I went to Tokyo to give a recital of Beethoven, Schubert, Bartok, and Gershwin, plus a suite from The Red Violin by John Corigliano -- which won this year's Academy Award for best original score. (I advised on the film, recorded the solo violin on the sound track, and served as a body double for the actors.) I ate fantastically well in Tokyo: great Italian and French food, and the best sushi and Kobe beef.

ON THE ROAD: When I'm touring, I practice in my hotel room. Occasionally, there are complaints, in which case I turn up the TV. Ironically, people don't gripe about your television.

CARRY-ONS: My violin goes in the overhead on the plane. I'm lucky; my cellist friends have to pay for a second seat. I find that I'm traveling heavier lately: besides the violin, I take my computer, which weighs about 10 pounds, and all my extra paraphernalia -- digital camera, camcorder.

NEXT TRIP: This month, I'm giving concerts in London, Majorca and Minorca, and at the Salzburg Festival, Tanglewood, and Mostly Mozart in New York.