In the Domain of Faust

The musicians we hear from are the exceptions, the ones who’ve reached the top of an unforgiving field through talent, money, ruthlessness, birth, or chance. Their stories resemble fairy tales: mentors and benefactors materialize at the right time; hard work pays off; setbacks are followed by dazzling triumphs. We seldom see them struggling to make the rent, coming to terms with disappointment, or waiting anxiously for their bodies to wear out and their careers wind down. We miss the pervasive unhappiness that makes classical music, in the words of the pianist Jeremy Denk, “the world’s most thankless profession.”