a remarkable story. worth read it all. it does not matter the specific context, you may even not know what is a piano -) yet this man`s story is really encouraging the human spirit ! Bravo !!

this is really a heart wrenching story here is more from the article:
" His first teacher sent him to Pnina Salzman, the doyenne of Israeli pianists. To allow him to study with her, the family moved to a community near Tel Aviv. His father, Shlomo Abas, sold the apartment to pay for a Bechstein piano.

Ms. Salzman had the boy play for Rubinstein while he was visiting Israel, and the master was impressed. Rubinstein met him on two more occasions, inscribing a photo with words of praise. Mr. Abas has not been shy about publicizing the Rubinstein connection. At the cafe, he took a small gold Rolex from his wrist and displayed it. On the back was engraved: “For Elisha. Arthur Rubinstein. Good luck.”

" Five years ago he reconnected with Ms. Salzman, took a lesson and decided to return to the piano professionally. Ms. Salzman died late last year with Mr. Abas at her side, and the grown-up pupil moved to New York."

" When excerpts of the Carnegie review and its warning from 24 years ago were read back to Mr. Abas, he seemed amazed that someone who saw him play for 10 minutes could be so right about the future. He struggled to make sense of his breakdown. "

“I pushed too far, too soon,” he said. “I just had to live a simple life, practice and perform a little. Sometimes the shoulders of a child are not big enough to handle his genius.”