Don’t forget to check out Felipe Calle‘s presentation at NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference,The Piano Works of Jaime Leon: A Pedagogical Approach, on June 11, 2023 from 4:30-4:55PM during our online event. Register now for NCKP 2023!
1. Jaime León was born in 1921 in Cartagena, Colombia, a colonial city on the Caribbean coast.
His father, an executive for an American company, brought the young León and his family to the U.S. León was raised between San Francisco, California, and New Jersey, where he took his first piano lessons. During his early years and young adulthood, he studied at The Juilliard School under the guidance of Carl Friedberg, once a student of Clara Schumann.
Jaime León in 1928.
Carl Friedberg (1872-1955)
Jaime León in 1948.
2. León’s music was influenced by American music from the first half of the twentieth century.
While working at Tin Pan Alley and Broadway in the 1940s, León was fond of the rhythms of other styles such as swing, blues, and boogie-woogie. Moreover, his music developed a deeply lyrical quality inspired by his appreciation of Gershwin’s songs. He started writing music in 1946 when he composed a theme and variations work inspired by Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Opus 23. His output includes many art songs, which are widely regarded as examples of his excellent craftsmanship.
3. León’s career in the US was varied and extensive.
He worked as a freelance repetiteur and conductor of ballet, opera, and music-hall in New York and Texas. His achievements included being the Assistant Conductor of the American Ballet Theater in Washington D.C. where he premiered Duke Ellington’s ballet The River in 1971. In 1948, he assumed the role of Director at the National Conservatory in Colombia, but political unrest forced him to leave the same year.
Jaime León as a conductor in the pit, 1950.
“Blues” from Made in USA , Jaime León
4. León’s piano music remains unpublished and is seldom performed.
Despite his brevity, his output skillfully blends American vernacular and academic languages, influenced by composers such as Gershwin, Copland, Piston, and Cole Porter.
5. The Five Preludes “Made in U.S.A.” were premiered by the dedicatee, Teresa Gomez, the first Afro-Colombian pianist.
Despite confronting racism in the early stages of her career, Gomez has been hailed as one of the most renowned South American pianists and was chosen to play in the last presidential inauguration in July 2022.
We are pleased to share some of our favorite quotes by Frances Clark, the pioneer pianist and educator for whom the organization is named. To read more of Clark’s writing, you can purchase her book, Questions and Answers, by clicking here.
On the Value of Music
“To understand music is to know an entire range of human expression, and to be able to play it means participating in that communication. As much as writing or mathematics, music represents a special form of literacy with its own repertoire of emotional and intellectual content. Perhaps as in no other discipline, to study music is to study a truly universal language, one that illuminates our culture as it connects us with other people and other times. It’s no wonder, then, that the understanding of music and the ability to play it have long been regarded as marks of a well-educated individual, as much as music itself is the mark of civilization. It’s in this context — the pursuit of the best possible education — that a sequential, balanced, comprehensive program of music study belongs.”1
On the Survival of Music
“All that’s new today is that change is occurring faster, the list of activities that compete for a student’s time is longer and family life as we once knew it has changed. But music is tough stuff. Piano students have survived all these changes; piano study has survived all this competition. Piano teachers must be a tough breed, too, for they have survived as well.”2
On the Philosophy of Teaching
“A philosophy of piano pedagogy is the piano teacher’s most valuable possession. And because it is so valuable, we need to take time out at regular intervals to reevaluate it. Occasionally we also need to put it into words. Then, in the privacy of our own studios, we need to ask ourselves, ‘Is that what I demonstrated, what I used, what I lived when I taught today?’ And we need to ask whether we are working with a student who is preparing to play a concerto with an orchestra or with a young beginner, with a student whose musicianship exceeds his technique or one whose technique outruns his musical understanding. With each of these students, and with all the others, do we really live what we say we believe about piano teaching?”3
On Being a Successful Teacher
“If they continue not only to play music they studied with you but to explore other music; if they are part of the musical life of their communities; if they attend concerts; if, when they have children of their own, they encourage them to study piano, not because it’s the thing to do, but because they want their children to have the same musical experience they remember with such pleasure — then I think we can assume, without any reasonable doubt, that you have been a successful teacher.”4
On Teaching Piano Pedagogy
“As piano pedagogy teachers we need to be able to verbalize our philosophy and we need to be able to demonstrate it with beginners, with intermediate students, and with students who are advanced… But being a good model is only half the pedagogy teacher’s job. The other part is equally important. Can we sit back and watch objectively when the student-teacher takes over? Can we give ourselves completely to the observation, refraining from interrupting when things go less smoothly than we could make them go? And in our conference after the observed lesson, can we avoid judgmental evaluation, using instead questions that lead the student-teacher to his own awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of his teaching?”5
Check out Pei-Chen Chen‘s presentation at NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference,It’s Never Too Late – Lived Experiences of Amateur Adult Piano Learners, on June 11, 2023 from 3:00-3:25PM during our online event. Register now for NCKP 2023!
1. They take lessons to fulfill a long held-dream.
Fulfilling a long-held dream is one of the most common motivations for adult piano students (P. J. Jutras, 2006; Kim, 2015; Parker, 2006; Polischuk, 2019; Uszler et al., 1999). Many career-aged adult piano learners delay piano study for different reasons, and they will often wait patiently until their life is ready. Common factors that affect their decision to learn include finding enough time to practice, having the physical space for a piano, and mental readiness.
2. They are self-motivated.
Adult learners are self-motivated and self-directed in their learning. While many young learners have extrinsic pressure and expectations from their parents and others (Fisher, 2010; Polischuk, 2019; Uszler et al., 1999), adults are more intrinsically motivated. Adult piano learners want to improve their piano playing with different goals in mind. Most of their motivations are internal, including the desire for a better quality of life, greater self-confidence, and self-actualization.
3. They like to make conscious and meaningful decisions in their learning.
Career-aged adult piano learners like to learn at their own pace, preferring an individualized curriculum with repertoire that they want to learn. They learn better when the lesson style is customized to fit their needs (MacKeracher, 2004). This means it is important for teachers and students to discuss method books and repertoire choices to create an engaging learning environment (Coutts, 2018; Mizok-Taylor, 2008).
4. They acknowledge the challenges of being an adult learner.
Career-aged adult piano learners acknowledge their mental and physical difficulties while learning and practicing the piano. Feeling mental frustration and discomfort in practice is a common issue for them. However, they are also able to recognize that frustration comes from their own self-judgment. They often hear their own “inner critic,” feel self-conscious, and have negative self-judgments while learning the piano. (Bissell, 1984; Fisher, 2010).
In addition to mental discomfort, career-aged adult piano learners may also experience physical challenges, including feeling a lack of coordination when playing the piano. Many piano educators also believe adults need more time to transfer theoretical knowledge into physical playing energy (Fisher, 2010; Kim, 2015; Polischuk, 2019; Uszler et al., 1999). Hand-eye coordination and the cognitive process of learning to read music are also common challenges adults may experience (Kim, 2015). This lack of coordination can cause career-aged adult piano learners to feel self-conscious and frustrated. The discomfort for adult piano learners is both mental and physical, and often mental aspects will influence physical aspects and vice versa.
5. They feel joy and make meaningful connections between music and life.
Despite the challenges of learning piano, career-aged adult piano learners enjoy playing music and having music in their lives. They find that being able to play music is meaningful and gives them a sense of joy. Sharing music with others and making social connections can also bring them joy. Many educators believe that music is a leisure activity, and adult students enjoy the social opportunity to interact and share music with others (Fisher, 2010; Kronish, 2005; McQueen, 2013; Polischuk, 2019; Uszler et al., 1999).
SOURCES Bissell, P. M. (1984). “Group Keyboard and the Adult Market.” American Music Teacher, 34(1), 12–17.
Coutts, L. (2018). “Selecting Motivating Repertoire for Adult Piano Students: A Transformative Pedagogical Approach.” British Journal of Music Education, 35(3), 285–299. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051718000074.
Fisher, C. (2010). “Group Piano and the Adult Hobby Student.” In Teaching Piano in Groups (pp. 189–211). Oxford University Press.
Jutras, P. (2006). “The Benefits of Adult Piano Study as Self-Reported by Selected Adult Piano Students.” Journal of Research in Music Education, 54(2), 97–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/002242940605400202
Kim, K. R., Peter Jutras, Seon Joo. (2015). “Adult perspectives of learning musical instruments”— Kathryn Roulston, Peter Jutras, Seon Joo Kim, 2015. International Journal of Music Education, 33(3). http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0255761415584291
Kronish, N. B. (2005). “Social, cultural, and psychological influences on three promising piano students’ decisions to continue taking piano lessons” [Ph.D., McGill University (Canada)]. http://search.proquest.com/docview/305364045/abstract/173826EAF88C45AEPQ/12
MacKeracher, D. (2004). Making Sense of Adult Learning. University of Toronto Press Incorporated.
McQueen, M. V., Susan Hallam, Andrea Creech, Hilary. (2013). “Different ways of experiencing music-making in later life: Creative music sessions for older learners in East London” – Maria Varvarigou, Susan Hallam, Andrea Creech, Hilary McQueen, 2013. Research Studies in Music Education, 35(1). http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1321103X13478863
Mizok-Taylor, R. J. (2008). “Promoting self-directed learning in adult piano instruction” [D.M.A., West Virginia University]. http://search.proquest.com/docview/304448652/abstract/B327D2A3DC5F4856PQ/1
Parker, E. (2006). Piano Pedagogy: A Practical Approach. Longbow Pub
Polischuk, D. K. (2019). “Teaching Adult Pianists.” In Transformational Piano Teaching (pp. 21– 35). Oxford University. Uszler, M., Gordon, S., & McBride-Smith, S. (1999). “The Adult Student.” In The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher (2nd ed. edition, pp. 147–179). Schirmer.
Don’t miss Megan Rich‘s Lightning Talk at NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference,Singing in the Piano Lesson: Zoltán Kodály’s 333 Elementary Exercises in Solfège Singing, on July 26, 2023 from 4:00-4:50PM during our in-person event. Register now for NCKP 2023!
1. Sing!
Zoltan Kodály said that “To teach a child an instrument without first giving him preparatory training and without developing singing, reading and dictating to the highest level along with the playing is to build upon sand.”1 To develop singing and reading, Kodály wrote a book of sequential solfege exercises titled 333 Elementary Exercises in Solfege Singing.2
2. Use Folk Music
Kodály educator Jean Sinor said that “Content [of music education] should be generated by the music: initially by the folk music of the people and later by the folk music of other peoples and the finest examples of composed music.”3 Folk music is effective because of its familiarity and simplicity, and the use of varied folk music from different regions can greatly enhance piano lessons.
“Children learn effectively from the act of play.”
~ L. S. Vygotsky
3. Speak
Kodály educators use rhythm syllables and chants as a kinesthetic tool to help students internalize a steady beat and rhythm. The Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia published their helpful Rhythm Syllable Chart4 in 2003.
4. Play
Children learn effectively from the act of play.5 Music lessons that incorporate games and music are not only more fun, but often more effective. The following three websites have resources for Kodály-inspired music games:
Provide an opportunity in every lesson for beautiful music-making. Whether playing or singing, students need the opportunity to participate in ensemble music and in music for music’s sake. As Kodály said, “If we ourselves sing often, this provides a deep experience of happiness in music. Through our own musical activities, we learn to know the pulsation, rhythm, and shape of melody. The enjoyment given encourages the study of instruments and the listening to other pieces of music as well.”6
We invited our followers to submit questions for Marvin Blickenstaff about all things teaching. In honor of his birthday (May 19), we are posting his answers!You can read Part One here.
Join us on social media for the opportunity to have your questions on a variety of interesting topics answered by additional experts in the coming weeks.
Do you have any advice for avoiding burnout? Or recovering from it? The last few years have been so intense as a teacher and I feel tired! But I still love my students and want to give them my best.
It’s a good question. It’s an important question, because we work too hard. We’ve got too many students, we don’t have enough time for ourselves or our families. And my first answer is to take a hard look at your schedule. Is there any time that you reserve for yourself? Even five or ten minutes in your schedule that’s just for you? A sure, clear road to teacher burnout is never having any time for yourself.
I think another way to avoid teacher burnout is to find some beautiful music and listen to it or play it for yourself. And if you don’t sight read well enough to play advanced repertoire, find some beautiful music at your students’ levels. And you play those just as beautifully as you possibly can.
It may seem a little bit off the tangent from our topic of teacher burnout, but I would urge you to do a little bit of evaluation of some of your lessons. For most of my life, I taught piano pedagogy on a college level. And I had a favorite way to start the first pedagogy class out with these students. I would say, “We’re here to learn piano pedagogy. We’re going to teach music principles to young, beginning piano students.” Then I’d say, “But, before we can do that, we ought to define what music is. What is music?” And I would just stop there, and let them discuss for a while. And they would argue this side and that side, this idea versus that idea. And usually the definition would turn out to be something like, “music is expression.” I would say, “In a way, that’s almost enough. Music is expression. But, I need you to go on and finish that. What is it that music is expressing?” And with a little bit of work playing devil’s advocate, the class would come up with a definition. It varied a bit from year to year, but always landed around, “Music is the expression of the entire human experience through organized sound.”
Marvin teaching a student.
Now I say that because I think it can help with our issue of teacher burnout. If we would ask ourselves at the end of the day, or at the end of a lesson, “Did I teach music lessons?” We might say, “Well, that lesson had the main emphasis on technique, or that lesson had the main emphasis on rhythm. Or, in that lesson, I spent most of my time labeling harmonies and naming harmony.” And I would say the most exciting for us as teachers is actually when we work on expression. Music is expression. We feel like we’re really music teachers when we emphasize that, and the students get fired up because they’re playing their pieces more beautifully, or more excitingly, etc. Getting our students fired up to make beautiful sound is one way to avoid teacher burnout.
Another thing that you could do to avoid teacher burnout is to take a piano lesson. It could be an esteemed teacher in your community. It could be just a colleague in your teachers group. But play for somebody, take a lesson. And it’s not just that you play through the piece, but solicit comments on your playing. That can just give you lots of new life and a new zest in your step about your playing.
What is your favorite piece to perform? To teach?
I’m not sure. I play quite regularly and I’m working right now on repertoire to play on my 90th birthday. Isn’t that shocking? I’m planning to play a recital on my 90th birthday! And I have the recital picked out, I’m practicing on that, and I’m enjoying that so much.
A lot of times I start out recitals with this Schumann Romance. And then Schubert Impromptu in G-flat Major. So those over the years have become some of my favorite pieces.
What’s my favorite piece to teach? I’m not sure that I have necessarily a favorite piece to teach. But I will tell you that I’ve tried to get every student up to the level where they can play Solfeggietto. I just find so much value in that piece. So, I try to get everybody to play it, and then we have fun trying to see how fast we can get the speed on it. It’s just a fantastic technical piece.
What advice do you have for people who are still learning the craft?
I, and I’m sure many of you, learned most through the school of hard knocks. We taught, we evaluated ourselves, and we learned. We made some mistakes, so we revised and relearned. I think most piano teachers will tell you that they learned the most from their own teaching and evaluation. Of course, some of us were lucky enough to have good pedagogy courses. And that can be very, very helpful.
So, how do teachers learn? I would say, first of all, you learn how to teach by playing the piano. And what you experience is what you share with your students.
Another thing that helps us improve our teaching is to read new music, and then say, “How would I introduce this piece? What are the highlights of this piece? What are the important things?” In other words, you must analyze. That’s an important teacher skill.
Another way to improve your craft is to record your lessons, or even just one or two lessons, listen, then ask yourself, “Was that a music lesson?” Remember our definition of music? Music is the expression of the entire human experience through organized sound. Every part of that definition is to be evaluated when you listen to your recording. Music is the expression—was there an emphasis in your teaching on what that music expresses? Music is an expression of the entire human experience—what mood, what emotion? What human experience was expressed? Was it joy, sadness, loss, frustration, anger, remorse?
One other thing that helps me teach a better lesson is to write out a lesson plan for every lesson so I know what’s going to happen. At the top of the lesson plan, I write the acronym: TERRAC. T stands for technique. E stands for expression. The first R is reading. The second R is rhythm. A is aural skills. C is creativity. These are aspects that I incorporate into each lesson plan so that I’m sure that I’m teaching the students a well-rounded lesson. That can help tremendously in improving your teaching.
What is something you’ve learned in the last year that has changed your teaching?
I’m constantly reminded of the infinite potential of every one of my students. I have come to believe that each student has the potential for being a young artist. And if I start my work with a student with the attitude in mind, “I believe in you and your artistic potential,” that really is tremendously helpful.
In 2023, the Frances Clark Center established the Marvin Blickenstaff Institute for Teaching Excellence in honor of his legacy as a pedagogue. This division of The Frances Clark Center encompasses inclusive teaching programs, teacher education, courses, performance, advocacy, publications, research, and resources that support excellence in piano teaching and learning. To learn more about the Institute, please visit this page. We invite you to make a donation in honor of Marvin’s 88th birthday.
We invited our followers to submit questions for Marvin Blickenstaff about all things teaching. In honor of his birthday today (May 19), we are posting his answers!
Join us on social media for the opportunity to have your questions on a variety of interesting topics answered by additional experts in the coming weeks.
I love your technique videos on PianoInspires.com! I use your exercises with all of my students. My question is: how do you encourage students to spend so much of their practice time on technical skills? How do you teach them to stay focused and to enjoy the process?
I try to point out to my students that one of the issues that we face when we’re studying piano is developing the technique that is necessary to play the repertoire at hand. And with that, I place a great deal of emphasis in my lessons on warmups. Athletes warm up, dancers warm up, and piano students warm up. The bottom line of warming up is to stimulate blood circulation in the playing mechanism—the hands and the arms. Along with that, I have two important things that I try to stress with all my students and illustrate in their warm ups: stretching and rotations. They are such an emphasis in my work with my students that I joke with them that I’m sure that when I die, they will have inscribed on my gravestone, “Here lies piano teacher Marvin Blickenstaff. May he stretch and rotate in peace.”
So I think warm ups are very important. It might be possible to over-emphasize technique and the warm up in lessons, but what we’re doing is preparing the student for the rest of their piano life. So I don’t apologize very much for having six or seven different technical exercises that they are to practice as part of their work every day.
In order to get students invested in their work on technique I try to be very, very aware of pointing out how much their hand is improving, how much the sound is improving, and how much their coordination skills are improving so that they can see that the technique work is paying off.
In summary, every minute that we spend in the lesson on technical exercises, and every minute that the students spend at home on technical exercises, ultimately pays off. Now, that’s not as much fun as learning a new piece or playing a recital piece, but you can’t play your pieces effectively if you don’t have enough technique. And I try to emphasize to my students that growth in piano playing is directly related to how you start to practice every afternoon.
Marvin celebrating his student
What is the first thing you say to a new student?
I think it’s important for piano students to hear from a piano teacher that they feel privileged to have this relationship and this experience of learning about music together. You’ll have your own words to communicate that. But, it’s not that I’m the big authority, you’re the little student, and you have to do exactly what I tell you to. Rather, it’s very important for piano teachers to cultivate the attitude that this is a partnership and we’re working together to make beautiful music.
Additionally, we have to hook our students into the excitement of playing the piano. How? Through sound. That’s why when students come for their first lesson, I try to play a few bars of different kinds of pieces, because it’s so interesting for a student to hear such contrasting sounds. And I say, “I am so glad that we have this opportunity to learn how to play the piano together. We’ll learn quiet pieces, we’ll learn fast pieces. We’ll learn hopping and jumping pieces, and we’ll learn dancing pieces.” Hook the student on sound and they will be excited to learn.
Have you ever struggled with students who weren’t interested in taking piano lessons but had parents who signed them up anyway? How do you get that student excited about music learning?
Once again, I would say you hook the student on sound. And you pull out all of your pupil saver pieces—the pieces that are kind of easy to learn, but have a great sound to them. Richard Chronister was a colleague of Frances Clark and Louise Goss, founder of Keyboard Companion and the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy (now NCKP: The Piano Conference), and a major force of 20th-century piano pedagogy. He always used to say that piano students come to us for one reason only: to play exciting sounds at the keyboard. I try to really ingest that into my pedagogical being. Why are students here? They want to play exciting sound, whether it’s quiet, loud, fast, or slow.
“I think it’s important for piano students to hear from a piano teacher that they feel privileged to have this relationship and this experience of learning about music together.”
There are two files of pieces that I would urge you to start in your studio. One is “beautiful pieces,” and the other is “pupil savers” (a term from Louise Bianchi in Texas). Pupil savers are pieces that are easy to learn, but have great sound.
So, what do you do with a disinterested student? You hook them with the repertoire. And you don’t work so much on technical exercises. Instead, you work on beautiful pieces (pupil savers, perhaps) that they will really enjoy.
What is a favorite performance memory?
Last summer I played a recital at Goshen College where I taught for 20 years in Indiana. That was really well-tested repertoire and I had a wonderful piano to play on. I thought all during that recital, “What a privilege to play this music on this piano for old friends.” Years ago, I was invited to play a concerto with the North Carolina symphony. It was not a very good choice, but I decided that I would learn the Samuel Barber Concerto for Piano. That’s a tough tune. That performance is one of my least favorite memories of a performance, because it was really a rough performance and the orchestra and I kind of fought our way to the end. But actually, four nights later, I played the same concerto, same orchestra, in my hometown in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and it went really well. And it was almost like I had to go through the fires of hell in order to reach Nirvana. And it was just such fun to play the Barber concerto with an orchestra. So we have different experiences with performances, but we go on.
I have a student who really struggles with memorizing music. We have tried all kinds of exercises, tips, and tricks, but they are quite discouraged despite my encouragement. What advice would you give them… and me?
The issue boils down to the fact that students think that memory is just to train the fingers in muscle memory, and there’s a big missing link there. The students who rely solely on muscle memory do not have a mental concept of how the piece is constructed. So one of my goals for my students is to do more labeling and analysis. We piano teachers must do a much better and more thorough job of helping our students name what they play. If you can name what you play, you probably have it memorized. So for most students, if there’s a memory issue, I think it’s because they don’t know what they’re playing.
When my students are memorizing pieces, we establish three memory checkpoints on each page. The goal is that they can start cold at any number. Go back to number two, jump ahead to number five. And boy, if you can start your piece at all those memory checkpoints, you have your piece very well memorized.
I would also say that along with the memory checkpoints, you should be able to articulate the reason that a spot is a memory checkpoint (such as, that’s where you play the D major chord in your left hand).
Marvin with Dr. Sara Ernst at NCKP 2019
So I think that labels and memory checkpoints are really the answer for memory problems. The great American pianist Josef Hoffman said that there are actually four ways to practice a piece. One way is that you play the piece at the piano looking carefully at the score. Then, you play your piece at the piano without the score (from memory). The third way to practice a piece is to sit away from the piano with the music in your hand, looking at the score and hearing the music. And the fourth way– which I think is just an incredible memory check– is to sit away from the piano, close your eyes, and see your hands playing the piece on the keyboard. It’s so helpful. Actually, it’s my favorite way of checking memory when I’m getting ready for a performance. And when I’m falling asleep at night!
Coming soon: Q&A with Marvin Blickenstaff: Part 2 where Marvin answers more of your questions!
In 2023, the Frances Clark Center established the Marvin Blickenstaff Institute for Teaching Excellence in honor of his legacy as a pedagogue. This division of The Frances Clark Center encompasses inclusive teaching programs, teacher education, courses, performance, advocacy, publications, research, and resources that support excellence in piano teaching and learning. To learn more about the Institute, please visit this page. We invite you to make a donation in honor of Marvin’s 88th birthday.
Naegeli van Bergen Metcalf was my first college piano teacher and a beloved mentor. She left Wesleyan College after my freshman year to get married, and we stayed in touch throughout the remainder of her teaching years. So, during my junior year, she was in touch and encouraged me to go to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study with her good friend from Indiana University for my master’s degree. He was a new young teacher, Marvin Blickenstaff, who had just joined the faculty there. We didn’t have the internet or publicity booklets from the department, but everything I heard sounded wonderful.
My audition date finally arrived in December 1971. The scuttlebutt had alerted me to the fact that noted pianist and author William S. Newman was on the musicology/piano faculty there and that I would need to play by ear for him in my interview and that Marvin Blickenstaff was debonair and handsome, and also a very kind individual. My interest was piqued. In preparation for the audition on that day, I warmed up on the stage of Hill Hall, working simultaneously to bolster my confidence. During some moments of concentrated warm up, the sought-after teacher himself walked briskly down the center aisle toward me and introduced himself. Yes, it was Marvin Blickenstaff, kind, affirming and encouraging, but absolutely nothing like I expected from the person I requested to be my next teacher. He turned out to be a pivotal piano instructor for me!
Marvin is a person with such a large heart, still capable of giving unimaginable inspiration to a piano student of any age, to piano teachers everywhere, to colleagues, or to anyone who needs a pep talk.
That day Mr. Blickenstaff and the other two male faculty, all three young and engaging, made me feel quite welcome, and Dr. Newman asked me to play “Home on the Range” in A-flat during my graduate school interview. Thus began a long and life-changing relationship with Mr. Blickenstaff and Dr. Newman, in the fall of 1972.
As an applied piano student between fall 1972 and spring of 1974, my lessons were filled with dedicated and inspired teaching, concern for my total well-being as well as my playing, laughter, a lot of detailed teaching, and a focus on listening, technique, and tone. At that juncture in time, Marvin was a young graduate of the Indiana University School of Music. My first semester repertoire was huge, I seem to remember it consisting of two full recital programs. All I knew was that it was a lot, and was I ever motivated. He held us to the highest artistic standards, and we rose to meet the bar he set.
He was motivated too, along with us. He taught long hours, and numerous extra lessons. We reveled in his discussions of Brahms’ piano music and Beethoven sonatas. His students became his family, and he and his wife, Sara Faye, treated us to dinners and parties in their lovely home. Our studio bonded, and many of us have remained close to this day, even after we spread all over the country.The Blickenstaffs lived close to campus, and it worked well for Marvin to ride his bicycle to school and back home each day, even on those dark nights after recitals and his late-night practicing. He was committed to his health, but even more committed to his students. For much of the time I knew him, the hour of his studio class was on “Friday at 4” and the meeting was set in stone, the highlight of our piano weeks. We loved playing for each other and grew to support our colleagues unconditionally.
An important message that I received from Marvin and his two equally engaging piano faculty colleagues was the importance of collegiality among a piano faculty. He, Michael Zenge, and Francis Whang were mutually supportive of each others’ playing and of all students within the piano department. It made for a strong and healthy model of collegial support among faculty members at a college or university, that permeated all three of the studios and the students’ philosophies as they eventually moved on and grew into faculty members and opened independent piano studios.
Marvin’s faculty recitals were “the” event of the season for his students and the piano community in Chapel Hill at large. Marvin walked briskly onto stage in a recital, smiling and greeting everyone warmly. His playing had them in the palm of his hands at the end of the first two lines of whatever was programmed. Listening to him play, one lost track of time in his beautiful and gripping performances! As you probably know by now, he still has the movie-star-like persona and presence.
In Chapel Hill, North Carolina I also had the chance to listen on occasion to his conversations with his inspiring colleagues Lynn Freeman Olson and Louise Bianchi as they wrote their legendary piano method Music Pathways.
Marvin Blickenstaff
I heard about the reading approach they used, their counting system, the off-the-bench activities they created for the children. What a distinguished trio of educators creating educational materials during their formative years! Thank you, Marvin, for sharing so much of yourself with all of us as students.
That was over forty years ago! Marvin moved away from Chapel Hill and continued to teach at Goshen College in Indiana. As that transition occurred, I came to know him as a quintessential workshop presenter. In essence, he was evolving into a national teacher of teachers, inspiring hundreds in his workshops—and there, too, he provided a strong influence on so many of us. It was his habit to stay in close touch with all of us, talking by phone, inspiring us, reminding us to be dedicated and work hard—as he always set the highest bar for all of us, all the while teaching a full load. Each year around Christmas, he would send a multi-page, inter-generational studio newsletter catching everyone up on his students and our colleagues’ “comings and goings.” It became a highlight of the season, catching up on the families, performances, locales, high and low points, and pulling us together still again as dedicated young professionals, now striving to make a difference in our own students’ lives. One could never have asked for a better role model.
As a teacher to this day, Marvin is a person with such a large heart, still capable of giving unimaginable inspiration to a piano student of any age, to piano teachers everywhere, to colleagues, or to anyone who needs a pep talk. His teaching, mentorship, and love for his students, colleagues, and for teachers throughout the profession is legendary. Dare I say thousands of teachers and students have been touched in the most positive ways by his kindness, thoughtfulness, talent, and selfless giving. Thank you, dear Marvin for being you and for nurturing the largest circle of friends, teachers, students, and colleagues imaginable throughout this country and all over the world! Thank you for always caring. And by the way, I imagine you probably still ride your bike daily, and I know you still practice late at night.
In 2023, the Frances Clark Center established the Marvin Blickenstaff Institute for Teaching Excellence in honor of his legacy as a pedagogue. This division of The Frances Clark Center encompasses inclusive teaching programs, teacher education, courses, performance, advocacy, publications, research, and resources that support excellence in piano teaching and learning. To learn more about the Institute, please visit this page. We invite you to make a donation in honor of Marvin’s 88th birthday (May 19).
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate one of our own—Marvin Blickenstaff—who was born on May 19, 1935. A world-renowned music educator and pianist, Blickenstaff’s career as a leader in the field of piano pedagogy has spanned nearly six decades.
Marvin Blickenstaff through the years.
Blickenstaff grew up in Nampa, Idaho and credits his teacher Fern Nolte Davidson with helping him to establish a love of music—and the piano—as a child. After completing high school, Marvin spent two years in Austria serving his church, before moving to Oberlin, OH to complete a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Following another short trip abroad, Marvin enrolled in the piano class of Béla Böszormenyi-Nagy and quickly received a Master of Music degree from Indiana University.
Marvin Blickenstaff and Sara Ernst.
In 1969, Blickenstaff was appointed to the faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he taught for nearly ten years. Among his many students were Jane Magrath, Karen Zorn, and Joel M. Harrison. In 1978, Blickenstaff moved to Goshen, Indiana, where he served as Professor of Music at Goshen College for over twenty years. While serving as a professor at Goshen College, Blickenstaff continued to maintain a robust performance schedule while also developing the Goshen College Piano Workshop, presenting at the International Workshops in Europe, and serving as an Associate Editor at Keyboard Companion and Clavier Companion.
Following his tenure at Goshen College, Blickenstaff moved to Philadelphia where he continues to reside. From 2000-2013, he served as the President of the Board of Trustees for the Frances Clark Center and has taught at the New School for Music Study since 1999.
Throughout his life, Blickenstaff has traveled throughout the world including New Zealand, Switzerland, and Austria, to perform and present workshops to teachers. Blickenstaff received one of MTNA’s highest honors—the MTNA Achievement Award—in 2009 and the Frances Clark Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. He was also inducted into Steinway & Sons’ Teacher Hall of Fame in 2019.
In 2023, the Frances Clark Center established the Marvin Blickenstaff Institute for Teaching Excellence in honor of his legacy as a pedagogue. This division of The Frances Clark Center encompasses inclusive teaching programs, teacher education, courses, performance, advocacy, publications, research, and resources that support excellence in piano teaching and learning. To learn more about the Institute and to donate, please visit this page.
In 2023, the Frances Clark Center established the Marvin Blickenstaff Institute for Teaching Excellence in honor of his legacy as a pedagogue. This division of The Frances Clark Center encompasses inclusive teaching programs, teacher education, courses, performance, advocacy, publications, research, and resources that support excellence in piano teaching and learning. To learn more about the Institute, please visit this page. We invite you to make a donation in honor of Marvin’s 88th birthday (May 19).
Dr. Curtis Pavey is a pianist, harpsichordist, and educator. A performer of works from the 16th through the 21st centuries, he feels equally at home performing or teaching at the piano and the harpsichord. He is currently based in the Cincinnati area and maintains a private piano studio.
Don’t miss Cecilia Lo-Chien Kao‘s presentation at NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference,Piano as Orchestra: Creating Artful Orchestral Reductions, on June 11, 2023 from 2:00-2:50PM during our online event. Register now for NCKP 2023!
1. Listen to a Recording
When you are learning a new orchestral reduction, it is very important to listen to the original orchestral version of the piece. You want your ears to absorb and be familiar with the orchestral sonority and its characters.
2. Play What You Hear, Not What You See
Remember that an orchestral reduction is the composer or arranger’s piano realization of the piece and not a complete reproduction of the original score. This requires a different approach than playing an instrumental sonata! After listening to the recording and studying the full score, try to focus on the bigger musical picture of the piece and play what you hear as the most important musical elements.
3. Keep the Rhythm (Consider Orchestral Timing vs. Pianistic Timing)
An orchestra can create a lot of rhythmic drive and energy. Remember that a pianist also represents the conductor when playing a reduction. No matter how complicated a passage is, it is important to prioritize rhythmic integrity. If you are playing with a fluctuating tempo to accommodate the difficulty of the reduction, you may consider simplifying or rearranging the reduction
4. Interpreting Orchestral Dynamics vs. Piano Dynamics
The dynamics in the reduction are relative to the full score. In order to maintain the sound and character of the orchestra, it is important to consider the orchestration when interpreting dynamics.
5. Rethink Orchestral Sonority and Clarity on the Piano
The orchestra can have a very rich and resonant sonority when the entire ensemble is playing at a strong dynamic. In order to replicate that kind of sonority on the piano, you may use the sustain pedal to help give resonance or to “moisturize” the sound in addition to playing fuller or stronger. No matter how you are using the pedal, it is important to maintain clarity and good voicing on the piano since each individual instrument has clarity in the orchestra, even when playing at a loud dynamic.
QUICK LINKS FOR NCKP 2023: THE PIANO CONFERENCE
REGISTER: Register for the conference. Full, online-only, student, and single-day registrations available!
Special thanks to Jackie Edwards-Henry (JEH) and Mary Sallee (MKS), members of the NCKP 2023 Teaching Adults committee, for this post.
Why is teaching adults important for pianists today?
JEH: Teaching adults shows us that we’re never too old to learn and experience the joy of music-making at the piano. So many adults say, “I wish my mother had never let me quit piano!” And they think the ship has sailed—it’s too late to learn to play. As teachers of adult students, we know this is a fallacy. Watching our adult students succeed at piano also teaches us life lessons—that we can still learn in the Third Age of adulthood, and that learning new skills provides physical and mental benefits.
What is something you wish every pianist knew about working with adult students?
JEH: How much shared joy is experienced by adult piano students and their facilitators! Adults are not being forced to take lessons and come to them because THEY want to learn. Once they relax into the role of learner and enjoy the process, joy is a natural bi-product. When teacher/facilitators include no-fail activities such as black-key improvisation and simple ensemble experiences, shared joy can be experienced from the very first lesson.
What is one free resource about teaching adults that you would recommend?
MKS: I will have a handout at our session, “Yes to Lead Sheets” A-chording to Adults!” that demonstrates how to turn a lead sheet of “Greensleeves” into a duet. Secondo of the duet will play their part based on the chord symbols. Teachers can see how to get their students reading chord symbols to create a free, easy duet that is perfect for friends, siblings, or family members.
What makes your track at NCKP 2023 special? Why should people attend?
MKS: Members of our committee are excited to share their heartwarming experiences of working with their adult students. They hope to inspire any novices or teachers that have not had good experiences to try some new ideas. There will be something for everyone because good teaching can be applied to any student at any level. The more ways you have to explain/present a concept to a variety of different learners, the better equipped you will be as a teacher of any student. Regardless of experience or success, we can all learn from each other. We invite participants to bring their questions and share their experiences as they join in the discussions.
What are you most excited for at NCKP 2023?
MKS: (1) To see friends and great teachers from around the country and abroad once again—IN PERSON! (2) To get some time away for “R and R” that is also tax deductible. (3) To get inspired about teaching and learn from great pedagogues—like I have for more than 35 years!
Interested in learning more about teaching adults? Attend NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference! View the NCKP 2023 schedules to explore all the Teaching Adults track sessions: online and in-person, andregister for the conference.
QUICK LINKS FOR NCKP 2023: THE PIANO CONFErENCE
REGISTER: Register for the conference. Full, online-only, student, and single-day registrations available!
With deep sadness at the recent passing of Menahem Pressler and in greatest honor and memory of his legacy, we share this article by Jerry Wong as it originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of The Piano Magazine: Clavier Companion.
Menahem Pressler, best known as the pianist of the unparalleled Beaux Arts Trio for more than fifty years and a revered Distinguished Professor at Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music for even longer, continues a daunting schedule of performing and teaching. At age ninety-two, he shows no signs of slowing down, as plans for the future and the deepest devotion to his craft appear to drive his everyday existence.
Pressler, with the Beaux Arts Trio, at their final performance in Bloomington, Indiana, 2008.
I first met and played for Mr. Pressler in masterclasses at Biola University, in La Mirada, CA, in the late 1980s. His residencies there, consisting of a solo recital and classes (often two or three in a day) were an exercise in focused endurance, both for the performers and those attending. Students from all over southern California arrived with major staples of the repertoire, and Pressler, in one three-hour class after another, delved into each work with incredible insight and a disciplined approach to the composer’s intentions. Never showing fatigue, he gave his absolute best to each student. His style was demanding, attentive, and all-encompassing.
Playing for Pressler three years in a row during my teens eventually led to an audition at Indiana University. “You’ve played for me each year, and each year I see improvement,” he said, in a moment of quiet encouragement that remains blazed into my memory more than twenty-five years later. Working with Pressler in his studio in Bloomington, Indiana, was terrifyingly electric and powerfully illuminating. When my studies concluded, I often attended his concerts and masterclasses, but the recent opportunity to sit alone with him for over an hour and discuss his career, approach to teaching, and general reflections revealed new stories and ideas from this now iconic figure in the world of classical music.
I found Mr. Pressler on a sunny afternoon in early summer, sitting quietly in his daughter Edna’s condo in Boston, eagerly awaiting our conversation. His recuperation from a recent medical procedure had been strenuous, yet appeared to leave him unscarred and even refreshed. “I was with the doctor today for some tests, and the results were very good. I smell roses!” Beaming from ear to ear, he reminded me of the cat who caught the canary. And this cat has had nine lives for certain—not only in the real sense of his good fortune, but in the musical sense as well.
Born in Germany in the early 1920s, Pressler’s immediate family fled the Nazi regime to Palestine when he was just a boy. Extended family remained behind and perished in concentration camps. From the darkness of this early experience, a brighter theme of Pressler’s future emerged: an appreciation for his good fortune and a determination to make the life he had been spared meaningful. Music lessons became the highlight of his youth, and he ultimately opted to travel to San Francisco in 1946 to participate in the Debussy International Competition. A chance meeting in the basement of Steinway Hall in New York with famed pianist Byron Janis cast gloom over his first visit to the States. “Don’t go to the Debussy,” Janis warned, “the competition is fixed!” “the Pressler replied, “I must go. I promised everyone back home I would compete.” He went, won, made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and began a career as a solo pianist with significant engagements.
A publicity photo from the 1940’s.
Early years
In the years that followed the Debussy prize, Pressler made his home in New York City, fulfilled his concert engagements, and continued to expand his musicianship by pursuing lessons with some of the most celebrated teachers of that era. Studies with Isabelle Vengerova (The Curtis Institute of Music), Robert Casadesus (Fontainebleau Music Festival), Egon Petri (masterclasses at Mills College) and finally Edward Steurmann (The Juilliard School) all formed significant impressions on the young soloist. From these influences, Pressler can trace his lineage back to Busoni, Leschetizky, and Schoenberg.
Aspiring pianists of today should note that Pressler’s life at this point was a delicate balance of performing and sporadic lessons. Real life lessons from the concert stage supplemented the work in the studios of these various masters and vice versa. “You live and you learn, and at the end, you still feel like a student,” Pressler mused. His studies were certainly eclectic: the strict Russian pedagogue Vengerova (teacher of Sidney Foster, Gary Grafmann, and Jacob Lateiner), the consummate French pianist Casadesus, and the Busoni prodigies Petri and Steurmann all seem to represent very different schools and training. Yet somehow, Pressler’s teaching and performing reflects a complete synthesis of all these different approaches. I can recall masterclasses in which he moved from Bach to Brahms and on to Berg with the same ease, the same exacting interpretive style, and, perhaps most of all, the same steadfast affection for each and every score.
When reflecting upon my own studies with Pressler, I mentioned the fact that each opportunity to peel away at a new composer or genre was equally invigorating. He never placed certain composers in an elite status over others. Smiling at my observation, he said: “Actually, I liked Liszt, but my wife never did! Yes, okay, she liked the B Minor Sonata and the Dante, but anything else, she said, ‘don’t practice this at home!’ She thought it was cheap, but I disagreed. And I teach Liszt to my students. I think he was an enormous composer with great beauty. I played the Rigoletto paraphrase many times. After you see and hear a Rigoletto in the opera hall, you know that Liszt ennobled the piano in the way that Verdi ennobled the stage.”
Pressler at his 90th birthday celebration, 2013.
The Beaux Arts Trio in the 1960’s.
Beaux Art Trio
Much has been written and said over the years about the venerable Beaux Arts Trio. Since their debut at Tanglewood in 1955, the Beaux Arts Trio has toured worldwide and recorded virtually the entire trio literature, in addition to several collaborations with guest violists for quartets. While Pressler has remained a constant, the other members of the trio have changed over the years, beginning with violinist Daniel Guilet and continuing with Isidore Cohen, Ida Kavafian, Young Uck Kim, and ending with Daniel Hope. Original cellist Bernard Greenhouse was with the ensemble for thirty-two years, followed by Peter Wiley and Antônio Meneses.
Pressler is able to reflect upon all the various players in very fluid conversation. “You know that we recorded the Schubert Trios three times. Each time the change of membership brought some new life and meaning to the music.” He chuckled as he shared a spirited debate he had with Guilet and Greenhouse early in the trio’s history over the tempo of the Ravel Trio. “Why are you playing so slowly? What are you doing?” Followed by: “It’s how I feel this music.” And finally: “You feel differently from Ravel!” Growing serious for a moment, he remembered the late Greenhouse: “We were really very much together. As people, and musically, we were exceedingly close.”
Always one to remain more in the present, Pressler moved our conversation ahead to the closure of the ensemble. “Daniel was developing a huge solo career. He wanted to leave the trio. Our manager said to me: ‘Do you want to take another violinist? As long as you are in the trio….’ I stopped him. No. I would rather have the trio stop. I wanted the audiences to wonder—why did we stop? I didn’t want them to say that we should have stopped sooner!” The trio performed their final concerts in 2008.
On December 17, 2013, several generations of former Pressler students from all over the country converged on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington to enjoy a ninetieth birthday celebratory concert. His students have often made note of the fact that he shares the same birthday as Ludwig van Beethoven. For this event, however, Antonín Dvorák was the most significantly programmed composer. The Emerson Quartet joined Pressler for Dvorák’s popular Piano Quintet and Daniel Hope (former Beaux Arts Trio violinist) and David Finckel (cellist) joined Pressler for the “Dumky” Trio, a work heavily imbued with a tender sweetness that Pressler has brought to life literally hundreds of times on the concert stage. I called attention to the fact that Hope, the violinist whose exit symbolized the final chapter of the Beaux Arts Trio, joyfully returned to play with Pressler for this special event. Was there any whiff of regret about the younger violinist’s desire to pursue other avenues for his career? Pressler closed his eyes and with a quiet, peaceful affection, simply murmured: “Ah, Daniel, the one I love so much—he is a true sweetheart.”
New horizons
Late 2014 and early 2015 was a tumultuous time for Pressler. He was always known for keeping his priorities—performing, teaching, and family—all in a delicate balance without the slightest drama, but life caught up with him rather suddenly in a whirlwind of events. First, Sara Pressler, his beloved wife of fifty-five years passed away on December 19. Determined to honor his commitments, he traveled to Germany to perform Mozart’s A Major Concerto, K. 488, with the Berlin Philharmonic in a New Year’s Eve concert. “It was a special night,” Pressler recalled. “The orchestra sang like angels.” Immediately following his return to the States, however, he found himself hospitalized, first in Indianapolis and later in Boston, with what he now describes, in an interview with Dr. Virendra Patel of Massachusetts General Hospital on slippedisc.com, as “a time bomb within me.” The success of that procedure and his subsequent recovery is a testament to modern science, as well as the willful tenacity of a man in his early nineties, still full of life and music. Of all these events, Pressler spoke with the calm wisdom of a man who has weathered many storms: “Oh yes, indeed, all that happened in a short amount of time.”
As always, Pressler was most interested in discussing his plans for the future. Though he wistfully explained that his health issues had caused him to give up the cherished opportunity to serve on the jury of the Fifteenth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the upcoming summer months were going to be as full as ever. A Wigmore Hall recital with baritone Matthias Goerne featuring works of Robert Schumann was the first engagement. With only two days of rehearsals scheduled before the concert, Pressler was eager to share his thoughts about this highly poetic and deeply personal repertoire. “Bring me the music from the piano,” he said. Flipping through the score with a quiet reverence, he began to consider tempi and expressive markings in the score. He pointed out interesting modulations, cross rhythms, and hemiolas, and eventually ended by lovingly humming the opening to Dichterliebe.
It is remarkable that in his late eighties and early nineties Pressler has turned his attention to collaboration in the lieder repertoire. Recitals with Christoph Pregardien in Schubert’s Die Winterreise and Heidi Grant Murphy in Schumann have been particular highlights of this relatively newfound interest. When questioning him about his many decades of trio, quartet, and quintet collaborations with the world’s finest string players compared to the current work with singers, he said: “With my string colleagues, I got to know how everything worked. I knew their fingerings and their bowings—and could even offer suggestions to them. But each singer breathes and shapes the line so individually, so personally—it is wonderfully unique.”
The teacher needs to make strong demand, while always knowing the potential of what each individual student can achieve.
Menahem Pressler
Alongside collaborations with singers, Pressler has had an increase of solo recitals and concerto appearances since the end of the Beaux Arts Trio. The previously mentioned Berlin Philharmonic performance was a return engagement, following his debut with the famed ensemble the pervious year. Amused again by his good fortune, he recalled a solo recital in Paris shortly after the Trio’s last concert. “Much to my surprise a critic asked: ‘why didn’t he stop playing with the trio earlier?’ Soon after that my manager called me. ‘Mitsuko Uchida is sick. She cannot play a recital in Vienna. Would you consider jumping in for her?’ And I said yes.” On short notice, Pressler played an all-Schubert recital. Once again the press that followed was glowing and again he reiterated: “really, truly, no one was more surprised than me!”
Though his programming often draws on repertoire by Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, and Debussy that he has performed for many years, Pressler eagerly told me that he was planning to open some upcoming concerts with Mozart’s haunting A Minor Rondo. “As a youth, I asked my teacher for it and he said, ‘You are too young.’ Later, I worked with Steurmann. I asked for it again. He said, ‘You are too young for it.’ Then I served on a competition jury with Horzowski. Competitors had the option to select that Rondo. He said, ‘You know, whoever chooses the Rondo won’t pass to the next round.’ And, true enough, everyone who selected the Rondo was eliminated. But, when I became eighty, I decided that no one is going to tell me I’m too young for it. I’m going to try my very best.”
When reflecting upon my own studies with Pressler, I mentioned the fact that each opportunity to peel away at a new composer or genre was equally invigorating.
Jerry Wong
Menahem Pressler and Jerry Wong, 2015.
Teaching
“Give your maximum to each and every student. Require the maximum from them, but at the same time be sure they never feel that you do not believe in them.” When asking Pressler about his teaching philosophy, this was the first of a long string of almost proverb-like statements that transcended piano playing to the teaching of almost any discipline, craft, or subject matter. “The teacher needs to make strong demands, while always knowing the potential of what each individual student can achieve.” Most former Pressler students can attest to memories of what we might call “tough love.” In William Brown’s Menahem Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching, an entire chapter is devoted to Pressler’s humor. One citation after another describes Pressler’s witty manner of teasing a student for poor tone color or an unconvincing interpretation. In conversation, though, Pressler warned of truly abusive teaching. “I once knew of a famous teacher who said: ‘Why should I show this to you? You’ll never be able to do it.’ You say that to a student and they will never recover from it. It’s a kind of critique that doesn’t lead anywhere. It doesn’t help the student. Maybe it’s good for the ego of the teacher, but in reality, a great teacher develops a trust with the student that encourages the student to fight for knowledge and get better, and better, and better.” He smiled at me: “You know this now as a teacher yourself. Some students will play more and some students will play less. You as the teacher should be clear about what wonderful things each student is capable of attaining.”
Pressler is a firm believer in a variety of different finger exercises by Johannes Brahms, Charles-Louis Hanon, and Isidor Phillip. He advocates for them as a warm-up, as well as a means of developing a greater physical vocabulary at the instrument. “I still believe firmly in the exercises. I give them to my students when we are starting from the beginning. I do them myself. They strengthen my technique and still help me.” Gazing downward at his hands and then lifting them fluidly into the air, he said: “they help me create my own hands and fingers.”
As a juror of such prestigious competitions as the Van Cliburn and Queen Elisabeth, Pressler knows this particular phenomenon all too well. He maintains a positive and completely informed attitude about competitions: “I encourage students to enter, but to be aware of how fickle juries are and how unexpected the decisions can end up being. Jurors often have a limited view of how particular repertoire should or should not sound. If a student wins, great. If they don’t win but played well, it’s also just as great.”
When visiting Bloomington for Pressler’s ninetieth birthday concert, various faculty members expressed awe at his devotion to his teaching. His ability to stay long hours at school and work with his entire class in two days before resuming concerts tours has not withered. “My studio is as strong as ever,” he told me. “I have a wonderful class.” I asked if the students had changed much over his many years at Indiana University. He acknowledged that while the playing level is as high as ever, there is the occasional tendency to focus on too narrow a repertoire or skill set. “Sometimes teachers who want to send their students to an outstanding music school like Indiana don’t take enough care for the fundamentals—the foundation, so to speak, of the pianistic development. They teach them a piece or some pieces and say ‘with this particular repertoire you can get in.’ But it can’t be just that piece. It has to be something fundamental that you give the student which will stay with them in a variety of styles.”
As our conversation reluctantly drew to a conclusion, I begged Mr. Pressler for a few words of wisdom for how to gauge longevity in such a demanding career. Echoing the laments of so many friends and colleagues in the piano teaching profession regarding juggling practicing alongside student demands, I asked him how he had kept everything going for so long. He remembered his late wife Sara and expressed gratitude for her presence in the teaching studio over the years. “She was like a mother to my students. She was a strong part of the upbringing of the students and helped with the day-to-day scheduling. My wife was a magnificent coach who knew how to encourage the students. It was a special gift.” These days he enjoys input and companionship from his daughter Edna and also appreciates the many friends he has made all over the world who happily support and encourage him in his endeavors. He concluded: “In the end, really for me, the beauty of music has given a reason for my life.”
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, Bach met King Frederick the Great of Prussia on May 7, 1747. During this visit, Frederick the Great inspired one of Bach’s most important final works, his Musical Offering, BWV 1079.
Bach arrived in Potsdam on May 7, 1747 at the court of Frederick the Great. Bach’s son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, worked at the court in service of the king. Despite his significant reputation as an excellent composer and musician, C. P. E. Bach was not given significant status at court by Frederick the Great, who preferred other musicians such as flutist Johann Joachim Quantz.1 The elder Bach’s visit to the court was marked by a flurry of activity and concerts. Among Bach’s itinerary were several concerts including an organ recital in the Heilig-Geist Kirche in Potsdam. Bach spent time playing on a number of other keyboard instruments throughout Potsdam including several fortepianos designed by builder Gottfried Silbermann. Previously, J. S. Bach was unenthused by the fortepianos, however, during this visit, he was very impressed with the design and capabilities of the rapidly developing new keyboard instrument.2 This impression led him to promote the instrument—he even assisted in the sale of one!
One of Silbermann’s fortepianos.
C. P. E. BachKing Frederick the GreatJ. S. Bach
In addition to his recital and other musical activities, J. S. Bach spent time performing for Frederick the Great. Frederick wanted to test Bach’s notable improvisational abilities and wrote out a challenging fugal subject for a ricercare. Bach improvised a three-part ricercar on one of Silbermann’s fortepianos. Despite this feat, the king dared Bach to improvise a six-part ricercar upon the same subject. Bach attempted, but was unhappy with his improvisation and decided to compose a more polished version of his improvisation.3
After returning from Potsdam, Bach was inspired by his visit with Frederick the Great and began writing his Musical Offering, BWV 1079.4 The work consists of works for keyboard as well as chamber music for flute, violin, and continuo. At first, Bach wrote out the three-part ricercare using Frederick the Great’s fugal subject and then reimagined it within a six-part ricercare. The other movements from this set, including multiple canons and a trio sonata, are all built from the same fugal subject. The work is dedicated to Frederick the Great and remains one of Bach’s most impressive works.
A playlist featuring all of Bach’s Musical Offering, BWV 1079, recorded by the Netherlands Bach Society.
Want to learn more about Bach and his keyboard compositions? Watch this webinar below by Marvin Blickenstaff from our archive: Bach Inventions: Prepare, Present, Perform.
Christoph Wolff and Ulrich Leisinger, “Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel,” Grove Music Online, 2001; Accessed 24 Apr. 2023, oxfordmusiconline-com.uc.idm.oclc.org/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278185.
Christoph Wolff and Walter Emery, “Bach, Johann Sebastian,” Grove Music Online, 2001; accessed 24 Apr. 2023, oxfordmusiconline-com.uc.idm.oclc.org/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278195.
Christoph Wolff and Walter Emery, “Bach, Johann Sebastian,” Grove Music Online, 2001; accessed 24 Apr. 2023, oxfordmusiconline-com.uc.idm.oclc.org/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278195.
Christoph Wolff and Walter Emery, “Bach, Johann Sebastian,” Grove Music Online, 2001; accessed 24 Apr. 2023, oxfordmusiconline-com.uc.idm.oclc.org/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278195.
Wolff, Christoph, and Ulrich Leisinger. “Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel.” Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 24 Apr. 2023. oxfordmusiconline-com.uc.idm.oclc.org/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278185.
Wolff, Christoph, and Walter Emery. “Bach, Johann Sebastian.” Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 24 Apr. 2023. oxfordmusiconline-com.uc.idm.oclc.org/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278195.
Special thanks to the Stella Sick, chair of the NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference Technology committee, for this post.
Why is technology important for pianists today?
The last three years have expanded everyone’s base-level of technology usage. This newly found familiarity opened doors to immersive music experiences, exciting collaborations, reaching new audiences, and expanding repertoire. The technology committee continues its mission to push the envelope and encourage and support music teachers in their journey to incorporate technology in the most organic and helpful way.
What is something you wish every pianist knew about technology?
Technology may touch nearly every aspect of modern teaching and performing, but we are all still creative spirits at our core. The goal will always be finding the right tools for delivering an expressive and meaningful message through music.
What are three tips you would give a pianist interested in incorporating technology?
Be open to new ideas.
Begin with creative goals—let your imagination guide you.
Build a community of collaborators.
What is one free resource about technology that you would recommend?
There are many groups on social media that are a great source for information and support. YouTube can also be a great resource.
What makes your track at NCKP 2023 special? Why should people attend?
The NCKP Technology committee has brought cutting edge technology to the teaching community since the very beginning, demonstrating distance learning and creating multimedia programming before the internet could handle video. The committee’s collective experience represents a treasure trove of useful information. This year’s program is both reflective and progressive with a wide range of topics. We’re excited!
What are you most excited for at NCKP 2023?
We are excited to see colleagues and friends who we have not seen in a long time. We always cook up the most outrageous ideas when we are together in Lombard!
Interested in learning more about technology for pianists?Attend NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference! View the NCKP 2023 schedules to explore all Technology track sessions:online and in-person.Register before May 8, 2023 for extended early bird pricing.
QUICK LINKS FOR NCKP 2023: THE PIANO CONFErENCE
REGISTER: Register before May 8, 2023 to secure the extended early bird rate!
Special thanks to the Janet Tschida, chair of the NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference Young Musicians: Birth to Age 9 committee for this post.
Why is working with young musicians important for pianists today?
The Young Musicians Track’s theme of “Learning Music from the Inside Out” endeavors to support teachers aspiring to implement an aural/experiential approach as the pathway to literacy for young musicians. Many of the musical and technical challenges young students face during lessons can most effectively be addressed by engaging in research-based activities such as singing, chanting, moving, and improvisatory activities. These practical strategies for training the ear and body, although associated with teaching young children, are applicable and effective at every level.
What is something you wish every pianist knew about young musicians?
The Young Musicians Track’s theme of “Learning Music from the Inside Out” involves a whole-body experience “music is conceived by our brains, played through our bodies, perceived through our sensory organs, and then interpreted by our brains” (Trainor, 2008). Thus, an “inside out” approach builds a critical foundation for musical thinking. Research indicates that our brains develop more and faster during the first five years than at any other time in life. Thus, an “inside out” approach to learning music at this age is crucial for what can be accomplished musically later in life. For example, when a pianist owns a variety of musical ideas before playing them (whether read or improvised), effective self-assessment ensues, leading to efficient improvement in musicality and technique.
What are three tips you would give a pianist interested in your teaching young musicians?
Three tips for teachers interested in the Young Musician’s Track theme of “Learning Music from the Inside Out:”
As we endeavor to build a toolkit of strategies for implementing an “inside out” approach, we want to maintain an open mind to new ideas from a variety of approaches such as Dalcroze, Music Learning Theory, Feierabend’s Conversational Solfege, Kodaly, Orff, Laban Movement, etc.
Being willing to experiment with our own voice and body and actively participate in the learning process will help us grow as musicians and teachers.
Changing the focus from “making pianists into musicians” to “helping musicians become pianists” will more effectively guide us as we facilitate music learning activities for our students.
What makes your track at NCKP 2023 special? Why should people attend?
Early Childhood Music and Movement is a research-based field, and NCKP may be ground-breaking among music conferences in its support for networking skilled piano teachers with early childhood music experts. What a unique opportunity! Many teachers feel uncomfortable teaching young children, but our Young Musicians Track can help them build skills and confidence for facilitating music learning from the “inside out” beginning at birth! Furthermore, the practical strategies for training the ear and body, although associated with teaching young children, are applicable and effective at every level.
What are you most excited for at NCKP 2023?
Our Young Musicians Committee is so excited to connect and network in person this year! Developing a network of professional connections will provide valuable support as we prepare for another year of growing young musicians. We highly applaud the 2023 NCKP staff for planning an absolutely amazing conference consisting of diverse topics and experts, and we can’t wait to learn and revitalize ourselves as teachers and musicians.
Interested in learning more about teaching young musicians?Attend NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference! View the NCKP 2023 schedules to explore all Young Musicians: Birth to Age 9 track sessions:online and in-person.Register before May 1, 2023 for early bird pricing.
QUICK LINKS FOR NCKP 2023: THE PIANO CONFErENCE
REGISTER: Register for the conference. Full, online-only, student, and single-day registrations available!
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we remember Taiwanese composer Ma Shui-Long who died on May 2, 2015 at the age of 75. A composer of a wide oeuvre of works, Ma is known for his efforts to blend Eastern and Western compositional traditions.
Ma Shui-Long, born on July 17, 1939, grew up in Ji-long and Jiufen, coastal cities in northern Taiwan. Ma’s family had limited financial resources, and because of this, Ma did not receive formal musical training. Despite this, Ma enjoyed painting and listening to music as a teenager.1 Ma taught himself to play using Ferdinand Beyer’s piano books and studied music theory and harmony from a textbook he found at a bookstore as a teenager.2 Ma entered the National Institute of the Arts in Taiwan where he studied composition with Xiao Erhua. Following the completion of his studies, Ma moved back to Ji-long and began his teaching career, working with students at local schools and helping to organize orchestras and choirs in the area.3
In 1972, Ma received a full scholarship to study at the Regensburg Kirchenmusikschule (Regensburg Music School) and worked with Oskar Sigmund. Following this round of study, Ma returned and began teaching at various institutions throughout Taiwan including Soochow University, Tainan University of Technology, and later, the Taipei National University of the Arts. Throughout his teaching career, Ma maintained significant relationships with musicians and educators in the United States. In 1986, Ma received a Fulbright Scholarship to lecture at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.4 In 2002, Ma’s music was featured at the Lincoln Center in New York City and received rave reviews, leading to performance and lectureship opportunities throughout the United States.5 Ma’s career garnered him several awards including Honorary Doctorates from National Tainan University and the National Taipei University.
Scholar Hsun-Yin Chang describes Ma’s output in three stages.6 Ma’s earliest compositions feature heavy use of Taiwanese folk material and influence of Eastern compositional elements. In his middle period, Ma’s works became more avant-garde, featuring significant dissonance and an improvisational style.7 Ma’s final compositional period includes music that combines both Western and Eastern compositional elements, styles, and materials.8 Ma’s compositional philosophy became a central focus in his teaching as he developed college courses to help students embrace Chinese and Taiwanese musical elements in deep, significant ways.9
Ji-long, Ma’s hometown.
Ma’s compositions include a number of important piano works. In 1979, Ma collected Taiwanese and Chinese folk material, documenting over two hundred different melodies.10 In 1980, he arranged these in his 32 Piano Pieces on Taiwanese and Chinese Folk Tunes for Children. The collection, designed for intermediate pianists, presents folk melodies in exciting and popular arrangements. In “The Northwest Rains Pouring Down,” the pianist uses glissandi up and down the keyboard to evoke a intense rainstorm, whereas “The Little Brook” presents interesting broken harmonies, melodic material in the left hand, and arabesques of quintuplets and sextuplets. Listen to recordings below by pianists Meng-Chun Chien and Rick Stanton.
Pianist Meng-Chun Chien performs a selection fromMa’s 32 Piano Pieces on Taiwanese and Chinese Folk Tunes for Children.
Rick Stanton, piano, performs selections fromMa’s 32 Piano Pieces on Taiwanese and Chinese Folk Tunes for Children.
Ma’s works for solo piano include multiple sonatas, the Taiwan Suite (1967), and his Yugang sumiao (A Sketch of the Rainy Harbor, 1969). Yugang sumiao consists of four movements: “Rain,” “Harbor Views on Rainy Nights,” “The Girl who Collects Seashells,” and “At the Temple Gate,” which depict various scenes in his hometown Ji-long.11 The pieces, in addition to evoking Taiwanese folk music, also depict sounds of various Chinese instruments including the zheng, known for its unique glissandi sounds.12 Listen to this recording by pianist Menghua Lin.
Pianist Menghua Lin performs Ma’s Yugang sumiao (A Sketch of the Rainy Harbor, 1969).
Interested in learning more about music by composers from Asia? Read this article below by Lisa Yui titled “Piano Music by Composers from Asia: A History of Self-Discovery.”
Ting-Yao Huang, “Selected Pieces by Six Taiwanese and Chinese Composers of the Twentieth Century: Ty-Zen Hsiao, Shui-Long Ma, Fan-Ling Su, Kwang-I Yin, Cehn Yi and Tan Dun,” Ph.D. Diss. University of Washington, 2015, 15.
Hsun-Yin Chang, “A Study of Selected Taiwanese Pedagogical Solo Piano Music of the Twentieth Century,” PhD. Diss. University of Northern Colorado, 2016, 31.
Ting-Yao Huang, “Selected Pieces by Six Taiwanese and Chinese Composers of the Twentieth Century: Ty-Zen Hsiao, Shui-Long Ma, Fan-Ling Su, Kwang-I Yin, Cehn Yi and Tan Dun,” Ph.D. Diss. University of Washington, 2015, 15.
Hsun-Yin Chang, “A Study of Selected Taiwanese Pedagogical Solo Piano Music of the Twentieth Century,” PhD. Diss. University of Northern Colorado, 2016, 32.
Ibid.
Hsun-Yin Chang, “A Study of Selected Taiwanese Pedagogical Solo Piano Music of the Twentieth Century,” PhD. Diss. University of Northern Colorado, 2016, 53-4.
Hsun-Yin Chang, “A Study of Selected Taiwanese Pedagogical Solo Piano Music of the Twentieth Century,” PhD. Diss. University of Northern Colorado, 2016, 54.
Ibid.
Hsun-Yin Chang, “A Study of Selected Taiwanese Pedagogical Solo Piano Music of the Twentieth Century,” PhD. Diss. University of Northern Colorado, 2016, 54.
Hsun-Yin Chang, “A Study of Selected Taiwanese Pedagogical Solo Piano Music of the Twentieth Century,” PhD. Diss. University of Northern Colorado, 2016, 128.
Ting-Yao Huang, “Selected Pieces by Six Taiwanese and Chinese Composers of the Twentieth Century: Ty-Zen Hsiao, Shui-Long Ma, Fan-Ling Su, Kwang-I Yin, Cehn Yi and Tan Dun,” Ph.D. Diss. University of Washington, 2015, 20.
Ting-Yao Huang, “Selected Pieces by Six Taiwanese and Chinese Composers of the Twentieth Century: Ty-Zen Hsiao, Shui-Long Ma, Fan-Ling Su, Kwang-I Yin, Cehn Yi and Tan Dun,” Ph.D. Diss. University of Washington, 2015, 21.
Mittler, Barbara. “Ma Shuilong.” Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 24 Apr. 2023. https://www-oxfordmusiconline-com.uc.idm.oclc.org/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051529.
Chang, Hsun-Yin. “A Study of Selected Taiwanese Pedagogical Solo Piano Music of the Twentieth Century.” PhD. Diss. University of Northern Colorado, 2016.
Huang, Ting-Yao. “Selected Pieces by Six Taiwanese and Chinese Composers of the Twentieth Century: Ty-Zen Hsiao, Shui-Long Ma, Fan-Ling Su, Kwang-I Yin, Cehn Yi and Tan Dun.” Ph.D. Diss. University of Washington, 2015.
