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I'm taking advantage of this rainy day in Guangzhou to try to make up for my serious lack of posts on this blog up until now. It'll be a long one, but mostly pictures, so here's some of the stuff I've done on tour:



Played baseball against Tokyo Symphony/Japan Philharmonic. Chris Deviney is decked out in his red and white uniform for this at-bat pic. We killed them 18-6, by the way. :)




Watched sumo in Tokyo! The day's winner was actually Bulgarian, not Japanese.




Had dinner with Roger Bobo in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Roger is a famous tuba player who was in the LA Phil for 25 years before becoming one of the world's first tuba soloists--he played twice on Johnny Carson! Nowadays he teaches at the Musahino School of Music in Tokyo.




Played in Suntory Hall. This place was packed during the concerts!




Rode the Shinkansen (bullet train). Our super-smooth Nozomi line reached speeds of over 130mph on our trip from Tokyo to Osaka.







Climbed Mt. Fuji with Don Liuzzi (timpani), Phil Kates (violin), and Nitzan Haroz (trombone). This trip was absolutely incredible. We didn't quite reach the summit, although you can see it in the third picture above. The snow was just too much. Note that Phil is wearing shorts, and didn't put on long pants until after several hours of trudging through the snow (!).




Picture of Mt. Fuji from Kawaguchiko, the nearby town where we stayed on this side trip. It was an amazing and beautiful place in traditional Japanese style, complete with tatami mattress and slippers that were way too small for my non-Japanese size 10 feet.




Our back yard at the inn in Kawaguchiko, with the hot tub where we spent a lot of our time recovering the evening after the hike.




On the way back to Tokyo, we caught the Thomas train!! This thing was totally decked out, inside and out. It was so cute to see little kids smiling at us when we rode by in it!




We played soccer against the Seoul Philharmonic. We lost, but I think we did so respectably at 5-7. Seen here is Jeff Lang (horn) with his battle scar from the game. I guess at some point he took an elbow to the face and got his nose broken, but he took it like a real champ, still playing every concert!




Went biking along the Han River in Seoul with Marc Rovetti (violin). After we stopped at a 7-11 for ice cream, his back tire was completely flat!




Ate authentic Peking duck in Beijing. Dick Woodhams (oboe) is telling a funny story in this pic. From left to right: Hai-Yi Ni (cello), Dick, Kiyoko Takeuti (piano), and Angela Cordell (horn).






Climbed the Great Wall in Beijing! Tamara Nuzzaci, our personnel manager, found a place that gives tours of the "wild" part of the Wall. It started with an hour uphill hike to the wall, then we had lunch on the highest watch tower on that part of the wall, seen in the second photograph. Then we hiked for a while on the deserted part of the wall before descending the 463 steps that start the restored Mutianyu section of the wall. Seven watch towers later we ran to get out of the rain and catch the gondola back down to the bus.




Our hotel in Guangzhou at night. Check out the indoor waterfall.



We have a concert tonight in Guanzhou and concerts in Shanghai the following two nights before we head back to the States, so it's a mad dash to the finish from here! I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

-carol jantsch (tuba)

6/4 - Best seats in the house

today, pauline's cousins took us on a much anticipated tour of the great wall. this is one of those places i always wanted to see but never thought i would ever get a chance to. on the way, we hit a ton of traffic, got to drive against the flow of traffic at one point and even witnessed a fight in the middle of the highway.


had to make a u-turn on the highway to get out a traffic jam - kind of scary

on a side note, i am amazed (and terrified) at the drivers as well as pedestrians and bikers here. at every turn and intersection, there seem to be at least 3 close calls. the way pedestrians fearlessly jaywalk into oncoming traffic is a bit bewildering. and i'm talking about all ages, w/ and w/out baby carriages, etc. pretty crazy.

due to all the delays, it ended up taking nearly 3 hours to get there. but it was worth the wait. when we left the hotel, it was so beautiful and sunny but as we approached the great wall, the skies were dark and menacing. we even saw some lightning. as soon as we parked, it started to rain but we thought it was probably just a passing shower. thankfully, we were right and a few minutes later, the sun was back out (only now it was a bit cooler and the air was so clear). as we climbed higher, the views were breathtaking.


what a view!


before it stopped raining


after it stopped raining

pauline's cousin had also gotten tickets for us to see the chinese acrobats. i had seen them before on tv so felt like i knew what was coming. i couldn't have been more wrong. to my surprise, we had front row seats so i prepared myself to catch someone if they fell from 50 feet in the air. i don't think my jaw every left the floor once during the entire performance and several times, i found myself holding my breath while watching some of the crazy stuff they were doing. it was an incredible experience and so much fun.


there are 3 girls balancing things using their hands and feet... while upside down and contorted





















































next, we went to a north korean restaurant where the waitresses not only serve food, but also sing, dance and play traditional instruments while you eat. again, we had the closest booth to the stage and really enjoyed the performance. the food and service was amazing. there were so many interesting things to eat and as usual, i ate more than i should have. it will be a miracle if i still fit into my pants by the end of the tour.





while driving, we were also able to see the bird's nest and cube (main arena and aquatics center for the upcoming olympics) which was pretty cool.


bird's nest


aquatic center

tomorrow, we are leaving for guangzhou. we had such a wonderful time w/ relatives and i hope we can come back soon.

6/3 - Day at the Palace (for real)

this morning, pauline's cousins picked us up at 9 to check out tian'anmen square and the foribidden city (and palace of course). in the last 2 posts, i keep saying how huge things are here in beijing. today, i think i experienced what the word "vast" means here on earth.

first of all, tian'anmen square was gigantic. seeing it on tv or even from our bus didn't compare to actually standing in the middle of it. tomorrow marks a big anniversary of the student protests so it's probably a good thing we went today. next to the square is the beautiful (and enormous) great hall of the people (which is where the orchestra played on its last tour of china several years ago) and on the other side, the national museum of china (also enormous).


from the center of the square

when we crossed the street and entered the forbidden city, i was pretty much speechless. although i haven't been to every single country in the world, i have seen many amazing and lavish castles/estates/palaces. i have to say that this one makes all the others look like doll houses in comparison. no matter how many gates we went through or courtyards we crossed, there seemed to be another, even more grandiose structure ahead of us. by the way, the forbidden city covers 2,350,000 square feet and contains 9,999 rooms. even the "garden" is more like a huge forest. i could write so much more about it but will leave you a link if you want to read more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City


w/ pauline and her 2 cousins


one of the outer courtyards


one of the many throne rooms in the palace

all that walking certainly worked up our appetites and pauline's cousin took us to the best peking duck restaurant in beijing. i haven't had peking duck very often and when i had it, i never got very much (usually at some big banquet w/ many people). this time, we had 2 ducks for 4 people (the other 2 are vegetarians). it was INCREDIBLE and the taste actually stayed w/ me through the entire concert! i seriously ate until i was about to burst and then went back to the hotel to rest a little before the concert.


fresh duck sliced to perfection

dave bilger (principal trumpet), jeff khaner (principal flute), udi bar-david (cello) and i attended a pre-concert reception w/ people from our corporate sponsor, astra zeneca, and several of their clients. we got to meet some very nice people but had to run off quickly to get ready for the concert.

after a rousing egmont overture, our soloist lang lang gave a virtuosic performance of the grieg piano concerto followed by a beautiful encore. tchaikovsky "pathetique" symphony received a wonderful response in the 2nd half and we ended w/ the beautiful valse triste by sibelius.


after the concert

once again, it was great to see many of our donors in the audience as well as after the concert. i hope many more of you are able to come along on future tours. it's definitely a lot of fun.

6/2 - Day at the Palace (kind of)

no, not the forbidden palace, but the palace of nationalities where the philadelphia orchestra played 35 years ago on their historic trip to china. although it wasn't my favorite hall (acoustically), it was cool to "return" to where history was made by this orchestra. i believe 10 of our current members played that concert in 1973.


inside the palace of nationalities


in the lobby

on the way there, we passed by tian'anmen square and outer gate of the forbidden city as well as some massive buildings. even the road was huge w/ at least 5 lanes on each side. and still there was traffic!


tian'anmen square


outside the forbidden city

today's concert not only marked the 35th anniversary of a performance. in response to the recent tragic earthquake in china, the orchestra wanted to do something to help. along w/ private donations from the musicians, our staff coordinated w/ the state of pennsylvania to raise nearly 2.5 million dollars (so far) and our concert was to be televised all over china as well as several other countries w/ information on how and where to send help. although we are not on the front lines w/ so many of the brave volunteers, i'm thankful our orchestra can take part in such a worthy cause.

during our rehearsal and concert, pauline was shopping for gifts and spending time w/ her cousins (who apparently are skilled hagglers). so i met up w/ them for dinner. fortunately, they were not that far away so i took a taxi (so inexpensive!) and enjoyed a delicious meal w/ them.

picture coming soon

Reversal of Fortune in Beijing

Cellist Bob Cafaro with his feet on the ground in Seoul, Korea.






People always remark how exciting it must be to tour the world with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and yes it is an incredible experience most people will never know. This is my 23rd year of touring with the Orchestra and I have never missed a tour. The part I never enjoy discussing however is my affliction of motion sickness which I’ve had ever since my earliest memories. But on our flight from Seoul, Korea to Beijing, China I had an experience which was just too good to not share with everyone.

From my first childhood memories I was constantly getting carsick and holding my head out the window feeling terrible about messing up the side of the car. My parents kept telling me I would one day outgrow motion sickness and I’m still looking forward to that day. They were right however when they said I wouldn’t get sick when I drove the car. The first time I flew in a plane was an exciting experience as I flew from my hometown in Long Island, NY to Rochester, NY for the All State Strings Music Festival. I was in high school and was so looking forward to flying, but the euphoria was short lived as the plane encountered severe turbulence from the start. I quickly turned a shade of green - not in the sense of envy, and proceeded to learn the art of mastering the use of the air sickness bags so thoughtfully provided by the airlines. Unfortunately I would be afforded the opportunity to hone my skills in discretion every time I flew thereafter. On numerous occasions I have asked the pilot if I could fly the plane so I wouldn’t be sick, but my request has been denied so many times I don’t even ask anymore. One of my favorite moments was from my very first Philadelphia Orchestra tour in May of 1986. We were flying into Salt Lake City, Utah and the weather was atrocious, with 60 mph winds on the ground. Our flight was put in a holding pattern while traffic control debated the safety of letting us land, and just thinking about this one brings on feelings of nausea. While circling in the holding pattern the plane was break dancing and freefalling several hundred feet during each pocket of turbulence. Musicians on the plane were screaming with each plummet and I kept busy burying my face into the bag. It was sheer torture and I would have happily told anyone anything they wanted to know if only it would stop.

The flight 2 days ago into Beijing was not unusually rough but new airline security rules have hit me especially hard. I previously brought 2 quarts of my own filtered water on every flight but since bringing liquid on planes is forbidden, I now drink the 2 quarts before boarding the flight. Combine this with the breakfast buffet provided by the hotels on tour and it is a recipe for trouble. As we began our descent into Beijing the plane hit turbulence and once again the all too familiar feeling of nausea emerged. I proceeded to breath deeply and meditate, becoming a baby being rocked to sleep by my mother. This technique has worked on numerous occasions but would be of little help on this flight. I knew it was going to be a losing battle so I dug out the bag from the seat pocket and proceeded to discreetly fill it with most of the water and food from the morning buffet. As the bag was approaching capacity I noticed some apparent carelessness on the floor between my feet, which was strange because I wasn’t aware I had really been careless. Then the unthinkable happened - the bag which was full and quite heavy suddenly weighed nothing. I was too horrified to even look but when I did it was confirmed, the bottom of the bag had split open under the weight. Any hope of going unnoticed by Orchestra members around me was a forlorn hope indeed. Thankfully there was some good news here as it was a “well placed shot,” with everything landing on the floor between my feet and not on my seat, pants, sneakers or even the bag under the seat in front of me. But alas good news was not to last as my passport and Chinese immigration card which had been carelessly left on my lap this whole time fell into the excitement between my feet. My colleagues in the Orchestra who are amazing people proceeded to help by passing every bag, napkin and tissue available. I picked up the passport and proceeded with damage control using tissues, but it was clear Chinese immigration would be just overjoyed to see me. My backpacking and wilderness skills did come in handy as I left little trace of my presence upon leaving the plane, covering the misfortune with bags, napkins and tissues. When it was my turn at immigration I handed the passport to a young Chinese immigration officer who seemed unable to decide if the passport reminded her of lilacs or petunias. Having no desire to deal with it, she called over her superior officer who escorted me to his private station where he proceeded to examine the passport more carefully. After each page turn he rubbed his fingers together with an increasingly wry face then proceeded to examine the page he wanted with his up-close magnifying glass from a distance of about 1 inch from his nose. After less than a minute of this he obviously decided the aroma was not lilacs or petunias, so he conceded by handing back the passport and waving me into China.

After this it makes me wonder if anyone would really want to tour with the Orchestra. If you still do remember some rules: Number one, you have to have the stomach for it and number two, sit with someone else when we fly. :)

Beijing Pizza

Well today it was overcast with a little rain here, so what better to do than go out and sample some Beijing pizza. At the recommendation of our translator, Edward Burger, and in honor of my wife, Anne, I went to a place called Annie's.

What is becoming almost as much fun as eating pizza is actually finding the restaurant. The cab driver left me somewhere close to the restaurant, but because he spoke absolutely no English, I was on my own. I walked and asked a few more non-English speaking people (one woman who spoke a little English told me it was not there anymore). I just about gave up when I noticed out of the corner of my eye an ordinary looking place called Annie's. I always am a little apprehensive when the restaurant is empty, but I was not about to pass up pizza.

Here is what I had:

Crust 6/8
Sauce 6/8
Cheese 5/8
Presentation 7/8

Overall 6/8
This was a good find in Beijing. I think this may be the best yet. What made this pizza so good was that the ratio between cheese and sauce was perfect. If the cheese was a little less greasy, and the sauce a little sweeter, this would have been outstanding. I could eat this pizza regularly. It was that good.

Two more cities to go. I will do my best to find the ultimate Asian pizza, but Annie's is going to be hard to beat.

6/1 - Seoul to Beijing

after a frantic morning of last minute packing (we both just fell asleep last night) and getting ready, we were off to the airport and beijing. though we were sad to leave korea, pauline and i were also excited to be going to china for the first time. pauline has 2 cousins there right now and i have 1 in shanghai. we also have many friends there.

upon arriving at the airport in beijing, you could already see how much is being done in preparation for the olympics. the airport was very nice and HUGE! i heard it was either just renovated or newly opened a few months ago.



once we got through customs, we were greeted by a lot of press (as this is the 35th anniversary of the orchestra's first concerts in china and because of our earthquake relief efforts).



on our way to the hotel, i was struck at how big everything was. the buildings were massive and there was one still under construction that i think would be scary to work at.



we thought we would be meeting pauline's cousins for dinner but eventually decided to meet the next day. so we went next door to the attached mall and had some thai food and then one of pauline's favorites, ice cream from cold stone.