Remembering João

What an unbelievable joy and pleasure to hear once again Yo Yo Ma. Such a gifted and passionate musician. He played Schubert´s Sonata in A minor; Chostakovitch´s Sonata for cello and piano, op. 40 - truly breathtaking; and Piazzolla´s Le Grand Tango - and I wished (again) I could dance the tango.

And I thought of João. Sweet, sensitive João, who introduced me to Chostakovitch´s works for cello. And who left us exactly one week after 9/11, and that was no lesser tragedy. It was then that I realised that people don´t leave, as long as we remember them.

The last time I heard João rehearsing, it was this piece.