My "Lessons" with Jose Iturbi

I was in early high school, and studying at the Eastman School of Music, with serious intent upon choosing music as my profession (which I obviously did).
For reasons I cannot remember, I was one of a handful of piano students chosen to spend a portion of that summer taking lessons with the renown Spanish pianist Jose Iturbi, who was conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic at that time.
Well, we were told in the spring what pieces to prepare for Iturbi, which we did (there were about six of us chosen, as I recall).
I can tell you ( and I tell you NOW that I loved Iturbi, his sense of humor, and his immense pianism in spite of what ensued that summer).
The lessons consisted pretty much of the same pattern; that is, I would sit down for the great man and begin to play, for as long as about a minute or so, followed by his gentle elbowing me off the bench and saying "no, no! Do it like THIS!"
Most of each lesson consisted of the same routine, no matter which piece I started to perform for him.
In other words, these memorable "lessons" consisted much of the time of my listening to his magic, with very little playing on my part. After about three lessons, I remember saying to myself that had I been able to "do it like THIS", I would be pretty darn good.
To encapsulate, this wonderful, warm man had no concepts of the art of teaching, totally demolishing any attempt on his part to come down to a level other than his own.
I learned absolutely nothing from this experience, other than it probably is a rarity for a great musician to be a really good teacher, such as men like Rubinstein or Casals or Gilels.
I faulted him not, and have always been thankful that at least I was considered proficient enough to be one of the chosen.