1 00:00:12,412 --> 00:00:14,677 I would love not to miss that octave. 2 00:00:17,083 --> 00:00:18,517 That's a hard thing. 3 00:00:21,187 --> 00:00:24,487 How can I be sure that I'm gonna get there? 4 00:00:28,695 --> 00:00:31,392 If I open in- in advance... 5 00:00:31,431 --> 00:00:34,196 That's what I'll do. I'll open my hand in advance. 6 00:00:35,335 --> 00:00:36,428 Okay. 7 00:00:44,277 --> 00:00:47,714 I keep hitting, and I keep overshooting the runway here. 8 00:00:49,282 --> 00:00:50,477 See? It will-not right. 9 00:00:50,517 --> 00:00:52,349 So something has to go. 10 00:00:57,290 --> 00:00:59,282 Okay. 11 00:00:59,325 --> 00:01:00,588 I have to get there in advance. 12 00:01:17,177 --> 00:01:18,668 And here we go again. 13 00:01:21,748 --> 00:01:22,772 Got it. 14 00:02:13,833 --> 00:02:15,597 Good. 15 00:02:17,770 --> 00:02:19,568 Now less. 16 00:02:22,208 --> 00:02:24,837 You don't want to play a staccato that sounds... 17 00:02:26,679 --> 00:02:29,205 Like you're jogging through the park. 18 00:02:29,249 --> 00:02:32,413 See, the most important thing- 19 00:02:32,452 --> 00:02:35,752 One of the most important things I would say- 20 00:02:35,788 --> 00:02:39,225 although some people think it is the most important thing- 21 00:02:39,259 --> 00:02:40,818 is an even pulse, 22 00:02:40,860 --> 00:02:43,193 a pulse that never stops. 23 00:02:48,268 --> 00:02:50,794 It's never going to stop. 24 00:02:50,837 --> 00:02:54,638 You know how the gurus train us to say, 25 00:02:54,674 --> 00:02:57,337 "Om. " 26 00:02:57,377 --> 00:03:01,473 This-like a drone of sound, right, that never stops? 27 00:03:01,514 --> 00:03:05,212 # Pa-ro, ro # 28 00:03:05,251 --> 00:03:08,585 # Ta, rum, pa-rum # 29 00:03:08,621 --> 00:03:11,420 We have to modify the pulse there. 30 00:03:11,457 --> 00:03:13,289 # Rum, pa # 31 00:03:13,326 --> 00:03:16,387 But the eighth notes never stop, see? 32 00:03:20,767 --> 00:03:22,793 Float your right arm more. 33 00:03:24,704 --> 00:03:26,332 See, move over. 34 00:03:26,372 --> 00:03:27,772 So even though it's a staccato- 35 00:03:27,807 --> 00:03:29,537 You can sit. 36 00:03:29,576 --> 00:03:31,511 Even though it's a staccato... 37 00:03:34,781 --> 00:03:36,909 Pedal, pedal. 38 00:03:44,490 --> 00:03:48,393 So why don't I tell you why I've asked you all here? 39 00:03:49,896 --> 00:03:51,455 I have been 40 00:03:51,497 --> 00:03:53,864 struggling recently 41 00:03:53,900 --> 00:03:59,567 with finding why it is that I do what I do. 42 00:03:59,606 --> 00:04:02,735 I knew that, uh, the superficial things- 43 00:04:02,775 --> 00:04:06,644 uh, material wealth, the world thinking you're a big shot- 44 00:04:06,679 --> 00:04:09,376 I kind of knew that that was phony, 45 00:04:09,415 --> 00:04:11,850 that there was something inauthentic to build on. 46 00:04:11,884 --> 00:04:15,321 But I didn't know what was authentic. 47 00:04:15,355 --> 00:04:18,883 My friend Tony Zito invited me over to dinner, 48 00:04:18,925 --> 00:04:21,690 and Seymour Bernstein was sitting next to me, 49 00:04:21,728 --> 00:04:23,890 and I immediately felt kind of safe around him 50 00:04:23,930 --> 00:04:25,660 to talk to him about some of these things. 51 00:04:25,698 --> 00:04:28,930 And at this one dinner, Seymour helped me 52 00:04:28,968 --> 00:04:34,339 more than anyone in my own profession had been able to. 53 00:04:34,374 --> 00:04:35,933 Don't let go of this E... 54 00:04:36,976 --> 00:04:39,309 Until it's time... 55 00:04:39,345 --> 00:04:41,780 Until it's time to play it. 56 00:04:41,814 --> 00:04:44,010 And then it'll sound perfect. 57 00:04:47,787 --> 00:04:49,653 Ah. 58 00:04:57,430 --> 00:05:00,525 Oh, now, a dream. 59 00:05:00,566 --> 00:05:01,898 That was better than mine. 60 00:05:01,934 --> 00:05:04,369 You're not allowed to play better than I do. 61 00:05:10,977 --> 00:05:15,438 One day, a Dr. Kimmelman called me up 62 00:05:15,481 --> 00:05:17,780 and asked if I would teach his son. 63 00:05:17,817 --> 00:05:19,718 I asked him, how old is his son? 64 00:05:19,752 --> 00:05:21,084 He said, "Five. " 65 00:05:21,321 --> 00:05:22,687 I said, "Five? 66 00:05:22,722 --> 00:05:25,487 Well, I never taught anyone at the age of five. " 67 00:05:25,525 --> 00:05:28,324 He said, "Oh, my son is very bright. 68 00:05:28,361 --> 00:05:30,694 Yeah, I think you'll enjoy him. " 69 00:05:30,730 --> 00:05:33,825 And his mother, during the lessons, 70 00:05:33,866 --> 00:05:37,394 she has a little pad, and she's sketching. 71 00:05:37,437 --> 00:05:39,668 One day, 72 00:05:39,706 --> 00:05:44,940 she brings me this beautiful sculpture of my cat. 73 00:05:44,977 --> 00:05:47,537 Michael, you didn't know I was going to bring this, did you? 74 00:05:47,580 --> 00:05:48,570 No, I didn't. I- 75 00:05:48,614 --> 00:05:49,843 - Do you remember... - Of course. 76 00:05:49,882 --> 00:05:51,077 That your mother gave this to me? 77 00:05:51,117 --> 00:05:53,086 Of course. Yeah. Of course. 78 00:05:53,119 --> 00:05:57,079 Well, Michael eventually became incorrigible. 79 00:05:57,123 --> 00:05:59,092 He wouldn't practice. 80 00:05:59,125 --> 00:06:00,354 Well, I don't think it was "eventually. " 81 00:06:00,393 --> 00:06:01,759 I don't think I ever practiced, do you? 82 00:06:01,794 --> 00:06:04,764 You always would more or less say, "Listen, Michael, 83 00:06:04,797 --> 00:06:06,356 "I love you dearly, but, you know, 84 00:06:06,399 --> 00:06:07,628 maybe you don't want to be doing this. " 85 00:06:21,647 --> 00:06:24,139 I begged my mother for piano lessons. 86 00:06:24,384 --> 00:06:25,909 We didn't even have a piano. 87 00:06:25,952 --> 00:06:30,390 So somebody gave us an old upright piano when I was six. 88 00:06:30,423 --> 00:06:34,087 There was no music ever played in my house-ever. 89 00:06:34,127 --> 00:06:36,892 We didn't even own any records. 90 00:06:42,135 --> 00:06:43,501 Right? 91 00:06:47,807 --> 00:06:49,036 Right? 92 00:06:49,075 --> 00:06:52,512 I got up early on a Sunday morning, 93 00:06:52,545 --> 00:06:55,947 and I couldn't wait to see what was in this book. 94 00:06:55,982 --> 00:06:57,109 I turned the page, 95 00:06:57,150 --> 00:06:59,676 and there was the Serenade by Schubert. 96 00:07:02,555 --> 00:07:05,992 It seemed to me that I always knew that piece. 97 00:07:06,025 --> 00:07:09,484 My parents were sleeping on the second floor, 98 00:07:09,529 --> 00:07:12,499 and my three sisters were all sleeping. 99 00:07:12,532 --> 00:07:14,865 So my mother heard the piano playing. 100 00:07:14,901 --> 00:07:18,167 She came down. She found me crying. 101 00:07:18,204 --> 00:07:19,934 "Why are you crying?" 102 00:07:19,972 --> 00:07:24,433 "Oh, it's the most beautiful piece I ever heard," I told her. 103 00:07:24,477 --> 00:07:27,675 I remember your Alice Tully Hall recital very well. 104 00:07:27,713 --> 00:07:29,045 Really? Were you there? 105 00:07:29,081 --> 00:07:30,447 Yeah, I was a boy. 106 00:07:30,483 --> 00:07:31,974 Do you- There is something- 107 00:07:32,018 --> 00:07:33,509 It was a great experience in my life. 108 00:07:33,553 --> 00:07:35,181 This was seeing somebody I loved deeply 109 00:07:35,221 --> 00:07:37,019 play in a way that I cou- 110 00:07:37,056 --> 00:07:38,718 I still remember it vividly. 111 00:07:38,758 --> 00:07:40,852 You were phenomenal. 112 00:07:40,893 --> 00:07:42,885 The Tully Hall had just opened. 113 00:07:42,929 --> 00:07:47,196 And there were other- other mitigating circumstances 114 00:07:47,233 --> 00:07:51,568 that made me crawl the wall with nervousness. 115 00:07:51,604 --> 00:07:53,835 - I was a total wreck. - Hmm. 116 00:07:53,873 --> 00:07:55,239 In those days, you know, 117 00:07:55,475 --> 00:07:57,603 the review came out the next day. 118 00:07:57,643 --> 00:07:59,839 I'm walking on 76th Street, 119 00:07:59,879 --> 00:08:02,781 turning the pages, prepared to see the worst. 120 00:08:02,815 --> 00:08:04,943 - It was by Donal Henahan. - Mm-hmm. 121 00:08:04,984 --> 00:08:07,544 Boy, he was so terrible to pianists, 122 00:08:07,587 --> 00:08:10,955 but he gave me a rave review. 123 00:08:10,990 --> 00:08:14,825 "Seymour Bernstein triumphs at the piano. " 124 00:08:14,861 --> 00:08:19,799 My friend Sheila Ohlendorf made a reception for me. 125 00:08:19,832 --> 00:08:21,232 Yeah. 126 00:08:21,267 --> 00:08:23,759 I came to the reception, 127 00:08:23,803 --> 00:08:27,171 and I said, "Sheila, could I speak to you in the back room?" 128 00:08:27,206 --> 00:08:30,199 I looked at her very sincerely, 129 00:08:30,243 --> 00:08:32,644 and I said to her, 130 00:08:32,678 --> 00:08:34,704 "If you love me, 131 00:08:34,747 --> 00:08:36,978 you'll never let me play in public again. " 132 00:09:15,254 --> 00:09:18,850 When I was around the age of 15, 133 00:09:18,891 --> 00:09:22,191 I remember that I became aware 134 00:09:22,228 --> 00:09:25,027 that when my practicing went well, 135 00:09:25,064 --> 00:09:30,002 everything else in life seemed to be harmonized by that. 136 00:09:30,036 --> 00:09:33,097 When my practicing didn't go well, 137 00:09:33,139 --> 00:09:37,907 I was out of sorts with people, with my parents. 138 00:09:37,944 --> 00:09:40,140 So I concluded 139 00:09:40,179 --> 00:09:43,980 that the real essence of who we are 140 00:09:44,016 --> 00:09:48,579 resides in our talent and whatever talent there is. 141 00:10:17,750 --> 00:10:19,082 Motivated by a love of music 142 00:10:19,118 --> 00:10:22,987 and possessed of a clear understanding 143 00:10:23,022 --> 00:10:26,220 of the reasons for practicing, 144 00:10:26,258 --> 00:10:30,127 you can establish so deep an accord 145 00:10:30,162 --> 00:10:34,657 between your musical self and your personal self 146 00:10:34,700 --> 00:10:39,229 that eventually music and life will interact 147 00:10:39,271 --> 00:10:42,764 in a never-ending cycle of fulfillment. 148 00:11:20,813 --> 00:11:23,840 Now let's-let's talk about the first slur. 149 00:11:23,883 --> 00:11:26,284 The second notes have to be softer. 150 00:11:32,458 --> 00:11:34,927 No, the second notes are too loud. 151 00:11:39,398 --> 00:11:41,333 Okay, now in time, in time. 152 00:11:43,269 --> 00:11:45,204 Now, there are three statements. 153 00:11:45,237 --> 00:11:47,934 # Ta-ra, ta-ra, ta-ra, rum # 154 00:11:47,973 --> 00:11:50,875 # Ta-ra, ta-ra, ta-ra, rum, ta-ra # 155 00:11:50,910 --> 00:11:51,900 - Right? - Mm-hmm. 156 00:11:51,944 --> 00:11:53,435 So start the first one less. 157 00:11:53,479 --> 00:11:56,244 Does it say to do that? 158 00:11:56,282 --> 00:11:58,012 Of course not. 159 00:11:58,050 --> 00:11:59,313 - But we have to- - We know to do that. 160 00:11:59,351 --> 00:12:01,320 We have to do that. 161 00:12:03,956 --> 00:12:05,356 Easy, easy. 162 00:12:10,396 --> 00:12:11,830 Good. 163 00:12:13,833 --> 00:12:15,392 And now go for it! 164 00:12:18,437 --> 00:12:22,101 That's very good. Now play the opening slur. 165 00:12:30,249 --> 00:12:34,482 Okay, now, before I discuss that further... 166 00:12:36,822 --> 00:12:38,518 See those two notes? 167 00:12:40,426 --> 00:12:42,327 There's no slur. 168 00:12:43,529 --> 00:12:47,057 We both agree the second note should be softer, right? 169 00:12:47,099 --> 00:12:50,365 Do you connect that note to the next note? 170 00:12:50,402 --> 00:12:52,234 Well, here you have a repeated note, so... 171 00:12:52,271 --> 00:12:54,866 - Mm-hmm. Do you connect it? - No. 172 00:12:54,907 --> 00:12:56,170 You make a separation? 173 00:12:56,208 --> 00:12:58,541 - Yeah. - You didn't. 174 00:12:58,778 --> 00:13:01,771 Do it. Play the opening. 175 00:13:04,450 --> 00:13:06,180 - You didn't do that. - I didn't do that, no. 176 00:13:06,218 --> 00:13:07,413 Of course not. 177 00:13:07,453 --> 00:13:09,251 You're thinking we're never gonna get past 178 00:13:09,288 --> 00:13:10,278 this first measure. 179 00:13:17,229 --> 00:13:19,892 But don't leave the key. 180 00:13:19,932 --> 00:13:22,265 Now play the left hand first with the soft pedal. 181 00:13:22,301 --> 00:13:24,497 Let's see, so- That's right. 182 00:13:24,537 --> 00:13:26,836 Halfway down. 183 00:13:26,872 --> 00:13:30,832 Don't always play keys to the key bed. 184 00:13:30,876 --> 00:13:33,471 The escapement level is halfway down. 185 00:13:33,512 --> 00:13:36,277 Right? Right here? 186 00:13:37,950 --> 00:13:40,112 - See? Right here? - Mm-hmm. 187 00:13:40,152 --> 00:13:42,121 Play that. Play that just... 188 00:13:42,154 --> 00:13:43,816 With the pedal. 189 00:13:43,856 --> 00:13:46,986 Too deep. 190 00:13:47,059 --> 00:13:51,019 Okay. Okay, and now play. 191 00:13:52,097 --> 00:13:53,895 Good. 192 00:13:56,368 --> 00:13:59,463 Same. Now go softer. 193 00:14:00,906 --> 00:14:02,431 Now crescendo. 194 00:14:13,018 --> 00:14:16,045 Okay, very, very good. 195 00:14:18,557 --> 00:14:20,526 Oh, this is the most beautiful piano. 196 00:14:20,559 --> 00:14:25,327 It's mine, and yet I find it's one of my favorite pianos. 197 00:14:25,364 --> 00:14:27,162 The sound seems- 198 00:14:27,199 --> 00:14:29,293 You know, pianos' tones die. 199 00:14:29,335 --> 00:14:30,359 You go like this... 200 00:14:31,437 --> 00:14:34,373 And the-and the sound dies, but this one seems... 201 00:14:36,242 --> 00:14:39,178 This one seems to grow somehow. 202 00:14:46,552 --> 00:14:51,650 This piano, by the way, stood at 9 East 72nd Street, 203 00:14:51,891 --> 00:14:55,623 which is a famous mansion. 204 00:14:55,661 --> 00:14:57,926 And guess who owned it. 205 00:14:57,963 --> 00:14:59,363 My patroness. 206 00:15:00,366 --> 00:15:04,167 Her name was Mildred Boos. 207 00:15:04,203 --> 00:15:06,900 And the music room was patterned 208 00:15:06,939 --> 00:15:09,204 after the music room in the Palace of Versailles. 209 00:15:09,241 --> 00:15:11,210 It was unbelievable. 210 00:15:11,243 --> 00:15:14,680 It seated easily 250 people. 211 00:15:14,914 --> 00:15:18,442 Mrs. Boos was a spiritualist. 212 00:15:18,484 --> 00:15:21,477 She had a religion called "I Am. " 213 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:26,458 She believed in contacting all the masters: 214 00:15:26,492 --> 00:15:29,462 Jesus, Moses, Bu#ha- 215 00:15:29,495 --> 00:15:31,555 the-the whole gang there. 216 00:15:31,597 --> 00:15:35,932 And-and so- and she had students there 217 00:15:35,968 --> 00:15:37,561 who followed this religion. 218 00:15:37,603 --> 00:15:40,596 I said to her one day, 219 00:15:40,639 --> 00:15:43,131 "Do you have anyone playing the organ?" 220 00:15:43,175 --> 00:15:44,939 She had an organ. 221 00:15:44,977 --> 00:15:47,344 And I said, "I'll do it for you. " 222 00:15:47,379 --> 00:15:49,610 Well, that did it. 223 00:15:49,648 --> 00:15:55,280 That's what made me the special person in her life. 224 00:15:55,321 --> 00:15:58,086 She sponsored my debuts in Europe. 225 00:15:58,123 --> 00:16:02,185 She phoned after very concert to find out how it went, 226 00:16:02,227 --> 00:16:04,162 from New York to Paris, 227 00:16:04,196 --> 00:16:06,688 from New York to London, 228 00:16:06,732 --> 00:16:09,566 from New York to Hamburg- wherever I played. 229 00:16:09,601 --> 00:16:13,197 When I came home, well, she said, "Come to Scarsdale. " 230 00:16:13,238 --> 00:16:17,642 She gave me the key to this ten-room Tudor mansion. 231 00:16:17,676 --> 00:16:20,077 And she said, "Here, dear, 232 00:16:20,112 --> 00:16:24,573 it's yours for however long you want it. " 233 00:16:24,616 --> 00:16:30,078 Every day, practically, when I was there, 234 00:16:30,122 --> 00:16:32,614 the doorbell would ring, 235 00:16:32,658 --> 00:16:35,992 and another delivery would take place: 236 00:16:36,028 --> 00:16:38,224 a TV, 237 00:16:38,263 --> 00:16:40,732 a silver tea set, 238 00:16:40,766 --> 00:16:42,735 a velvet smoking jacket. 239 00:16:42,768 --> 00:16:46,170 She was drowning me in luxuries. 240 00:16:46,205 --> 00:16:50,506 When I went through that door and she gave me the key, 241 00:16:50,542 --> 00:16:52,670 I got terrified. 242 00:16:52,711 --> 00:16:56,671 In her living room, on every table 243 00:16:56,715 --> 00:16:59,116 was my photograph. 244 00:16:59,151 --> 00:17:00,710 It would seem very obvious 245 00:17:00,753 --> 00:17:03,154 that she was falling in love with me. 246 00:17:03,188 --> 00:17:05,680 I lived there for a year. 247 00:17:05,724 --> 00:17:08,819 I started to feel trapped. 248 00:17:08,861 --> 00:17:13,162 And one night, it came to an end. 249 00:17:16,668 --> 00:17:21,299 I'm sitting here because I'm out of the-uh, the spotlight. 250 00:17:21,340 --> 00:17:23,468 It's very warm, 251 00:17:23,509 --> 00:17:24,772 and spotlights blind me 252 00:17:24,810 --> 00:17:28,076 so that I can't see your wonderful faces. 253 00:17:28,113 --> 00:17:31,345 During all of this time of giving workshops, 254 00:17:31,383 --> 00:17:34,820 I never felt that I had a good opening sentence, 255 00:17:35,054 --> 00:17:40,254 so I created one for tonight, and here it is. 256 00:17:40,292 --> 00:17:42,818 The most important thing 257 00:17:43,062 --> 00:17:47,090 that music teachers can do for their pupils 258 00:17:47,132 --> 00:17:50,432 is to inspire and encourage 259 00:17:50,469 --> 00:17:53,268 an emotional response 260 00:17:53,305 --> 00:17:56,139 not just for music 261 00:17:56,175 --> 00:18:00,306 but, more importantly, for all aspects of life. 262 00:18:28,707 --> 00:18:33,168 Well, then after I felt good on the stage, 263 00:18:33,212 --> 00:18:35,647 when I was around 50- 264 00:18:35,681 --> 00:18:38,276 It took all that time to feel good, 265 00:18:38,317 --> 00:18:43,221 to be able to play what I wanted to say on the stage. 266 00:18:43,255 --> 00:18:47,886 So at the age of 50, I didn't tell anyone, 267 00:18:48,127 --> 00:18:51,188 and I arranged a farewell concert 268 00:18:51,230 --> 00:18:54,291 at the 92nd Street Y. 269 00:18:54,333 --> 00:18:57,861 And I didn't even tell my mother. 270 00:18:57,903 --> 00:19:02,807 That was the last public concert I ever played. 271 00:19:06,545 --> 00:19:07,911 - Direct question. - Yes. 272 00:19:08,147 --> 00:19:10,707 On some level, though you were nervous on the stage, you were- 273 00:19:10,749 --> 00:19:13,548 It was difficult to do; the career was hard to develop- 274 00:19:13,585 --> 00:19:14,644 - Well, yeah- - Were you-were you- 275 00:19:14,686 --> 00:19:16,177 Nervousness is part of what we do. 276 00:19:16,221 --> 00:19:17,245 Of course. 277 00:19:17,289 --> 00:19:19,520 But do you feel on some level you were just- 278 00:19:19,558 --> 00:19:22,221 uh, I don't know- 279 00:19:22,261 --> 00:19:24,253 just couldn't take that anymore? 280 00:19:24,296 --> 00:19:26,197 That aspect of it, the pressure of it, 281 00:19:26,231 --> 00:19:28,632 the anxiety of it... 282 00:19:28,667 --> 00:19:31,193 I hated the commercial aspect of it. 283 00:19:31,236 --> 00:19:32,226 Right. 284 00:19:32,271 --> 00:19:33,739 - I hated the nerves. - Right. 285 00:19:33,772 --> 00:19:37,300 - I wanted to create. Right? - Right. Right. 286 00:19:37,342 --> 00:19:40,676 Those are three major reasons why I quit. 287 00:19:40,712 --> 00:19:43,477 But, Seymour, you were a great player. 288 00:19:43,515 --> 00:19:44,608 You were an amazing player. 289 00:19:44,650 --> 00:19:46,915 You got fabulous reviews as well, so you- 290 00:19:46,952 --> 00:19:48,750 It didn't help, though. 291 00:19:48,787 --> 00:19:49,846 What do you mean? 292 00:19:49,888 --> 00:19:51,823 - It didn't help to... - What didn't it help? 293 00:19:51,857 --> 00:19:54,326 Allay the horror 294 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:59,263 that I felt before and during a concert. 295 00:19:59,298 --> 00:20:03,258 So I wasn't gonna let it go at that. 296 00:20:03,302 --> 00:20:05,294 This is a challenge I have to meet. 297 00:20:05,337 --> 00:20:06,327 Right. 298 00:20:06,371 --> 00:20:08,363 If I'm gonna be that terrified 299 00:20:08,407 --> 00:20:10,467 of walking across the stage, 300 00:20:10,509 --> 00:20:14,446 what am I going to say about facing the vicissitudes of life? 301 00:20:14,479 --> 00:20:15,742 Exactly. 302 00:20:15,781 --> 00:20:16,749 - It's the same. - Right. 303 00:20:16,782 --> 00:20:20,583 I had te-terrible blocks. 304 00:20:20,619 --> 00:20:24,556 I had physical blocks in my playing itself. 305 00:20:26,425 --> 00:20:29,918 I had blocks whenever I was on the stage- 306 00:20:29,962 --> 00:20:32,295 having a fear of memory slips. 307 00:20:32,331 --> 00:20:35,665 I felt inadequate as a pianist. 308 00:20:35,701 --> 00:20:37,863 Now, you understand that if we're talking 309 00:20:37,903 --> 00:20:42,934 about the correlation between a musician and a person, 310 00:20:43,976 --> 00:20:48,471 if you feel inadequate as a musician, 311 00:20:48,513 --> 00:20:52,245 then you're going to feel inadequate as a person. 312 00:20:52,284 --> 00:20:54,651 You know, I-I have a memory of you being 313 00:20:54,686 --> 00:20:58,589 more angry at the music world in years-years past. 314 00:20:58,624 --> 00:20:59,990 What, I was angry at the music world? 315 00:21:00,025 --> 00:21:01,357 Yeah, I think so. I think so. 316 00:21:01,393 --> 00:21:02,918 And I- I should say so. 317 00:21:02,961 --> 00:21:04,657 And I think that came across in the classes. 318 00:21:04,696 --> 00:21:08,428 There was a little bit of a, uh, you know... 319 00:21:08,467 --> 00:21:09,457 Resentment? 320 00:21:09,501 --> 00:21:10,833 Yeah, a little bit. Something like this. 321 00:21:10,869 --> 00:21:12,770 Like, well, we're doing this thing here, and this is good, 322 00:21:12,804 --> 00:21:14,670 but those people over there at Juilliard, 323 00:21:14,706 --> 00:21:17,266 they're just a bunch of, you know, sort of careerists. 324 00:21:17,309 --> 00:21:18,333 I haven't changed. 325 00:21:18,377 --> 00:21:19,811 No, I think you have, actually, but... 326 00:21:19,845 --> 00:21:21,404 No, I haven't changed. 327 00:21:21,446 --> 00:21:23,608 I just think that- 328 00:21:23,649 --> 00:21:27,552 I'm not so sure that a major career 329 00:21:27,586 --> 00:21:30,613 is a healthy thing to embark upon. 330 00:21:30,656 --> 00:21:34,593 I see my colleagues who have major careers 331 00:21:34,626 --> 00:21:35,992 suffer terribly. 332 00:21:37,696 --> 00:21:40,427 There are a lot of examples of extremely talented, 333 00:21:40,465 --> 00:21:43,492 extremely selfish, horrible people. 334 00:21:43,535 --> 00:21:44,730 Isn't that so? So- 335 00:21:44,770 --> 00:21:46,295 Is there some connection 336 00:21:46,338 --> 00:21:49,069 between the monsters and the-and the gift? 337 00:21:49,308 --> 00:21:53,712 The contrast between 338 00:21:53,745 --> 00:21:57,773 the unbelievable attainment of art 339 00:21:57,816 --> 00:22:01,446 and the unpredictability of the social world 340 00:22:01,486 --> 00:22:03,011 is so great- 341 00:22:03,055 --> 00:22:05,388 the contrast is so great- 342 00:22:05,424 --> 00:22:08,394 that it makes them neurotic. 343 00:22:08,427 --> 00:22:10,453 They can't equate this. 344 00:22:10,495 --> 00:22:13,055 Jackson Pollock and Marlon Brando 345 00:22:13,098 --> 00:22:16,398 were all pretty notoriously horrible people. 346 00:22:16,435 --> 00:22:17,733 They were. 347 00:22:17,769 --> 00:22:22,469 And there are musicians who are monsters, yeah. 348 00:22:22,507 --> 00:22:24,032 Glenn Gould, for example. 349 00:22:24,076 --> 00:22:27,376 He was a total neurotic mess- 350 00:22:27,412 --> 00:22:28,971 total. 351 00:22:40,058 --> 00:22:42,960 No chair could be low enough for him. 352 00:22:42,994 --> 00:22:46,692 I-I heard him play in Carnegie Hall several times. 353 00:22:46,732 --> 00:22:51,670 And they put the piano on cinder blocks this high. 354 00:22:51,703 --> 00:22:55,470 So-now, I can't screw the chair down to demonstrate, 355 00:22:55,507 --> 00:22:58,067 but I can ima-show you. 356 00:22:58,110 --> 00:23:00,409 The keyboard was up here. 357 00:23:00,445 --> 00:23:02,971 See? Look. He was playing like this. 358 00:23:18,663 --> 00:23:21,633 Well, everybody knows that he was a genius. 359 00:23:21,666 --> 00:23:25,159 And technically, he had few equals. 360 00:23:25,404 --> 00:23:27,566 He was so extraordinary. 361 00:23:27,606 --> 00:23:30,906 But what peeves me about him- 362 00:23:30,942 --> 00:23:34,936 he was so famous for Bach, right? 363 00:23:34,980 --> 00:23:37,916 But when I hear his Bach, 364 00:23:37,949 --> 00:23:40,441 I'm not aware that I'm listening to Bach. 365 00:23:40,485 --> 00:23:42,920 I'm only aware I'm listening to Glenn Gould. 366 00:23:42,954 --> 00:23:48,086 He's infusing the music with his own eccentric nature. 367 00:23:55,534 --> 00:23:58,129 I remember seeing him once in Carnegie Hall. 368 00:23:58,170 --> 00:24:00,639 He crossed his left leg over the right, 369 00:24:00,672 --> 00:24:03,471 and he pedaled with his right foot. 370 00:24:03,508 --> 00:24:05,943 I told Clifford Curzon about that. 371 00:24:05,977 --> 00:24:07,946 I said, "You know, I have a feeling 372 00:24:07,979 --> 00:24:10,949 "if he didn't act so eccentric, 373 00:24:10,982 --> 00:24:13,144 he wouldn't play so well. " 374 00:24:13,185 --> 00:24:15,950 And Clifford said to me in his English accent, 375 00:24:15,987 --> 00:24:19,947 "Laddie, I'm so sorry to disillusion you, 376 00:24:19,991 --> 00:24:25,589 but I know an intimate friend of Glenn Gould's. " 377 00:24:25,630 --> 00:24:29,931 "And one night, Glenn Gould called his friend and said, 378 00:24:29,968 --> 00:24:32,597 "'I wowed them last night. 379 00:24:32,637 --> 00:24:35,197 I crossed my left leg over the right. "' 380 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,505 So you see, he did it on purpose. 381 00:24:54,526 --> 00:24:56,256 Yeah, but then- then your idea of an artist 382 00:24:56,495 --> 00:24:58,225 is that you isolate yourself more, 383 00:24:58,263 --> 00:25:00,892 and you exist in some safer place 384 00:25:00,932 --> 00:25:05,768 but also one less connected to maybe your talents, even. 385 00:25:05,804 --> 00:25:09,639 I love to, uh, ascribe 386 00:25:09,674 --> 00:25:12,508 to be like amateur musicians- 387 00:25:12,544 --> 00:25:14,979 namely, to do it for love 388 00:25:15,013 --> 00:25:17,141 and not just for commercial purposes. 389 00:25:17,182 --> 00:25:20,584 To me, it's partly about your desire to find a place, 390 00:25:20,619 --> 00:25:23,179 a safe place disconnected from, 391 00:25:23,221 --> 00:25:27,750 you know, the-the hurly-burly of-of the real world, 392 00:25:27,792 --> 00:25:32,628 which does buffet every person who's trying to make a career, 393 00:25:32,664 --> 00:25:34,758 whether they're doing it on Wall Street 394 00:25:34,799 --> 00:25:36,768 or whether they're doing it in Carnegie Hall 395 00:25:36,801 --> 00:25:38,929 or whether they're doing it on a stage or whatever. 396 00:25:38,970 --> 00:25:41,132 But don't you think somebody who's very talented 397 00:25:41,172 --> 00:25:43,073 and has something to say as a performer- 398 00:25:43,108 --> 00:25:45,577 you say this to your students; you've said it to me... 399 00:25:45,610 --> 00:25:46,873 Yes. 400 00:25:46,912 --> 00:25:49,143 Has a responsibility that transcends 401 00:25:49,180 --> 00:25:50,876 whether or not it feels good to them 402 00:25:50,916 --> 00:25:53,852 or whether they don't like, you know, 403 00:25:53,885 --> 00:25:56,753 the-the machinations of the music world 404 00:25:56,788 --> 00:25:58,882 or-or the- the business side of this? 405 00:25:58,924 --> 00:26:00,324 Isn't there some responsibility 406 00:26:00,559 --> 00:26:02,790 which you abdicate when you leave the stage? 407 00:26:02,827 --> 00:26:05,023 I'm hearing you, Michael. 408 00:26:22,681 --> 00:26:24,013 So go really soft. 409 00:26:26,718 --> 00:26:28,084 That's it. 410 00:26:33,725 --> 00:26:35,717 Now disappear. 411 00:26:38,697 --> 00:26:43,965 Okay, you have the most noble posture when you play. 412 00:26:44,002 --> 00:26:46,904 But when you get very emotional, as you just were, 413 00:26:46,938 --> 00:26:49,703 'cause you play very emotionally, 414 00:26:49,741 --> 00:26:50,731 you do this. 415 00:26:50,775 --> 00:26:53,006 Watch. 416 00:26:53,044 --> 00:26:54,273 Right? 417 00:26:59,384 --> 00:27:02,252 I'm exaggerating, right, right? 418 00:27:02,287 --> 00:27:06,884 The energy gets pulled right out of the keyboard. 419 00:27:19,638 --> 00:27:23,973 All right, so do you see this slowly gliding towards that E 420 00:27:24,009 --> 00:27:25,307 and then gliding away? 421 00:27:25,343 --> 00:27:27,073 Now do it. 422 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:30,048 Good. 423 00:27:40,325 --> 00:27:43,159 Now, first of all, that was exquisite. 424 00:27:43,194 --> 00:27:45,754 Secondly, you looked gorgeous. 425 00:27:47,298 --> 00:27:51,258 57 years ago... 426 00:27:51,302 --> 00:27:53,862 This month, as a matter of fact, 427 00:27:53,905 --> 00:27:58,366 in April, 57 years ago... 428 00:27:58,410 --> 00:28:02,279 Do you know anybody who has been living in one-room apartment 429 00:28:02,313 --> 00:28:04,839 for 57 years? 430 00:28:04,883 --> 00:28:06,215 Not who's not a monk. 431 00:28:07,986 --> 00:28:10,046 I'm very close to being one. 432 00:28:10,088 --> 00:28:13,024 'Cause I loved my solitude, of course. 433 00:28:22,734 --> 00:28:26,728 I thrive on solitude. 434 00:28:26,771 --> 00:28:29,400 I have to be by myself 435 00:28:29,441 --> 00:28:32,934 in order to sort out all the thoughts 436 00:28:32,977 --> 00:28:36,038 that course through my mind. 437 00:28:36,081 --> 00:28:40,075 Our social world is unpredictable. 438 00:28:40,118 --> 00:28:43,919 Someone who may be the closest to you 439 00:28:43,955 --> 00:28:47,448 can one day say something, 440 00:28:47,492 --> 00:28:51,361 and somehow the relationship dissolves. 441 00:28:54,132 --> 00:28:59,366 I have to tell you that our art is totally predictable. 442 00:28:59,404 --> 00:29:02,374 Music will never change. 443 00:29:02,407 --> 00:29:04,899 When Beethoven puts a B flat down, 444 00:29:04,943 --> 00:29:08,505 that's there forever. 445 00:29:08,747 --> 00:29:12,184 Because of the predictability of music, 446 00:29:12,217 --> 00:29:14,118 when we work at it, 447 00:29:14,152 --> 00:29:17,179 we have a sense of order, 448 00:29:17,222 --> 00:29:20,317 harmony, predictability, 449 00:29:20,358 --> 00:29:23,260 and something we can control. 450 00:29:26,998 --> 00:29:30,196 Your initial response to music occurs 451 00:29:30,235 --> 00:29:33,501 without intellectual analysis. 452 00:29:33,538 --> 00:29:36,133 Gifted children, for example, 453 00:29:36,174 --> 00:29:40,111 often project deep musical feeling 454 00:29:40,145 --> 00:29:42,171 without being aware 455 00:29:42,213 --> 00:29:46,878 of musical structure or historical facts. 456 00:29:46,918 --> 00:29:50,082 It is this kind of innocence 457 00:29:50,121 --> 00:29:52,989 from which adults can learn. 458 00:29:53,024 --> 00:29:55,550 Therefore in practicing, 459 00:29:55,794 --> 00:29:59,196 avoid excess of analysis, 460 00:29:59,230 --> 00:30:04,430 and allow the music to reveal its own beauty, 461 00:30:04,469 --> 00:30:10,204 a beauty that is answered by something deep within you. 462 00:30:16,447 --> 00:30:20,077 A Zen philosopher put it this way: 463 00:30:20,118 --> 00:30:24,556 "If you would paint a chrysanthemum, 464 00:30:24,589 --> 00:30:28,287 "look at one for ten years 465 00:30:28,326 --> 00:30:30,557 until you become one. " 466 00:30:34,399 --> 00:30:36,334 It-it seems to me, in America particularly, 467 00:30:36,367 --> 00:30:39,064 there is a great contempt for craft. 468 00:30:39,103 --> 00:30:40,162 I'm sorry. 469 00:30:40,205 --> 00:30:43,300 The story that Americans want is, 470 00:30:43,341 --> 00:30:45,572 "Oh, I had so much talent, I just went out there. " 471 00:30:45,610 --> 00:30:48,444 What they want is the Flashdance fallacy, 472 00:30:48,479 --> 00:30:50,243 that talent is it. 473 00:30:50,281 --> 00:30:53,080 They don't like to think about craft. 474 00:30:53,117 --> 00:30:56,519 They think that's boring or something. 475 00:30:56,554 --> 00:30:57,954 But, you know, 476 00:30:57,989 --> 00:30:59,617 unfortunately, in certain fields, 477 00:30:59,858 --> 00:31:01,190 craft is necessary. 478 00:31:01,226 --> 00:31:02,558 I get that comment a lot. 479 00:31:02,594 --> 00:31:04,358 When I- after I play, after concerts, 480 00:31:04,395 --> 00:31:05,454 they go, "Oh, it's so great. 481 00:31:05,496 --> 00:31:07,021 You can just sit down and play that piece. " 482 00:31:07,065 --> 00:31:09,261 And it's like, you can't just sit down and play it. 483 00:31:10,535 --> 00:31:12,504 That's, like, a thou- 484 00:31:12,537 --> 00:31:16,497 That's thousands and thousands of hours of-of practice. 485 00:31:16,541 --> 00:31:20,603 Without craft, there isn't any real artistry. 486 00:31:20,645 --> 00:31:22,511 I try to actually educate people. 487 00:31:22,547 --> 00:31:25,278 And I talk-recently when I've been playing the Chopin Etudes, 488 00:31:25,316 --> 00:31:26,978 I'll actually play it slowly first. 489 00:31:27,018 --> 00:31:28,077 Yes. 490 00:31:28,119 --> 00:31:29,951 And demonstrate what it's like to practice 491 00:31:29,988 --> 00:31:31,012 at a slow tempo. 492 00:31:31,055 --> 00:31:32,353 And then I tell people, you know, 493 00:31:32,390 --> 00:31:34,416 this is what goes on for hours and hours 494 00:31:34,459 --> 00:31:36,655 for months and months until you can perform it like this. 495 00:31:36,895 --> 00:31:40,627 Now, that's making a real contribution to your audience. 496 00:31:41,499 --> 00:31:43,900 Seymour hasn't played in front of people 497 00:31:43,935 --> 00:31:46,166 in 35 years, and I'm gonna make him wait a little bit longer 498 00:31:46,204 --> 00:31:49,368 while I tell, like, a really long story. 499 00:31:49,407 --> 00:31:52,104 I decided to confide with him 500 00:31:52,143 --> 00:31:55,910 my most terrifying secret, 501 00:31:55,947 --> 00:31:57,415 which was that I've been, 502 00:31:57,448 --> 00:31:59,246 for the last, like, five years or so, 503 00:31:59,284 --> 00:32:03,278 performing with a sometimes really crippling 504 00:32:03,321 --> 00:32:04,380 stage fright. 505 00:32:04,422 --> 00:32:06,448 I mean, it was a longer conversation, 506 00:32:06,491 --> 00:32:08,585 but the bottom line of it was that, 507 00:32:08,626 --> 00:32:11,960 "Most people should be a lot more nervous," he said to me, 508 00:32:11,996 --> 00:32:16,024 that a great many artists are not nervous enough. 509 00:32:16,067 --> 00:32:18,502 And you-and you didn't tell them what I told you 510 00:32:18,536 --> 00:32:21,597 about nervousness and Sarah Bernhardt. 511 00:32:21,639 --> 00:32:23,369 She went to her dressing room 512 00:32:23,408 --> 00:32:26,537 to dress for a- for a performance, 513 00:32:26,577 --> 00:32:29,012 and in front of the door, 514 00:32:29,047 --> 00:32:31,482 there was a young actress 515 00:32:31,516 --> 00:32:33,508 with an autograph book. 516 00:32:33,551 --> 00:32:38,148 With a trembling hand like this, she signed her autograph. 517 00:32:38,189 --> 00:32:42,559 The young actress was just amazed at the trembling hand, 518 00:32:42,593 --> 00:32:44,459 and she said, 519 00:32:44,495 --> 00:32:47,021 "Madam, I don't mean to be presumptuous, 520 00:32:47,065 --> 00:32:49,057 "but I see that you're nervous. 521 00:32:49,100 --> 00:32:54,038 Why is it that I never get nervous when I have to act?" 522 00:32:54,072 --> 00:32:56,735 And Sarah Bernhardt took her hand like this and said, 523 00:32:56,975 --> 00:32:58,705 "Oh, my poor dear. 524 00:32:58,743 --> 00:33:02,407 You will get nervous when you learn how to act. " 525 00:33:10,154 --> 00:33:15,388 Do you know how many men tried to subdue the feminine in them? 526 00:33:15,426 --> 00:33:17,088 Well, look, here's Beethoven. 527 00:33:28,373 --> 00:33:32,276 Right? I mean, that's a man doing this. 528 00:33:32,310 --> 00:33:33,744 Right? 529 00:33:33,778 --> 00:33:34,768 Picture this. 530 00:33:35,013 --> 00:33:37,608 He's playing this for the first time in the world... 531 00:33:40,752 --> 00:33:44,211 To a room filled with his colleagues. 532 00:33:44,255 --> 00:33:47,453 The Moonlight Sonata, right? 533 00:33:47,492 --> 00:33:51,452 He finished playing, and they were all crying. 534 00:33:51,496 --> 00:33:52,623 So the story- 535 00:33:52,663 --> 00:33:58,102 This story is probably spurious, but somebody wrote it. 536 00:33:58,136 --> 00:34:00,367 Beethoven stopped, said, "Men don't cry. 537 00:34:00,405 --> 00:34:01,805 Why are you crying?" 538 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:05,374 This sensitive guy, you know, 539 00:34:05,410 --> 00:34:08,244 he-he-he had the feminine in him, 540 00:34:08,279 --> 00:34:12,080 but he tried to subjugate it. 541 00:34:12,116 --> 00:34:14,676 I was called into the army, 542 00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:19,248 but I had never been away from home at that time. 543 00:34:19,290 --> 00:34:22,658 I was- led a very sheltered life. 544 00:34:22,693 --> 00:34:25,424 And I remember that ride. 545 00:34:25,463 --> 00:34:29,764 I thought if somebody told me I was going to my death, 546 00:34:29,801 --> 00:34:33,397 it would have been the same trauma to me. 547 00:34:33,438 --> 00:34:36,738 When we would go on forced marches 548 00:34:36,774 --> 00:34:40,438 and the temperature was zero 549 00:34:40,478 --> 00:34:45,143 and we had to go walk 20 miles 550 00:34:45,183 --> 00:34:50,144 and the guys around me started to faint 551 00:34:50,188 --> 00:34:54,592 and the ambulances were following us, 552 00:34:54,625 --> 00:34:57,686 the guys came down with pneumonia, 553 00:34:57,728 --> 00:35:03,190 Seymour went merrily on his way to the 20 miles. 554 00:35:03,234 --> 00:35:06,170 I said, "Now, this is so strange. 555 00:35:06,204 --> 00:35:08,469 Why am I surviving this?" 556 00:35:08,506 --> 00:35:11,408 I knew immediately 557 00:35:11,442 --> 00:35:16,380 it was the mind-set that I developed as a musician. 558 00:35:16,414 --> 00:35:19,282 Suddenly an order came through. 559 00:35:19,317 --> 00:35:22,253 Seymour was shipped off to Korea. 560 00:35:22,286 --> 00:35:24,482 I was with a wonderful violinist 561 00:35:24,522 --> 00:35:26,650 by the name of Kenneth Gordon. 562 00:35:26,691 --> 00:35:29,320 I went to the lieutenant of that company 563 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:30,726 that we were assigned to. 564 00:35:30,761 --> 00:35:34,823 I said, "Can we give a concert for the guys here?" 565 00:35:34,866 --> 00:35:38,496 He said, "Classical music? Are you kidding? 566 00:35:38,536 --> 00:35:41,836 Nobody's gonna listen to classical music here. " 567 00:35:41,873 --> 00:35:44,900 "Let us try. " 568 00:35:45,143 --> 00:35:48,910 So I went to a Korean MP school 569 00:35:49,147 --> 00:35:52,743 and borrowed a grand piano from them. 570 00:35:52,783 --> 00:35:57,278 And I requisitioned a truck with six Korean laborers 571 00:35:57,321 --> 00:35:59,517 who never spoke a word of English. 572 00:35:59,557 --> 00:36:01,753 I never moved a piano in my life. 573 00:36:01,792 --> 00:36:07,424 The lieutenant sent for special gabardine uniforms for us 574 00:36:07,465 --> 00:36:10,799 and sent us on a concert tour. 575 00:36:10,835 --> 00:36:12,804 Where? 576 00:36:12,837 --> 00:36:14,430 On the front lines. 577 00:36:21,312 --> 00:36:23,406 We played for soldiers 578 00:36:23,447 --> 00:36:27,248 who had never before heard classical music. 579 00:36:27,285 --> 00:36:29,720 And some of the guys would cry. 580 00:36:29,754 --> 00:36:32,417 We played serious music for them. 581 00:36:32,456 --> 00:36:33,924 We didn't play down to them. 582 00:36:33,958 --> 00:36:36,393 The guys wouldn't let us off the stage. 583 00:36:40,431 --> 00:36:43,333 I kept a diary. 584 00:36:43,367 --> 00:36:46,667 I hadn't looked at that diary for 20 years. 585 00:36:46,704 --> 00:36:50,232 So one Sunday, I took it out, 586 00:36:50,274 --> 00:36:54,803 and I cried the whole day. 587 00:37:04,622 --> 00:37:07,456 Because I remember body bags. 588 00:37:09,727 --> 00:37:12,492 And I b-I blocked it out. 589 00:37:12,530 --> 00:37:14,465 I didn't want to face it. 590 00:37:14,498 --> 00:37:18,629 And there it was in my diary. 591 00:37:18,669 --> 00:37:22,299 I tried not to cry. I knew this was gonna happen. 592 00:37:47,431 --> 00:37:49,957 My teacher, Clifford Curzon- 593 00:37:50,001 --> 00:37:52,732 for him, the only important thing 594 00:37:52,770 --> 00:37:56,036 is how softly the piano will play. 595 00:37:59,410 --> 00:38:00,673 No good. 596 00:38:00,711 --> 00:38:03,943 So Clifford Curzon only tried- 597 00:38:03,981 --> 00:38:06,644 Clifford Curzon played so soft. 598 00:38:06,684 --> 00:38:07,743 They were, like, worried. 599 00:38:07,785 --> 00:38:09,447 They said, "You know, are you gonna- 600 00:38:09,487 --> 00:38:10,614 are they gonna be able to hear you?" 601 00:38:10,655 --> 00:38:11,782 He said, "I don't care. " 602 00:38:11,822 --> 00:38:13,051 He plays to himself. That's it. 603 00:38:13,291 --> 00:38:14,418 Do you know what he did? 604 00:38:14,458 --> 00:38:17,587 He blindfolded me once down here. 605 00:38:17,628 --> 00:38:21,622 He sat me down, and he went from piano to piano, 606 00:38:21,666 --> 00:38:24,966 and sometimes he rattled the chair 607 00:38:25,002 --> 00:38:26,937 so I thought he was going to another one, 608 00:38:26,971 --> 00:38:28,371 but he was at the same- 609 00:38:28,406 --> 00:38:29,499 The same piano. Wow. 610 00:38:29,540 --> 00:38:31,008 And he said, "Which one is the best?" 611 00:38:31,042 --> 00:38:33,375 I always knew which one was the best. 612 00:38:36,714 --> 00:38:38,842 Horrid. Horrors. 613 00:38:41,652 --> 00:38:42,745 It's gonna be even worse. 614 00:38:45,356 --> 00:38:46,517 Better. 615 00:39:01,739 --> 00:39:03,674 This is not bad. 616 00:39:03,708 --> 00:39:05,700 Is this a Hamburg Steinway? 617 00:39:05,743 --> 00:39:08,542 No, this is- this is a New York Steinway. 618 00:39:08,579 --> 00:39:10,548 - This is a New York Steinway? - Very new. 619 00:39:22,993 --> 00:39:24,393 There it is. 620 00:39:25,796 --> 00:39:27,924 - See those two chords? - Mm-hmm. 621 00:39:31,102 --> 00:39:33,799 You can't do that on most pianos. 622 00:39:33,838 --> 00:39:36,034 So if you voice a chord... 623 00:39:37,375 --> 00:39:38,536 Whoa. 624 00:39:47,017 --> 00:39:48,883 That's just gorgeous. 625 00:39:48,919 --> 00:39:51,150 The soft pedal is so good. 626 00:39:59,830 --> 00:40:01,162 Oh, it's just heaven. 627 00:40:01,399 --> 00:40:03,959 I don't-have never, ever in my life 628 00:40:04,001 --> 00:40:05,799 played on a piano like this. 629 00:40:05,836 --> 00:40:06,826 - Really? - Yes. 630 00:40:06,871 --> 00:40:08,396 I have to tell you the truth. 631 00:40:08,439 --> 00:40:09,930 Wow. 632 00:40:09,974 --> 00:40:12,000 I can't- It's too good to be true. 633 00:40:27,558 --> 00:40:31,518 Clifford Curzon was one of the great English pianists. 634 00:40:31,562 --> 00:40:33,656 Well, you know, he was always my hero- 635 00:40:33,697 --> 00:40:35,825 not only my hero. 636 00:40:35,866 --> 00:40:38,859 I think almost all the pianists 637 00:40:38,903 --> 00:40:41,463 who heard him play 638 00:40:41,505 --> 00:40:43,474 thought that he's- 639 00:40:43,507 --> 00:40:46,807 he's the model of what you should be, 640 00:40:46,844 --> 00:40:50,008 especially when you play Mozart and Schubert. 641 00:40:51,582 --> 00:40:53,483 I asked him if I could study with him. 642 00:40:53,517 --> 00:40:55,509 He said, "Well, come to London. 643 00:40:55,553 --> 00:40:57,488 I'll teach you for six months. " 644 00:40:57,521 --> 00:40:59,183 So I got a grant- 645 00:40:59,223 --> 00:41:02,455 the Martha Baird Rockefeller grant-to study with him. 646 00:41:09,533 --> 00:41:13,470 So now I'm in my 40s, I think, 647 00:41:13,504 --> 00:41:16,963 and he came to New York every two years. 648 00:41:17,007 --> 00:41:19,943 While he was here, I saw him every night, 649 00:41:19,977 --> 00:41:22,503 usually in the basement of Steinway. 650 00:41:22,546 --> 00:41:24,981 I would play the orchestral accompaniment 651 00:41:25,015 --> 00:41:26,779 for his concertos 652 00:41:26,817 --> 00:41:29,116 that he had to play with major orchestras. 653 00:41:47,605 --> 00:41:49,198 So one day, I thought, 654 00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:52,642 "Other great English musicians were knighted. 655 00:41:52,676 --> 00:41:56,704 Why don't they knight Clifford Curzon?" 656 00:41:56,747 --> 00:42:01,117 So one day, I penned a letter to the queen. 657 00:42:01,151 --> 00:42:03,848 "Dear Majesty, we in America 658 00:42:03,888 --> 00:42:07,552 wonder why Clifford Curzon has not been knighted. " 659 00:42:07,591 --> 00:42:11,585 I addressed it Buckingham Palace, London. 660 00:42:11,629 --> 00:42:15,566 One day, a beautiful white envelope arrived 661 00:42:15,599 --> 00:42:19,058 with a lion red coat of arms 662 00:42:19,103 --> 00:42:20,765 on the back of it. 663 00:42:20,804 --> 00:42:25,674 I opened it up, and the letter said, 664 00:42:25,709 --> 00:42:28,269 "Her Majesty the Queen 665 00:42:28,312 --> 00:42:30,872 "has commanded me 666 00:42:30,915 --> 00:42:34,682 to send your letter to the prime minister. " 667 00:42:34,718 --> 00:42:39,713 And the next month, Clifford was knighted. 668 00:42:39,757 --> 00:42:42,886 Now, whether my letter did it 669 00:42:42,927 --> 00:42:45,260 or whether it was a coincidence 670 00:42:45,296 --> 00:42:46,889 can't be confirmed. 671 00:42:58,576 --> 00:43:02,570 I have to find out if you're breathing correctly. 672 00:43:03,247 --> 00:43:05,216 Do I have permission to touch you? 673 00:43:05,249 --> 00:43:07,912 Okay. Okay. 674 00:43:07,952 --> 00:43:09,750 'Cause, you know, you have to ask permission. 675 00:43:09,787 --> 00:43:11,085 Otherwise, you get arrested. 676 00:43:12,289 --> 00:43:14,315 This is a balloon, 677 00:43:14,358 --> 00:43:16,293 your diaphragm right here, right? 678 00:43:16,327 --> 00:43:18,956 Okay, ex-exhale. 679 00:43:20,030 --> 00:43:23,159 Empty out. Empty it out completely. 680 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:24,691 Now inhale. 681 00:43:26,103 --> 00:43:29,267 Not bad. Not bad. 682 00:43:29,306 --> 00:43:32,003 Whoa! 683 00:43:32,042 --> 00:43:35,171 Very good. 684 00:43:35,212 --> 00:43:36,942 Exhale. 685 00:43:41,151 --> 00:43:43,279 Inhale. 686 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:44,948 Uh-ah-uh. 687 00:43:54,932 --> 00:43:59,199 Most of us breathe so poorly that it is a wonder 688 00:43:59,236 --> 00:44:02,331 how we stay alive. 689 00:44:02,373 --> 00:44:05,275 I joined a physical movement course. 690 00:44:05,309 --> 00:44:09,747 I did exercises, which I strongly advise you to do. 691 00:44:09,780 --> 00:44:12,375 I moved my head 692 00:44:12,416 --> 00:44:15,079 clockwise very slowly 693 00:44:15,119 --> 00:44:17,782 and then counterclockwise. 694 00:44:17,821 --> 00:44:20,313 d La d 695 00:44:20,357 --> 00:44:23,191 d La d 696 00:44:23,227 --> 00:44:26,095 d La d 697 00:44:31,268 --> 00:44:36,172 The important thing to learn about the soft pedal 698 00:44:36,206 --> 00:44:39,665 is that it changes the quality of sound 699 00:44:39,710 --> 00:44:42,202 on the piano. 700 00:44:42,246 --> 00:44:44,238 Let us shed our guilt 701 00:44:44,281 --> 00:44:48,742 concerning the use of the soft pedal. 702 00:44:48,786 --> 00:44:53,247 While no one has ever successfully defined music, 703 00:44:53,290 --> 00:44:57,751 we can, at least, permit ourselves to say of it 704 00:44:57,795 --> 00:45:01,129 that it is a language of feeling. 705 00:45:01,165 --> 00:45:05,398 Music, therefore, has often been referred to 706 00:45:05,436 --> 00:45:08,338 as a universal language. 707 00:45:13,277 --> 00:45:18,045 Maria Callas said that there were two people inside her. 708 00:45:18,082 --> 00:45:21,450 One was Maria, and the other was Callas. 709 00:45:21,485 --> 00:45:24,148 Maria was the rather ordinary woman 710 00:45:24,188 --> 00:45:26,419 who wanted rather ordinary things. 711 00:45:26,457 --> 00:45:31,225 Callas was this archetypal shamanic force. 712 00:45:31,261 --> 00:45:34,356 There was a war between these two beings. 713 00:45:34,398 --> 00:45:37,095 What's so wonderful about you, 714 00:45:37,134 --> 00:45:39,968 why I love you so much, is that in you, 715 00:45:40,003 --> 00:45:41,801 there is no separation 716 00:45:41,839 --> 00:45:44,206 from the friend you are 717 00:45:44,241 --> 00:45:47,040 and the master musician you are. 718 00:45:47,077 --> 00:45:49,945 I didn't used to feel this way. 719 00:45:49,980 --> 00:45:52,472 I didn't used to be integrated. 720 00:45:52,516 --> 00:45:58,046 I began to feel this way, I believe... 721 00:45:58,088 --> 00:46:01,183 when I started to survive on the stage. 722 00:46:01,225 --> 00:46:05,185 When I placed tremendous challenges before me, 723 00:46:05,229 --> 00:46:07,061 only to be cast down, 724 00:46:07,097 --> 00:46:09,191 something in me said, 725 00:46:09,233 --> 00:46:11,862 "Really, you're inadequate? 726 00:46:11,902 --> 00:46:16,897 Well, then stop beefing about it and make yourself adequate. " 727 00:46:16,940 --> 00:46:19,341 Instead of practicing four hours a day, 728 00:46:19,376 --> 00:46:21,470 I turned it to eight. 729 00:46:21,512 --> 00:46:24,880 The struggle is what makes the art form. 730 00:46:24,915 --> 00:46:28,317 I go to war for my art form. 731 00:46:28,352 --> 00:46:33,416 Prenatally, I guess I knew immediately 732 00:46:33,457 --> 00:46:36,791 that life- that's how life is. 733 00:46:36,827 --> 00:46:40,889 It has conflicts and pleasures, 734 00:46:40,931 --> 00:46:43,059 harmony and dissonance. 735 00:46:43,100 --> 00:46:46,400 That's how life is. Can't escape it. 736 00:46:48,438 --> 00:46:51,966 By the way, the same thing occurs in music. 737 00:46:52,009 --> 00:46:55,002 There are dissonances in harmony 738 00:46:55,045 --> 00:46:57,446 and resolutions. 739 00:46:57,481 --> 00:47:01,885 I believe that you won't enjoy the resolution 740 00:47:01,919 --> 00:47:05,048 unless you have that dissonance. 741 00:47:05,088 --> 00:47:07,853 What would it be if we didn't have the dissonance? 742 00:47:07,891 --> 00:47:11,259 We wouldn't know the meaning of the resolution. 743 00:47:18,135 --> 00:47:21,367 Hey, Seymour. 744 00:47:21,405 --> 00:47:24,603 When your father would say that he had three daughters 745 00:47:24,842 --> 00:47:26,242 and a pianist, 746 00:47:26,276 --> 00:47:29,371 what did you think? 747 00:47:29,413 --> 00:47:33,509 Everyone laughed when he said that. 748 00:47:33,550 --> 00:47:35,610 I felt insulted. 749 00:47:35,853 --> 00:47:38,254 I felt that he couldn't say 750 00:47:38,288 --> 00:47:40,951 he has three daughters and a son 751 00:47:40,991 --> 00:47:45,292 'cause he couldn't identify with the son that he had. 752 00:47:50,167 --> 00:47:53,296 After a while, when I was adult enough 753 00:47:53,337 --> 00:47:57,138 to sort of-a little mystic, what I'm going to say- 754 00:47:57,174 --> 00:48:02,977 I create a translucent dome around myself, 755 00:48:03,013 --> 00:48:04,948 a protective dome. 756 00:48:04,982 --> 00:48:10,285 Outside are flying all the ravens, 757 00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:12,516 who symbolize all the people 758 00:48:12,556 --> 00:48:15,355 who are detractors in my life, 759 00:48:15,392 --> 00:48:17,486 who don't really want me to succeed 760 00:48:17,527 --> 00:48:19,587 for their selfish reasons. 761 00:48:19,630 --> 00:48:24,534 Even though I can see them, they can't touch me anymore. 762 00:48:24,568 --> 00:48:26,264 Guess who my father is. 763 00:48:26,303 --> 00:48:28,932 He's one of those ravens. 764 00:48:28,972 --> 00:48:31,237 He's picking at the translucent dome, 765 00:48:31,275 --> 00:48:33,005 but he can't get in. 766 00:48:37,347 --> 00:48:42,445 Our culture deliberately drives people to focus outside 767 00:48:42,486 --> 00:48:44,512 so it can control them. 768 00:48:44,554 --> 00:48:46,546 Because if you can make people 769 00:48:46,590 --> 00:48:49,185 slaves of consumerism, slaves of success, 770 00:48:49,226 --> 00:48:50,990 slaves of status, 771 00:48:51,028 --> 00:48:53,122 you can manipulate them completely. 772 00:48:53,163 --> 00:48:56,964 So the role of music in our culture is crucial, 773 00:48:57,000 --> 00:49:02,701 because music is the art most sacredly capable 774 00:49:02,940 --> 00:49:06,104 of helping us get in touch 775 00:49:06,143 --> 00:49:09,409 with the deepest passions and compassions 776 00:49:09,446 --> 00:49:12,109 and deepest understandings of ourselves. 777 00:49:12,149 --> 00:49:14,482 Well, the ancient Greeks knew that because, 778 00:49:14,518 --> 00:49:16,453 you know, they had a quadrivium. 779 00:49:16,486 --> 00:49:18,421 - There were four subjects... - Yes. 780 00:49:18,455 --> 00:49:22,517 Without which they felt that the human could not develop. 781 00:49:22,559 --> 00:49:25,427 One of the four subjects was music. 782 00:49:28,031 --> 00:49:32,969 Somebody asked me about, um, taking piano lessons, right? 783 00:49:33,003 --> 00:49:35,666 Suppose a child doesn't feel like it, 784 00:49:35,706 --> 00:49:37,607 isn't drawn to music. 785 00:49:37,641 --> 00:49:39,542 So I said to this person, 786 00:49:39,576 --> 00:49:43,411 "Now, let's compare this with going to school. 787 00:49:43,447 --> 00:49:47,248 "Little Harry wakes up on a Thursday morning and says, 788 00:49:47,284 --> 00:49:50,982 'Mommy, I don't feel like going to school. "' 789 00:49:51,021 --> 00:49:53,047 I said, "It's unthinkable 790 00:49:53,090 --> 00:49:55,650 "that Little Harry can't go to school. 791 00:49:55,692 --> 00:49:59,459 "He has to go to school whether he likes it or not. 792 00:49:59,496 --> 00:50:02,159 "There will be no TV. 793 00:50:02,199 --> 00:50:04,532 "There will be no meeting with your friends. 794 00:50:04,568 --> 00:50:06,059 "You take your pick. 795 00:50:06,103 --> 00:50:09,631 "You're going to practice one hour every day. 796 00:50:09,673 --> 00:50:11,665 "And I'm going to supervise it. 797 00:50:11,708 --> 00:50:14,439 How do you like that?" 798 00:50:14,478 --> 00:50:17,380 Well, now, do parents talk to their children that way? 799 00:50:17,414 --> 00:50:18,404 Of course not. 800 00:50:18,448 --> 00:50:21,612 - And what happens? - Except the tiger moms. 801 00:50:21,651 --> 00:50:25,349 They're half-developed children when they become adults. 802 00:50:31,094 --> 00:50:35,589 I think the key is that music can produce ecstasy. 803 00:50:35,632 --> 00:50:39,194 And once you experience ecstasy, 804 00:50:39,236 --> 00:50:42,570 you can't be sold a shoddy load of goods. 805 00:50:42,606 --> 00:50:44,268 You can't be sold success. 806 00:50:44,307 --> 00:50:45,775 You learn to reject. 807 00:50:45,809 --> 00:50:47,334 You know that this is the core of life. 808 00:50:47,377 --> 00:50:49,039 You have the touchstone 809 00:50:49,079 --> 00:50:51,480 from which you can judge everything else. 810 00:50:57,754 --> 00:51:01,623 One of the ways in which philosophers have said 811 00:51:01,658 --> 00:51:03,752 music is most divine 812 00:51:03,794 --> 00:51:06,787 is that music, like God, is invisible. 813 00:51:06,830 --> 00:51:08,731 - You can't see it. - Right. 814 00:51:08,765 --> 00:51:10,563 - It's intangible. - Right. 815 00:51:10,600 --> 00:51:13,764 And yet it has this most penetrating of effects. 816 00:51:13,804 --> 00:51:15,136 Yes. 817 00:51:15,172 --> 00:51:17,266 And so it is a direct emanation 818 00:51:17,307 --> 00:51:19,503 of the transcendent beauty 819 00:51:19,543 --> 00:51:21,671 of the beloved. 820 00:51:21,711 --> 00:51:25,341 And one of the things that has happened to me in my life 821 00:51:25,382 --> 00:51:27,078 is that through my mystical education, 822 00:51:27,117 --> 00:51:28,551 I did actually have an experience 823 00:51:28,585 --> 00:51:31,145 of the music that is creating the whole universe. 824 00:51:31,188 --> 00:51:32,781 I heard everything in creation... 825 00:51:32,823 --> 00:51:34,121 You heard- 826 00:51:34,157 --> 00:51:36,353 Singing ecstatically the name of God. 827 00:51:36,393 --> 00:51:37,691 - You heard that? - I heard it. 828 00:51:37,727 --> 00:51:40,390 And I heard the whole of reality singing together 829 00:51:40,430 --> 00:51:43,298 in an unbelievable polyphony of glory. 830 00:51:43,333 --> 00:51:44,323 Really? 831 00:51:48,405 --> 00:51:52,501 For me, the difference between religion and music 832 00:51:52,542 --> 00:51:55,478 is, religion requires faith. 833 00:51:55,512 --> 00:51:56,536 Right. 834 00:51:56,580 --> 00:51:59,209 Because you can't prove certain- 835 00:51:59,249 --> 00:52:01,150 You can't prove that God exists. 836 00:52:01,184 --> 00:52:02,174 No. 837 00:52:02,219 --> 00:52:04,245 It's faith that tells you that. 838 00:52:04,287 --> 00:52:07,155 You can experience it, but you can't prove it. 839 00:52:07,190 --> 00:52:08,180 Right. 840 00:52:08,225 --> 00:52:11,684 But in music, there is the language 841 00:52:11,728 --> 00:52:13,720 written out for you. 842 00:52:17,667 --> 00:52:19,727 So I asked myself, "Why are there so many 843 00:52:19,769 --> 00:52:21,670 huge pieces in B flat?" 844 00:52:21,705 --> 00:52:23,173 I mean, do you think it's a coincidence 845 00:52:23,206 --> 00:52:25,437 that Beethoven's longest and most- 846 00:52:25,475 --> 00:52:27,876 in terms of length and scope- 847 00:52:27,911 --> 00:52:31,643 Piano Sonata, String Quartet, and Piano Trio 848 00:52:31,681 --> 00:52:34,412 are over 50 minutes long and all in the key of B flat? 849 00:52:34,451 --> 00:52:36,920 And then Schubert writes a sonata like that. 850 00:52:37,154 --> 00:52:39,146 Brahms has major pieces in B flat. 851 00:52:39,189 --> 00:52:40,817 Yes. 852 00:52:40,857 --> 00:52:42,189 On the NASA website, they discovered 853 00:52:42,225 --> 00:52:43,420 a black hole that was resonating 854 00:52:43,460 --> 00:52:46,191 on the note B flat, 57 octaves below middle C. 855 00:52:46,229 --> 00:52:47,891 - Oh, that's fascinating. - This is on the NASA website. 856 00:52:47,931 --> 00:52:49,194 No, no, I'm sorry. 857 00:52:49,232 --> 00:52:50,461 I knew this was gonna happen. Go ahead. 858 00:52:50,500 --> 00:52:53,902 Okay, first of all, as you know, pitch has changed 859 00:52:53,937 --> 00:52:55,565 since the time of Schubert. 860 00:52:55,605 --> 00:52:57,597 His B flat is not our B flat. 861 00:52:57,641 --> 00:52:59,507 If you're gonna relate it to this NASA thing... 862 00:52:59,543 --> 00:53:00,511 Okay. 863 00:53:00,544 --> 00:53:01,512 Then we've got to be scientific. 864 00:53:01,545 --> 00:53:03,605 - So you reject this? - No, not necessarily. 865 00:53:03,647 --> 00:53:05,809 But before I answer that question, we have to- 866 00:53:05,849 --> 00:53:08,614 See, I think it appeals to the universal language of music. 867 00:53:08,652 --> 00:53:11,417 And if the universe is resonating on the note B flat 868 00:53:11,454 --> 00:53:12,854 and that's the note that Beethoven 869 00:53:12,889 --> 00:53:15,188 and Schubert and Brahms choose to create 870 00:53:15,225 --> 00:53:16,523 their biggest monumental masterpieces- 871 00:53:16,560 --> 00:53:17,528 Well, now, wait a minute- 872 00:53:17,561 --> 00:53:18,585 Don't you think that's significant? 873 00:53:18,628 --> 00:53:20,187 And see, this is what I would tell an audience 874 00:53:20,230 --> 00:53:21,596 who's never heard it before 875 00:53:21,631 --> 00:53:24,328 to get them in some kind of mental space 876 00:53:24,367 --> 00:53:25,892 where they're contemplating the cosmos 877 00:53:25,936 --> 00:53:27,268 and into this, you know, 878 00:53:27,304 --> 00:53:28,465 metaphysical realm that I believe 879 00:53:28,505 --> 00:53:30,371 the Schubert First Movement lives in. 880 00:53:40,884 --> 00:53:45,549 People are searching for some answers, 881 00:53:45,589 --> 00:53:47,524 some stability 882 00:53:47,557 --> 00:53:50,857 that will make them lead a happier life. 883 00:53:53,530 --> 00:53:54,998 It says in the Bible, 884 00:53:55,232 --> 00:53:58,760 "The help cometh from the Lord within. " 885 00:53:58,802 --> 00:54:00,862 I call it a spiritual reservoir. 886 00:54:00,904 --> 00:54:02,668 I don't call it God. 887 00:54:02,706 --> 00:54:06,939 Most people don't tap that resource 888 00:54:06,977 --> 00:54:08,969 of the God within. 889 00:54:13,416 --> 00:54:15,885 What upsets me about religion 890 00:54:15,919 --> 00:54:19,253 is that the answers always seem 891 00:54:19,289 --> 00:54:21,918 to be apart from us 892 00:54:21,958 --> 00:54:24,757 in the form of a deity. 893 00:54:24,794 --> 00:54:28,993 And we depend upon the deity for salvation. 894 00:54:29,032 --> 00:54:33,993 But I firmly believe that it's within us. 895 00:55:12,008 --> 00:55:14,637 Okay, now, when the orchestra comes in, 896 00:55:14,678 --> 00:55:17,079 you can't play the same. 897 00:55:17,314 --> 00:55:19,943 You-this is wonderful now. 898 00:55:23,386 --> 00:55:26,845 Now you have to minimize it. 899 00:55:26,890 --> 00:55:29,917 - Yeah. - Now do it that way. 900 00:55:34,397 --> 00:55:35,456 Hush. 901 00:55:37,400 --> 00:55:38,629 Good. 902 00:55:53,383 --> 00:55:56,046 Oh, now you're sounding better- 903 00:55:56,086 --> 00:55:59,352 ten times better than the last time I heard. 904 00:55:59,389 --> 00:56:02,052 - Isn't that some piano? - It is. 905 00:56:02,092 --> 00:56:04,618 - It's extraordinary, right? - Yeah. 906 00:56:04,661 --> 00:56:05,993 I chose it for the rental. 907 00:56:06,029 --> 00:56:09,522 We're gonna give a concert for Ethan's theater group. 908 00:56:11,735 --> 00:56:13,704 Whatever that B flat is, 909 00:56:13,737 --> 00:56:15,638 this is a decoration of it. 910 00:56:19,509 --> 00:56:21,102 It's just a decoration of it. 911 00:56:21,144 --> 00:56:23,136 Not... 912 00:56:23,380 --> 00:56:25,872 See, every note can't be passionate. 913 00:56:25,915 --> 00:56:27,440 Now do it all. Do it all. 914 00:56:42,999 --> 00:56:44,991 That a boy. 915 00:56:49,572 --> 00:56:52,701 Music is just, like, my being. 916 00:56:52,742 --> 00:56:56,736 Like, everything that I do is somehow related to music. 917 00:56:56,780 --> 00:57:00,979 Just, like, the way I act, it's all music. 918 00:57:41,624 --> 00:57:44,093 When I'm playing the piano, 919 00:57:44,127 --> 00:57:47,620 I have to listen so carefully and so- 920 00:57:47,664 --> 00:57:50,566 with such precision to what's coming out of the instrument. 921 00:57:50,600 --> 00:57:52,569 - And love. - And love, yeah. 922 00:57:52,602 --> 00:57:55,800 And when you apply that 923 00:57:55,839 --> 00:57:58,206 to listening to someone speak, 924 00:57:58,241 --> 00:58:01,473 you can really catch a lot of their emotions. 925 00:58:01,511 --> 00:58:03,878 So just learning to listen to yourself 926 00:58:03,913 --> 00:58:07,975 makes you able to listen to other people. 927 00:58:41,784 --> 00:58:44,982 During the romantic period, it was unthinkable 928 00:58:45,021 --> 00:58:47,183 for anyone to study an instrument 929 00:58:47,223 --> 00:58:49,089 who didn't compose. 930 00:58:49,125 --> 00:58:51,185 - Creativity... - Oh, absolutely. 931 00:58:51,227 --> 00:58:55,562 And re-creativity went hand in hand. 932 00:58:55,598 --> 00:58:58,659 There were no computers. There was no television. 933 00:58:58,701 --> 00:59:00,829 - Right. - There were no distractions. 934 00:59:00,870 --> 00:59:02,964 And I'm going to say the unsayable: 935 00:59:03,006 --> 00:59:04,599 general education. 936 00:59:04,641 --> 00:59:06,633 We have to waste all our time in school 937 00:59:06,676 --> 00:59:07,871 learning all this stuff. 938 00:59:07,911 --> 00:59:10,540 They were specialized earlier. 939 00:59:10,580 --> 00:59:12,276 And as to whether that's a good thing or bad thing, 940 00:59:12,315 --> 00:59:14,284 I'm not gonna say, but it's completely different. 941 00:59:14,317 --> 00:59:15,842 Specialized in a certain sense. 942 00:59:15,885 --> 00:59:17,319 You specialize, everyone's gonna get 943 00:59:17,554 --> 00:59:19,250 really good at one thing, and then it should be better. 944 00:59:19,289 --> 00:59:20,655 But it's not really like that. 945 00:59:20,690 --> 00:59:23,057 And you told me when I was 15 I remember you saying this, 946 00:59:23,092 --> 00:59:24,685 because I had started composing then. 947 00:59:24,727 --> 00:59:26,195 You said, "You should always have a piece 948 00:59:26,229 --> 00:59:27,993 that you've composed for each concert. " 949 00:59:28,031 --> 00:59:29,932 And actually, now with my 88-concert tour, 950 00:59:29,966 --> 00:59:31,798 that's exactly what I'm doing. 951 00:59:31,834 --> 00:59:32,893 So that's another thing about your aesthetic 952 00:59:32,936 --> 00:59:35,098 that I've definitely am very aware of, 953 00:59:35,138 --> 00:59:37,835 the idea that you should keep composing. 954 00:59:37,874 --> 00:59:39,672 - If you do it yourself... - Absolutely. 955 00:59:39,709 --> 00:59:42,144 Then you get closer to the creative process 956 00:59:42,178 --> 00:59:43,646 of the music that you're playing. 957 00:59:43,680 --> 00:59:44,670 Right. 958 01:00:05,234 --> 01:00:07,794 When you reach my age, 959 01:00:07,837 --> 01:00:10,636 you stop playing games. 960 01:00:10,673 --> 01:00:13,336 You stop lying to people, 961 01:00:13,376 --> 01:00:17,313 and you just say really what's in your heart. 962 01:00:17,347 --> 01:00:19,612 And you find out 963 01:00:19,649 --> 01:00:23,984 that it's the greatest compliment to someone 964 01:00:24,020 --> 01:00:26,148 when you really say the truth 965 01:00:26,189 --> 01:00:29,626 and don't just say what they expect you to say. 966 01:00:36,265 --> 01:00:40,361 Every piano is like a person. 967 01:00:40,403 --> 01:00:42,929 They build them the same way. 968 01:00:42,972 --> 01:00:45,635 They never come out the same way, 969 01:00:45,675 --> 01:00:49,112 because human factor of putting everything together. 970 01:00:49,145 --> 01:00:53,173 Then the soundboard, the wood is alive. 971 01:00:53,216 --> 01:00:54,946 Every tree is different. 972 01:00:54,984 --> 01:00:57,180 So the soundboard vibrates. 973 01:00:57,220 --> 01:00:59,655 Each soundboard has different wood. 974 01:00:59,689 --> 01:01:01,351 It can never be the same. 975 01:01:10,199 --> 01:01:11,963 299. 976 01:01:12,001 --> 01:01:13,697 299-well, do you think that's gonna be our selection? 977 01:01:13,736 --> 01:01:15,967 Is it available for April the 5th? 978 01:01:16,005 --> 01:01:17,701 April the 5th? I'll have to check. 979 01:01:17,740 --> 01:01:19,709 Just going right upstairs, you see. 980 01:01:19,742 --> 01:01:20,732 Right. 981 01:01:20,777 --> 01:01:22,245 Oh, it will be terrible if it's rented. 982 01:01:22,278 --> 01:01:24,713 - For April the 5th? - Yeah. 983 01:01:27,216 --> 01:01:29,981 Did you hear how beautiful it sounds? 984 01:01:30,019 --> 01:01:32,682 It's unbelievable, huh? 985 01:01:35,391 --> 01:01:36,984 All right, good. 986 01:01:37,026 --> 01:01:38,392 Well, is this one gonna be available 987 01:01:38,428 --> 01:01:39,691 for his show, you think? 988 01:01:39,729 --> 01:01:41,027 I wouldn't have shown it if it wasn't available. 989 01:01:41,064 --> 01:01:42,054 Okay, great. 990 01:01:42,098 --> 01:01:43,259 - April 5th? - Yep. 991 01:01:43,299 --> 01:01:45,029 It's gonna be up in the rotunda. 992 01:01:45,068 --> 01:01:48,300 - If you want it. - I want it. 993 01:01:49,739 --> 01:01:51,105 Well, take it out of my commission. 994 01:01:51,140 --> 01:01:52,802 Okay. All right. Very good. 995 01:01:52,842 --> 01:01:54,811 How much is it to rent? 996 01:01:54,844 --> 01:01:56,278 We don't charge. You're a Steinway artist. 997 01:01:56,312 --> 01:01:57,746 We don't charge rent. 998 01:01:57,780 --> 01:01:59,942 Oh, that's good. So it'll just be rolled up? 999 01:01:59,982 --> 01:02:01,143 It'll just be rolled up. 1000 01:02:01,184 --> 01:02:03,449 Oh, how wonderful. See? Free. 1001 01:02:20,770 --> 01:02:23,171 I think a lot of people spend the bulk of their life 1002 01:02:23,206 --> 01:02:24,731 not trying to play better 1003 01:02:24,774 --> 01:02:26,936 but by trying to gain more things. 1004 01:02:26,976 --> 01:02:29,878 For me, personally, 1005 01:02:29,912 --> 01:02:32,108 I can look around, and I can see that 1006 01:02:32,148 --> 01:02:35,016 that doesn't actually make people happy. 1007 01:02:35,051 --> 01:02:36,952 I'm looking at myself, and I'm saying, 1008 01:02:36,986 --> 01:02:39,387 "You have the second half of your life ahead of you. 1009 01:02:39,422 --> 01:02:41,186 "If it's not for material gain, 1010 01:02:41,224 --> 01:02:44,160 "if I don't have a specific religious calling, 1011 01:02:44,193 --> 01:02:48,062 what is it that I'm living it for?" 1012 01:02:48,097 --> 01:02:50,328 The whole system of life 1013 01:02:50,366 --> 01:02:53,131 is geared to make you think about success. 1014 01:02:53,169 --> 01:02:56,264 Often, doing my art the best 1015 01:02:56,305 --> 01:02:59,434 and equating that with any kind of financial success are just- 1016 01:02:59,475 --> 01:03:02,536 they're just wildly at odds with one another. 1017 01:03:02,779 --> 01:03:04,805 - Of course they are. - And so- 1018 01:03:04,847 --> 01:03:06,839 They can even get in the way of one another. 1019 01:03:06,883 --> 01:03:08,249 - Yeah. - Yes. 1020 01:03:08,284 --> 01:03:11,448 So the most "successful" things I've done 1021 01:03:11,487 --> 01:03:13,513 have been some of the worst things I've done. 1022 01:03:13,556 --> 01:03:15,821 And sometimes I think that 1023 01:03:15,858 --> 01:03:19,022 just playing life more beautifully 1024 01:03:19,061 --> 01:03:20,996 is what I'm after. 1025 01:03:21,030 --> 01:03:22,965 But I don't know how to do it. 1026 01:03:22,999 --> 01:03:27,334 But don't you do it through acting? 1027 01:03:27,370 --> 01:03:29,999 Well, I don't know which- 1028 01:03:30,039 --> 01:03:33,009 Uh, I want to do it through acting, yeah. 1029 01:03:33,042 --> 01:03:35,341 - But you don't feel it? - But the world... 1030 01:03:42,351 --> 01:03:44,411 I can. I can. 1031 01:03:52,061 --> 01:03:53,393 So did you think in the end 1032 01:03:53,429 --> 01:03:55,227 that you found your creative identity 1033 01:03:55,264 --> 01:03:57,358 as a teacher? 1034 01:03:57,400 --> 01:03:58,368 Very much so. 1035 01:03:58,401 --> 01:04:01,860 Once I called my career to an end, 1036 01:04:01,904 --> 01:04:04,567 everything became clearer 1037 01:04:04,607 --> 01:04:07,975 and made me happier, fulfilling. 1038 01:04:08,010 --> 01:04:11,174 And many people said to me what you said. 1039 01:04:11,214 --> 01:04:12,307 Yeah. What's your answer? 1040 01:04:12,348 --> 01:04:13,976 Don't you have a responsibility? 1041 01:04:14,016 --> 01:04:16,576 Sure, what's your answer now, all these years later? 1042 01:04:16,619 --> 01:04:18,986 I have a wonderful answer. 1043 01:04:19,021 --> 01:04:22,321 I poured it into you. 1044 01:04:25,494 --> 01:04:27,292 Again, again, this passage. 1045 01:04:46,015 --> 01:04:48,883 Well, on the first day that I was in Korea, 1046 01:04:48,918 --> 01:04:51,080 when I was so scared to death- 1047 01:04:51,120 --> 01:04:53,112 absolutely scared to death- 1048 01:04:53,155 --> 01:04:54,919 I didn't know where I was. 1049 01:04:54,957 --> 01:04:57,654 They didn't tell us where we were, 1050 01:04:57,894 --> 01:05:00,363 'cause there was a war going on. 1051 01:05:00,396 --> 01:05:02,456 And I woke up at 5:00 in the morning, 1052 01:05:02,498 --> 01:05:06,094 and everything was covered with mist. 1053 01:05:06,135 --> 01:05:08,001 And I went into the mess hall, 1054 01:05:08,037 --> 01:05:11,974 and I got some peanuts and whatever there was to eat, 1055 01:05:12,008 --> 01:05:15,274 and I went outside, and I was eating the peanuts. 1056 01:05:15,311 --> 01:05:18,042 And out of the mist, 1057 01:05:18,080 --> 01:05:21,380 I saw a little nose appear. 1058 01:05:21,417 --> 01:05:24,285 And it was a fawn, 1059 01:05:24,320 --> 01:05:28,052 and it evidently had been tamed by the guys there. 1060 01:05:28,090 --> 01:05:30,184 It came right up to me 1061 01:05:30,226 --> 01:05:34,687 and snuggled in my palm for the peanuts. 1062 01:05:34,931 --> 01:05:37,400 And I just thought, "I must be in heaven. 1063 01:05:37,433 --> 01:05:39,265 "I must have been killed. 1064 01:05:39,302 --> 01:05:41,168 This has to be heaven. " 1065 01:06:27,750 --> 01:06:32,017 In contemplating my own connection to music, 1066 01:06:32,054 --> 01:06:36,048 I always return to the same answer: 1067 01:06:36,092 --> 01:06:39,529 universal order. 1068 01:06:39,562 --> 01:06:42,430 If the heavenly constellations 1069 01:06:42,465 --> 01:06:45,993 offer us visual proof of this order, 1070 01:06:46,035 --> 01:06:52,033 then music must be its aural manifestation. 1071 01:06:53,075 --> 01:06:54,737 Through its language, 1072 01:06:54,777 --> 01:06:58,737 we become one with the stars. 1073 01:07:00,282 --> 01:07:03,252 Music speaks concordantly 1074 01:07:03,285 --> 01:07:05,777 to a troubled world, 1075 01:07:06,022 --> 01:07:10,619 dispelling loneliness and discontent, 1076 01:07:10,659 --> 01:07:13,322 its voice discovering in it 1077 01:07:13,362 --> 01:07:17,458 those deep recesses of thought and feeling 1078 01:07:17,500 --> 01:07:21,460 where truth implants itself. 1079 01:07:21,504 --> 01:07:25,271 Music offers no quarter for compromise, 1080 01:07:25,307 --> 01:07:27,469 no excuses, 1081 01:07:27,510 --> 01:07:29,604 no subterfuge, 1082 01:07:29,645 --> 01:07:32,809 no shoddy workmanship. 1083 01:07:33,049 --> 01:07:35,450 And we sense in music 1084 01:07:35,484 --> 01:07:38,648 an extension of ourselves, 1085 01:07:38,687 --> 01:07:44,058 a reminder of our own potential 1086 01:07:44,093 --> 01:07:46,392 for perfection. 1087 01:08:54,797 --> 01:08:57,426 And when did you meet Seymour? 1088 01:08:57,466 --> 01:09:01,733 Uh, it was 1999 in Japan. 1089 01:09:01,770 --> 01:09:05,172 And then I just fell in love with him. 1090 01:09:06,275 --> 01:09:07,436 His music. 1091 01:09:08,811 --> 01:09:10,575 So if you don't understand technique, 1092 01:09:10,613 --> 01:09:12,775 you don't have an idea, 1093 01:09:12,815 --> 01:09:14,807 a conception of what it's supposed to sound, 1094 01:09:14,850 --> 01:09:15,909 that's just technique. 1095 01:09:16,152 --> 01:09:17,415 It's moving your arms this way. 1096 01:09:17,453 --> 01:09:18,751 It's moving your arm that way. 1097 01:09:18,787 --> 01:09:23,225 But he describes motions, and it connects 1098 01:09:23,259 --> 01:09:24,625 how the music is supposed to feel 1099 01:09:24,660 --> 01:09:26,253 along with your emotions inside. 1100 01:09:26,295 --> 01:09:30,289 And everything comes together and makes a lot more sense. 1101 01:09:30,332 --> 01:09:35,862 Seymour showed me what a musician could be. 1102 01:09:35,905 --> 01:09:37,237 'Cause I had no idea. 1103 01:09:37,273 --> 01:09:38,263 I mean, I hadn't heard it. 1104 01:09:38,307 --> 01:09:40,833 I hadn't encountered people in my life 1105 01:09:40,876 --> 01:09:45,246 that were serious about music in the way 1106 01:09:45,281 --> 01:09:48,809 that he's serious about music. 1107 01:09:48,851 --> 01:09:52,185 I feel like composer must be happy in heaven. 1108 01:09:52,221 --> 01:09:54,747 'Cause they should... 1109 01:09:54,790 --> 01:09:57,817 How should I say it? 1110 01:09:57,860 --> 01:10:00,625 Yeah, he gave every- every single message 1111 01:10:00,663 --> 01:10:02,859 hiding in the music, 1112 01:10:02,898 --> 01:10:04,264 bring up. 1113 01:10:06,202 --> 01:10:09,502 I mentioned Schumann before. 1114 01:10:09,538 --> 01:10:12,303 And this is the last movement 1115 01:10:12,341 --> 01:10:16,301 of his Fantasie Opus 17. 1116 01:10:19,315 --> 01:10:23,685 This piece was a kind of wedding present 1117 01:10:23,719 --> 01:10:27,315 by Schumann for his beloved Clara. 1118 01:10:27,356 --> 01:10:28,847 Well, this is one of the greatest pieces 1119 01:10:28,891 --> 01:10:30,587 that was ever written. 1120 01:10:30,626 --> 01:10:33,926 It's so beautiful that it's almost impossible to practice, 1121 01:10:33,963 --> 01:10:36,797 because you try to practice it, 1122 01:10:36,832 --> 01:10:38,892 and you're drawn from the beginning to the end. 1123 01:10:38,934 --> 01:10:41,335 You can't stop. 1124 01:10:41,370 --> 01:10:44,898 Schumann married Clara when he was 25. 1125 01:10:44,940 --> 01:10:47,341 She was 16. 1126 01:10:47,376 --> 01:10:52,610 And he chose a motto, "Throughout all music, 1127 01:10:52,648 --> 01:10:57,018 "there sounds the colorful dream of the earth, 1128 01:10:57,253 --> 01:10:59,950 "one quiet note 1129 01:10:59,989 --> 01:11:03,721 played for a secret eavesdropper. " 1130 01:11:03,759 --> 01:11:07,423 Then he sent this music to Clara, 1131 01:11:07,463 --> 01:11:09,329 and he told her, 1132 01:11:09,365 --> 01:11:12,358 "You are the note of my life, 1133 01:11:12,401 --> 01:11:16,497 and you are the secret eavesdropper. " 1134 01:11:16,538 --> 01:11:18,370 It's so gorgeous. 1135 01:11:32,421 --> 01:11:34,754 Over the bar now. 1136 01:11:39,528 --> 01:11:42,930 Mm-mm. See, one of them just ends. 1137 01:11:46,902 --> 01:11:49,064 This one ends. 1138 01:11:49,305 --> 01:11:53,606 And this one is a longer idea. 1139 01:11:53,642 --> 01:11:57,773 So have to remember to keep up the sound here. 1140 01:12:13,696 --> 01:12:15,995 And now the bass just rips me apart. 1141 01:12:16,031 --> 01:12:18,466 It's so beautiful. 1142 01:12:53,902 --> 01:12:56,633 It's just impossibly beautiful. 1143 01:12:58,540 --> 01:13:01,100 Then here's one of my favorite places. 1144 01:13:01,143 --> 01:13:02,839 Let's see. Where is that? 1145 01:13:07,049 --> 01:13:09,143 It's in octaves, you see? 1146 01:13:09,385 --> 01:13:13,049 So which hand should be more- I think the right hand. 1147 01:13:26,835 --> 01:13:30,101 And now the darkness of the left hand. 1148 01:13:38,680 --> 01:13:41,707 Whenever I play this passage here... 1149 01:13:47,790 --> 01:13:50,021 It's sort of like someone doing this 1150 01:13:50,058 --> 01:13:51,754 to my chest, 1151 01:13:51,794 --> 01:13:54,787 like, patting for comfort. 1152 01:14:01,136 --> 01:14:04,629 Now here comes one of the biggest climaxes 1153 01:14:04,673 --> 01:14:07,074 in all of music! 1154 01:15:02,631 --> 01:15:06,693 The end of this piece is very problematic. 1155 01:15:06,735 --> 01:15:10,001 Nobody-no two people- ever do the same. 1156 01:15:10,038 --> 01:15:12,166 The reason it's so problematic 1157 01:15:12,207 --> 01:15:16,907 is because the composer didn't leave any markings. 1158 01:15:16,945 --> 01:15:20,882 Suddenly, he just left it to our own devices. 1159 01:15:22,985 --> 01:15:26,114 So some people just whimper away here. 1160 01:15:32,794 --> 01:15:37,664 They whimper away like this 1161 01:15:37,699 --> 01:15:41,830 and play the coda, which is the end of the piece, 1162 01:15:41,870 --> 01:15:43,532 all soft. 1163 01:15:48,777 --> 01:15:51,042 And I do just the opposite. 1164 01:15:51,079 --> 01:15:54,777 I just keep the intensity going. 1165 01:17:43,859 --> 01:17:45,953 I never dreamt 1166 01:17:45,994 --> 01:17:48,429 that with my own two hands, 1167 01:17:48,664 --> 01:17:51,031 I could touch the sky. 1168 01:20:54,883 --> 01:20:55,873 Thank you.