BACK ON THE ROAD - Germany and Ohio

Midwinter is here with incredibly cold temps and lots of snow. I just got myself a new pair of very thick skiing gloves to protect my hands, when I am out and about. I don’t ski much, but that type of glove works really well. I pretty much can play right away without much warming up. 

For me the year started with a whirlwind of activities. At the beginning of the year I had the pleasure of presenting again my Kammermusikfestival Kaufbeuren (Chamber Music Festival Kaufbeuren), this year it was our 14th time. Many participants return every year, some have been there from the start, and it was great fun to see everyone again.

Together with my colleagues Dr. Joachim Reinhuber (Texas A&M University) and Susanne Stoodt (Musikhochschule Frankfurt) we coached 30 students in their teens and twenties. The festival always features piano and violin, Susanne taught our violinists this year, Joachim and I worked with the pianists. 

We of course had to follow COVID guidelines, and had to adjust the format a little bit: instead of one large concert on either side of the festival, we offered several smaller recitals. 

The group photo above shows us right after one of those. We decided to do a count down, take off the masks really quickly, take the photo and put the masks back on. We had a blast with all of that, as you can imagine. 

A little earlier I had the opportunity to film a recital at the very well appointed home of our dear friend. 

Enjoy this selection featuring Chopin’s c-sharp minor Scherzo:

Every time I perform this Scherzo I remember hearing the piece for the very first time as a kid. 

The ‘cascades of light’ in the middle section were something I had never heard before, and I could not wait to play the piece. I still love the terse emotions of this scherzo, its fierce power, and the stark contrast of the sublime middle section. 

What a highlight to record this piece in such a nice surrounding!