When I was about fourteen years old, the piano preludes of Claude Debussy (1862-1918) changed my life. Before then, the piano music my teacher gave me was mostly from the Classical Period with some from the Romantic Period. Czerny and Hanon were the backbone of the technique she taught.
When I was in the eighth grade, I wrote a paper with the title, “Enthusiasm is Contagious.” I can’t remember what class it was for—but I do remember we had to stand in front of the room and read our paper to the class. I can’t say that anyone was bowled over with my writing or oratory skills. It was memorable because my teacher made a remark that it was an odd choice—I was not the outgoing, spirited type of person. At that moment, I realized people are judged by what is seen on the outside. I am not saying that is bad—it is a natural tendency. We can’t know what goes on inside a person.
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