0:00:00.492,0:00:03.527
Probably a lot of you know[br]the story of the two salesmen

0:00:03.551,0:00:06.469
who went down to Africa in the 1900s.

0:00:06.493,0:00:09.133
They were sent down to find[br]if there was any opportunity

0:00:09.157,0:00:10.365
for selling shoes,

0:00:10.389,0:00:12.717
and they wrote telegrams[br]back to Manchester.

0:00:13.313,0:00:14.551
And one of them wrote,

0:00:14.575,0:00:17.737
"Situation hopeless. Stop.[br]They don't wear shoes."

0:00:18.292,0:00:19.904
And the other one wrote,

0:00:19.928,0:00:22.936
"Glorious opportunity.[br]They don't have any shoes yet."

0:00:22.960,0:00:24.260
(Laughter)

0:00:24.284,0:00:27.443
Now, there's a similar situation[br]in the classical music world,

0:00:27.467,0:00:31.376
because there are some people who think[br]that classical music is dying.

0:00:32.230,0:00:35.712
And there are some of us[br]who think you ain't seen nothing yet.

0:00:36.530,0:00:39.976
And rather than go[br]into statistics and trends,

0:00:40.000,0:00:42.737
and tell you about all the orchestras[br]that are closing,

0:00:42.761,0:00:45.217
and the record companies that are folding,

0:00:45.241,0:00:48.593
I thought we should do[br]an experiment tonight.

0:00:48.960,0:00:52.319
Actually, it's not really an experiment,[br]because I know the outcome.

0:00:52.343,0:00:53.602
(Laughter)

0:00:53.626,0:00:55.022
But it's like an experiment.

0:00:55.540,0:00:56.871
Now, before we start --

0:00:56.895,0:00:59.976
(Laughter)

0:01:00.000,0:01:02.438
Before we start, I need to do two things.

0:01:02.462,0:01:06.537
One is I want to remind you[br]of what a seven-year-old child

0:01:06.561,0:01:08.572
sounds like when he plays the piano.

0:01:08.596,0:01:10.705
Maybe you have this child at home.

0:01:10.729,0:01:12.186
He sounds something like this.

0:01:12.210,0:01:14.776
(Music)

0:01:30.395,0:01:32.289
(Music ends)

0:01:32.313,0:01:34.487
I see some of you recognize this child.

0:01:35.146,0:01:38.536
Now, if he practices for a year[br]and takes lessons, he's now eight

0:01:38.560,0:01:39.742
and he sounds like this.

0:01:39.766,0:01:41.091
(Music)

0:01:45.894,0:01:47.085
(Music ends)

0:01:47.109,0:01:49.976
He practices for another year[br]and takes lessons -- he's nine.

0:01:50.000,0:01:51.628
(Music)

0:01:55.163,0:01:56.641
(Music ends)

0:01:56.665,0:01:59.949
Then he practices for another year[br]and takes lessons -- now he's 10.

0:01:59.973,0:02:02.194
(Music)

0:02:04.680,0:02:05.881
(Music ends)

0:02:05.905,0:02:07.658
At that point, they usually give up.

0:02:07.682,0:02:08.976
(Laughter)

0:02:09.000,0:02:11.269
(Applause)

0:02:11.293,0:02:14.976
Now, if you'd waited for one more year,[br]you would have heard this.

0:02:15.000,0:02:17.105
(Music)

0:02:22.969,0:02:24.405
(Music ends)

0:02:24.429,0:02:27.609
Now, what happened was not[br]maybe what you thought,

0:02:27.633,0:02:30.432
which is, he suddenly[br]became passionate, engaged,

0:02:30.456,0:02:34.339
involved, got a new teacher,[br]he hit puberty, or whatever it is.

0:02:34.363,0:02:37.861
What actually happened[br]was the impulses were reduced.

0:02:37.885,0:02:41.482
You see, the first time, he was playing[br]with an impulse on every note.

0:02:41.506,0:02:44.386
(Music)

0:02:44.410,0:02:46.758
And the second,[br]with an impulse every other note.

0:02:46.782,0:02:48.896
(Music)

0:02:48.920,0:02:50.816
You can see it by looking at my head.

0:02:50.840,0:02:52.556
(Laughter)

0:02:52.580,0:02:55.852
The nine-year-old put[br]an impulse on every four notes.

0:02:55.876,0:02:57.976
(Music)

0:02:58.000,0:02:59.869
The 10-year-old, on every eight notes.

0:02:59.893,0:03:01.976
(Music)

0:03:02.000,0:03:05.385
And the 11-year-old,[br]one impulse on the whole phrase.

0:03:05.409,0:03:08.128
(Music)

0:03:08.152,0:03:10.620
I don't know how[br]we got into this position.

0:03:10.644,0:03:12.686
(Laughter)

0:03:12.710,0:03:15.833
I didn't say, "I'm going to move[br]my shoulder over, move my body."

0:03:15.857,0:03:17.447
No, the music pushed me over,

0:03:17.471,0:03:19.796
which is why I call it[br]one-buttock playing.

0:03:19.820,0:03:21.523
(Music)

0:03:21.547,0:03:22.903
It can be the other buttock.

0:03:22.927,0:03:25.904
(Music)

0:03:26.388,0:03:29.872
You know, a gentleman was once[br]watching a presentation I was doing,

0:03:29.896,0:03:31.816
when I was working with a young pianist.

0:03:31.840,0:03:34.175
He was the president[br]of a corporation in Ohio.

0:03:34.199,0:03:36.462
I was working with[br]this young pianist, and said,

0:03:36.486,0:03:38.966
"The trouble with you[br]is you're a two-buttock player.

0:03:38.990,0:03:40.750
You should be a one-buttock player."

0:03:40.774,0:03:42.654
I moved his body while he was playing.

0:03:42.678,0:03:45.076
And suddenly, the music took off.[br]It took flight.

0:03:45.100,0:03:47.548
The audience gasped[br]when they heard the difference.

0:03:47.572,0:03:49.548
Then I got a letter from this gentleman.

0:03:49.572,0:03:50.833
He said, "I was so moved.

0:03:50.857,0:03:53.076
I went back and I transformed[br]my entire company

0:03:53.100,0:03:54.504
into a one-buttock company."

0:03:54.528,0:03:57.976
(Laughter)

0:03:58.000,0:04:00.896
Now, the other thing I wanted[br]to do is to tell you about you.

0:04:00.920,0:04:02.976
There are 1,600 people, I believe.

0:04:03.000,0:04:06.690
My estimation is that probably 45 of you

0:04:06.714,0:04:09.600
are absolutely passionate[br]about classical music.

0:04:09.624,0:04:14.346
You adore classical music.[br]Your FM is always on that classical dial.

0:04:14.370,0:04:16.976
You have CDs in your car,[br]and you go to the symphony,

0:04:17.000,0:04:18.896
your children are playing instruments.

0:04:18.920,0:04:21.595
You can't imagine your life[br]without classical music.

0:04:21.619,0:04:23.643
That's the first group, quite small.

0:04:23.667,0:04:25.491
Then there's another bigger group.

0:04:25.515,0:04:27.626
The people who don't mind classical music.

0:04:27.650,0:04:28.660
(Laughter)

0:04:28.684,0:04:30.729
You know, you've come home[br]from a long day,

0:04:30.753,0:04:33.436
and you take a glass of wine,[br]and you put your feet up.

0:04:33.460,0:04:36.080
A little Vivaldi in the background[br]doesn't do any harm.

0:04:36.104,0:04:37.445
That's the second group.

0:04:37.469,0:04:38.777
Now comes the third group:

0:04:38.801,0:04:41.001
people who never listen[br]to classical music.

0:04:41.025,0:04:42.976
It's just simply not part of your life.

0:04:43.000,0:04:45.845
You might hear it like second-hand[br]smoke at the airport ...

0:04:45.869,0:04:46.976
(Laughter)

0:04:47.000,0:04:49.286
-- and maybe a little bit[br]of a march from "Aida"

0:04:49.310,0:04:50.690
when you come into the hall.

0:04:50.714,0:04:52.301
But otherwise, you never hear it.

0:04:52.325,0:04:53.960
That's probably the largest group.

0:04:53.984,0:04:55.729
And then there's a very small group.

0:04:55.753,0:04:58.571
These are the people[br]who think they're tone-deaf.

0:04:59.030,0:05:01.325
Amazing number of people think[br]they're tone-deaf.

0:05:01.349,0:05:03.706
Actually, I hear a lot,[br]"My husband is tone-deaf."

0:05:03.730,0:05:04.731
(Laughter)

0:05:04.755,0:05:06.810
Actually, you cannot be tone-deaf.

0:05:06.834,0:05:08.056
Nobody is tone-deaf.

0:05:08.080,0:05:10.560
If you were tone-deaf,[br]you couldn't change the gears

0:05:10.584,0:05:12.463
on your car, in a stick shift car.

0:05:12.487,0:05:14.400
You couldn't tell the difference between

0:05:14.424,0:05:16.424
somebody from Texas[br]and somebody from Rome.

0:05:17.164,0:05:18.958
And the telephone. The telephone.

0:05:18.982,0:05:20.316
If your mother calls

0:05:20.340,0:05:23.516
on the miserable telephone,[br]she calls and says, "Hello,"

0:05:23.540,0:05:26.253
you not only know who it is,[br]you know what mood she's in.

0:05:26.841,0:05:30.588
You have a fantastic ear.[br]Everybody has a fantastic ear.

0:05:30.612,0:05:32.510
So nobody is tone-deaf.

0:05:32.534,0:05:33.685
But I tell you what.

0:05:33.709,0:05:36.663
It doesn't work for me[br]to go on with this thing,

0:05:36.687,0:05:40.433
with such a wide gulf[br]between those who understand,

0:05:40.457,0:05:42.863
love and are passionate[br]about classical music,

0:05:42.887,0:05:45.609
and those who have[br]no relationship to it at all.

0:05:45.633,0:05:48.116
The tone-deaf people,[br]they're no longer here.

0:05:48.140,0:05:50.110
But even between those three categories,

0:05:50.134,0:05:51.438
it's too wide a gulf.

0:05:51.462,0:05:55.880
So I'm not going to go on[br]until every single person in this room,

0:05:55.904,0:06:00.595
downstairs and in Aspen,[br]and everybody else looking,

0:06:00.619,0:06:04.464
will come to love[br]and understand classical music.

0:06:04.975,0:06:06.683
So that's what we're going to do.

0:06:06.707,0:06:12.281
Now, you notice that there is not[br]the slightest doubt in my mind

0:06:12.305,0:06:15.025
that this is going to work,[br]if you look at my face, right?

0:06:15.049,0:06:18.976
It's one of the characteristics[br]of a leader that he not doubt

0:06:19.000,0:06:22.976
for one moment the capacity[br]of the people he's leading

0:06:23.000,0:06:25.163
to realize whatever he's dreaming.

0:06:25.893,0:06:28.814
Imagine if Martin Luther King[br]had said, "I have a dream.

0:06:28.838,0:06:31.048
Of course, I'm not sure[br]they'll be up to it."

0:06:31.072,0:06:33.976
(Laughter)

0:06:34.000,0:06:36.341
All right. So I'm going[br]to take a piece of Chopin.

0:06:36.365,0:06:38.626
This is a beautiful prelude by Chopin.

0:06:39.198,0:06:40.666
Some of you will know it.

0:06:41.770,0:06:44.508
(Music)

0:07:11.118,0:07:13.434
Do you know what I think[br]probably happened here?

0:07:13.458,0:07:16.136
When I started, you thought,[br]"How beautiful that sounds."

0:07:16.160,0:07:18.532
(Music)

0:07:28.968,0:07:31.071
"I don't think we should[br]go to the same place

0:07:31.095,0:07:32.900
for our summer holidays next year."

0:07:32.924,0:07:35.544
(Laughter)

0:07:35.568,0:07:36.933
It's funny, isn't it?

0:07:36.957,0:07:42.203
It's funny how those thoughts[br]kind of waft into your head.

0:07:42.227,0:07:43.457
And of course --

0:07:43.481,0:07:45.341
(Applause)

0:07:45.365,0:07:48.176
Of course, if the piece is long[br]and you've had a long day,

0:07:48.200,0:07:49.619
you might actually drift off.

0:07:49.643,0:07:51.812
Then your companion[br]will dig you in the ribs

0:07:51.836,0:07:54.867
and say, "Wake up! It's culture!"[br]And then you feel even worse.

0:07:54.891,0:07:55.953
(Laughter)

0:07:55.977,0:07:58.966
But has it ever occurred to you[br]that the reason you feel sleepy

0:07:58.990,0:08:01.802
in classical music is not[br]because of you, but because of us?

0:08:01.826,0:08:03.663
Did anybody think while I was playing,

0:08:03.687,0:08:05.647
"Why is he using so many impulses?"

0:08:05.671,0:08:08.778
If I'd done this with my head you[br]certainly would have thought it.

0:08:08.802,0:08:10.942
(Music)

0:08:14.548,0:08:15.698
(Music ends)

0:08:15.722,0:08:18.878
And for the rest of your life,[br]every time you hear classical music,

0:08:18.902,0:08:22.682
you'll always be able to know[br]if you hear those impulses.

0:08:23.093,0:08:25.076
So let's see what's really going on here.

0:08:25.100,0:08:28.013
We have a B. This is a B.

0:08:28.037,0:08:29.322
The next note is a C.

0:08:29.798,0:08:31.976
And the job of the C is to make the B sad.

0:08:32.000,0:08:33.601
And it does, doesn't it?

0:08:33.625,0:08:35.373
(Laughter)

0:08:35.397,0:08:36.608
Composers know that.

0:08:36.632,0:08:39.211
If they want sad music,[br]they just play those two notes.

0:08:39.235,0:08:42.976
(Music)

0:08:43.000,0:08:45.531
But basically, it's just a B,[br]with four sads.

0:08:45.555,0:08:47.976
(Laughter)

0:08:48.000,0:08:49.402
Now, it goes down to A.

0:08:50.895,0:08:52.436
Now to G.

0:08:52.460,0:08:53.686
And then to F.

0:08:53.710,0:08:55.769
So we have B, A, G, F.

0:08:56.375,0:08:57.976
And if we have B, A, G, F,

0:08:58.000,0:08:59.587
what do we expect next?

0:08:59.611,0:09:02.721
(Music)

0:09:03.190,0:09:04.588
That might have been a fluke.

0:09:04.612,0:09:05.774
Let's try it again.

0:09:05.798,0:09:08.563
(Music)

0:09:09.444,0:09:10.722
Oh, the TED choir.

0:09:10.746,0:09:13.904
(Laughter)

0:09:13.928,0:09:16.794
And you notice nobody is tone-deaf, right?

0:09:16.818,0:09:18.020
Nobody is.

0:09:18.044,0:09:19.889
You know, every village in Bangladesh

0:09:19.913,0:09:24.771
and every hamlet in China[br]-- everybody knows:

0:09:24.795,0:09:27.236
da, da, da, da -- da.

0:09:27.260,0:09:29.212
Everybody knows, who's expecting that E.

0:09:29.236,0:09:31.435
Chopin didn't want to reach the E there,

0:09:31.459,0:09:32.990
because what will have happened?

0:09:33.814,0:09:36.181
It will be over, like Hamlet.[br]Do you remember?

0:09:36.205,0:09:37.413
Act One, scene three,

0:09:37.437,0:09:39.455
he finds out his uncle killed his father.

0:09:39.479,0:09:42.217
He keeps on going up[br]to his uncle and almost killing him.

0:09:42.241,0:09:45.408
And then he backs away,[br]he goes up to him again, almost kills him.

0:09:45.432,0:09:47.476
The critics sitting in the back row there,

0:09:47.500,0:09:50.976
they have to have an opinion,[br]so they say, "Hamlet is a procrastinator."

0:09:51.000,0:09:53.525
Or they say, "Hamlet has[br]an Oedipus complex."

0:09:53.549,0:09:55.798
No, otherwise the play[br]would be over, stupid.

0:09:55.822,0:09:56.907
(Laughter)

0:09:56.931,0:09:59.523
That's why Shakespeare puts[br]all that stuff in Hamlet --

0:09:59.547,0:10:01.612
Ophelia going mad,[br]the play within the play,

0:10:01.636,0:10:03.596
and Yorick's skull, and the gravediggers.

0:10:03.620,0:10:05.263
That's in order to delay --

0:10:05.287,0:10:06.922
until Act Five, he can kill him.

0:10:06.946,0:10:08.857
It's the same with the Chopin.

0:10:08.881,0:10:11.293
He's just about to reach the E,

0:10:11.317,0:10:13.920
and he says, "Oops, better[br]go back up and do it again."

0:10:14.571,0:10:16.063
So he does it again.

0:10:16.540,0:10:17.768
Now, he gets excited.

0:10:17.792,0:10:19.985
(Music)

0:10:20.009,0:10:21.976
That's excitement, don't worry about it.

0:10:22.000,0:10:24.831
Now, he gets to F-sharp,[br]and finally he goes down to E,

0:10:25.850,0:10:27.136
but it's the wrong chord --

0:10:27.160,0:10:29.373
because the chord[br]he's looking for is this one,

0:10:30.819,0:10:31.969
and instead he does ...

0:10:32.604,0:10:35.152
Now, we call that a deceptive cadence,

0:10:35.176,0:10:36.388
because it deceives us.

0:10:36.412,0:10:38.903
I tell my students,[br]"If you have a deceptive cadence,

0:10:38.927,0:10:41.146
raise your eyebrows,[br]and everybody will know."

0:10:41.170,0:10:43.078
(Laughter)

0:10:43.102,0:10:46.783
(Applause)

0:10:46.807,0:10:48.474
Right.

0:10:48.498,0:10:50.420
He gets to E, but it's the wrong chord.

0:10:50.444,0:10:51.639
Now, he tries E again.

0:10:51.663,0:10:53.125
That chord doesn't work.

0:10:53.149,0:10:55.545
Now, he tries the E again.[br]That chord doesn't work.

0:10:55.569,0:10:57.678
Now, he tries E again,[br]and that doesn't work.

0:10:58.124,0:10:59.274
And then finally ...

0:11:02.166,0:11:05.019
There was a gentleman[br]in the front row who went, "Mmm."

0:11:05.043,0:11:06.293
(Laughter)

0:11:06.317,0:11:09.673
It's the same gesture[br]he makes when he comes home

0:11:09.697,0:11:12.383
after a long day, turns off[br]the key in his car and says,

0:11:12.407,0:11:13.659
"Aah, I'm home."

0:11:13.683,0:11:15.309
Because we all know where home is.

0:11:15.333,0:11:18.573
So this is a piece which goes[br]from away to home.

0:11:18.597,0:11:21.796
I'm going to play it all the way through[br]and you're going to follow.

0:11:21.820,0:11:23.444
B, C, B, C, B, C, B --

0:11:23.468,0:11:25.160
down to A, down to G, down to F.

0:11:25.184,0:11:27.772
Almost goes to E, but otherwise[br]the play would be over.

0:11:27.796,0:11:29.811
He goes back up to B,[br]he gets very excited.

0:11:29.835,0:11:31.299
Goes to F-sharp. Goes to E.

0:11:31.323,0:11:33.377
It's the wrong chord.[br]It's the wrong chord.

0:11:33.401,0:11:35.742
And finally goes to E, and it's home.

0:11:35.766,0:11:39.202
And what you're going to see[br]is one-buttock playing.

0:11:39.226,0:11:40.976
(Laughter)

0:11:41.000,0:11:44.176
Because for me, to join the B to the E,

0:11:44.200,0:11:50.119
I have to stop thinking[br]about every single note along the way,

0:11:50.143,0:11:54.897
and start thinking about the long,[br]long line from B to E.

0:11:55.508,0:12:00.012
You know, we were just in South Africa,[br]and you can't go to South Africa

0:12:00.036,0:12:02.632
without thinking of Mandela[br]in jail for 27 years.

0:12:03.323,0:12:05.148
What was he thinking about? Lunch?

0:12:05.538,0:12:08.976
No, he was thinking[br]about the vision for South Africa

0:12:09.000,0:12:10.545
and for human beings.

0:12:10.569,0:12:13.522
This is about vision.[br]This is about the long line.

0:12:13.546,0:12:15.807
Like the bird who flies over the field

0:12:15.831,0:12:19.573
and doesn't care about the fences[br]underneath, all right?

0:12:19.597,0:12:22.692
So now, you're going to follow[br]the line all the way from B to E.

0:12:22.716,0:12:26.065
And I've one last request before I play[br]this piece all the way through.

0:12:26.628,0:12:30.447
Would you think of somebody who you adore,

0:12:30.471,0:12:31.847
who's no longer there?

0:12:32.516,0:12:34.876
A beloved grandmother, a lover --

0:12:34.900,0:12:39.023
somebody in your life[br]who you love with all your heart,

0:12:39.047,0:12:41.116
but that person is no longer with you.

0:12:42.262,0:12:44.224
Bring that person into your mind,

0:12:44.248,0:12:46.225
and at the same time,

0:12:46.249,0:12:49.707
follow the line all the way from B to E,

0:12:49.731,0:12:52.789
and you'll hear everything[br]that Chopin had to say.

0:12:58.360,0:13:01.360
(Music)

0:14:45.079,0:14:46.561
(Music ends)

0:14:48.000,0:14:51.000
(Applause)

0:14:56.522,0:14:58.516
Now, you may be wondering --

0:14:58.540,0:15:01.540
(Applause)

0:15:03.670,0:15:04.820
(Applause ends)

0:15:04.844,0:15:06.733
You may be wondering why I'm clapping.

0:15:06.757,0:15:08.671
Well, I did this at a school in Boston

0:15:08.695,0:15:11.892
with about 70 seventh[br]graders, 12-year-olds.

0:15:12.479,0:15:14.253
I did exactly what I did with you,

0:15:14.277,0:15:16.134
and I explained the whole thing.

0:15:16.158,0:15:17.976
At the end, they went crazy, clapping.

0:15:18.000,0:15:19.786
I was clapping. They were clapping.

0:15:19.810,0:15:21.668
Finally, I said, "Why am I clapping?"

0:15:21.692,0:15:24.026
And one of them said,[br]"Because we were listening."

0:15:24.050,0:15:27.976
(Laughter)

0:15:28.000,0:15:31.194
Think of it. 1,600 people, busy people,

0:15:31.218,0:15:33.558
involved in all sorts of different things,

0:15:33.582,0:15:37.407
listening, understanding and being moved

0:15:37.431,0:15:38.748
by a piece by Chopin.

0:15:39.511,0:15:40.757
Now, that is something.

0:15:40.781,0:15:43.488
Am I sure that every single[br]person followed that,

0:15:43.512,0:15:45.107
understood it, was moved by it?

0:15:45.131,0:15:46.432
Of course, I can't be sure.

0:15:46.456,0:15:48.717
But I'll tell you what happened[br]to me in Ireland

0:15:48.741,0:15:50.392
during the Troubles, 10 years ago,

0:15:50.416,0:15:53.341
and I was working with some Catholic[br]and Protestant kids

0:15:53.365,0:15:55.796
on conflict resolution.

0:15:55.820,0:15:57.502
And I did this with them --

0:15:57.526,0:16:00.009
a risky thing to do,[br]because they were street kids.

0:16:00.976,0:16:03.465
And one of them came to me[br]the next morning

0:16:03.489,0:16:04.690
and he said,

0:16:04.714,0:16:07.587
"You know, I've never listened[br]to classical music in my life,

0:16:07.611,0:16:09.720
but when you played[br]that shopping piece ..."

0:16:09.744,0:16:11.514
(Laughter)

0:16:11.538,0:16:15.000
He said, "My brother was shot last year[br]and I didn't cry for him.

0:16:15.759,0:16:17.783
But last night,[br]when you played that piece,

0:16:17.807,0:16:19.621
he was the one I was thinking about.

0:16:20.512,0:16:22.580
And I felt the tears[br]streaming down my face.

0:16:22.604,0:16:25.133
And it felt really[br]good to cry for my brother."

0:16:25.726,0:16:28.182
So I made up my mind at that moment

0:16:28.206,0:16:32.063
that classical music is for everybody.

0:16:32.911,0:16:34.079
Everybody.

0:16:35.000,0:16:37.497
Now, how would you walk --

0:16:37.521,0:16:41.330
my profession, the music profession[br]doesn't see it that way.

0:16:41.774,0:16:44.989
They say three percent of the population[br]likes classical music.

0:16:45.013,0:16:48.267
If only we could move it to four percent,[br]our problems would be over.

0:16:48.291,0:16:49.330
(Laughter)

0:16:49.354,0:16:52.980
How would you walk?[br]How would you talk? How would you be?

0:16:53.004,0:16:56.339
If you thought, "Three percent[br]of the population likes classical music,

0:16:56.363,0:16:58.363
if only we could move it to four percent."

0:16:58.387,0:17:00.504
How would you walk or talk?[br]How would you be?

0:17:00.528,0:17:02.963
If you thought, "Everybody[br]loves classical music --

0:17:02.987,0:17:04.998
they just haven't found out about it yet."

0:17:05.403,0:17:07.990
See, these are totally different worlds.

0:17:08.387,0:17:10.662
Now, I had an amazing experience.

0:17:10.686,0:17:11.928
I was 45 years old,

0:17:11.952,0:17:13.735
I'd been conducting for 20 years,

0:17:13.759,0:17:15.959
and I suddenly had a realization.

0:17:16.770,0:17:19.613
The conductor of an orchestra[br]doesn't make a sound.

0:17:20.478,0:17:22.835
My picture appears[br]on the front of the CD --

0:17:22.859,0:17:25.761
(Laughter)

0:17:25.785,0:17:27.786
But the conductor doesn't make a sound.

0:17:27.810,0:17:29.633
He depends, for his power,

0:17:29.657,0:17:32.509
on his ability to make[br]other people powerful.

0:17:33.485,0:17:35.389
And that changed everything for me.

0:17:35.413,0:17:37.146
It was totally life-changing.

0:17:37.170,0:17:38.683
People in my orchestra said,

0:17:38.707,0:17:40.939
"Ben, what happened?"[br]That's what happened.

0:17:40.963,0:17:45.663
I realized my job was to awaken[br]possibility in other people.

0:17:46.693,0:17:49.402
And of course, I wanted to know[br]whether I was doing that.

0:17:49.426,0:17:50.615
How do you find out?

0:17:50.639,0:17:51.950
You look at their eyes.

0:17:51.974,0:17:54.926
If their eyes are shining,[br]you know you're doing it.

0:17:55.873,0:17:58.236
You could light up a village[br]with this guy's eyes.

0:17:58.260,0:17:59.276
(Laughter)

0:17:59.300,0:18:02.549
Right. So if the eyes are shining,[br]you know you're doing it.

0:18:02.573,0:18:05.261
If the eyes are not shining,[br]you get to ask a question.

0:18:05.285,0:18:06.691
And this is the question:

0:18:06.715,0:18:09.279
who am I being

0:18:09.303,0:18:11.572
that my players' eyes are not shining?

0:18:11.596,0:18:13.453
We can do that with our children, too.

0:18:13.477,0:18:16.349
Who am I being,

0:18:16.373,0:18:18.539
that my children's eyes are not shining?

0:18:19.063,0:18:21.451
That's a totally different world.

0:18:21.475,0:18:26.540
Now, we're all about to end[br]this magical, on-the-mountain week,

0:18:26.564,0:18:28.300
we're going back into the world.

0:18:28.835,0:18:32.580
And I say, it's appropriate[br]for us to ask the question,

0:18:32.604,0:18:36.877
who are we being as we go back[br]out into the world?

0:18:37.571,0:18:39.921
And you know, I have[br]a definition of success.

0:18:39.945,0:18:41.181
For me, it's very simple.

0:18:41.205,0:18:43.211
It's not about wealth and fame and power.

0:18:43.235,0:18:45.664
It's about how many shining eyes[br]I have around me.

0:18:46.214,0:18:48.574
So now, I have one last thought,

0:18:48.598,0:18:52.930
which is that it really makes[br]a difference what we say --

0:18:52.954,0:18:54.747
the words that come out of our mouth.

0:18:55.509,0:18:58.281
I learned this from a woman[br]who survived Auschwitz,

0:18:58.305,0:18:59.773
one of the rare survivors.

0:18:59.797,0:19:02.694
She went to Auschwitz[br]when she was 15 years old.

0:19:04.003,0:19:05.153
And ...

0:19:06.991,0:19:09.007
And her brother was eight,

0:19:09.031,0:19:10.764
and the parents were lost.

0:19:11.784,0:19:16.152
And she told me this, she said,

0:19:16.176,0:19:18.628
"We were in the train going to Auschwitz,

0:19:18.652,0:19:21.525
and I looked down and saw[br]my brother's shoes were missing.

0:19:22.095,0:19:25.405
I said, 'Why are you so stupid,[br]can't you keep your things together

0:19:25.429,0:19:26.647
for goodness' sake?'"

0:19:26.671,0:19:29.338
The way an elder sister might speak[br]to a younger brother.

0:19:31.285,0:19:34.000
Unfortunately, it was the last[br]thing she ever said to him,

0:19:34.024,0:19:35.548
because she never saw him again.

0:19:35.572,0:19:36.839
He did not survive.

0:19:37.372,0:19:39.897
And so when she came out[br]of Auschwitz, she made a vow.

0:19:40.228,0:19:41.458
She told me this.

0:19:41.482,0:19:44.902
She said, "I walked out[br]of Auschwitz into life

0:19:44.926,0:19:46.309
and I made a vow.

0:19:46.705,0:19:47.933
And the vow was,

0:19:47.957,0:19:53.095
"I will never say anything that couldn't[br]stand as the last thing I ever say."

0:19:54.573,0:19:56.170
Now, can we do that? No.

0:19:56.194,0:19:59.050
And we'll make ourselves wrong[br]and others wrong.

0:20:00.177,0:20:02.594
But it is a possibility to live into.

0:20:03.621,0:20:04.911
Thank you.

0:20:04.935,0:20:07.935
(Applause)

0:20:11.479,0:20:12.895
Shining eyes.

0:20:12.919,0:20:14.336
(Applause)

0:20:14.360,0:20:15.736
Shining eyes.

0:20:15.760,0:20:18.760
(Applause)

0:20:22.000,0:20:24.468
Thank you, thank you.