Levels

, you can't skip steps. Those who try will either fall flat on their face, or at some point have to climb back to make up for lost time. Highly gifted musicians sometimes seem to take three steps at once, yet they don't miss a single one. For, as Robert Schumann wrote: "There is no end to learning." The beautiful notion that the "path" is the "destination" helps. Or Brahms's certainty that something great can emerge, even if one's idea is just be...