There are many temples here in Kamakura and one of my favourites is Myohon-ji.It is tucked away in the mountains and away from the tourist trail so it is usually very quiet and peaceful. I go to church quite often as I am a Christian but coming to these temples which are totally surrounded by nature give me a different kind of "peace". They have the power to totally cleanse my mind and I am left with a very still and calm "self", free of any ill thoughts. (As I write this I realize that when I am in church to pray,it has more to do with the heart rather than the mind.)
It is interesting though that I am never musically inspired in these surroundings. Only silence seems appropriate.

Working hard towards this trio concert on the 28th. Now,since I know what I want to do musically,I've started to listen to various recordings of the pieces that we're doing. (I feel that listening to recordings too much before having an idea of what one wants to do can sometimes take away from the precious instinct one has when reading from music for the very first time.) I bought a CD of a young modern trio and had been listening to it on my IPod and had been enjoying it in it's own rite.
But,since I'm feeling a bit braver now,I took out some of my father's records (LPs!) of the Great Masters of the 20th century and played them on the record player.
Kogan,Gilels,Rostropovich,Heifetz,Rubinstien,and Piatygorsky.They have so much more to offer - their elegance,clarity of style,and sincerity towards music. Their is so much love and warmth in their music that it really does make one happy. I really think that I was born in the wrong era...