March 2019 was my return to Carnegie Hall. The first time I played there was part of the prize for winning the Bradshaw & Buono Competition in 2010 (http://www.thomasyu.ca/page/bl...). I remember my heart was racing at that time (you don't forget those kinds of moments!). This time, my return was more of a feeling of comfort and familiarity. Maybe that comes with age and experience, or maybe it was that I was just tired from performing so much over the past months. Either way, it felt great to be back. The piano was different this time, I seemed to find trouble with it at rehearsal. I tried my best to voice my concerns, but given the limited amount of time, I expected little to be done about it. Sometimes in these situations you just have to adapt to the piano, not vice versa. 

The audience was packed and it was a wonderful experience. I played Scherzo No 3 and Liszt Rigoletto (a return to the same piece I performed the first time I was here). I was happy to have had the chance to play in New York twice this year, all thanks to Elena Leonova and the New York Piano Society. I really hope to be back again some day, if they will have me!