borrowed instruments

I just completed a four-city recital and masterclass tour of Brazil, which included one car trip, three domestic flights, and one round-trip international flight.  Usually when I travel for concerts, I face the frustration and complexity we all enjoy of bringing the cello onboard, extra ticket gripped firmly in hand.  The slightly unusual aspect of this recent tour was that I used borrowed cellos for each concert.  I left my own instrument at home for several reasons.  Although my room and board was generously covered in each city, most of my flights were not, and I didn't want to pay close to $1k for the extra plane tickets.  I didn't want either the physical hassle of carrying it around, nor the emotional/mental hassle from airport personnel in a country I [...]