The infamous Haydn D Major - how come this piece scares every single cellist? It ain’t fair, because it doesn’t sound difficult, not even remotely so, doesn’t look anything, but still we pee our pants before having to play it. This morning in the dress rehearsal I felt as incapable as I hadn’t felt in a long time (maybe I shouldn’t have watched the Tour de France until 4 am) and lucky enough the saying of “bad dress rehearsal, good concert” worked once again, but still I wasn’t completely fulfilled with myself. What to do with this piece of music? Lovely, springlike, fresh, yes, but at the same time so delicate and dangerous, that you just have to watch out and concentrate so much for just playing in tune. (more…)