My family and I spent the first two weeks of April in China for Pre-Olympic concerts ("Great Harmony: One World, One Dream, One Family"). We performed recitals in major Chinese cities, including Tianjin and Beijing. We also performed a concert as soloists with the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra consisting of John Williams' Olympic Fanfare, the Beethoven Triple Concerto, David Popper's Hungarian Rhapsody, Camille Saint-Saens' Introduction and Rondo Cappriciosso, Chopin's Polonaise Op. 22, and a 'medley' of music from around the world that I arranged for our family and orchestra.
Most interesting experiences:
-Eating exotic foods such as chicken feet (rubbery, chewy skin on 2 inches of claw and foot), sea cucumber (essentially a slug of the sea), and tree fungus... but also lots of INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS foods (well spiced, beautifully decorated and presented).
-Protocol of eating with important people: animated discussions on who sits where, lots of food, lots of drinks ('gambe!' means 'bottoms up!' and cannot be turned down or else you are rejecting a token of friendship), and lots of toasts (presented by each and every person at the table, some made multiple toasts)
-Meeting with the Mayor of Tianjin in an elaborate private room (gold everything) of a high-end restaurant which former Pres. Bush once ate, and being serenaded by traditional Chinese musicians... which played music we picked from a "music menu"
-Visiting Tianamen Square, the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall
-Dressing up like a Chinese guard for a picture with my family (why they put me in the guard attire when everyone else was in royal clothing is a mystery). I kinda looked like Xena, the (Chinese) Warrior Princess
-Being treated as if we were rock stars. Our audiences took pictures of us (often during the performance), asked for our autographs, and gave us bouquets and plush toys. The girls sooned over Emmanuel (western boy = desireable) and envied Frances' blonde hair
-Walking into a lecture hall a few minutes prior to my Dad's lecture and hearing our afternoon practice session being broadcast over the loudspeakers (they surreptitiously recorded us!)
-Meeting a university student (majoring in computer engineering) who insisted on playing for me (very, very good pianist) and proceeded to tell me about all the differences between my Ekier edition of the Chopin Polonaise Op. 22 and the Paderewski edition, and then started telling me about his favorite pianists, composers, pieces... He let me listen to one of his compositions (a la Ravel) on his i-pod, then asked me if I'd like to come to a music store "to buy pirated CDs." He also suggested that we play a duet at the concert... which would be taking place the next day and broadcast nationwide on TV.
-Finding out that Chinese musicians and orchestra personnel (manager, conductor, concertmaster, principal cellist, conductor) enjoy playing drinking games with their soloists (perhaps trying to make us a little tipsy)!!! That's an experience I won't forget soon.
-Waking up to smoggy sunrises in Tianjin. Watching the smoggy, gloomy sunsets. Coming home and LOVING the blue skies of Baltimore.