlikely event that I do get published somewhere, I'll link to the publication! But to quote Virginia Woolf, 'read a thousand books and your words will flow like a river,' that is, give me time and I'll be a better writer. I also put less serious, more rambly writing on the 'ramblings' page on this web-site.
Random trivia !!!!

• I live in the UK (unfortunately)
• As of writing, I'm in year 12.
• Literary tastes are all over the place as I'm relatively unread in the 'canon' (ugh) but I particularly like Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Petals of Blood, Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin, Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, and The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (that's probably the best thing I've ever read...her other novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness was good, but not as good...I thought the ending was silly...otherwise great...she's probably my favourite writer)
• I am kind of obsessed with ducks
• I have hay fever
• Ich lerne Deutsch zu sprechen, obwohl ich mehr Praxis brauche. Wenn Sie Deutsch gut sprechen, senden Sie bitte mir eine E-Mail, weil ich mit Ihnen ueben moechte (es sei denn, sind Sie langweilig, aber ich WEISS, dass Sie nicht, da Sie diese Web-site jetzt ansehen!)...ich habe auch Latein und Franzoesich studiert, aber ich habe wahrscheinlich sie vergessen...
• I like birds in general, actually. That not just because of Messiaen, though he probably helped spark this...like when I hear them sing or see them flying around it makes me so happy. Do you know who Simon Roper is? He makes those videos on YouTube about historical linguistics and archaeology...he sometimes puts birds in the background of his videos, and they make me happy...just their presence. If I could make living in the countryside work, I would do that.

Personal links

Youtube - here I occasionally post recordings of myself playing piano, if that's of any interest to anyone !!! In four hundred years when I have time to do things again I might make a few actual videos. I have a few ideas.

Goodreads - I'm quite a slow reader but I like looking at Goodreads for recommendations so if you add me you might be able to convince me to read one of your faves !!!

Letterboxd - no idea why I even have this, considering I rarely watch films but whatever