My Musical Life

Today I played the cello with some friends I play chamber music with. We played piano trios of famous tunes from a number of Asian countries. 

Some colleagues and I were fortunate to have been able to buy tickets to hear Yo Yo Ma perform a Dvorak Cello concerto Friday night. We had a quick dinner beforehand and barely made it to the theater in time - every single seat was occupied and we were the final 4 seats as a man gave the final 10 seconds of a speech to dedicate a performance of Barber's Adagio for Strings to the victims of the terrible apartment building fire last week. It was a stunning concert, passing by in what felt like the twinkle of an eye.  We all looked at our watches at the end of the night thinking how on earth 2 hours could possibly have passed, but they had. 

Saturday night a friend and I went to a fantastic quintet of winds plus french horn playing a number of lovely single movement pieces in Shanghai Concert Hall. The performers were really at the top of their game and we loved them very much, but it was one of those China moments when we could just kill some uneducated people who actually talked throughout the entire concert. I am not sure what was worse - their talking or the attendants not taking care of the issue. 

I will be playing viola in the Schubert Quintet in A (The Trout) as well as some other pieces with the Shanghai Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra in a brunch concert on December 25, then get on a plane to go to the US a few hours later, making it back on December 25. I guess I want to make the most out of Christmas!  With the concerts over the weekend and several fantastic dinners with friends last week it feels as though the holidays started earlier than ever this year, and will extend again through the lunar new year. 
The weather here these days is unbelievably perfect for bike riding and walking outside. I have made a few picnics lately and took them to the school for lunch! This week the temp should be still in the 50s and sunny. Merry Christmas and happy Holidays!

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