Does the performer matter?

A piece of music is like a relationship. It starts with so much excitement, and can so easily flat-line after some time. New notes are very attractive. It is intoxicating to get to know a new work. The sounds linger hours after the last note of the day is played. It's like meeting a new person, like falling in love, it's so exciting! 

The problem is not the start. 

The fresh and curious relationship with that new work is very precious because it is so illusive. The amazing creative potential of the first impression soon makes way to considerations of learning and memorization, of fingerings and technique. Repetition kills that original flame of intoxication. We try to make the piece safe and flawless, but a safe and perfect rendition is the ultimate death sentence for music.

So how can you keep this initial flame of intoxication alive? How do you bring it across to the audience? 

It's the responsibility of the performer to preserve the initial sense of awe, and to develop this awe into an amazing rendition of a composition. Passing on that flame is what it's all about, and it might even be the way, perhaps the most important one, to keep classical music relevant and alive.