It is a strange experience to be here in Moscow as a judge for the 14th Tchaikovsky Competition, because my last connection with this competition in this city was 50 years ago at the 2nd competition. The former Soviet Union, and at that time the recent shock of Sputnik, was still fresh on our American psyche not to mention the impact of one tall and lanky Texan pianist named Van who four years earlier, had rocked our world and gave us the dream of ticker-tape parades and super-stardom.
Over the half century, there has been a sea change throughout the world, in music, and internally. Young people today definitely feel that they are more ready to pounce on this prize and instantly change their lives (and ours) than we fantasized in 1962. The reality, of course, is that the winners’ careers can be helped and abetted, but the real change that needs to take place must happen internally with each individual who has been lucky enough to have been exposed to this remarkable arena.
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Welcome to my blog. I am a 67 year old solo cellist who has been touring the world for the last 40 years playing almost everywhere of note in the classical music scene alongside many of the greatest musicians. Over all these years, I have accumulated many stories, opinions, and insights, and gifts of the spirit as well as objects. It has been and still is incredibly inspiring work and even though I consider myself “techno-challenged” I wanted to have an outlet to share everything.
