Finally I 'm able to catch my breathe and post some updates here! The last few months have been rather busy, to say the least. Let me see...

I started off May playing Schumann's Cello Concerto a few times in northern Germany with the Neubrandenburger Philharmonie, which is always a great experience. Afterwards, I practiced furiously to premier two concertos, Kirmo Lintinen's Cello Concerto, and Liping Wang's Dream of the Red Chamber. This continues my 2010 spring season of playing 6 concertos.

At the end of May, I went on tour to Beijing and Hong Kong with Avanti Chamber Orchestra from Finland. I knew the Dream of the Red Chamber would be very well-received in China, but I was also very impressed with how the Chinese audience took to the Lintinen Concerto. New music is always something that takes time to appreciate, none more so than that of Beethoven's during his own time. But I think in this case, the audience was very much ready for something new and wanted to experience it live, and I am very proud to say that Kirmo and I brought something truly special to them. Fortunatley for me, I think playing Kirmo's music is even more enjoyable than listening to it, and I can't wait to do it again!

The Dream of the Red Chamber is another equally meaningful work for me. It encompasses so much of Chinese culture that one is hard pressed to calling it simply Chinese music. It's an amazing feeling to see the type of pure emotions expressed by the audience who all knew the music in its previous incarnation, but were still listening to the cello version as if for the first time. My friend Chaoming Tung and I are now aiming to make a full symphonic version and maybe even a version with a Chinese instrument orchestra.

Finally, to cap off the spring time concerto marathon, I got back to Germany and immediately had to play Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations and Bloch's Schelomo with the Lubeck Philharmonic Orchestra. While I know Tchaikovsky quite well, it was my first time performing the Bloch. It is probably one of the most moving works in the cello repertoire, with dramatic peaks and troughs on top of an enormous orchestral backdrop. One can sense and hear everyone in the orchestra truly diggin into the music. What an adrenaline rush!

And that was my Spring 2010, before all the chamber music that was to come...

Just got back from Sondershausen and Nordhausen.  Had some great concerts playing the Dvorak concerto.  I think I like the piece more every time I play it.  Just so much fun, and a lot of work too!  It turns out the orchestra there is over 360 years old...probably one of the oldest in the world.  Talk about patron of the arts, the Dukes of Schwartzburg there not only founded the orchestra, but also bought some very nice instruments for it as well.  The concertmaster showed me not one, but 2 Amati violins that he gets to use.  Pretty cool!  Also, I just happened to walk by a building in town and saw that Max Bruch, the composer, was the kapellmseister in town for 3 years, during which, he wrote the famous Violin Concerto no. 1.  It's so inspiring to find little connections like that, and that's what I really love about Germany--the history and atmosphere of music is everywhere.

I also got to try some local delicacies.  The Thuringen Rostbratel and Rostbratwurst were delicious!  The Rostbratel steak was especially tasty, although I really couldn't quite pinpoint what the special spice was that made it stand out.  I'll have to find out next time!

Happy New Year of the Tiger!  It's been a while since my last update and it has certainly been a wonderfully busy time for me.  I got to perform in some new places (Israel, Romania) and also went back to some old haunts (NYC!).  And of course, there's been plenty of good eatin' during all of this.

It's hard to find the words to describe the feeling of playing in Carnegie Hall, in the Stern Auditorium.  It's certainly big, but it never felt like I couldn't be heard even with an orchestra behind me.  My cello seemed to adjust to the hall immediately, and I thought I could play at any volume I wanted, which was very helpful.  The audience was great too--some friends sitting amongst many strangers who seemed also like friends I should know just because I spent so much time there growing up.  Looking at the way the seats are arranged from the stage, it reminded me of some kind of giant shell fish animal ready gobble up the performer.  Instead, it was a perfect vehicle for amplifying every thought and emotion I put into the cello.  One really can't ask for a more accomodating place in which to perform.

December saw me and my cello playing in Israel...a truly magical place.  I had been there years ago to help excavate a large Roman archaeological site in Bet Shean in the north of the country.  But this time, instead of digging up 2000 year old mosaics and skeletons with a trowel in hand, I was tackling Dvorak Concerto together with the Israel Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Heiko-Matthias Forster for five evenings in a row.  I must say that the musicians and audience there are some of the warmest I have ever encountered.  A big plus was that I stayed on for a few days afterward to explore Jerusalem and the Dead Sea area.  And if you like lamb, that's the place to savor it!

Most recently, I just got back from Bucharest, Romania, where I played Haydn C Major Concerto with the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra and Maestro Peter Csaba.  What a trip that was--I just happen to hit a huge snow storm when I arrived, and the snow piled up to over 3 feet in the streets.  Fortunately, we were still able to get to the rehearsals and play the concert the next day.  I only wish the weather had been better so that I could have walked around a bit more; from what little I could see, Bucharest has lots of gorgeous architecture and obviously the history to go with it.  Next time!

Now that I have a few moments to catch my breath, I can finally get on with a couple of other projects I've been meaning to realize...new music, new ideas, new collaborations.  I'll be sure to keep you all posted when they are ready!