The guy at the copy shop was in a jovial mood with everyone that came in, something he didn't spare me. But when he rang up the copied recital programs he had handed me, and after he had embarked on small talk confirming that I played the cello, he threw a graceful curve ball. "What is one thing that no teacher taught you, that you had to learn only from yourself?"
Irony of ironies that I was headed to my students' recital and that this is the very reason that I have recitals: because in the end, we are our only teachers. An external teacher can only be a guide.
It was good to be able to chat with my 80-year-old student that had played his first recital on Saturday, and to hear him confirm this. There is no replacement but to live through the experience. It's not something anyone can give another, but something that each person has to do on their own. In the same way, as a teacher, I have to learn to be as involved as possible up to a certain point, and then most importantly, to sit back and allow my students to find their way. There are many things one can learn in a performance, but one of the most important I think, is trust. And although there is a word for it, there is no way to teach it from the outside. I can only give an opportunity for it to grow.
I wish I had been quick enough to learn more about this man that broke the New York inertia and asked me such a direct and beautiful question.
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