When I return to the piano after a long period of time, I play without doubt better than at any other time [...]

Sometimes I happen to be away from the pf for a while, not practicing and surprise: playing without mistakes!

Perhaps after so much time away, you desire Music so much that you entrust yourself only to it. Then every effort and every judgment becomes absent. In that moment, you are not racing against the level of your performance. Take advantage of this experience to understand how much Music can suggest the execution to you. You will discover that you must accept some imprecision and some error. Instead, concentrating on the "discoveries" that Music suggests to you is very beneficial. You will soon also find the "technical" solutions for the most difficult passages, by accepting, at first, to discover the "gesture," without insisting on fighting against seemingly insurmountable difficulties.

P.S. It is evident that playing well after a long time without practicing means having assimilated the piece and having overcome technical difficulties through deep and, above all, "definitive" understanding.

I think that letting the pieces rest is always a good idea, thinking bigger... by letting the instrument rest, you return with new energy. It might be that GG is right

I believe a distinction must be made between what Gould used to say and what happens to us mere mortals. Notoriously, Gould said he didn't need to practice the piano (however, this was only half true: until the age of eighteen, he studied technique extensively. When he claimed that "practicing the piano is completely useless," he was telling a half-truth: it is useless when and if one has assimilated such a technique that allows them to no longer practice. It is especially useless if your name is Glenn Gould). Furthermore, he was speaking of musical results rather than technical ones: he believed that too close a relationship with the instrument compromised the authenticity of musical solutions, which would be irremediably flawed by tactile necessities. By staying away from the piano, the mind could imagine musical solutions not filtered through specific constraints related to the mechanics of the instrument.

As for what happens to Sergio, for example, I believe it can also be explained (though not only) by a psychological condition where, upon returning to the piano after a long time, one is almost entirely devoid of expectations. And we know well that with a free mind, one plays better (so much so that as children, we do things and sometimes take risks on the instrument that perhaps as adults we no longer have the courage to take, unless after a long, careful, nerve-wracking period of study).

I already have my problems when I am near the instrument ... ... let alone far away

Maybe it could be a solution... eheh

Surely like Gould there are few, so it probably doesn't apply to everyone

I believe that not playing the piano for a long period of time brings no benefits at all; on the contrary... I speak from personal experience since in the past I went almost a year without touching the piano due to university commitments, except for doing a bit of technique every now and then (but we are talking about 20 minutes or so once a week). Returning to the piano with the claim of playing the pieces one used to play before quitting is simply impossible. One immediately realizes that they no longer have that strength and elasticity necessary to perform particular technical passages. Everything is very messy and lacks polish; at the slightest difficulty, muscle tension in the forearm and pain are felt, which is a warning bell telling us that if we don't stop, we could incur serious damage—in short, a disappointing experience. In cantabile pieces, it is true, one enjoys them more, also because one doesn't work much on technique, but I believe that rather than playing better, this satisfaction is actually just a psychological impression. For someone who has been eating rice cakes for a year, eating a croissant with Nutella once makes it seem like the most delicious treat in the world, yet it is just a croissant with Nutella—good, but nothing more. In the phrase Gould said, one must also consider what a (long period of time) means to him. For someone playing piano at extremely high levels, a long period of time could be 5 days. Effectively, in this timeframe, one does not risk decreasing their technical abilities and has the right amount of time to digest what has been studied, making it more enjoyable. In short, the truth is in the middle. Certainly, for someone who hasn't played for a year, the process is not to take a Chopin ballad as the first piece, but to slowly and patiently resume technique to return to conditions where one can play without the risk of serious damage to muscles and tendons. It is also true that by resuming playing, lost technical skills are recovered in a short time with attentive and responsible study.

A refutation of what Gould said, however, I bring you a phrase on the same theme cited by Paganini: "If I don't study for a day, I notice it; if I don't study for a week, the experts notice it; if I don't study for a month, everyone notices it!"

I agree with Thesimon! I've been through it too...., I had studied until the 8th year then I had a 23-year break, I started again now and 4 months have passed and I must say I struggled a bit, I felt rusty especially regarding speed but gradually by revisiting Clementi's 23 studies I managed to play like I did before; the only thing that doesn't satisfy me is that when I sit at the piano I always have to start with some scales, like No. 16-17 of Clementi from Gradus ad Parnassum to loosen my fingers.......,maybe it's a fixation in my brain....I don't know, it could be. For example: if I had to play something like Chopin's étude No. 2 op. 25 (it is a presto) I could never start it as soon as I sit at the piano, but I feel I must first start with some slower pieces to begin loosening my fingers

I agree with Simone!!!

However, personally, the point is valid regarding a single piece (so not abandoning playing altogether). It sometimes happens that you start reading a piece, set it aside, pick it up again after months or years and it "magically" comes out? Well, I believe our brain unconsciously continues to work. If we cannot play, let's cultivate music in other ways, even if only in our hearts: by picking it back up, the only obstacle will be "only" of a technical nature.

It depends on the nature of the piece. Take the last tempo of Chopin's second sonata, and come back to it after a couple of months of not playing it anymore. Then we can talk about it again?