Last year was a memorable one for American cellist Lynn Harrell. It was the year he lost his hands and got them back.
And just in time, too, for playing and recording two works by Miklos Rozsa with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.As a result of carpal tunnel syndrome that may have been building for 20 or 25 years, according to Harrell's British neurologist, the cellist became aware of a growing numbness in the first finger of his right hand (which controls the pressure on the cello bow).
As he investigated causes and remedies, he realized he had lost sensation in his left hand as well. When his doctor proposed surgery, Harrell decided to have both hands done at the same time -- in June.
Harrell embarked on physical therapy with a sports medicine clinic in Aspen, Colo., that normally works on Olympic skiers.
He ended up taking five months off from playing. He reintroduced himself to the cello with three minutes a day of practice, increasing the time in tiny increments. "It was excruciatingly painful," he said, "because I had no calluses and no muscles. I hadn't realized one could lose all that so quickly." By August, he was ready to begin work on his concert repertory -- but even so, he was forced to cancel some of his September engagements.
As a further challenge, the Rozsa concerto is quite difficult, and Harrell, 55, was learning it for the first time. "There are quite nasty things in it," he said cheerfully.