In his autobiography, Isaac Stern spoke of the reviews that followed his New York debut: "We were so bitterly disappointed...I was being patted on the head by some of New York's most eminent critics and told that I hadn't yet crossed the 'Great Divide' into the lofty realm of the artist; that my playing was 'erratic'; that I ought to go back to San Francisco, to the 'land of violinistic prodigies, movie yes-men and sunshine,' and practice some more."
Fortunately for us, Mr. Stern used this as fuel to work even harder, the result being that he did indeed enter that "lofty realm of the artist".
From The Violinist blog
Stern would go on to become on of the violin greats, and in his "spare" time, save Carnegie Hall from the wrecking ball. How much richer we all are because he didn't quit when his initial reviews were unkind....
Monday, August 20, 2012
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment