Her name is Maria João Pires. She is an accomplished concert pianist. And Mozart was something of her specialty, it seems. In 2013, her mastery of Mozart was tested in a very unusual way. And it was all caught on video.
Pires was scheduled to play at a particular event. And she diligently prepared to play a specific Mozart piano concerto. Finally the day comes. With her seated at the piano, and with the performance being recorded on video, the orchestra starts to play. The first few minutes are filled with tension. One can observe the expression of pure shock that appears on the face of the pianist. And shock turns to horror and panic. She practically buries her face in her hands. The orchestra was playing the introduction to a totally different Mozart concerto!
A conversation with the conductor ensues, while the orchestra continues to play the introduction. Even when Pires tells the conductor the situation, he chooses not to stop and expresses confidence that she still could play the concerto the orchestra was already playing. She leans back, takes a deep breath. You see in her face that she is reaching deep within to draw out her knowledge of the other piece. And when the moment came for her to play, she simply went to work and completed the concerto. In an interview about the event, the conductor praised her for how “she could, within a minute, switch to a different concerto without making one mistake.” Pires had built a secure repertoire of Mozart pieces in her “musical awareness” that she was able to respond appropriately to the challenge that was before her. Perhaps we could say that Mozart was very much a part of who she was as a pianist.
There is a simple but important spiritual lesson here. The Word of the Lord is our resource from which to draw, in order to respond to different life situations in the proper Christ-like way. It is only as we consistently build our lives on the Word of the Lord—reading, knowing, understanding, and putting into practice—that we will have the necessary tools to use when life springs its surprises on us. It is not really so much about my knowledge of scripture (that may lead to boastful pride). It’s about the availability and accessibility of the Lord’s Word in my life that the Spirit may use in guiding me through the ups and downs of life.
“I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.” (Jeremiah 3.:33 HCSB). “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3.16 NET). The question to ponder is this: How much of the Lord’s Word is indelibly a part of who I am as a follower of Christ?
—Keith Y. Jainga