Words Of A Concert Pianist

The words quoted below are profound [1]:

"It is not a profession to be a pianist and musician. It is a philosophy, a conception of life that cannot be based on good intentions or natural talent. First and foremost there must be a spirit of sacrifice." - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli 

These words, when extrapolated, extend to all professions and all walks of life.  Life is indeed a philosophy, one that ought not to be based solely on one's innate abilities, translated into observable good deeds and published words, however well-intentioned.  As Maestro Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli said, a "spirit of sacrifice" must be "first and foremost," otherwise (conjecturing further) any performance, any action taken, any word spoken and any body of work, notable or not, would merely be an exercise in vanity.

This is perhaps a good example of Maestro Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli's spirit of sacrifice: he played a sonata written by a relatively unknown composer, Baldassare Galuppi, Sonata No. 5 in C major, not to showcase his exceptional God-given talents but to bring them to bear on a humble piece of composition to showcase it. [2]

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was remembered by John Bell Young in an essay entitled THE MAN WHO WOULD BE SCARBO: REMEMBERING ARTURO BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI  [3].

What is Scarbo?  "Gaspard de la nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d'après Aloysius Bertrand is a suite of piano pieces by Ravel, written in 1908. It has 3 movements, each based on a poem by Aloysius Bertrand. It premiered in 1909. The work is famous for its difficulty, and Scarbo is considered one of the most difficult solo piano pieces ever written." [4]

You Tube has a performance of Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit by Maestro Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli in 1960 in Prague, and in 1987 at the Vatican. [5]


[1] https://www.azquotes.com/author/33809-Arturo_Benedetti_Michelangeli
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRVg_qqcRSw
[3] https://www.forte-piano-pianissimo.com/MichelangeliMonograph.html
[4] https://musopen.org/music/4693-gaspard-de-la-nuit/
[5] 1960 (no advertisement):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTxX2WYYblo&t=853s; 1987 (with advertisement):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1NkdnilwQk