• Tales of Virtuosity: Excellence at its Best

    by Alexander Becker on December 24, 2007 | Link

    What moves you the most? What makes you believe? Hope? What makes you shiver?

    Fundamentals, Virtuosity, and Mastery

    Virtuosity is defined in gymnastics as "performing the common uncommonly well." Unlike risk and originality, virtuosity is elusive, supremely elusive. It is, however, readily recognized by audience as well as coach and athlete. But more importantly, more to my point, virtuosity is more than the requirement for that last tenth of a point; it is always the mark of true mastery (and of genius and beauty).

    Grace

    Seemingly effortless is leaving the possibility that we can help a little bit here and there. Is grace about moderation? Can we polarize even grace?

    1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
    2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.

    Virtuosity

    Excellence. Absolute excellence in any given field. Virtuosity. I can't help but admire the signs of virtuosity. It's magic to me.

    The legendary Kolisch Quartet had the singular distinction of playing its entire repertoire from memory, including the impossibly complex modern works of Schoenberg, Webern, Bartok, and Berg. Eugene Lehner was the violinist for the quartet in the 1930s. Lehner's stories about their remarkable performances often included a hair-raising moment when one player or another had a memory slip. Although he relished the rapport that developed between them without the encumbrance of a music stand, he admits there was hardly a concert in which some mistake did not mar the performance. The alertness, presence. and attention required of the players in every performance is hard to fathom, but in one concert an event occured that surpassed their ordinary brinkmanship.

    In the middle of the slow movement of Beethoven's String Quartet op. 95,just before his big solo, Lehner suddenly had an inexplicable memory lapse, in a place where his memory had never failed him before. He literally blacked out. But the audience heard Opus 95 as it was meant to be played, the viola solo sounding in all its richness. Even the first violinist, Rudolph Kolisch, and cellist, Bennar Heifetz, both with their eyes closed and deeply absorbed in the music, were unaware that Lehner had dropped out. The second violinist, Felix Khuner, was playing Lehner's melody, coming in without missing a beat at the viola's designated entrance, teh notes perfectly in tune and voiced like a viola on an instrument tuned a fifth higher. Lehner was stunned, and offstage after the performance asked Khuner how he could have possibly known to play. Khuner answered with a shrug: I could see that your finger was poised over the wrong string, so I knew you must have forgotten what came next.

    From The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.

    Always look for tales of excellence, moments of excellence. Examples of virtuosity ignite and create sparks of inspiration like nothing else.

    Art is man's expression of his joy in labor. --Henry A. Kissinger

    Virtuosity is excellence at its best. Virtuosity doesn't need to be advertised nor marketed. It is obvious and only needs to be seen to be recognized as what it is. No need to brag, no need to bring out the stats, just show what you can and it will be evident.

    Humility

    While virtuosity is the highest form of excellence, what about chutzpah taken to the extreme? How's eccentricity as an elaborate form of high-end chutzpah? Again, at some point there is no need for audacity anymore. It is obvious then that what may look like audacity to some is just the way it works. That, in fact, is humility.

    To conclude, interestingly, both virtuosity and giga-chutzpah find their ultimate superlative in the unexpected -- humility. Humility is what ultimately remains and is a significant, characteristic marker of the truly best there is.

    Awe. Hair-raising.

    Related Items

    Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    If you liked this post, please take the time to bookmark it on del.icio.us or vote for it on Digg. Thank you! You can also get free updates , send feedback, or browse the archives for more.

Subscribe to WOW to have the latest articles conveniently delivered for free. You can also subscribe to WOW by E-mail.

Previous Posts

Free Download

Peer pressure, vanity and behavior, motivation tricks and hacks, success and pain, and how to excel, Celebrate Your Beauty -- whatever it takes. Download your free ebook.