& how pozzible iz it to develop a pro level tech az a late ztartah? 
Harold Bauer perhaps? Though I’m sure he too played privately from a very young age. Volodos of course didn’t make it his first instrument until well in to his teens.
Freaks exist, but it’s hard to think of someone who really mastered the instrument and didn’t have contact with it from at least around age 7.
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I wonder how much ov dat iz becuz ov da deficit in tym it takez to learn a pro-zized rep or it’z actually a limit placed on technical capacity
I don’t think it’s time, I think it’s that you need to spend time with a piano while the cerebellum and cerebral cortex are still young and developing. The more the better, probably.
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When 
was 44 years old, he started a new life as mainly a concert pianist to make a living in the US. He had to learn a lot of new repertoire in a short period of time. Of course his technical basis was already very good, and he started piano at age 4.
I do think that starting da 88 as a pre-teen will be a huge advantage, apart from the amount of talent. Some things can just be developed so much more effectively when your brain is still young, growing and flexible, and it stays with you forever.
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Tru, but da Rach was a composer-pianist
Da Rach insane training in Russia jus gave him wikid capacity to play da standard rep, n he did it while having da insight of a composer
Also, dun forget dat da Rach composed and performed his own works, even back in Russia
It’s not lyk today, where sum cuntposahs can’t quite play Twinkle on da 88 but compose music using mathemadickal formulas and directly input into da note notation cunt
Fo composah pianists, I iz thinking of specifically Rach n Feinberg as having INZANE insight into whatevah da fuck dey is playin
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It is, but sum decent program as a kid IS a must