Former child prodigy Ruth Slenczynska will release a new album at the age of 97
bbc.com
bbc.com
Suggesting that a contemporary is ancient is a bit too far stretched and disrespectful in my opinion. Ruth Slenczynska is publishing a new album in March, which suggests that she has something to say to us all.
I'm middle eastern, and I've largely been tempered to a point of submission about anti-middle-eastern sentiment until someone directly or indirectly cites such ambivalence or submission as a reason to perpetuate that casual disrespect towards people of my background.
And then I get pretty pissed.
Let's not condone casual bigotry just because some members of a population have come to terms with its current inevitability.
81 years young :)
In an attempt to return the favor:
But here's my contrib nonetheless -> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vJpN-887jOo
Horszowski, also a child prodigy, had his debut in Vienna in in 1902 at the age of 10. [1]
Horszowski's final performance took place in Philadelphia in October 1991 [age 99]. He died in that city a month before his 101st birthday. He gave his final lesson a week before his death. [2]
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[1] Liner Notes: Horszowski- Mozart, Chopin, Schumann. Electra/Nonsuch E2 79202
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mieczys%C5%82aw_Horszowski
You'd almost think that music keeps you young when you see her and people like Mrs. Slenczynska. Of course that's pure survivor bias but at the same time you have to wonder, if you grow old with nothing to do that might affect your health.
Holy shit
I doubt there are many dentists that are still practicing well past retirement age.
I would disagree that, just because a small percentage of them succeed, the artist path is a waste of resources.
The small number of big successes over the history have more than made up for the majority of failures in art.
Perhaps a more hacker news analogy is this: just because most start ups fail does not mean that pursuing start ups are a waste of resources. The competition creates a dialogue for people to tinker and figure out what really resonates with society.
But at a human level, those who unsuccessfully pursue the arts suffer. With their most productive years spent unfruitfully, their late lives seem difficult. Often, they haven't saved anything for retirement and need to toil in menial labor until their bones crumble to dust. Especially later in life, providing for others, especially one's children, becomes increasingly important. I see a lot of my artist friends struggle emotionally because they don't have the means to give their children certain opportunities.
Comparing musicians to startups is interesting. To continue the analogy, if you're not finding product-market-fit, then it might be time to pivot :)
I admire the courage of artists (and startups, restaurants, scientists) going on such risky paths, and they collectively bring a net gain.
But I see your point in that I would hesitate to recommend pursuing art as specific advice for individuals. In this case I disagree with Ruth’s father’s parenting strategy even though Ruth became a successful pianist.
But whether or not I’ve made things better is irrelevant. What’s important is that at least I tried.
And of course it is relevant! That's what you say in your parent comment, right?
[Edit: Dear downvoters, I’m not seriously complaining about this. But the GP post used the words “I’m more impressed by…” — and you have to admit, it’s pretty ironic that, in the literal end, people are more impressed by a random genetic trait than the art on which you spent 93 years.]
Happy MLK day!
After his daughter was born he probably wanted to live his dreams through her, plus being immigrant, and Polish put extra pressure to perform.
Not an excuse for mental (and physical?) abuse but parents don't have to be psychopaths to do bad things.
It comes down to the parenting, I think. We were a very grounded, normal family despite his early fame.