But what about soloists? There the exposure is greater and the risks to a continued career more pronounced. Still the future can be murky. For some, a decline in playing ability is so obvious that presenters, critics, and audience members notice. Performers may receive bad reviews, audience members may stop buying tickets, and presenters may no longer be willing to hire older musicians. Like older athletes, the careers of these performers are pretty much over.
Yet, even this is not always the case and indeed music is one of those activities where old age can be celebrated. There is no question that pianist Mieczysław Horszowski, at the age of 100, did not have the physical dexterity he possessed as a fifty-year-old.
Yet I was one of the lucky audience members who heard Horszowski give a recital as a centenarian in 1992 and it was profound. Similarly, in his nineties, pianist Menahem Pressler had lost some of his technical proficiency. But when I presented him at that age in chamber music concerts, the list of musicians who wished to play with him was long. It seems that in many cases, great musicians are given a pass if the playing is still considered transcendent.
