Isaac Stern quote

"Outsiders always look for a reason to explain why they are not inside.  They never look in the mirror. Let's face it, the profession I'm in is a very simple and a very cruel one. There is no way that you can create a career for someone without talent and no way to stop a career of someone with talent." - Isaac Stern,  violinist 

Stern was sometimes accused of getting in the way of artists he didn't like. This was part of his response to that criticism.  I think it's very likely that people can and do suppress careers for whatever reasons they may have - professional jealousy, vengeance, financial gain, personal differences....  It happened to Mozart and Zelenka, just to name two. The irony (sometimes) is that those artists who are "black-listed" can (with time) come back and surpass those who tried to stand in the way.  If Stern was ever one of those who actually dampened someone's career, he won't suffer for it - he was too great an artist. 

Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert (Franz Peter Schubert) was an Austrian violinist, pianist, composer, and teacher born on this day (January 31) 1797 (Beethoven was already 27 years old). He studied principally – on and off - with Antonio Salieri (from 1808 to 1817), that infamous composer who supposedly poisoned Mozart. Schubert is most famous for his Unfinished Symphony, the Great C Major Symphony, the Trout Quintet, and the more than 600 songs he wrote. He was one of history’s most prolific composers, having composed over 1000 works, including five operas, symphonies (nine or ten, depending on who you ask), and many chamber works. However, he wrote no concertos at all. He died on November 19, 1828, at the age of 31.