In January of 1975, the virtuoso jazz pianist Keith Jarrett was scheduled to give a concert in Köln, Germany. The young and unseasoned concert promoter believed that she had secured the concert grand piano that Jarrett required for his concert but on the day of the concert, the crew had installed a rather poor quality and far smaller practice piano. Attempts to secure the concert grand were thwarted by poor weather that would have damaged the fine instrument. A piano tuner was called in to do what he could to prepare the piano. Jarrett arrived late after an exhausting travel schedule and difficult journey from his previous performance. A meal had been arranged at a nearby restaurant but the restaurant suffered its own disasters and Jarrett barely had time to eat. He was also in such back pain that he required a brace to sit on the instrument’s bench. When he arrived at the concert hall and tested the piano provided for him he nearly refused to perform. Only the full hall and the prepared recording equipment convinced him to go ahead. Hungry, tired, in pain, and performing on a substandard instrument, Jarrett gave what was considered to be one of the finest concerts of his life.
You can listen to the Köln concert here.
When I first heard this story, we had just begun our coronavirus-related isolation and we were entering the early weeks of disrupted lives. We saw our plans dashed against the rocks (the Sterns had to postpone our son’s wedding) and witnessed the world around us grinding to an astonishing halt. It struck me that we are all like Keith Jarett, trapped in a miserable situation that is hardly of our own making and yet we have to perform. Centuries ago the great sage Hillel said: B’makom sh’ein anashim hishtadeil l’hiyot ish—in a place where others are absent, strive to be your best self. We each have unique skills and strengths that we can summon—even amid the challenges that face us—to perform better than we ever have. To be, ultimately, the best version of our selves.
— Rabbi Ron Stern