Itzhak Perlman, the world famous violinist, got polio (小儿麻痹症)as a child. 1, you know that getting on stage is not easy for him.
On November18, 1995, he came on stage to give a 2 at Lincoln Centre in New York City. That night Perlman walked 3 to his chair. Then he sat down and began to play. But suddenly, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it break with a loud 4.
People thought to themselves, "He would have to get up to either 5 another violin or another string for this one." But he didn't. 6, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra (管弦乐队)began, and he played from where he had 7. He played with such passion and such power. Of course, everyone knew that it was 8 to play a symphonic work with just three strings. But that night Itzhak Perlman 9 to know that. You could see him changing and recomposing the piece in his head.
When he finished, there was a 10 in the room. Then people rose and cheered. We were all 11, doing everything we could to show how much we 12 what he had done. He smiled and then he said in a quiet tone, You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to 13 how much music you can make with what you have left."
His words have 14 in my mind ever since I heard them. That is also the way of life. Perhaps our 15 in this quickly changing world in which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then, when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left.
