Romance in May…..

Sony has just reissued a recording I did with the amazing Andrew Litton and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Dvorak \’Romance\’ So nice to see it and hear it again…I remember that I was 23 when I recorded it in London and was working my tail off. My body was on the verge of breaking down with all the stress of travel and playing. Things seemed to be at a peak-high of intensity and I was just on the heels of being awarded the Avery Fisher Award as well. So many wonderful things were happening and yet I was experiencing numbness in my pinky on my bow hand. I was always into health and fitness and quickly learned that even the body has limitations, especially if the mind is overexerted. I saw a therapist who showed me what I was doing to my body with all that violin playing. Repetitive String Syndrome…:) It truly was. The thing with musicians and athletes is that you must constantly train and yet by doing so, you are repeating the very trauma/injury on the teeny tiny muscles that are helping you be a better player. It becomes a catch-22 sometimes (like much in life) but just the awareness of this and treatment (nice vacation) helped me tremendously, not to mention seeing the fruits of labor be cherished again.