Briefe an eine junge Pianistin

The conversation after a concert with a young, highly talented pianist leaves the maestro restless, and he writes her ten letters: letters about art and the betrayal she would commit against her talent if she were to be seduced by a career. "The game is dangerous, and so is the path. Being on the market, allowing oneself to be assessed and sold by others, trusting their choices, their intentions, the promises of managers, or the taste of the audience – all of this can only be done as long as the desire for gambling is greater than the wish to do good, because you spoke convincingly of that as your goal. We play for the good (as A. Pushkin says: 'And I have awakened good feelings with my lyre). Why hide it? - I too was guided by ambitions in my youth. I did not always understand how to resist temptations. Of course. For a long time, I thought it was important to participate in festivals overflowing with publicity and fame. I believed it was an honor to be invited to the renowned Salzburg or to support my friends by participating in Verbier in Switzerland. Nothing of the sort. I blindly followed the intoxication of the beau monde or the ambitions of the organizers to bring together as many named stars as possible and have them perform together after the shortest rehearsal time – this served far more the fair of vanities than the music. The battle with one's own doubts and temptations can only be won when the goal and the result have nothing to do with self-adulation.".