'He who strides, cannot walk…He who tiptoes, cannot stand.' Chinese Proverb

This goes to the heart of the emotional challenge that many performers face, and probably, anyone at all for that matter. How do we maintain enough self-doubt to continue to improve in what we do, whilst at the same time enjoy the necessary self-confidence to do our jobs well in the first place?

That conflict might be a reason behind the clichéd moodiness of artists, but if you're able to find the balance between these apparent contradictions, you've probably found one of the main secrets, not only of success in your work, but also for a healthy balance in life itself.

The greatest music is the hardest to understand. If that were not the case, it wouldn't be so special. It would not continue to be a fascination throughout a whole lifetime, and from generation to generation. And the better the work, the wider range of truths it can offer up. A symphony by Beethoven allows far more varied interpretations than one by Cherubini and there are an infinite number of ways you could perform Così fan Tutte and still be faithful to what is written. Only in a limited piece, are there limitations in performance. Greatness lies in its possibilities and to find out what those are demands a quizzical nature that perhaps should never really be satisfied. The more questions we ask, the closer we will get to the truth and yet the nearer we come, the more mysterious the music seems to be.

An artist without doubt is an artist with answers and an artist with answers is probably not asking the right questions. Perhaps the right questions have no answers.

But just as important as being open to all the options of a great score, is being utterly certain of our own opinion. In some ways that is why studying a piece is so much harder than playing it. We need to investigate every avenue, ruling out as paths the ones that eventually prove to be cul-de-sacs. If we are going to lead an orchestra through the music, we have to have decided the route we are going to take. Only with that conviction are we able to convince people of what we are doing, and only by having explored all the possibilities can we persuade people of the value of the choices you have made.

Some rather dark soul once expressed the notion that 'one contentment the artist has is a constant discontent.' As bleak as this sounds at first, it is not necessarily so grim. It is a privilege to be on a journey that will never end, that will always provoke thoughts, and constantly raise questions - questions that enrich our lives, even if the answers are unattainable. As another Chinese proverb puts it:

'A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.'

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