It is time once again to look back over some of the most significant musical events of the year 2000.
To choose the best of the year is not easy. Performances here are excellent by international standards. Technical ability may be taken for granted. The nation's music schools are turning out graduates who own first-class instruments, benefit from the tutelage of accomplished teachers and have access to the finest live performances. Many performances here are both technically excellent and emotionally persuasive.
Still, it is not enough to play with feeling; the feeling must have the right style and character. We spend a lifetime trying to assimilate the essence of taste into our reading of a piece of music. As we age and gain human experience, our own perceptions of pulse, passion and profundity alter, and we have to reinterpret ourselves all over again.