It is utterly fascinating that adolescents, just arriving at self-awareness, are patient with details when allowed to be. A four-hand work by Mozart is exquisitely crafted of one detail after another, combining likely sounds with unlikely rhythms or the other way around, in maddeningly unpredictable fasion. This makes rattling the piece off completely impossible, as those pesky sounds have a way of increasingly disturbing our equilibrium as we become familiar with "the music"--whatever that is!

I contrast their fascination with the memory of my own impatience at their age, feeling always the pressure of not measuring up and, in turn, being quick to look down my nose at anyone less accomplished than myself.

In a climate of mutual awareness one learns self-awareness. The two together are critical to a grasp of the artistry of Mozart.