The Art of Possibility - A Book Review
Facing Difficulty we may despair, be angry, or choose possibility
I was first introduced to The Art of Possibility’s author Benjamin Zander through my experience with the cello. Zander, a cellist himself, is also an accomplished pianist, composer, conductor, and entrepreneur. The man has an unbounded love of music, unrestrained passion for life, and exuberant internal drive. My daily cello practice brought me across his YouTube channel, where he runs a marvelous series of interpretation classes.
Two videos have affected me strongly. The first was his Ted Talk on the transformative power of classical music, the second was his interpretation class for Fauré’s beautiful Elegy.
The elegy was written about the love Fauré felt towards his recently deceased wife. It begins with an ominous piano intro to simulate the death knell of church bells. The song moves on from the main theme to a passionately lyrical theme in the middle - the remembrances of two lovers frolicking without a care in the world. It interrupts this theme with the resumption of heartrending despair.
The cellist in the video played it quite well at first, but without much impact. Mr. Zander then explains the reason for the song - Fauré’s dead wife - and implores the cellist, “Bring death into this room!” I urge you to watch to the end of the video to see the profound difference in impact the new interpretation has on the audience. It brings one woman to tears, and a man to thank the cellist for reminding him of a passed loved one. The transformative power of classical music.
The theme of death aside, all of this led me to purchase Mr. Zander’s book, The Art of Possibility. I was not disappointed.
The book contains twelve chapters. Each chapter is filled with anecdotes from Mr. Zander’s experience as a musician, conductor, public speaker, business owner, and teacher. It also contains several amusing parables that are used to help make Mr. Zander’s point.
The book starts with my favorite parable. Two shoe salesmen are on a sales trip to remote, tribal Africa. The first salesman is despondent. He messages his company, “The situation is hopeless, they don’t wear shoes.”
The second salesman is ecstatic. He sees the opportunity, and he triumphantly writes back, “There’s a glorious opportunity, they don’t wear shoes!”
The book continues in this manner for each chapter, explaining to us that our perceptions are all invented - by ourselves - and we must recognize and break free of the mentality that causes the “downward spiral.”
One chapter that was of particular importance to me was describing a cellist who was auditioning. The cellist was good. He knew he was good, but the stress of the audition was weighing on him. Mr. Zander appeals to him to lean over to the side on his chair, such that he is performing in the style of “One Buttock Playing.” The cellist finds humor in it, and thinking of it during the audition, releases the tension he had. He played wonderfully, and he won the spot.
I think of this “One Buttock Playing” almost every time I sit down with a cello myself. Releasing tension, and being free in spirit and movement is of the utmost importance to playing the cello. The cello is after all a box of wood that reveals all of our insecurities, fears, passions, and inner spirit. If we have one buttock free in the air, we are not able to enter the downward spiral, and we can perform at our best.
I’ll end with Mr. Zander’s epiphany - the conductor doesn’t make a sound.
His job is to awaken possibility in others.
So we must consider our own lives. Where are we conductors? Are we trapped in a downward spiral? Are we leading authentic lives full of self-created inspiration? Do we awaken the possibility in those close to us?