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Those who never cease to strive, can alone be called alive.
— Victor Hugo,
Les châtiments, IV, 9, in The Poems of Victor Hugo
(New York: The Athenaeum Society, 1909).
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Throughout the world, the quest for knowledge implies a journey with
challenges along the way. These range from the oral exams and written tests that are required
when studying for an academic degree to the initiation rites of certain secret societies,
which give access to a higher level of knowledge.
The need to measure oneself against others, to compete and to establish one's superiority is
universal. Music competitions, like sports events, give participants the feeling that the place
they occupy is the one they deserve. This democratic selection process embodies the ideal of
the modern society, where everyone has an equal opportunity to become "somebody".
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