dusting off sheet music purchased 45 - 50 years ago

[bloke]

then:

geez...
How could anyone play this?
It actually physically hurts to try to play this.
How does that guy out in California manage to play stuff like this?

now:

This is sure is fun, but I certainly wouldn't want anyone else to hear me play it, until I really studied it.
Even then, I'm sure I would find plenty of flaws in my final product.

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the beauty and frustration of music performance:

There's always another level that can be achieved - either really or conceptually.
Likely, very few are ever completely satisfied with any performance, in particular.

the very most fun:

Mastering a piece to the point that various interpretative/expressive/phrasing approaches, etc., can be experimented/toyed around with, rather than having to be concerned with rudimentary issues.