We sat down fifteen feet away from twin Steinways. A young, petite woman in a black lace dress sat at one, an older gentleman with wild hair, a blue vest and impressive cufflinks at the other. She began to play Schumann's Piano Sonata in F#minor Op. 11. As the final movement ended the room filled with applause. Her performance was fantastic.
Then he began to quietly speak.
He asked her to play the beginning of the first movement again. As she did he began to gently coach her, to draw out music that was not there before. He didn't use musical terms to guide her; they were both beyond the music on the page. "You must have a third ear listening in the balcony. Play to that ear." "The piano is an imperfect instrument, so we must fool ourselves and play what isn't there." My favorite was, "We all have our missed notes, but this piece invites danger."
When she played it was beautiful. When he played it felt transcendent.
He was a master. The music was in his DNA. Over the decades it had seeped down to the mitochondrial level. At this depth of knowledge he was able to rearrange the soul of the piece and bring new life to already beautiful art.
Not everyone makes beautiful music, but we are all called to make our world a better and more beautiful place.
Take a moment and think through your response to these prompts. Write down your thoughts.
- One way I can improve my craft is __________________.
- One step I can take to do so is ____________________.
- A Master I can seek out for guidance is ___________________.
- Who can I gently coach and help bring out what they did not know was there?