As said by the title, I sometimes find myself encountering amazing conductors, soloists, or interesting individuals after concerts.
This is Zeng Yun, an exceptionally talented young horn player. He is now the principal horn of the BerlinPhil. We first met in 2018. Doesn’t time fly?
This is Jörgen van Rijen. He was the principal trombone of Lucerne Festival Orchestra in 2019. I loved his Bolero solo so much.
And this is Reinhold Friedrich, principal trumpet of Lucerne Festival Orchestra.
Speaking of Lucerne…This is Riccardo Chailly. I loved his Mahler Symphony No.8.
Andris Nelsons. I really like his Shostakovich Symphony No.7. In fact I didn’t know he was a great trumpeter as well when I met him four years ago…
The great Wynton Marsalis. It was him who taught me what true live JAZZ was like. I remember the day we took this photo was March 20, 2019, as I caught a cold the next day and couldn’t go to school.
This is Riccardo Muti and Daniel Gingrich (Horn) together at NCPA, Beijing. Daniel’s instrument broke in the opening of Brahms’ Symphony No.2. This is them embracing after the encore piece. Of course, I do not deserve to play together with them. I was sitting in the choir section at that time.
This is Anne-Sophie Mutter. Her live performance on the violin is one of the best I’ve ever heard.
Haochen Zhang and Bruce Liu. Amazing young pianists.
And this is Xiaoming Han, a horn professor whom I deeply respect, an incredibly skilled musician, who is currently based in Germany.
To be continued……
I always enjoy chatting with these musicians after the concerts. I love hearing them personally explain why they choose to give a particular part of a piece special treatment. It seems fascinating to me. Despite security often trying to stop me backstage, there are always some lucky moments when I get to meet them. Very happy memories.