When you first begin learning an instrument, the process is straightforward. It’s not easy, but there is always direction. First, you learn to read the notes. Then, you learn to play the notes.

When Amit Peled was 10, he would fall asleep every night listening to Pablo Casals on his boombox. The year was 1983, and Peled had only recently started learning cello. His parents had given him a ...