Economics Business Music Politics Altruism

Coaching in Asia- Mind over Matter on Stigma

What is coaching? Eminent coach Jeffrey T Sooey; President of JTS has categorically stated being a coach is NOT equivalent to being a consultant, guru, expert, psychologist or friend. This is important as coaching has been closely associated rightly or wrongly with psychotherapy, psychiatry or sanity.

This is important in Asia because in general, psychology, psychiatrist and sanity are viewed narrowly in a binary manner or either sane or insane instead of a continuum. To combat this, Institute of Mental Health in Singapore started an Early Psychosis Intervention Programme to overcome the stigma and get patients to seek help earlier for better outcomes. In the same vein, one should also seek coaching earlier as you never know how it can help unlock the potential in you.

In a nutshell, coaching is supportive in nature involving training, teaching and development to reach professional or personal goals. It is more developmental rather than therapeutic as described above.

The Chinese Experience

(c)Peking University

We shall examine how coaching was already in existence in ancient time by examining the famous “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” written by Liu GuanZhong around 14 century as a non-fiction. It was set against the backdrop around the end of Han Dynasty and start of Sui Dynasty. Between these two dynasties, China went through a period of disunity and the Three Kingdoms was a part of this chaotic era. Though it was written as a novel, it had a strong dose of historical fact embedded to qualify as one of the great four great writings of Chinese literature therefore reflective of the culture of that era. The significant characters of interest are advisors Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi together with their masters Liu Bei and Cao Cao respectively.

The plot is thick, complex and long but the important plots here were the four main castes. The two leaders by way of benevolent Liu Bei and villain Cao Cao and their advisers Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi. In today’s context we could equate both Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi as having played the role of coach to their leaders. It was very evident that the advisers were not part of the line of authority and served in staff role giving them a more objective perspective. In coaching lingua franca, we would put them as not belonging to the system. Their primary role was to ensure the success of their masters and they were trusted and highly regarded by their masters. They do not hold direct executive power in most instances save for short period of time when the situation was dire. This distinction is important as coaches that cross this line to be part of the system normally do so with non-optimal outcomes if not managed carefully.

“The Art of War” widely attributed to Sun Tzu is another prime example. Although the authorship is still highly debated amongst scholars in light of new archaeological findings. This discourse is not important to us as there is common agreement that it existed way before the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. This book has reached renowned status globally and has been translated into many languages and adopted by many modern management schools and practitioners. Sun Tzu was a military advisor and/or general to King Hule of Wu State and highly regarded as an advisor to the King. It is interesting that the legacy he left behind in this book has served as a virtual coach to the many readers of his book who internalized the dictum appropriately. In the contentious chapter 11 of his book, he states the leader must be "serene and inscrutable" and capable of comprehending "unfathomable plans" which was against many modern thinking that the leader must stay in touch with ground zero. This truism was most probably why a leader needs a coach. A coach can apply frameworks more independently being NOT a part of the system and therefore able to help the leader see the forest from the trees better as both aspects are equally important.

Modern US Government

In modern government like USA, the President is surrounded by many advisors specializing in different areas like homeland, security, economics etc, as well as secretaries. A key differentiator between these advisors and the secretaries surrounding him lies in the fact that the advisors are non-executive in nature whereas those of the secretaries are executive in nature either directly or by fiat. By doing so, these advisors are also playing the role of a coach being detached from the system itself and having less issues when it comes to conflict of interests.

The “realization of what you are lacking is the beginning of knowledge” and coaching might bridge that all important divide standing between you and your goals in both the corporate and/or personal arenas. So what is stopping you from calling a coach and examine what a difference coaching can make to you and your key men and make a difference in your organization.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter
lkypeter@gmail.comSafe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye
(c) Peter Lye 2014

The Great Singapore CPF (pension) Discussion.

Source: CPF.GOV.SG

Dr. TOH Chin Chye as a pioneer batch of PAP ministers spoke in parliament in 1984 that "The fundamental principle is this. The CPF is really a fixed deposit or a loan to the government, which can be withdrawn at a fixed date when the contributor is 55 years old." It ought to generate more questions about his reason for this passionate statement on CPF and went to far as to say "It is as simple as this, that the CPF has lost its credibility, the management of it. This is fundamental."

I am happy to say that current government still recognizes the gravity of this fundamental as 55 years old withdrawal lamp post is still there but might not shine as brilliantly as in the past.

For the fortunate few that can meet both the special and medisave minimum sums ( which will be S$155,000 and S$40,500 for special and medisave account respectively as 1st July2014 ), it is not that bad as they can still withdraw remaining amount above the minimum sums. They can collect the minimum sum when they hit 65 years old not as a lump sum but as a monthly annuity. Previous rule allows full withdrawal.

For others who do not meet these minimum sum requirements, the government has made a good gesture in allowing withdrawal up to S$5,000 or whatever is in your CPF if your balance is less than S$5,000.

On the reverse, the government has also liberalized the usage of CPF for home purchases ( both public and private ), various types of investment, education and healthcare. From a funding standpoint, I disagree with Dr. Toh's analogy of equating CPF to a fixed deposit. With such liberalizations, CPF have a more challenging and less predictable cash flow that on all reasonable counts must lead to a lower rate of return.

The government might want to consider shifting the annuity payout age to 55 to coincide with the magical number as oppose to the current 65. My guess for the 55 and 65 reference points are these. Firstly, population is aging rapidly compounded by sharp fall in birth rate. Secondly, life expectancy has also increased with better healthcare.

Shaving 10 years off an annuity will result in lower monthly payout but it will cover more members. The current average life expectancy of 80.2 and 84.6 for men and women respectively is an AVERAGE and does not show its distribution. Some might not live to 65 to enjoy the payout. Perhaps DOS should release this information.

If we put these two counter weights on a balance, it might not be so bleak. However, I do take issue with the almost unilateral bull dozing manner in it's implementation and the failure to explain the rationale and facts more succinctly.

In retrospect, CPF might have served its purpose as a retirement fund if kept purely as such without allowance to fund housing, healthcare and education. We are too deep into it making. Even if CPF wants to change course, grandfathering will be difficult and complex even if the heart is willing but the soul is weak.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter

lkypeter@gmail.com

Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye

CEO as Super Salesman

It’s not uncommon for CEO to spend substantial part of their time with customers but is it really essential and healthy? The answer is a resounding yes but with lots of caution as if wrongly done, it can send the business southbound. Here are some of the guidelines starting with the don’ts first. Not being negative but mistakes can be more costly. We have substituted the term Sales for Account as it better describe the function in current dispensation.

· Business relationships are inherently B2B or B2C and not personal

Business relationships have three dimensions. The formal, personal and proxied.

It is important that to have a mix of the three to cement business relationships. If highly leveraged on the personal, key man issues might arise should CEO depart. Customers might follow CEO or competitors might chance upon such moments of vulnerability to pinch your customer and raid your business.

For companies with substantial brand equity that is tightly associated with the CEO like Steve Jobs at Apple, the new CEO would have a larger pair of shoes to fit into like Tim Cook. Otherwise substantial brand equity will be an upside. If you carry a name card with emblems of names like McKinsey or Goldman Sachs, half the battle is already on your plate.

Whilst personal dimensions ( both directly personal or proxied ) are important in business, the core of business relationships are still formal in nature and ought to be conducted with such end in mind. The personal and proxied should be view as a means to the end and not the end in itself.

· The ‘Buck Stops Here” Syndrome

This is borrowed from a phrase that inhabits the desk of US President Truman in the oval office. If CEO’s involvement is beyond ceremonial to operational, should a major issue arise, it reaches end point prematurely as the CEO who presents the end point is there for the picking. The Buck Stops Here has it use ( and abuse ).

In technology focused business, it is not uncommon to see CEOs behind computers ( not as a tool for their actual job ) performing what is essentially an engineer’s job. Bill Gates spent almost his entire first day back at Microsoft as an adviser in Feb 2014 trying to install Windows 8.1 upgrade on his PC. To add injury, he also had the new CEO Satya Nadella in tow. Perhaps it is cheaper and more cost effective to have the contractors upgrade the windows in his new corner office for a better view. It is so essential to apply the right type and level of resource to problems.

Decision ought to be made at the right level. Illustrations abounds of how senior people making ill advised decisions that ought to be made at levels which are better armed with field situations and relevant operation doctrines.

· Negotiations

This is a very sinful trap CEOs or senior executives fall into repeatedly for reasons like stealing the thunder from the account team. For meetings to negotiate deals which are almost or already in the bag, CEOs ought not to be present. Should customers demand better pricing or more favourable terms and conditions, it can be declined or deferred on the basis that it is outside the sand box of those present. Such reasons go down easier with customer as it sounds as if those present want to help but is constrained. The customer might even be sympathetic about it.

During my career as account director in a product company, I have declined some invitations by business partners to be present at customer meetings for the same reason. Agents can use my absence more effectively than my presence by deferring or declining such request to the principal.

· Product Centred Events

Events that are centred mainly on features, performance and products/services road maps are not meant for customer’s CEOs or senior executives. The occasion should be graced by your CEO or senior executives by way of a keynote address and maybe during the Q&A or break session. The engagement should kept in the macro or social dimensions and the account team should preferably to there to control the engagement.

The CEO can play a very vital and key role in sales and some of the functionaries might include these.

· Man of Last Resort

There will be situations where critical deals at hand are resting on shaky ground. Such lost can impact business substantially in terms of short term survival and future strategic advantage where the CEO might be the only Man of Last Resort in turning situations around. Such situations should be far and few in between and if it recurs often, something is amiss especially if it occurs mainly with particular account manager or departments without an underlying reasons. Examples would include global accounts ( for which I spent a good part of my career in ) that manages relationships with the most important customers. Escalation in such accounts are more prevalent. The more forward looking business will assign an executive sponsor for each of these accounts from his senior management team. This would provide a more intimate business relationship and escalations can be handled more efficiently.

Even in Man of Last Resort situations, the account team ought to brief the CEO on the field situations and having an account plan as a living document is so important and valuable. It seems to be the bane of many account team perhaps because of the perception that it would make them more dispensable. My personal observation says otherwise that it might be a ticket to the next level.

The possible end points of the meeting should be rehearsed as not every meeting involving the CEO might result in closure. This would help the account team and CEO to conduct themselves appropriately having rehearsed the tango on the possible outcomes and strategies ahead of time. Curve balls will always abound and it is precisely this reason why an executive brief for the CEO is necessary to reduce such risks.

· Connecting

Some business relationships are top down and forged at upper levels between the executives and executed thereafter. It would be an account team’s dream if most deals are constructed as such but in reality, most deals are fought tooth and nails at ground zero.

These connections are increasingly more important as silo vendor providing products and services are transforming into supply chain or outsourcing partnerships. Such engagement involves both extensive and intensive partnerships between the businesses. Sometimes to the extend of Siamese twins cannot happen without senior executive sponsorships. A good example is the relationship between Apple and Foxconn where Foxconn is treated as Apple’s production department but wearing Foxconn emblem.

It should be the account team function to cement the relationship between the businesses in generating engagements between the senior executives of both businesses. Questions prevail on how high the connection should be. The appropriate level would most probably be plus one or two levels above the working relationship. If the product/service is photocopying/printing solution, it will not be wise and appropriate to involve their CEO. The support/approving levels and the height of the organization structure are also key inputs on the appropriate level to engage to.

Account team must manoeuvre with care not to offend customer. Customer must be reassured that it is not to bypass them which can be disastrous. For this reason, it is best done with care and proper advisement. This is certainly not for the rookie or faint hearted.

Having addressed the dos and don’ts, the attention will shift to how to address situations that are already in trouble or are headed towards trouble.

For M&As or the likelihood of such, the CEO and key staff might be given a retention bonus to make it worth their while to stay around to aid the transition. For the purpose of succession planning, the retiring CEO or key staff can be offered an outcome based bonus on retirement.

For business owners cum CEOs that plan to monetised their business by selling, it might seems to fool hardy to make himself less indispensable as it might translate into a lower retention bonus for himself. On the other hand, a business with less key man issues might attract a higher valuation so a balance is needed here.

Insurance company has also ‘develop this market’ with products such as key-man insurance that pays on occurrence of measurable and documentable events pertaining to key-man. Such policies do not fully repair the damage but money does make difficult situations more bearable and can be used to fund resources to repair the damage.

CEO time is not only very costly and precious, it is also not easily expendable and many business as well as CEO might actually not realise. Methods such as having Co-CEOs have at best produced mixed results and not widely adopted. In some cases, 1+1 might amount to less than 2 but at times can dip below 1 due to conflicting directions from two heads.

Account team must manage the CEO engagement with customers prudently and CEOs have to go down hard on the account team with tough love and challenge them on the value proposition before agreeing to the meeting. Last but not least, CEOs ought not be above the law or rules in this case and observe the ground rules themselves.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter

lkypeter@gmail.com

StarHub Upgrade Thesis Punctured by Regulators (10th May 2014)

Analyst Sachin Mittal of DBS Vickers Securities authored a similarly titled report on 24 April 2014 which is catchy with a tinge of wicked humor in straight laced Singapore which might impact the public persona of IDA our government regulator.

It seems that IDA has been rightly or wrongly perceived as being “pro business” or rather “pro Telco” judging from the tone of the noise from social media but the landscape seems to be changing. Just before this article went out, IDA has imposed a record fine of S$6 million on another Telco Singtel for an extended outage last year.

The corner stone of this report emanated from a confused public outcry by existing customers of StarHub over an additional S$2.14 fixed monthly charge for the privilege of using the new and faster LTE network. On the surface, it seems reasonable as it is only a fixed monthly charge with no change in the unit rates.

Consumers perceived ( perception can be more deadly than the truth at times) the additional charge as unfair because they have been using it for free all this while. LTE was introduced into Singapore in 2013 with limited geographical coverage and only became available more extensively in recent months.

It is common practice for Telco as well as other industry players to introduce their new products or services for free or reduced rates to attract customers to latch onto the new service. Another key reason stems from a need to test drive their various process to make it road worthy. Some of which might include BSS supporting billing $$$ which is very key as well as OSS for enrolling customers. All these are not a walk in the park and the back office of Telco can have complexity beyond a lay person’s imagination. Lastly, some regulators do not allow Telco to charge until the service is fit for use.

StarHub was up in arms that customers have been briefed at point of sale that this service is free for a limited time period only and Starhub reserves the right to impose additional charges at a future date. In a surprising move, IDA commented that she is satisfied that StarHub has language in the terms and conditions signed by customers and secondly had informed customers well ahead of time on this additional charge. However, there is room for improvement at the point of sale and IDA announced that will work with Telco to improve and tighten these procedures at point of sale.

Another sticky point could be the opt in by default meaning that customers who do not opt out will automatically deemed to have agreed to subscribe to the LTE service at additional change. Starhub might argue that customers have already opted in for LTE when they sign-up. Why would anyone refuse a free service?

This pronouncement is landmark for IDA probably because she might has most probably come to term that if each and every customer were to read the entire terms and conditions thoroughly at point of sale, it would result in an untenable cost of transaction both for the Telco and customers.

Allowing free market forces to govern the market will not do as it is not anywhere near a perfect competition and a label of oligopoly seems more appropriate. As such, joint measures by both IDA and Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) must be titrated to achieve better balance of power for the lone consumers. Some means of overcoming such situations efficiently and effectively might include making:

certain classes of terms and conditions illegal, void, voidable etc. Such protection should only be extended to retail consumers and not enterprise customers on the basis that an unequally yoked contract is less likely with enterprise customers. The question on whether to extend it to SME is debatable. Such legislatures are already in place in the Sale of Goods Act and what might be needed is a more focused legislature to cover situations unique to Telco.

termination either for convenience or otherwise by either party should have their penalties sand boxed preferably by guidelines from IDA. There have been horror stories from consumers in the past being imposed hefty termination changes that seems legal but hardly equitable. Fixed term contracts are constituted as the language suggest. If Telco makes material changes and/or pricing, it should at least not be applicable to existing fixed term contract consumers. The contracts should tie both parties on an equitable ground till the end of contract. If Telco wants to terminate the contract for convenience, it should pay similar or higher penalty to the consumer at similar rates. Terms and conditions such as Telco reserve the right to vary or change the contract should be the first to be outlawed. Otherwise, why even call it a contract.

variation of pricing during contractual period should be tightly governed by a set of independent, robust, measurable and attributable metrics. To be fair to the Telco, perhaps they should be allowed to vary prices via independent yardsticks like published consumer price index (CPI) or price of electricity. Telco would challenge that the cost of operations have little to do with such yardsticks but it is perhaps the best available yardstick although it sucks just like what examinations are to students

limit the use of automatic opt in by Telcos as this can be abused by carriers leveraging on the fact that most consumers might not have read or understood such notices or Telcos making the opt out process so onerous that consumers dispense with it.

robust and tight tariff filing framework a must to ensure that Telco adhere to fair commercial practices. This is more prevalent in broadband carriers ( lesser extent in mobile operators ) that are perpetually offering discounted prices that are mostly if not always lower than what existing customers are paying. I am not proposing a onerous ‘most favored customer’ like language but an appropriate and transparent tariff filing framework to provide similar cover for existing consumers. Not that tariff filing is a cure all as experience has shown that tariff filing also have loop holes like chaining up prisoners is no guarantee that escape is impossible but makes it less inviting.

IDA has contributed much to Singapore's progress especially in the technology arena. The next leap would most probably need CCS as co-pilot to manage an open market with increasing participation of top global carriers that expects a much more level playing field.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter

lkypeter@gmail.com

Reaching the Pinnacle. - Janos Starker

The verdict is a difficult one but certainly drives home the point that the pinnacle is definitely not a sharp point with room for only one or few but more likely to be broader with space for a few more but certainly not a village.

Just like caveats doled out by investment peddlers that ‘past performance is no guarantee of future performance’, the same sometime applies to talented musicians that fall flat when rewarded with a promotion to first chair, concert master or conductor only to be classed as a one hit record thereafter. Such outcomes are very costly to both the organization as well as the talent. Especially for the talent, it might be a regressive step career wise that he might not recover from. Janos was one such talent but he recovered well by retreating (or more appropriately switching as neither role supersedes the other) back to “SoloShip”.

We can draw valuable lessons from both Harvard Business School case study "When a New Manager Stumbles, Who’s at Fault?" by Gordon Adler as well as the life of great cellist Janos Starker that has left us in recent past.

In the world of classical music performance, the apex is occupied by soloists or conductors. Conducting mirrors management in business world as in getting things done THROUGH people. For the conductor to do likewise, he must maintain a macro view of the music and seduce the orchestra to do his bidding. His main instrument; the baton is more likely to produce more noise than music especially in a not so abiding orchestra. Off stage, he is responsible for maintaining good human capital hygiene and leadership for the orchestra. With strong anecdotal evidence that musicians in general are more eccentric does not make the task simpler. Add the idiosyncrasies of the conductor and multiplicity of viewpoints as music is more of an art than science and you have an enigmatic brew in the making. It is a great wonder that we have so much great music made under such circumstances.

The path to a conducting career is made after being good but not necessarily great or greatest in one or more instruments of which violin and piano are the most common. Generally they will work their way to first chair. For violinist, there is a promotion to concert master just a grade below a conductor but the differential is liken to heaven and hell. Most great conductors like Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado have never been featured as soloist or first chair and might not know ground zero that well. On the other hand, we have Vladimir Ashkenazy started life as pianist and profess he never aspired to be a conductor but got into it by 'accident'. Nikolaus Harnoncourt was bred from a rare specie; tympanist, to a conductor. Mstislav Rostropovich like Starker, started life as cellist for which the path to enlightenment is that of a celebrated soloist rather than a conductor.

I always have a soft spot for Rostropovich as he is such a warm and humble person to be around. On the other hand, I am less forgiving in the case of Starker for his smarty two pants persona. In addition, Rostropovich has stood up for political causes repeatedly with little or no private agendas except with very genuine and emotive tears of joy or sadness depending on the occasion. Unlike most Russian musicians of his era that seek political at the earliest opportunity, his was the reverse as the Russian government renounced his citizenship. I think his love for motherland Russia is deep as he returned to Russia once his citizenship was reinstated.

Starker is quite a departure from the norm in more ways than one with a mostly technical and stoic posturing on stage and sanguine and opinionated off stage. He openly said in one of the press interviews that "Conductors are the most over rated" of all musicians. I can see where this might have originated as there were a few occasions that the conductor walked out mid way through a performance forcing the concert master to take over for varied reasons. Some of which are the orchestra working against him or divergent views with the soloist. A conductor once made a public proclamation before the piece that he had very different view of the music from the soloist but allowed the soloist view to prevail. This actually happened to the famous but queer Canadian pianist Glenn Gould unsurprisingly. This view point does hold some truths in a limited sense in a corporate setting. Most companies will continue to function in the short to medium with the COO, CFO or a board member taking the role temporarily if the CEO takes leave suddenly.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Starker's conducting career was a bit 747 heavy and did not quite take off in aeronautic speak perhaps because of the much higher expectation placed on him as an already famous cellist. However, he got his just reward in winning a Grammy award for his highly stoic and technical recording of Bach cello suites. Winning a Grammy is a rare occasion for classical musician and some sour grapes attribute it to his friendly relations with the press.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter
Safe HarborPlease note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copyrights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

Henryk Szeryng and Brahms Violin Concerto in D minor Opus 77

Henryk Szeryng (Photo credit:Wikipedia)

I bought Brahms symphonic works set by Decca with Bernard Haitink conducting Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) for the 4 symphonies and it was on sale. While browsing in the comfort of my home, (model customer buying without testing and much forethought) opus 77 caught my sight being one of my favorite pieces having written a review of it previously. Was pleasantly surprised by the very crisp tonality (not necessarily a plus point) of solo violinist Henryk Szeryng with Bernard Haitink conducting RCO.

This recording is a recent remastering by Decca of the original by Philips and expected a darker background but there is still evidence of tape hiss which disappeared once the beautiful music lure you away from it. The remastering engineer could have decided to sacrifice a bit of the tape hiss for a more full bodied sound as I have heard some remastering that are clinical but lacked energy.

For more background on this composition, refer to my previous review so there is no need to repeat it.

This piece most probably have a special place in Szeryng heart being his coming of age first public performance in 1933 with his motherland orchestra; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. Like most Polish, Szeryng is a Jew but was spared the horror of 2nd world war holocaust. During the war, he made over 300 appearances to cheer the Allied Forces on top of helping about 4,000 Jewish refugee in their passage to Mexico in 1941.

Specific to this interpretation, I particularly like the grand entrance by Szeryng that is controlled without maximum volume. It is beyond words and you should listen it yourself. The cadenza might not have the technical mastery of Heifetz but is waxed lyrical with the beautifully executed phrasing. As this is an audio, I can only try to imagine what Szeryng did during the famously long break for the soloist while the wood winds take centre stage in the second movement. Wonder if any soloist has ever missed the timely return? It is also for this reason why some violinist stay away from this piece.

Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copyrights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

Janos Starker-Highly Complex Muscian

Hugarian Jewish cellist Janos Starker. (photo credit: courtesy)

Of late, I seems to be writing tributes to public figures like Margaret Thatcher. When news of famous cellist Janos Starker death on 28 April 2013 reached me, writing a tribute to this great musician has been on must do list.

Thanks to marketing hype, Yo-Yo Ma rings most bells and some might ask who is Starker. Ma is sort of a crossover performing both popular and classical music that reaches a larger audience.It includes performances in key events like the inauguration of president Barack Obama which was inflamed by voice over tactics having criticized China of the same during the Beijing Olympics.

In China's case, it was a straight forward case as both the recorded voice talent and the live performer were two different persons; Yang Peiyi and Lin Miaoke respectively. The USA presidential staff defended their move ferociously stating categorically that it was not voice over as the artist and performers were the same person and the 'mixing' of the two was due to strong wind conditions that could decapitate the microphones. The first few rows of audience clearly heard the dissonance and it quickly became news. Whether it was a lame excuse to ensure near perfect performance or otherwise, only God knows.

My knowledge of Starker is gleaned from his recordings as well as second hand accounts from the media. Cellists are most probably a distant second only to violinists in terms of works to show case them on the pedestal. These works can be classed as solos, sonatas and concertos. Some of the famous cellists both past and present includes Rostropovich, Piatigorsky, Maisky,DuPre and Casals that popularize Bach Cello Suites which the general public might hear excerpts of as background music. Starker won a Grammy award for his recording of this much recorded piece which says volumes of his skills.

Starker's parentage were both of Jewish stock with father of Hungarian and mother of Ukrainian descent. During the Second World War, he cheated death although he was interned in a Nazi prison that deeply affected him as he made much reference to it thereafter. Without being racist, even Adolf Hilter listens to records by Jewish musicians when they found records of them in his personal bunker.

He was a child prodigy and much sought after during his life time. It saddens me that such a great musician spent his final days in a hospice in Bloomington, Indiana USA instead of his home according to New York Times corrigendum who thought he died in his home instead at a ripe old age of 88. Plus he is survived by many close ones like his two daughters, three grand children and his second wife. His first marriage ended in divorce like most talented musician perhaps due to their idiosyncrasies.

Starker's persona seems like polar opposites to his musical style. He was well known for his technical mastery sometimes edging on being a stoic. He recounted in an interview with Internet Cello Society in 1996 that he is a musician, not an actor and criticizing some musicians for acting like making love to themselves on stage. To add leanness to this, he was judicious in the use of vibrato which only gain fade in recent past. Excessive vibrato is like women smearing lipstick on their face according to him. This was an interesting conjecture as he lost the top place to his student Ivan Janzer in a Geneva Cello Competition in 1946 on account of technical accuracy. This did not dampen the teaching aspect of his career as he himself remarked that he cannot perform without teaching and cannot teach without performing.

Just as well that this humiliating episode happened early in this life as humility wass certainly not in his dictionary. Fellow peer Rostropovich shared this about Starker “What I’d like to see is a little more humility and dignity displayed towards our art, and less self-aggrandizement,” in a 1980 interview with People Magazine.On one occasion reported by The Telegraph, he remarked that Rostropovich is more famous but he is a greater cellist. For Jacqueline DuPre whose life was cut short by multiple sclerosis, his view being that she gave too much of her life to music until there was not much left.

This off stage behavior was not only limited to his peers but also to conductors.He was quoted by New York Times reporters that "conductors are the most overrated musician" having cross swords with giants like Herbert von Karajan and Eugene Ormandy. In the case of Ormandy, the feud lasted 30 years after a joint performance of Die Fledermaus on account that Ormandy did not know the score according to Starker. The verdict on who rules the stage; conductor or soloist will never cast in stone. My own opinion is more about harmony as well as seducing rather than forcing each other into their agendas.

Cigarettes and Scotch were his other habits or rather addictions as he keeps them close with him always. It was rumored that he once cancelled a concert as the hall imposed a strict no smoking rule.

Which was his real character? As expressed by his music or his off stage character? You be the judge.

The Chinese Experience (c)Peking University

Modern US Government

The Chinese Experience

(c)Peking University