Just heard a great story from my friend Professor Lynn Raley. The illustrious grande dame of pianists, Rosina Lhevinne (teacher of Van Cliburn and wife of pianist Josef Lhevinne), was due to perform Chopin E minor concerto at the tender age of 82. She was asked by an interviewer on radio how she went about preparing for public performance at her advanced age. In a high pitched Russian accent she replied: Well young man what I do is to dim the lights, close the door, and lie on my couch, with my music score on my lap, and then, very slowly and deliberately, I finger my passages.
