The concept of ‘mastery’ could perhaps be formulated in roughly the following way: mastery is the ability to find an artistically perfect, irresistibly beautiful, figurative embodiment of an idea or thought. This idea, moreover, must without fail be significant in content and deeply move the listener. Such was the mastery of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Chaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Schubert. However often one listens to their brilliant works, one never ceases to admire the unfading beauty of their musical imagery, and their ability to find important themes and subjects in the life around them, and to embody them with such generalising power that their music could continue to move millions of listeners for centuries.