The more disastrous the mishaps the simpler the reviewing task.

Real folk music long ago went to Nashville and left no known survivors.

On the subject of wild mushrooms, it is easy to tell who is an expert and who is not: The expert is the one who is still alive.

Next to the writer of real estate advertisements, the autobiographer is the most suspect of prose artists.

[Rubinstein was] a fountain from which music spouted, not a recitalist.

The human brain can soften as a result of incessant listening to music with an intent to commit prose.

The irrepressible spirit that made his playing seem like good conversation is the Rubinstein legacy for pianists, if they can pick up their heads from the keyboard long enough to claim it.