Most Expensive Magazine Ever.

Hi all, today I bought THE most expensive magazine ever in my life. The Strad, special edition VIOLIN HEROES. Its S$34.90!!!!!

This special issue features exclusive interviews of some of my current favourite violinists Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Maxim Vengerov and Anne Sophie Mutter to name a few and that's not all, included are original articles as way back as 1896 concerning THEIR violin heroes like Eugene Ysaye, Issac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, George Enescu and Fritz Kreisler and more. GOD!!!! What a wonderful reference for my forever growing music library of cds, dvds, books and scores!!!!!!! How can any serious, aspiring violin student, youth or adult resist such a God send material!!!

I like to think about the "family tree", those stories of great teachers who not only passed on their formidable skills and imparted the passion of the art of violin playing. In fact, I had in my own library books after books on violin mastery. My favourite "teacher" is Leopold Auer who taught Efrem Zimbalist, Mischa Elman, Jasha Heifeitz (who looked a bit like my late grandpa who played the chinese violin or erhu) and Toscha Seidel amongst others and out of these famous players came many generations of well sought after teachers who are currently head and directors of many a conservatories.

Even my beloved David Garrett had had many great teachers. As a youth he learnt from Ida Haendal, whose major influence was George Enescu. And while at Julliard School in New York, David's teacher, the legendary Itzhak Perlman named David Oistrakh, Fritz Kreisler, Nathan Milstein and also Jasha Heifetz as major influences in his playing. Indeed great teachers produced great pupils who went on and became SUPERSTAR violinists.

Then my thoughts went to my first and current teacher Amy. She's younger than me and performs mainly easy listening pieces for functions, teaches kids as young as 2 and adults and is a violin collector as well. I feel blest already. To be able to relate to a teacher as a friend. Amy subsequently became Rachel's teacher as well and taught her even when she was still a screaming, tantrum throwing toddler under 3.

Time flies. It's been 2 years since that fateful afternoon July 2007, at the Paragon shopping centre where Yan had asked me to take Rachel to that "Free" album promotion event. Words aren't enough to say that I was totally blown away, by David Garrett's sheer good looks, model built and the beautiful, enchanting melodies from his heart stopping US$4m Stradivari named San Lorenzo. Dare i say, his super performances transformed, inspired and empowered me, a full time home-maker, to courgeously take up violin lessons and start the muscial life journey that I had always wanted as a child but did not had the support of parents and resources in my youth.

My life is never the same again. Thank you Jesus! Yan and David, you two, my sincere gratitude.