Thomas Quasthoff....

...says that, one should take risks during performances. And plenty of them too. It's the excitement of performing, and I'm sure we all like that kind of feeling. That's why we are doing what we are doing now! This man is fantastic. Although I can't remember every single word from his (one! unfortunately!) masterclass that I attended, he was really inspiring, and to me, a true great artist. It was interesting seeing how he worked with cellists during the session, and how much many string players don't know about the similarities between their instruments and the way they play, as compared to the voice. On top of that, he's a really humourous fellow as well. He liked to use examples of little children to add pictorial images to musicians' emotions, for instance, to imagine your child was running towards you, flying to give you a big, warm hug. Also, examples of nature, like, flowers popping up everywhere (something like beavers popping up from holes in the ground or something...)....