Sometimes a good break makes it harder to get back to serious work, but with the onset of OCTOBER, I had to look forward to all sorts of new challenges: putting together a new all-Spanish recital programme from material I haven't touched for ages, and mainly sorting out millions of details for a forthcoming tour to my home country, Brazil - always a bit of a nerve-wracking pastime…and, until I actually step ON Brazilian ground (literally getting off the long plane-journey), I tend to doubt it will ever really happen!

But before I'm off there, I look forward to going to Kuopio (in Finland), to play Liszt's Concerto # 2, after many a year: what a lot of stamina it requires: it didn't feel this way, in my twenties! But I adore the Finns and their warmth. Yes! Any of you out there, agree with me?

I have my reasons to feel this way. And one day soon I will tell it to you, promise!

The thrill of playing under the baton of V. Ashkenazy, apart from being an unfailing-unique experience, every time, will never happen often enough; so when K. Zimmerman had to cancel his concert at the RFH with few days to spare, the Philharmonia's decision to take Rachmaninov 1 instead of Bartok 3 , came with a sort of relief on my part: practically speaking, being away from home or on holiday, means access only to a limited amount of scores, and although I'd LOVE to have re-prepared the beautiful and haunting Bartok, each hour that passed , made me wonder whether I had lost all senses, to even wait for their decision! When it finally came, at 5.30pm on Friday (the first rehearsal was happening on the Sunday!) I felt absolutely on top of the world: although I hadn't played the Rachmaninov in concert, since last January with Hirokami, in Cincinnati, I had been teaching it to a very talented pupil of mine just a few days before, and knew that it was still very much on my fingers! Instead of rushing back to London, I could simply enjoy playing through that gorgeous and most fresh of all his Concertos, from memory, to my heart's content: I didn't even require a score. Did any of you happen to come on Oct.15th to hear Krystian maybe? Sorry!

But YES: it was incredibly especial: the buzz never fails!

By the way, when opening the site, you did recognise the music! Ashkenazy is conducting the RPO: nice memories.