Sunday, November 04, 2007

Huge List of Pianist Interviews...from 1915

I was alerted recently to an online reprint of Harriette Brower's 1915 book "Piano Mastery - Talks with Master Pianists and Teachers", taken from interviews she gave while checkin' out the London, Berlin, Paris, and New York piano pedagogy scenes. There's lots of really interesting information here, some from well-known pianists, and some from forgotten ones. Below are a few some interesting quotes from the book.

Mark Hambourg on practice:

In regard to practice I do not think it wise for the aspiring pianist to spend such a great amount of time at the piano. Four hours of concentrated work daily seems to me sufficient. Of course it is the quality of practice that counts. The old saying, 'Practice makes perfect,' does not mean constant repetition merely, but constant thinking and listening. I advise students to stop after playing a passage several times, and think over what the notes mean. This pause will rest ears and hands; in a few moments work can be resumed with fresh vigor.

Ethel Leginska on teaching:

In teaching the piano, as you know, every pupil is different; each has his or her own peculiar hand, and a different degree of intelligence. So each pupil must be treated differently. This is really an advantage to the teacher; for it would be very monotonous if all pupils were alike.

(Thanks, Andrea!)

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