Performing 'serious' music -- the physical expression of (an often well-known body of) notes and their interrelationships -- is not only highly technical, but a

Performing 'serious' music -- the physical expression of (an often well-known body of) notes and their interrelationships -- is not only highly technical, but also highly artistic. The technical - given enough attention, the right physiology, the right brain-wiring - really has to be finished ... completely 'automated'. Missing or wrong notes ... I was reading yesterday that Tom Robbins sometimes spent the whole day writing one or two sentences ... that kind of fanaticism required. The artistic, on the other hand, is much more subjective, and demands much of the performer's attention. And then, Worse yet, there's the game. There are 'standards' of 'musicianship' ... vaguer still, but people 'know it when they hear it'. 'Maverick' interpretations won't cut it with conventional listeners. Etc. etc. Being well-established in the conventional repertoire might be defined as 'literate' enough to allow occasional 'peccadillos'. That kind of 'career' is only one of many ... there's improv, jazz, pleasuring (in lounges, at home), composing, teaching. To fail at feeding utterly conventional (however learn-ed) expectations doesn't have to be the end.