Great news! We have decided to go ahead with a reduced version of the annual Trasimeno Music Festival in Umbria, Italy from July 23-26, 2021. Of course we understand that many of our regular audience members will not be able to attend this year, but it’s important not to lose contact and to keep as much live music going as possible. It would have been too sad to have cancelled it for a second year.
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…And here we still are, locked down. Never did we think this would go on so long. While island countries like Australia, who have managed the pandemic well, are able to resume concerts with audiences, here in Britain and in most of Europe and the Americas, everything is at a standstill.
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It is now eight months since that first lockdown in March of this year. I don’t think any of us imagined then that we would still be in a terrible predicament with cases on the rise again all these months later.
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Here we are four months (17 weeks) into lockdown–such as it now is in London. Actually, it hasn’t changed much for me. Yes, I was able to go to the hairdressers for the first time and can finally get a massage next week, but indoor concerts for an audience are not happening anytime yet.
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It’s been eleven weeks now since I’ve been in lockdown in my London flat. Two months since I last posted a news item here. A different experience. But touring concert pianists are used to being alone, and fortunately I’m happy in my own company.
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How the world has changed since I wrote my last post at the turn of the year.
With the virus pandemic now overtaking all of normal life, I find myself in lockdown in my London flat, where already for two weeks I’ve seen nobody other than the cashiers in the supermarket around the corner. At least here I have my Fazioli F183 (not a concert model—smaller, but still a wonderful instrument and my companion in this flat since 1999); all my professional possessions like scores, books, tax papers; and endless things to keep me occupied.
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Remember when it was about to turn 2000? We all can recall where we were at that very moment. I was on top of Primrose Hill in London, looking at the fireworks all around the city. Here we are twenty years later, about to enter 2020.
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Another very unexpected award has come my way which will be presented in June 2020: The Wigmore Hall Medal. There is no recital and chamber music hall in the world that has the wide range of programming and array of artists as does the Wigmore, and this honour means so much to me.
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It was announced last week that I shall be the 2020 recipient of the City of Leipzig Bach Medal! This is an honour that has been awarded since 2003 to somebody who has significantly promoted the music of J.S. Bach around the world. Nothing could make me happier!
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I’ve been trying for months to post another news item, but something else always gets in the way. My Facebook and Twitter pages get priority—so I apologize to those of you who are not on social media! It’s hard to do it all.
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When we cross over into yet another year, we have no idea what is ahead of us. Well, some of it I can predict: concert dates in the calendar, already scheduled years ago; flights booked months in advance; repertoire plans made eighteen months ago that I must stick to and learn; people I will hopefully see along the way; festival plans well advanced.
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The Trasimeno Music Festival is over for another year. It’s such a special week that it’s very hard to explain it with words if you haven’t been there. The beauty of Umbria, the wonderful venues we have for our concerts, the camaraderie between members of the audience, the joy of the artists who come to perform—all of that makes for something which is quite far removed from ordinary concert experiences.
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This weekend Canada celebrates what art means to their country, and I am very proud to be a part of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. Mind you, they’re keeping me busy! A full day today with meetings, reception at Parliament Hill, sitting in on Question Time, a rehearsal for Saturday night’s Gala, and then a dinner with close friends. Tomorrow is the big ceremony at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General when I will receive my Lifetime Achievement Award.
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