Why Music, Why Art, and Why the Right Light Changes Everything

I still remember the first time I played a nocturne in total darkness—only the moon on the keys. The notes came out fine, but something felt missing. That “something” was vision: the ability to see the contours of the phrase, the breath between treble and bass, the edge of the page where the composer whispers “morendo.” Music is important because it gives shape to emotions we can’t speak; art is important because it lets us hand those shapes to one another across centuries. When we can’t see the page, we lose the thread that ties composer, performer, and listener together....