Yo Yo Ma, up close

While I don't much care for the affluence of all-white Vail,(I never see people of color there, but rather, wine drinking, men with slicked-back hair, in their polo shirts, with their wives that expose far too much sunburned, wrinkled cleavage below gaudy gold necklaces), I appreciate being able to attend concerts there. For a hundred bucks I could maybe get a ticket at Carnegie Hall to see Yo Yo Ma, they sale out fast, but it would be far, far from the stage. For the same $100, I was seated 45 feet from him, could see and hear perfectly. He began with "Gabriel's Oboe" from the DeNiro movie "The Mission", one of my favorite pieces, and continued with other fine music. He is a consummate performer. For example, the wind came up, blowing his music off his stand. He had his stuff memorized so well that he merely played until he had a break, then leaned over and picked up his music and replaced it. Also, his cello's end pin slipped 2 or 3 times on the stage. When that happens to me I panic. But he merely re-adjusted his cello, while playing, as if nothing had happened. He plays so vigorously that the horse-hair on his bows often was seen floating in space, back and forth as he bowed. Again, when he had a break, the pianist only playing, he quickly grabbed the loose hair(s), wrapped his fist around it, jerked/broke it off.
He's a couple of years older than me, and so I'm encouraged by the pace he keeps. I like his fun sense of humor. His two encores were graciously done after an already difficult concert repertoire, the very one he'll be doing at Carnegie this fall with Kathleen Stotter, his British pianist/collaborator, who is equally gifted.
I'm glad I had a chance to see him perform live in concert. I like New York City, have been there several times, and would have returned to see him at Carnegie, on the same stage where my son performed a couple of years ago, but I preferred this outdoor venue. He has a great web site, merely google Yo Yo Ma to learn more.
Be well, do good...