Right after making these comments, Mr. Neubauer made chicken paprikas with nockerl for dinner. Fred still calls me Rookie and I feel funny when he occasionally calls me Paul. T he viola was sort of my destiny. My older sister played the cello and my older brother played the violin. And I was named for violist Paul Doktor, who was a friend of my mother's, and my godfather.
Some people have an affinity for certain instruments more than others.
I had no affinity for the piano. Finally, the way we play is determined largely by the sound we want to hear. T here still are periods of frustration on the instrument. You can get so unbelievably picky about the way you play. Part of what brings people to a different level is how critical they are and what they settle for.