Beethoven's Kiss

Here's an article I read last night and I think it's so meaningful especially for us as a musician! :)
This article is taken from Reader's Digest (Dec.1988).

Beethoven's Kiss
by Andor Foldes

As I was giving a masterclass for young pianists in Saarbrücken, West Germany, in September 1985, I felt that one student would do even better if given a pat on the back. I praised him before the whole class for what distinguished his playing. He immediately outdid himself, to his amazement and that of the group. A few words brought out the best in him.
    
     How happy and proud the first praise I remember receiving made me feel! I was seven, and my father asked for help in the garden. I worked as hard as I could and was richly rewarded when he kissed me and said, "Thanks, son, you did very well." His words still ring in my ears more than six decades later.

     At 16, I was in the midst of a personal crisis arising from differences with my music teacher. Then the renowned pianist Emil von Sauer, Liszt's last surviving pupil, came to Budapest and asked me to play for him. He listened intently to Bach's Toccata in C major and requested more.I put all my heart into playing Beethoven's "Pathetique" sonata and continued with Schumann's "Papillions." Finall, von Sauer rose and kissed me on the forehead. "My son," he said, "when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, 'Take good care of this kiss-it comes from Beethoven, who gave it to me after hearing me play.' I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, but now I feel you deserve it. "

     Nothing in my life has meant as much to me as von Sauer's praise. Beethoven's kiss miraculously lifted me out of my crisis and helped me become the pianist I am today. Soon I in turn will pass it on to the one who most deserves it.

     Praise is a potent force, a candle in a dark room. It is magic, and I marvel that it always works.


*P/S Andor Foldes (1913-1992) was an internationally renowned Hungarian pianist born in Budapest, who later took American citizenship. He performed worldwide and made his debut at the age of eight with the Budapest Philharmonic.