Once I understood Bach's music, I wanted to be a concert

Hear the words of Nina Simone, priestess of song and prophet of truth, who declared: “Once I understood Bach’s music, I wanted to be a concert pianist. Bach made me dedicate my life to music, and it was that teacher who introduced me to his world.” In these words lies a revelation about the power of art to transform destiny. For in the encounter with Bach, Simone did not merely hear notes—she beheld a vision, a world of structure and passion, of discipline and fire. From that moment, she was no longer a wanderer but a disciple of sound, bound to the sacred calling of music.

The ancients themselves knew such conversions of the soul. For Saul became Paul when struck by a blinding vision, and the fisherman became an apostle when called by the voice upon the waters. So too did Nina Simone find her life altered forever by the encounter with Bach. It was not merely entertainment she discovered, but order, grandeur, and the divine hidden in harmony. Where others might have heard only notes on a keyboard, she heard the voice of eternity, and it demanded her life in return.

Bach’s music, with its intricate fugues and towering structures, carries within it the architecture of the cosmos. Each voice, independent yet woven together, speaks of unity amid difference, of balance between freedom and law. To a young Nina, whose life was filled with uncertainty and struggle, this order must have appeared as a doorway to truth itself. The teacher who first unveiled this to her gave more than instruction—he gave her a key to a universe of meaning, discipline, and vision. Thus, Simone’s dedication was not born of ambition alone, but of awe before something greater than herself.

History bears witness to many such encounters. Consider the story of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who, as a boy, stumbled upon the works of Mozart. In Mozart’s clarity and beauty, Tchaikovsky felt the stirring of his own vocation. He too dedicated his life to music because another’s genius lit a flame within him. In the same way, Simone was drawn into Bach’s orbit, and from that flame arose a lifetime of creating songs that mingled discipline with soul, structure with raw human pain and joy.

This truth is clear: greatness often begins not with invention, but with understanding. When Simone says, “Once I understood Bach’s music,” she reveals that true transformation comes when we perceive the essence beneath the surface. To hear without understanding is shallow; but to grasp the spirit, the living truth hidden in the art, is to be changed forever. Understanding births dedication, and dedication births destiny.

The lesson, then, is for us all: seek teachers, seek masters, seek voices whose work awakens your soul. Do not pass lightly over what moves you—study it, understand it, surrender to it. Let the encounter with greatness inspire you not only to admiration, but to dedication. For the greatest gift of art is not that it entertains, but that it awakens the sleeping giant within us.

Practical wisdom follows: listen deeply. Whether to music, to words, or to life itself, do not skim the surface. Ask what it means, why it stirs you, what it demands of you. When you find that which awakens your spirit, do not hesitate—dedicate yourself to it. Like Nina Simone before Bach, let the flame of understanding lead you to your path, and let your path become a gift to the world.

So let Nina Simone’s words be remembered: “Once I understood Bach’s music, I wanted to be a concert pianist.” This is not merely her story, but the story of all who have been transformed by art. It is the eternal pattern: encounter, understanding, dedication, destiny. If you, too, remain faithful to what awakens your heart, you will find your own calling—and in that calling, the measure of your life’s greatness.