An Indifference to Success

In the late 1890s Marcel Proust, peerless observer of human nature as well as discerning music lover, was often at concerts and gatherings where Gabriel Fauré performed his own works. He noticed that the composer’s reaction to applause was different from that of most other artists: the revered musician seemed to take little pleasure in public approval, including Proust’s own uproarious enthusiasm’. The great novelist of the future wrote to Fauré and admiringly described this response, or lack of response, as a ‘disdainful indifference to success’. ¹