In about their alleged self centeredness and

In about their alleged self centeredness and

In Maestro the readers sees both Keller and Paul as self centred and difficult, but finds positive qualities in each of them. In the novel Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy, both Keller and Paul are presented as committed to excellence in classical music performance.

Keller however cares nothing for the things that tempt Paul: applause, fame, money and sex. Despite these and other differences between them, both could be seen as self absorbed and difficult- as all serious artists tend to be. Keller is misinterpreted as self centred, “worst possible teacher” as Paul says.Although we come to realise he’s positive qualities are seen clearly, Paul is seen as self centred as he accepts his identity as a prodigy. Much of personal drama of the novel derives from the clash of characters and values between Keller and Paul. To understand Paul’s reactions to his teachers, we as readers must examine Keller and the musical and cultural context that shaped him. Only then can we see Paul fairly, not only as a conceded adolescent, but someone whose musicality was always going to be different to his teachers.

Only after both teacher and student are examined can a fair judgement about their alleged self centeredness and difficult natures be made. Music excellence is seen by Keller, as it would have been by his teachers, as not only the most significant form of cultural expression, but as also in a sense the pathway to the deepest understanding of the human condition. He seeks to continue to uphold the higher standards of classical music even though he is aware that Paul is motivated by different values to those that he himself follows.He sacrifices all personal considerations and most material ones to this path in an almost monk like way. Therefore the view that he is self centred is based on the misunderstanding of his music commitment and values.

His past could make him seem difficult to those who have no understanding of the musical and cultural tradition that produced him. “If people cannot see through the self-centred and self-deluded side of Paul, then they would not see that there is a sensitive, generous human being in development.However, Paul often isolates himself because of his self-centeredness. Paul’s self-delusion comes from being brought up to believe he is a musical prodigy. ” Paul realizes how much he relied on Keller; “he had been a safety net and offering a faint last hope. This sensitive, generous Paul takes over, leaving almost no trace of the previous self-centred and self-deluded Paul.

“When Keller passed away, Paul was unsure how to deal with this loss. ” Paul develops even further when he learns to feel more than just physical lust for a woman.And he becomes aware of the change in him too, “Paul Crabbe, greying, dissatisfied, fast approaching mid-life”””once we begin to sense our childhoods, we are no longer children.

And decisions have been made – by omission, neglect, inertia – that cannot be unmade” Can I know that mine was a foolish, innocent world, a world of delusion and feeling and ridiculous dreams – a world of music – and still love it endlessly, effortlessly. As a child, Paul’s father gave him gifts of musical nature for Christmas.He finds love in Rosie, his soul mate. Throughout Maestro, Paul matures and learns to love others, and not just himself. The gifts included “a bound Busoni edition of The Well Tempered Clavier,” and “Schnabel’s eccentric readings of the Beethoven Sonatas.

After he left the hospice, he went “walking the streets restlessly, on edge, wanting to grieve but not quite knowing how to. ”I felt affection for him” but I loved Rosie more. “I find it hard to understand how much I came to love the man, to depend on him