Great post at “Mark’s Meanderings”: Lessons from a master
“How, I asked Stern, did he do it? How did he manage to retain his artistry when the calendar had robbed him of his hard-won dexterity, stamina, and perhaps even some of his power of concentration? Stern, who could be as charming as a kitten or as gruff as a grouchy hound, sometimes in the same breath, paused for a moment. “Of course there’s a difference from how I once played,” he growled. “That’s not the point. The question is how I use what I can do.” Then his voice softened, as if he was about to share a secret. “Technique is not music,” he continued. “Music is the thousandth of a millisecond between one note and another; How you get from one to the other – that’s where the music is.”
