ABSTRACT
The overture completed, Ashkenazy ascends to the rostrum. As the applause fades away, he sits at the Steinway, and 3,000 people become totally silent. There is spasmodic and perfunctory applause. The conductor then informs the audience that after the interval Ashkenazy will entertain with his own rendition of the arpeggios. It has a ring of the occult or supernatural about it, and the connotation in the minds of many is that of a pseudo-science like psychoanalysis or the paranormal. In fact the word is quite pedestrian and originated in a very matter-of-fact way. It would be difficult to imagine the issue being expressed with greater clarity or pungency. The fact is that human beings do speculate on matters which offer no final verification. The insularity of Western philosophers towards their Eastern counterparts is to be both rebuked and regretted.
