I knew that this July was going to be a busy month …

Having not been to Tokyo for a few years it was nice to work again with the lovely NHK Orchestra, this time under the baton of the very talented Jonathan Nott. For once, the fact that the conductor had never done the work in question was to my benefit: we could constructively mould his role as to better support my strong conviction that Chopin’s Concertos (here the massive E minor) are really the composer’s unwritten Symphonies. Of course, Pichon used his beloved medium the piano, but by no means is it the only important element in the writing of both works. If this music is described or thought of as weak, it’s only due to the fact that the piano part often consists of embellishing material, those all-important harmonic lines are found more often than not in the orchestration, therefore a lot is required to make that ‘backbone’ evident! Surely, one day a conductor will see the light and courageously but gently ‘help’ the accompaniment by partially doubling up some of the instrumentation! Of course, it’s possible to do it just as it’s written, which is what I resort to, but it takes a lot of hard work! It’s also the reason why I’ll refuse to do it on one single rehearsal: “it’s only Chopin, there’s nothing there for the orchestra” is not what I want to hear, thank you very much!

Due to jet-lag, the day of the concert was going to be hard anyway, with an 11am rehearsal preceding the 3 pm matinee-performance! Add to that the crucial football match in Brazil’s group which took place at 3 am in Japan I felt compelled to watch … Fruitless stupidity: France’s national team had kicked us out of the World Cup and for most Brazilians, only death is worse than defeat in international football…

The Brazilian Ambassador in Tokyo, who attended the concert, thanked me for lifting everyone’s spirit by my performance. He also invited me to move ‘headquarters’ to the Embassy where I was to play an exclusive recital, for a few lucky music lovers, a couple of days later.

That next morning, having done the NHK concert but still feeling queasy, at my request the Embassy had arranged for a doctor’s appointment at a clinic mainly for gaijins (foreigners). X-rays, scans and every other imagined test later, nothing nasty was found; a 2nd course of antibiotics was prescribed and I went home ‘relieved’ not only that it was indeed the self-diagnosed kidney infection … but also of quite a chunk of my concert fee: medical care is prohibitively expensive in Japan. Never mind: I could relax.

Since prior to the trip I had barely managed to get through Chopin 1, I had even less time for Rach 2 which I was to perform in the USA. When the Ambassador had made me promise an encore, sometime after the cocktail (drinks!), I happily sat down to play through the whole concerto, singing as usual the orchestra part alongside my own playing: a bonus to the amazed guests, to me my longed-for practise!

Thanks for the welcome, dear André and Paula. Let’s not forget the idea of a duo-recital with Meneses or some solo Villa-Lobos -- this time in the dining-room? I must collect the jewel-box I forgot behind!

Thanks also for all your help, Marco-Antonio (the cultural secretary).

Off to Cleveland where I worked intensively with James Gaffigan, a 26 years old conductor from New York doing his first Rach 2, with very good results. Two of my best American lady friends came to attend that outdoor performance: Alann, my hostess in Ft Worth during the Cliburn Competition, all those years ago who, by choosing me among the contestants had picked the winner. And Frances, from Pittsburgh, who received an unexpected phone call from the manager of the Orchestra enquiring whether she’d had a spare bed > the hotel had not kept my booking! After the concert, we went to a friendly place to sample some so-called Brazilian cuisine and had loads of fun: great seeing you, girls!

I am one for challenges, but when Philadelphia wanted to program Chopin 1, I had to turn down that idea, rehearsal time was very restricted (read on). So I chose to do Rachmaninov 2 because with my extremely personal yet very strong approach to that Concerto I know that I’ll pull anybody along …

  Having lived and studied at the Curtis Institute with Rudolf Serkin, so many years ago, only upon my arrival back in town, I realized how emotional it was to return to Philly, this time as a performing artist based in Europe. That upcoming concert date was to be the thrilling highlight of both this trip and my recent professional life, on paper anyway. But no-one had prepared me for the ‘icing on the cake’: Rossen Milanov, conductor-in-charge of the last 6 years of the Orchestra’s summer season. His extreme naturalness as a musician and positive attitude as a person are remarkable; already at our piano rehearsal there was something extraordinary in his reaction to my playing. The day arrived and after only 45 minutes of rehearsal, we shared magical moments on the blazing-hot evening of the concert!

The rehearsal had already reminded me how glorious that Orchestra is but in concert, wow! They are so far above anything else I’ve heard before. In the 2 nd half, Rossen gently guided his musicians in a spectacularly refined rendition of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and their masterful performance is a memory forever indelible from my mind! The way they listen to each other and completely blend in a perfect amalgam of sounds, exquisitely phrasing anything that comes their way, as if they were one person … As a pianist I can only add my own soul to a performance on a great piano whereas a conductor, working with a superb instrument which provides its own wealth of souls can simply add his own, crowning the lot! Dynamite or what?!!

At the post-concert reception, I overheard a comment made by Rossen: “C* Ortiz is the best kept secret in the business”; not that flattering you may think, but to me sweetly so, nonetheless.

Then came Ljubljana where again under Rossen’s baton, I lived through both the Chopin Concertos in one evening – surprisingly, a feat of bravura more exhausting than playing all 5 Beethovens, in 2 nights. I must admit that transforming the usual orchestra’s anodyne accompaniment to these 2 masterful works into symphonic status, is not easy. Cleverly, this ‘stunt’ was created in order to provide enough playing to the otherwise impossible task which awaited us two days later: only one general rehearsal was scheduled for each of the two concerts in the summer series of Amsterdam’s fabulous Concertgebouw!

It was glorious to hear my conception come across with real conviction, thanks, Rossen!

And thanks, Niels! I’m only sorry that you have yet to hear the results of a collaboration of your making. Some day, in future, maybe?