What a beautiful piece -- thanks for that moment. And a deep question indeed.  How does age affect one's sensitivity and one's authority in the production of art? If we think for instance of authors, I'd mentioned in the thread on coming of age novels two masterworks by Woolf, Melymbrosia (arguably her first novel) and the Waves (written at the height of her powers). In the first, which is splendidly drawn, one nonetheless feels that certain things happen to the characters because of pressures which the novelist feels imposed on her almost from the outside -- the world is not entirely of her own creation, but rather fate intervenes.

Youth is in many ways reactionary: whether raging against the current order or submitting to it, there's nonetheless a kind of engagement with the world as it is, and a feeling that things must be dealt with, must be encountered, actually exist.

The Waves, on the other hand, is radically different; it's a world of its own. She is old enough, and deep enough, to be a creator in the full sense of the term. The world she draws for us is one in which we have lived without knowing it.

Of course, turning back to music, some people in old age may become so radical, and so subtle, that they perhaps no longer submit to the will of the composer at all, but rather play a piece of their own creation. Technique is a factor, but I suspect issues of interpretation are also at play. 

It's an argument for working continuously at what one loves. When one is eighteen it seems as if adulthood is relatively shallow: from the shore it's difficult to gauge the sea's depths. And many people stay close to the shore. But when one sees people who have indeed spent their whole lives sailing out, and what great distances and depths they have attained -- one's entire focus changes.

Do keep playing...

Thanks Mia for your insightful thoughts, I will think about this topic some more and will add "The Waves" to my (ever expanding) reading list, also since I haven't yet read anything by Woolf.

I would also like to add one more anecdote on the music piece - searching again this morning in YouTube, I discovered that this Bach piece was used for the last scene of the movie "Before Sunrise" (didn't remember that) which I viewed quite a few years back. "Before Sunrise"&its sequel "Before Sunset" (btw - don't miss out on them if you haven't seen them yet) being very emotional movies, this doesn't surprise me. Interestingly enough these two movies deal together about changing prospective towards relationship, love & life over the years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXq9hObG5GU

Hi Assaf and Mia,

I think we all had these older authorities who used to tell us what to play and what not to play, and evaluate for us when it was a good time to wrestle with certain pieces. I had a tough, Russian piano teacher when I was an adolescent, and I had to negotiate all my repertoire with him. When I left the country and his teaching, I immediately consoled myself by taking all the pieces he forbade me to play.

The pretext that one is too young is understandable (it is a pedagogical question), but I believe that wanting something passionately can make one overcome many difficulties and therefore help improve greatly. (thus the importance of haggling with one’s teacher:)

John wrote a post about poetic and heroic music, and on how the pieces change their character through the different interpretations. Playing pieces at different ages gives one a chance to look at them from different angles, let one’s interpretation be more heroic or more poetic, with a fresh and impulsive approach or on the contrary, a vision with more depth and reflection. I’m grateful to my old teacher, he taught me to be in awe before great compositions, and when I could finally play those after many years, it was simply great.