It is a testament to how frenetic the last five days have been that I have had absolutely no time whatsoever to write any letters! I am now back in Sao Paulo where I was when I last wrote. John and I were having our (one!) day off and I was about to head off to check out the spa. It was a lovely relaxing day and one which we certainly needed badly, as we knew that the following days were going to be very hard work.

Our free day ended most enjoyably in the form of an invitation to a dinner with the wonderful pianist Volodos at the exquisite home of a Brasilian couple, Mr and Mrs Baumgart. Our manager in Sao Paulo, Sergio, picked us up and drove us to their home where we were literally stunned by the beauty and sumptuousness of our surroundings. Mrs Baumgart told me that it had taken seven years to build the house but it was certainly worth it in my opinion. Panoramic vistas across the garden allowed most of Sao Paulo to be viewed, glittering with streetlamps in the evening twilight. The floodlit swimming pool water lapped gently in the evening breeze. Inside, room after room was decorated palatially with amazing paintings and furniture and we were treated to an endless array of delicious dishes, including pasta, giant prawns in criollo sauce, a variety of meats and salads... not to mention the puddings! We met a great deal of interesting people in business circles as well as the great and the good of musical society in Sao Paulo and we spoke briefly to Volodos who was very quiet but had a lovely calm smile! It was a really enjoyable evening.

The following morning we took the plane to Brasilia with Sergio and arrived in time for lunch, which was another feast! The Brasilians enjoy a fantastic standard of meat, and both John and I ate succulent steaks, secure in the knowledge that we wouldn't be getting any dinner so needed to have a good lunch! Our concert began at 9pm and our audience were very warm indeed (another standing ovation) so there were lots of people to greet afterwards, including the British Ambassador! We felt very happy that, in each country, the British Ambassador had thought it fitting to come to our concert and welcome us! When we got back to the hotel, Sergio announced that it was time to introduce John and I to the local speciality cocktail of Caipirinha - it is not exactly like a Pisco Sour and was a little too sweet for my taste, but at that time of night, we managed to find room for two of them each!

The next morning we were up early again and flew back to Sao Paulo where we played that night. The audience were ecstatic and we had yet more standing ovations! But there was no time to rest upon our laurels - Wednesday morning saw us at the airport once more, this time to Porto Alegre. Having arrived, we were taken by our nice representative Andresa to an incredible barbecue restaurant! Porto Alegre is the home of the barbecue and we can now see why - we sat down and for the next 45 minutes, waiters with massive skewers of delicious meat made their way in turn to our table to offer us various bits of a cow's anatomy! John and I struggled to keep up with all the delights on offer and were truly defeated long before the variety had run out! Replete, we went off to the hotel to sleep it all off! When we arrived at the hotel, we could see many people with instrument cases and suddenly a familiar face rushed up to greet me and give me a warm hug! It was Antonio, who I had met last year when I played with the Teatro San Carlo orchestra in Naples! It was wonderful to catch up with him and they were in the middle of a tour which sounded every bit as action-packed as our own.

That night, the audience were one of the most incredible that John and I have ever experienced anywhere. The atmosphere was literally electric! From the moment that we walked on stage, everything that we played brought forth bursts of applause, shouts for more, and a running commentary of compliments from at least two people in the front row at the end of each piece! By the time we got to Tchaikovskiana, the audience could barely contain their excitement and rose to their feet before my bow had left the string on my final note! We were deafened by the thundering shouts, stamps and screams for more music - so we played Czardas. This time, we hadn't even finished the piece before the audience were back on their feet again, shouting for yet more! So, after a suitable pause (and because it was nearly 11.15pm!) we decided to play something a little quieter in the hope that it would be possible to calm them down a little bit. We played Estrellita and once again, they rose to give us our 3rd standing ovation and plenty more shouts of appreciation. However, we declined to play further and our marvellous audience understood that we were tired and allowed us to finish the concert - but did not let us leave the theatre immediately as we had many happy members backstage to talk to.

This morning, we returned to Sao Paulo and barely had time for lunch before John had to give some masterclasses. I have taken the opportunity to catch up on correspondence during the afternoon, but now it's time to get ready for our 4th concert in 4 days. I must say, the audience is going to have a hard task to live up to the one last night - but then, Brasil is a country of surprises, so you never know...

Tasmin