When people describe their childhood piano lessons they invariably make a face connoting utter tedium, then describe rituals of meaningless repetition--no need to go further, I'm sure.
I recall my bafflement on hearing other children play the piano--children who were far more dutiful in practicing than I ever was: "Am I supposed to sound like that?" I wondered. A few years ago my singer/songwriter/improviser daughter told me that she had experienced a similar questioning as a child.
Then there was Myra Hess. I was given a ticket to hear her play three Mozart concertos with the Chicago Symphony. She didn't do anything right: the beats were irregular, the scales uneven. What was that about?
That raises a new, not frequently asked question: Given the current standardization of classical music performance, would anyone alive now give her the time of day?
