|
And yet again, as I lay
by the pool catching up on my reading, a cancellation which I very much
hoped would happen came through! And because I knew of this possibility
(a ‘déjà-vu’ sort of situation – v.
February) I had Brahms 2 in top shape. It was rather fun arriving in
Germany, a country totally struck with football fever, especially since
the Brazilian team was such a favourite in the upcoming event –
always a sign of bad luck, really. There were committees all over the
place welcoming the thousands of supporters from Brazil who poured in
for the World Cup; even in my hotel. This time it had nothing to do
with me...
As far as I remember, it was the 1 st time
in my long career that the opening concert turned out quite an unknown
equation: the conductor’s “creativity” led to
unforeseen changes of pace, nuances and tempi… I suppose it is
only fair: why should such infliction come as usual, from soloist to
conductor and not the other way around?! One unsettling experience was
all I needed: next evening I was better prepared at playing this game:
“live and learn”!
Shortly after I returned to the UK in
preparation to my round-the-world trip starting in Tokyo: a shooting
pain on my right side (appendicitis? Oh no!) sent me to bed and that
was soon followed by a very high fever which kept me shivering for all
of 2 days: such high fever could only mean a nasty bout of kidneys
infection, flared up from nowhere! The interested parties were kept on
their toes inquiring as to whether they would have to cancel part of
the trip, on this side of the Atlantic or indeed find a replacement for
me, on the other! I could hardly lift my head let alone think of going
out to a clinic, so I listened to Dr Nemeth’s reasoning over the
phone and with positive thinking, I timed myself just well enough in
order to take the trip, as if nothing had happened. I admit that it was
with the scary thought that a bomb could be ticking away inside that I
set off on this long journey without a doctor having had a look at me!
Mad? Let’s say that somehow, ‘SOS-Ortiz’ had stepped in to take over my own concert!
|
