Piano Lessons with Claudio Arrau: A Guide to His Philosophy and Techniques by Victoria A. von Arx

Author:Victoria A. von Arx [von Arx, Victoria A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2014-05-28T03:00:00+00:00

CONCLUSION

Although most of Arrau’s students aspired to performing careers, many have also had long careers in teaching. They include Josefina Megret and Olga Barabini, who taught privately in New York City; Germán Diez at Bard College and SUNY Purchase; Rosalina Guerrero-Sackstein at University of Miami; Ena Bronstein-Barton at Rider University and California State University Fresno; Philip Lorenz at California State University Fresno; Alfonso Montecino at Indiana University; Goodwin Sammel at Mills College; Frederick Marvin and William Goodrum at Syracuse University; Bennett Lerner at Payap University in Thailand; John Antoniadis at Stellenbosch University in South Africa; Pilar and Ines Leyva at Juan N. Corpas University in Bogotá, Columbia; Ronald Farren-Price at the University of Melbourne; and Ruth Nye at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music in London. As teachers, they have amplified Arrau’s principles by preserving, adapting, and transmitting them to a widening circle of pianists.

In telling their stories of study with Arrau, his students often pointed out Arrau’s respectful, friendly, or kindly treatment of them. One might be tempted to dismiss this as of anecdotal interest only or as idealization of a larger-than-life figure. However, the more this point was repeated, the more it drew attention to itself and seemed to have larger significance. That significance may lie in how Arrau’s conduct reflected on teaching itself.

Teaching is at times seen as a job, a source of income, even as a vehicle for distributing a commodity. Arrau saw it as none of these things. As an artist of enormous celebrity, he taught by choice and not out of necessity, he took no fee for it, and he approached it with pleasure and pride. “Meant to be a concert artist, I pace the globe,” he told Bernard Gavoty. “Of course, I love my profession, but if you only knew how I love teaching too—so much that I have on occasion travelled with a group of students.”1 Moreover, Arrau spoke compellingly of teaching as a mission to preserve a legacy: “I feel it is my duty to pass on what was given to me, what I have to give. I do it with great love.”2

Arrau’s attitude toward teaching, his respectful and kindly demeanor, sent a clear message and provided a model that students admired and sought to emulate. They responded not just by trying to replicate their experience with Arrau but by striving to expand on his principles, fully exploring their implications and bringing them to higher definition and into new contexts. When reflecting on Arrau’s teaching, his students express admiration and gratitude, but their observations can also be read as personal mission statements.

Germán Diez said of Arrau: “I’m sure that everything [Krause taught] Arrau probably made it more explicit.… Arrau has expanded [it] much more because he is using it, so he knows how broad the thing could be.”

Ena-Bronstein Barton said of Arrau and De Silva: “Their method of teaching gave you weapons… a way of continuing to develop beyond their presence.”

Edith Fischer said of Arrau: “A personality like [Arrau’s] opens doors.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.