What a fantastic read! Thank you for sharing. Perhaps if Livi made a razor and put the words "Double Arrow" or even "Paksitan" on it...how many of would say more than "yeah, it's pretty good?" I am a straight razor shaver. I enjoy it, and I'm probably pretty good at it. I am not, yet, a master. Same with wine....if I had an Opus One in a $6 bottle....would I know more than "hey, that's a pretty good buy?" Now, make it a Scotch, a cigar, or a brandy, and I can probably tell that SOMETHING is up, more than meets the eye.
But GREATNESS? GENIUS? How likely am I to recognize it in areas that I don't consider myself expert? (including music...would I have stopped? I like to think so. Would I have recognized this greatness...I think it is hubris for me to pretend that I would.)

As an old philosphy major, I loved being reminded of some of those great discussions of beauty and art that I have read...I took a class in it, actually in undergrad, and I wish I knew then how much I would love to remember it all now...perhaps I would have kept my notes!

For those of you who have never closed your eyes and listend to Joshua Bell play...even if you are not a fan of classical music...give it a try. maybe ESPECIALLY if you are not a fan of classical music. You will be...at least for a while.

I'll be seeing him again in Boston November 27, and I can not wait. He is one of very, very few artists who have ever made me cry through music's beauty.