Nearly noon on the 1st of May, I was about to head down from Mt. Sinai Hospital's obstetrical floor to the basement for a typical hospital cafeteria lunch of starch, fat and sugar – the three basic food groups – when Maria's call came. She’d just gone into...

         It’s my understanding that today’s high school freshmen, hoping to secure admission four years hence to a competitive college such as my alma mater, Cornell University, are advised that though straight A’s are a commendable start, it would be prudent to give...

      It worked like this:       At the end of each weekly lesson Mr. Roberts would assign me half a dozen or so pieces I was to practice daily – perhaps a Bach fugue or a Haydn sonata. I was obliged by my parents to practice at least one hour every day, seven days a...