Art is what defines us, what makes us human.
There's no place that communicates as much - and as quickly - as Times Square does. I see the roiling energy and its forceful race into the future. Of course, after 15 minutes, I want to get as far away from there as possible.
I grew up with Mark Twain, and we had the complete Hemingway at home, of course in German translation.
I remember my first time coming to New York City. It was 1986, and I was on a U.S. tour with a stop at Lincoln Center. It was love at first sight.
My favorite exhibition of all time was at The Met years ago, called 'Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s.'
As a professional cellist, I go to mostly classical concerts because that's the music I play, but I am also always trying to find out who the voices of our time are. I attend a spectrum of concerts that are close to classical - anything from Wynton Marsalis to Renee Fleming.
Jazz musicians, in a way, are nerds. We are so in our world.
I sometimes joke - but the joke is not so wrong - that after my time in East Germany, I could either afford therapy to work through what happened under the Communists or move to New York.
New York is the opposite of East Germany, the crown of individuality. That's why I can work well here and find out what I personally think of the pieces I'm learning. I can lay aside all the baggage of German education. In any case, whatever I do, I can't lose it altogether.