Swiss Tour 2024

I just returned from a whirlwind tour to Switzerland with seven solo recitals!

Here I am after recital number five in Zurich with an instrument I have played on previous visits. I really like this Steinway because it sounds and feels like my own piano.

My Swiss tours always feature an array of different instruments, and it is grand fun to get to know each of them prior to the concert.

These are a few of my favorites:

A Bechstein and a Grotrian Steinweg both with ivory keys (which were used until the mid 1950s), a Bösendorfer with the extra bass keys for a richer sonority, and the Steinway I like so much.

Following the Zurich concert, an undisclosed sponsor invited the entire audience for a surprise reception in the lobby. What an unforgettable occasion, and what a very generous gift!

On this trip, I also got to see the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau in the Berner Oberland. The photo captures a little of their awe inspiring beauty and majesty.

Some of you have asked what it’s like to play the same program seven times in a row.

It is really quite a journey as each performance is different depending on the piano and of course on the audience. It feels a bit like spending lots of time with a friend, maybe like going on a vacation with them. You get to know a person well when traveling together. It is the same for a concert tour. You get to know the pieces very well.

This time I felt a deep sense of gratitude at the end of my last show especially for the impeccable majesty of the Waldstein Sonata by Beethoven, which seemed to fit Switzerland’s nature so very well.

I can’t wait to be back next year!