"Sir, what brings you here?"
"I wanted to greet you in person before the performance begins." Arthur walked naturally into the dressing room, dragged a chair over and sat down. "Perhaps you don't know, but I'm placing quite a bit of expectation on your performance tonight. Or rather, it's not only me—your teacher Mr. Moscheles and your senior Felix Mendelssohn are both here this evening, and Felix even volunteered to take the lead in the piano quartet to warm up the audience for you."
Talberg's breath hitched slightly. "Sir, I… I'm very grateful to you, not only for those few articles you wrote in my defense in the Paris newspapers, but also for giving me another chance to measure myself against Liszt."
"You don't need to thank me." Arthur smiled and gestured for Talberg to sit. "Opportunity is only half of the stage; the other half you have to win by yourself."
Talberg's face was taut, and his fingertips unconsciously tightened around the program.
