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A new book by a (former) professional hornist that I have found very interesting is From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks.
As indicated by the title, the book is directed at finding greater happiness as we age and change, and at a wide audience of potential readers. But the book will I believe especially resonate with readers who are horn players, and I feel it has given me some new and helpful perspectives.
Early in the book we read,
… arguably, retirement happens too late. In surveys, classical musicians report that peak performance occurs in one’s thirties. Younger players often groan over the prime spots occupied by older players with tenure – orchestras have tenure just like universities – who hang around long after they’ve lost their edge. The problem is, these older players often can’t admit decline even to themselves. “It’s very hard to admit that it’s time,” said one fifty-eight-year-old French horn player in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. “We’re expert at denial. We have been successful because we refuse to accept the overwhelming odds at making it in our profession, so early in our development denial is a positive.”
In terms of Brooks and his own career, by age 19 he had left school to tour, playing 100 concerts a year and recording albums with the Annapolis Brass Quintet, in addition to other freelance work. This went on for several years,
But then, in my early twenties, a strange thing happened. I started getting worse. To this day, I have no idea why. My technique began to suffer, and I had no explanation for it. Nothing helped. I visited famous teachers and practiced more, but I couldn’t get back to where I had been. Pieces that had been easy to play became hard; pieces that had been hard became impossible….
I sputtered along for nine more years. At twenty-five, I took a position in the City Orchestra of Barcelona, where I increased my practicing but my playing continued to deteriorate. After a few years, I found a job teaching at a small music conservatory in Florida, hoping for a magical turnaround that never materialized.
Realizing that maybe I ought to hedge my bets, without telling a soul other than my wife (I felt ashamed) I went back to college via distance learning….
He went on to earn three degrees in economics and developed quite a career in a new field, including teaching at universities and running a think tank.
While not as dramatic, I realized while reading the book I had done something like he had. I never had the serious playing problems but I did effectively change career (at age 36) from playing full time to teaching full time.
In the book Brooks lays out how there are two types of intelligence, fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence is that seen with younger people, while crystallized intelligence is associated with the wisdom of the aged. Some careers combine both types, some don’t. He gives the example of tech entrepreneurs; they rely mostly on fluid intelligence and their career curves match that decline. On the other hand, and this is what is interesting to me, college teaching relies on crystalized intelligence and favors in general older professors, who are better able to combine and apply complex ideas.
In my own case, I feel sure I am a better teacher now than I was 20 years ago; I can see problems and solutions much more easily.
My comments above really only relate to the beginning of the book, and there is much more that follows that applies readers of any age and background. A simplistic summary would be that ultimately the things we do are not as important as the relationships we build. But there is much more to it than that, laid out with many examples from real lives, this is a wonderful read in relation to finding happiness and purpose, and was a great one as my summer began.
If you are interested in the book, check it out on Amazon and read the free sample. I would recommend this as a great read where you can explore some deeper things, and as said earlier I feel there is some special resonance for us, with Brooks having also been a horn player at a high level.
