Australia tour

I'm just back after 5 weeks away from home, an unusually long absence for me. Touring is something I'm only just starting to enjoy, actually. In the past, long trips would make me a bit crazy; it's partly the endless hotel rooms, alarm clocks going off at 5am that you didn't set, airport security lines, bad pasta etc. etc. and partly the sense of dislocation, being constantly out of your element. Home is important to me. I live in the town where I grew up and where my parents still live, a fairly quiet place between Edinburgh and Glasgow called Linlithgow, surrounded by farmland, with it's own loch and palace (birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots for you history buffs). When I returned to live here after years in northern England I felt an enormous relief to be back in such familiar surroundings. I guess people who travel a lot with their profession find different ways of dealing with it, and for me a strong home base seems to be important.

This last trip to Australia felt much less gruelling than comparable trips have been in the past. I did a 2 week tour under the auspices of Musica Viva with the Goldner Quartet, a couple of solo recitals, a week with the Melbourne Symphony under Oleg Caetani (genius Shostakovich conductor), and just before getting back to Scotland, a week with the DSO Berlin and Ingo Metzmacher (genius Messiaen conductor).  A lot of factors combined to make this trip as fun as it was: staying with wonderful friends in Sydney, Jeannie joining me for a week in the middle of the trip, great musical experiences in all of these projects and, not least, AUSTRALIAN WEATHER (the Scottish winter has been miserable). What an enormous difference getting up to warm sunshine makes. No wonder Australians are by and large such a relaxed bunch of people. I should also mention how fantastic Musica Viva were at looking after the logistical aspects of the tour. The other important factor is that I feel much more interested now in the places I visit; I used to focus all my energy on my concerts but now feel more able to take time off and enjoy my surroundings. It's probably no coincidence that I'm also enjoying playing more and more.

Arriving in Berlin was a rude awakening. Why is it always so cold there? People tell me it's not but it seems whenever I'm in Berlin I'm freezing. I was staying at Alban Gerhardt's flat, cat-sitting his wife's cats while they were off skiing in Switzerland. Alban is a great friend and colleague, one of the musicians who has taught me the most over the years, so I was really happy he came back to Berlin a couple of days before I left. It was also nice not to have to empty the litter tray any more.