The Rocky Road to Virtuosity (And Why It's So Much Fun!)

We talk a lot about “virtuosity” at Phillips Corporation, and a metaphor that often comes to mind is of great musicians and how they devote themselves to a lifetime of reaching for impossible perfection.

A friend of mine sent me this brief, eight-minute video clip from a class taught by the great American cellist János Starker, and I have been watching it over and over again for the many lessons it holds and for the pleasure of seeing Starker play his large instrument as if it were a Hungarian fiddle.

Here is the link:

What I have seen so far:
1. The extreme joy in the young virtuoso’s face when she tries what the teacher has shown her and it works. She gets it! When Starker first makes a comment about how she can improve, she respectfully counters with what she is already doing that makes it so good. The teacher patiently puts her hand in position, she tries it, and she instantly experiences the joy of moving her playing to the next level. Celebration! Champagne!

2. Starker’s comment that “each level has its beginning”, and that we need to celebrate when we master one level and be aware when we enter the next one that “basically, everything is wrong”.

3. Starker’s idea that for there to be no limit or endpoint along the path to virtuosity, we must know the basics. It’s easy to build early success on hard work, talent, and luck. What will limit us is not knowing why things work the way that they do. While we are reaching for the sky, we must be clear on the basic underpinnings of what we do, and continue to work to perfect what the choreographer Merce Cunningham called the “dailiness” of our work.

4. Another thing that I watch and rewatch this video for is the fun of seeing János Starker play. If you have ever tried to get a clear sound out of a stringed instrument, or if you have ever been a little kid carrying an instrument as big as you are to school every morning, you have some idea of the physical strength and precision that he is bringing to making sounds as light as air and as fast as light.

Give the clip a listen. I would love to hear what you have picked up that I have missed, and to read your better ideas about my comments.

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Comments

[John McGlaughlin]

Bill, Thanks for this excellent clip. Fits with a motto I use: always happy, never satisfied.
JMcG