I could hardly wait for October to start: I was due to return to play for the Round Table Wels, in Austria, always a favourite place of mine, filled with wonderful friends, enthusiastic music lovers and ... quite a few tennis fanatics, like myself. Same program as that 'flight-path' nightmare, but no better way to erase a bad experience from memory (see last month's entry, in My Journal), than when there's a great hall, a good piano, quiet, and a perfect recital programme, inevitably everything clicks ... what bliss to feel totally at ease and play one's heart-out! The vast audience showed its appreciation and wouldn't let me go until after I played a 4th encore: would one ever refuse to give pleasure, so obviously requested?
At times like this, I feel sure that the excitement in my life is a thing pretty-nigh impossible to beat.
Thanks, Elsbeth and Knut, my gorgeous hosts; also Otmar, for your generosity – and for partnering me to win at tennis; and dear-Franzi, for enjoying my 'Gaspard...' that, at least, since you didn't like the chosen recipient for the Nobel prize of Litterature...

On the way home, I made a stop-over in Lausanne to rehearse for the 'gig of the year': a 4-hands recital with none less than Radu Lupu – one of my very few idols! Imagine playing Schubert with ... Him!! I never rehearsed so early for a concert – not until just before Xmas ... but never mind, it will be unique!
Come and listen (see Concert Diary) and have a glass or two of a St. Émilion Grand-Cru – Radu has become quite a wine connaisseur and caring host - lucky Délia, his wife - thank you both for the warm welcome!

Now, getting home meant sorting out a bit of a mess: my planned 2nd Workshop – this time of music for Piano and Strings – was only a week away and nothing was quite yet in place! I had a violinist, a viola-player, but no cellist; then suddenly 2 Finnish pianists materialized... at least I wouldn't have to do all the work, myself! But with every day that passed I thought I would have to give it all up... the violinist didn't show up for a short rehearsal at my place: he had been in bed with flu for the last 3 days... Even the night before I left to go to the south of France I received an e-mail telling me that this 'partixipant' who was convinced of being 'terminal' might not make it ... and this was someone who seemed so calm! – happily it was a bit of hypocondria as it turned out. I also found out that one of the two pianists had trouble with one hand... And so on.
My usual seemingly-careless-approach = "jeitinho brasileiro" = no-panic-whatsoever, things- will-somehow-sort-themwsekves-out ... didn't seem to be working, or was it?

Well, I'm glad to report "That Was The Week That Was" happened. How? Good question. If anyone had tried to write a script for that situation it wouldn't have come close to reality: it had all the makings of real drama: a very international mixture of intense musicians from Germany, Korea, Finland, Israel, Scotland, France and Brazil, who provided unbelievable emotions, tension, inflexibility, hidden or-not-so-hidden expectations, jealousy, insensitive behaviour under pressure, even eviction... Shlomy, you got it-in-one when you said: "this is so like Big Brother, where are the cameras?"
Although to judge by some childish behaviour (no comments) or when trying to get them ready to go and out of the house in time for the concerts, it felt more like "Big Mother"!
With no real help in the house, I could not have done without Nelle, my lovely South-African friend and neighbouring châtelaine, who was there for me at crunch-point, when she insisted she'd do the shopping for me, so I could get on with the lessons/rehearsals, totally ignoring my feeble attempt of refusal! It would be so easy ... if everyone contributed a bit ... humph!

Anyway, the week started and ended on a high note with two concerts I organized for the entertainement of some friends, owners of châteaux, one in the Gironde and the other in the Dordogne – both were quite a success and heartily applauded by select audiences!

My very special thanks to Corinne and Willem, Elsbeth, Barret and Peter at their lovely Château du Parc, and to Frédéric, of Sardy, for their respective welcome and generous post-concert buffet-dinners plus all that lovely Bordeaux wine, so appreciated by the players.
Judging by how many listeners told me how moved to tears they were in the Andante of Mendelssohn's D minor Trio: 'give and take', ''listen and follow', 'go with the flow': that much, I can say I taught the young players; I can say on my side, that our performance burst with passion... as well as with a sense of relief! It was worth it, guys!

Thanks to the participants:
Soo-Min, brilliant young Korean violist, whose playing we enjoyed (alas too little of): please come back;
Tiina, you're a most sensitive pianist and a lovely person. Thanks also for all the help in the kitchen! As you said, "some just do it"!
Shlomy, it was fun having you play your 1st Mendelssohn's D minor!
Terhi, I hope you're back-in-track with both hands in good shape, thanks for feeding the donkeys and enjoying your week there!
Sarah, the cellist – who came only for the last 2 days – beautiful playing!

And to my two colleagues:
Rainer , my old friend – a co-master who didn't like to mingle;
and Richard – the one who did!

You know what? I'm glad I did carry on, nevertheless – as you said it, Richard: the journey from chaos to harmony was most enjoyable ..."Let Music be the food of Love..."
Now for the next time, I thought of the repertoire for Piano and Wind Instruments ... but I'll give myself a break, lest it becomes a breakdown... joke!

PS: Does any of you remember the car I bought at E-bay last year? Well, I needed another piano, so 2 pianists could work at the same time – I duly managed to buy one and arrange for its transport and delivery, by telephone from London; and this terrific baby-Grand Yamaha arrived at the house and was tuned before anyone had got up on that 1st Saturday morning !

NB: unlike with the car, I had " test-driven" this one a year ago, until Nigel, my technician, saved my day (see My Journal's August/03).

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