Speak spontaneously!

English as a Second Language Listening, speaking, pronunciation and accent
1781

Nobel laureates in Hungary ( to the Skype session)

1.Avram Hershko, (Herskó Ferenc), Chemistry, 2004
2.Imre Kertész, Literature, 2002
4.George Andrew Olah* (Oláh György), Chemistry, 1994
4.John Harsanyi*, (Harsányi János), Economics, 1994
5.Dennis Gabor* (Gábor Dénes), Physics, 1971
6.Eugene Wigner*, (Wigner Jenő Pál), Physics, 1963
7.Georg von Békésy* (Békésy György), Physiology or Medicine, 1961
8.George de Hevesy (Hevesy György), Chemistry, 1943
9.Albert Szent-Györgyi, Physiology or Medicine, 1937
10.Richard Adolf Zsigmondy*, born in then Austria-Hungary, Chemistry, 1925
11.Philipp Lenard (Lénárd Fülöp), born in then Austria-Hungary, Physics, 1905
12.Robert Bárány, born in then Austria-Hungary, Medicine, 1914

I’ve mistaken that those who participated in the creation of atom - and hydrogen bomb tey didn’t receive Nobel prize as my husband told me for creation of bombs they didn’t give Nobel prise anybody.

Two Hungarians participated in the creation of atom-bomb and hydrogen bomb.

Leó Szilárd (Hungarian: Szilárd Leó; (February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Hungarian-born American physicist and inventor. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi, and in late 1939 wrote the letter for Albert Einstein’s signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb.

Edward Teller, often referred to as the “father of the hydrogen bomb”

1782

To the Skype session-about Béla Bartók composer

Béla Bartók March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of ethnomusicology.

In 1908, he and Kodály traveled into the countryside to collect and research old Magyar folk melodies. Their growing interest in folk music coincided with a contemporary social interest in traditional national culture. They made some surprising discoveries. Magyar folk music had previously been categorised as Gypsy music. The classic example is Franz Liszt’s famous Hungarian Rhapsodies for piano, which he based on popular art songs performed by Romani bands of the time. In contrast, Bartók and Kodály discovered that the old Magyar folk melodies were based on pentatonic scales, similar to those in Asian folk traditions, such as those of Central Asia, Anatolia and Siberia.

Bartók quickly set about incorporating elements of such Magyar peasant music into their compositions. They both frequently quoted folk song melodies verbatim and wrote pieces derived entirely from authentic songs. An example is his two volumes entitled For Children for solo piano, containing 80 folk tunes to which he wrote accompaniment. Bartók’s style in his art music compositions were a synthesis of folk music, classicism, and modernism. His melodic and harmonic sense was profoundly influenced by the folk music of Hungary, Romania, and other nations. He was especially fond of the asymmetrical dance rhythms and pungent harmonies found in Bulgarian music.

BARTOK Concerto Nº1 YEFIM BRONFMAN & NHK SyO HERBERT BLOMSTEDT dir. TOKYO 2004 LIVE

youtube.com/watch?v=g5P1GS4kuKU

1783

To the Skype session-about Béla Bartók composer

Béla Bartók March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of ethnomusicology.

In 1908, he and Kodály traveled into the countryside to collect and research old Magyar folk melodies. Their growing interest in folk music coincided with a contemporary social interest in traditional national culture. They made some surprising discoveries. Magyar folk music had previously been categorised as Gypsy music. The classic example is Franz Liszt’s famous Hungarian Rhapsodies for piano, which he based on popular art songs performed by Romani bands of the time. In contrast, Bartók and Kodály discovered that the old Magyar folk melodies were based on pentatonic scales, similar to those in Asian folk traditions, such as those of Central Asia, Anatolia and Siberia.

Bartók quickly set about incorporating elements of such Magyar peasant music into their compositions. They both frequently quoted folk song melodies verbatim and wrote pieces derived entirely from authentic songs. An example is his two volumes entitled For Children for solo piano, containing 80 folk tunes to which he wrote accompaniment. Bartók’s style in his art music compositions were a synthesis of folk music, classicism, and modernism. His melodic and harmonic sense was profoundly influenced by the folk music of Hungary, Romania, and other nations. He was especially fond of the asymmetrical dance rhythms and pungent harmonies found in Bulgarian music.

BARTOK Concerto Nº1 YEFIM BRONFMAN & NHK SyO HERBERT BLOMSTEDT dir. TOKYO 2004 LIVE

youtube.com/watch?v=g5P1GS4kuKU

1784

A Hungarian painter Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka in Paris.

Picasso was curious of the Hungarian painter.
Picasso asked the gallerist that after the exhibition let him stay in the saloon for two hours because on the exhibition he couldn’t watch the paintings because of the crowd. When finished watching the paintings he told this

" I never thought that apart of me there is a similar good painter in the 20th century."

After he asked the gallerist that next day let him take his friend, MarcChagall in the same hour to the exhibition.

One of the paintings of Tivadar Csontvári Kosztka . He was an autodidact painter.

1785

mic please

1786

Dear Megan and Yuri,

I wanted to say this if had had the words:
Bartók quickly set about incorporating elements of such Magyar peasant music into their compositions. He frequently quoted folk song melodies verbatim and wrote pieces derived entirely from authentic songs. -it is very important word here the verbatim, that’s why I could croon the unknown tune because he put into verbatim the original folk song. Now that I read it I saw that I was right when I said that the Hungarian is a very mixed population as its folk music.

I see that even the Siberian tunes and pentatic scale is charecteristic of those folk songs which he collected. This proves that they lived together lots of time ago. I have to say to Yuri, that I heard not once that Hungarian came from the countryside of Baikal lake. But this isn’t prooved. I think the simaliraty in the folk music is a proof.

We learned really in school that one of our primaeval fatherland was somewhere behind the Ural mountain chain.

1787

Edvard Munch (*1863 - t1944): Graphics

Dear Kati, dear friends
Last Wednesday, I’ve been to the Kunstmuseum Zürich to go and see the Munch Graphics Exhibition - and I was very pleased, indeed!

What coincidence that we just talked about him right before the upcoming show!

So I would like to post some of the pictures here and give some comments too - for those who are interested.

Included in the entrance fee was an audio-guide. I took the one in English of course, for training purposes and to be “better prepared” to tell you some of the things I got to know there.

The catalogue itself contains only a short general overview and some comments about some of the graphics. So I had a closer look into my catalogue from the Munch Museum in Oslo - and I hope I should be able to share some basics about Munch with you:)
I hope, none of you will be embarassed or even hurt in his / her feelings, because some of the pictures are made in a quite frank manner :wink:
Throughout his life, he had experienced quite a lot of grief - the death of his own mother when he was 6, for instance, his sister’s death when he was 13… He is considered as one of the early expressionists (resp. fauvists).

As for Bartok:
I love that composer very much - I still remember my older brother playing some of his peaces on the piano…
Folk music from my country, however is often quite blunt in my ears and there is almost no pieces written in minor tunes, which I find is a real pitty. Life is sometimes far from pure happyness, and one should not deny this side of the coin, in my view. And if you chose to do so then you miss a lot of the very essence…
Whereas Folk Music from Hungary is very reach in every aspect, quite special too with the pentatonic scale and the rhythm. You can find plenty of happyness in it but also sadness, very slow and extremely fast tunes… So you have treasurs of Folk Music in your country, I dare say, and thanks to Bartok and others it has spread all over the world:)

Have a nice evening

Urs

Madonna (1894) - you mentionned it…

Madonna (1895 / 1902)

Vampir (1895)

Jealousy II (1896)

The sick child (1896):
caused an uproar at the Oslo Exhibition. Munch considered it as one of his main oeuvres. His sister’s death at the age of 13 was crucial for it.

Parting (1896)

Fear (1896)

Women at the Seashore (1898)

Heart (1898/99)

Ash (1899)

Two people. The Lonesomes (1899).

Melancholy III (1902)

The broach. Eva Maducci (1903)

Self-Portrait with a bottle of whine (1930)

It appears that many of the graphics are about very serious, disturbing topics and feelings - but of course he did paint and draw other pictures too. I posted you some of his Portraits a while ago - this was one of the things he managed to earn quite a good living and so became independent. The graphics had the good side too that they could be reproduced several times, often in very different colours. That gave the pictures completely different meanings…

Now let me end with the following:

Starnight (1923/24)

1788

Hello Urs,

I was watching TV, and your architecture’s picture -what you sent me - appeared to me… Yesterday nothing occurred to me as I needed time to tell my opinion. I am not an expert in architecture but I like very much lot of buildings and one of my favourite architect Antoni Gaudi and of course Barcelona architecture,

‘Here is an example, again from the MOMA, where expressionism maybe has found it’s way into architecture (Exhibition about Russian Modern Buildings):’

Yes you are right. This is expressive architecture but I feel in it an inspiration of Gaudi 's lyricism. As I really don’t know that I am right tell me your opinion about my remark.

Kati

1789

Munch’s Graphics Part two
Cheers Urs

1790

Hello Urs,

I am "envious " of you that you had been on this exhibition.

Our letters crossed each other.

It is good that you wrote the date because we can track his change. For the first The broach. Eva Maducci(1903) is an expressive portrait because of her hair.

I like his self-portrait in the pub. He forgot to be expressive.

Starnight (1923/24) like a Chagall. I never thought that it would have been painted by Munch.

I am very sleepy. Good night,

Kati

1791

Munch Graphics Part III
Cheers Urs

1792

Good night Kati, let us both “call it a day”…
Urs

1793

Hello Urs,

Many thanks for your detailed account. I was very happy because almost a half of your account I understood very well. Sometimes I lost the thread that’s why I am not answering in the same detailed way. Understanding not everything I participated in the exhibition in my imagination.

For me it isn’t a trifling matter that I could understand a half- text by only hearing. It is a new capacity for me that I could understand if I can’t see the written text.

Many thanks. I will listen again and again. Now I can’t answer for fear of misunderstanding something, and I am rather sleepy.

Thanks. See you.

Kati

1794

You have been contributing a lot to this noble space. Sincere thanks. But, on the other hand, I’d like to read a passage from our friend Allan, as I don’t have enough time to speak spontaneoulsy. ha! A great Sunday to all of you.,

1795

You have been contributing a lot to this noble space. Sincere thanks. But, on the other hand, I’d like to read a passage from our friend Allan, as I don’t have enough time to speak spontaneoulsy. ha! A great Sunday to all of you.,

1796

I am very sorry to publish that I couldn’t send this brief answer immediately. It took me a whole hour to send it. It is the same old story that’s why I left the Forum. Everywhere I tried to control that I couldn’t because somebody closed the locks before me.

(Same happened yesterday. My letter had been sent to the 504. From there with one click I can bring back, But Yesterday I couldn’t. My letter lost forever.

Then I wrote an abridged version but I was a cautious gambler and I copied the second version. After a time it had been sent in the 504, and when i want to bring back only the empty place came back. Then I very quickly copied my copy and sent it so in this way my letter went through.)

Today it repeated itself. But it was the hell. Twice I was sent to 504, I couldn’t open my letters to see that in secret that it didn’t go through.( because it is an accepted custom on the Forum that while I am staring at my letter it has been going through. There was a time when in my progress report I could control. But now I can click to my name but my letters didn’t open. I said : " open sesame" It remained closed,. I copied on three other threads but it was unsuccessful,they didn’t go through.

After ab hour of attempt, exhausted of the attempts I received a notification from Speak spontaneously and I could see that my letter was there and was the on 504 my three letters.

Tell me that to send a letter takes one hour from everybody? What is the secret to send a letter immediately than I could send thrm without problem about 2 years, I couldn’t imagine that this torture exist. Probably this letter stay here and will be vanished. Nothing venture !

1797

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Urs and Kati have been very active, but I will use this noble space to read a message of Alan, in order to see how my pronunciation is coming out.-:slight_smile: -:slight_smile: -:slight_smile:

Thanks for your attention.

Have a great Sunday.

1798

reached its lowest point. not too bad, thanks be to God. Again,have a great Sunday.

1799

Hello Urs

Munch: Starry Night

Van Gogh: Starry Night

This two pictures show very well that Munch and the German Expressionists used Van Gogh as a source as a forefather of their paintings. The art is a chain reaction one is born from its ancestors. This is a process.

It seems that this theme was a very interesting for Munch, and he painted several variations from it. When I downloaded this one I suspected that it is an other Starry Night, but I didn’t find the Starnight so I downloaded this. And really it is another variation of reproduction published by you. But both was inspired by Van Gogh Starry night.

What is your opinion?

Bye: Kati

1800

Hello Kati,
I caught a cold, that’s why I didn’t reply yesterday… I’m still struggling with it, but I hope “things won’t go from bad to worse” anymore and that I have “hit rock bottom” tonight (many thanks to José for some new expressions).
Just a short reply, Kati, to all of your posts that you have sent me in the mean time.
As you said you had to overcome some serious obstacles with letters that disapeared, posts that were lost and miracolously reapeared…

I’m feeling with you - these things happen!

I always copy my texts when they are a bit longer before trying to send them. One trick I found out is to push the button “Preview” more often while writing your text. But even then, sometimes the homepage lets you wait for ages till the post is sent… but as it happens, today it didn’t help either!

To use this Preview Button is absolutely necessary when I try to send some photos, because it often happens that they appear not in the correct order.

But there are days when you just could “lose any hope” or even have to swear about all that mess the homepage / java player or whatever causes the troubles has produced!!! It happened that I used some really bad language (four letter words or other swear words…) on such occasions…

Expressionistic Architecture:
I searched in Wikipedia and found that in 1920 till about 1930 they used this term for buildings mainly in Germany.
The most famous building is maybe the Einstein Tower by the architect Mendelson. And another building in Hamburg that I’ve seen is also considered to be expressionistic, it’s called the “Chile House”, a bit sombre but really impressive! In Moscow I tried to visit the Melnikow Building but was not lucky - it was stuck behind a closed fence and hidden from all sides, so I took a photo from the net to show it.

Gaudi:
Yes, he is one of the most astonishing architects! I remember our visit to Barcelona when I was a child very well - and for a long time the photos of the Park Guell were hanging in our dining room.
His genre was “Art Nouveau”. My uncle and his partners were very fond of him and sort of “revived” the style in their buildings… Maybe I’ll send some pictures someday…
Did you see the film about the Sagrada Familia? I dearly recommend it to everyone, also because of the music…:):slight_smile:

Starry Night:
Yes, you are right, culture in general is a chain reaction, I dare say. Thanks for making the link!

Munch Graphics:
There are so many pictures I sent, sometimes it might be a bit difficult to follow my thoughts…
So if there is a passage in my recording that you couldn’t understand no matter how much you listened to it, please get back to me, and I’ll write it down. You can just give me the name of the picture…

Have a nice day!

Urs

Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudi

Einstein Tower by Mendelson

Melnikov House in Moscow

Chile House in Hamburg