Itzhak Perlman, one of the world’s greatest violinists, contracted polio at the age of 4. Ever since, he’s had to wear metal braces on his legs and walk with crutches. Once when he was giving a concert, a string on his violin broke. Instead of calling for a new violin he continued to play on three strings. When the concerto was over, the audience gave him an ovation and called on him to speak. He did. He said one sentence that everyone there knew referred not only to the broken string but to his disability and much else that is broken in this world. He said: “It’s our task to make music with what remains.”
Excerpt from BBC Radio 4 thought for the Day, 15 December 2006
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