I have thought long and hard about what it is that Menahem Pressler does in music that is matched by no other musician. I have also discussed it with him. The simplicity of his approach is so profound it cannot be contradicted, yet the depth is audible even to the shallow-minded. Opposites such as this belong to the realms of genius.

The secret, I think, lies in his tendency to see the good in others. When Menahem takes you as a friend, he offers nothing less than love. When you spend time with him, you feel a better person than you really are. When he applies these gifts to music, they blow away the egotism, greed and cynicism that encrust the art in present times and restore the pristine naivety intended by its composers. There, that's all there is to it. 

On December 16, his 90th birthday, readers, wherever you may be, please raise a glass to Menahem Pressler with a cry of "Lechaim — to life!"