ABSTRACT
At the age of five or six, the author learned to appreciate classical music from his father, who loved baroque and early chamber music. He had an exceptional memory for repertoire and a good ear that allowed him to recognise within a couple of bars which of the known violinists was playing. As a teenager, the author attended the Friday concerts at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago sitting in the cheapest galleria nosebleed benches along with music-loving college students and young musicians. He chose law because it would give him time to study music composition. It was the only subject that didn't require attendance in class, only to examinations. Juan Orrego Salas, the music critic he followed in El Mercurio, was the one he wanted to study with, but he had left Chile to take a teaching position at Indiana University.
