One of the musicians who played many years for Toscanini said that the maestro had the ability to make the orchestra feel it was playing a well-known work for the first time. Each repeated playing of the score was done as if it were the premiere performance. After once recording the Beethoven Ninth Symphony, Toscanini said he had been conducting the Beethoven Ninth for over fifty years. He continued, "Now I think I finally understand it." Routine can yield its blessings if we stay awake.