An Identification of Past Influences and Current Trends in Australian Piano Pedagogy

Monika Rutkowska

BMus (Hons)(Newcastle)

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Philosophy (Music)

June 2018

This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

Statement of Originality

I hereby certify that the work embodied in the thesis is my own work, conducted under normal supervision.

The thesis contains no material which has been accepted, or is being examined, for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to the final version of my thesis being made available worldwide when deposited in the University’s Digital Repository, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 and any approved embargo.

Monika Rutkowska

June 2018

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Acknowledgements

I would sincerely like to thank my principal supervisor Conjoint Associate Professor Rosalind Halton and co-supervisor Nathan Scott for their valuable insights, guidance and willingness in helping me to grow both as a researcher and a writer. I would like to extend thanks to Dr Gian-Franco Ricci, who was the inspiration for studying this topic, and also my principal supervisor for the first half of this research project.

A warm thank you to the survey and interview participants in this study, who generously gave their time, their reminiscences, and thoughts on teaching to this project. It was a privilege to hear about and study their insights and experiences.

I am especially grateful to my family, whose support, patience and willingness to be a listening ear led me to complete this project. I would like to extend heartfelt thanks for their encouragement throughout the journey of writing this thesis.

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Table of Contents

Statement of Originality ...... ii

Acknowledgements ...... iii

List of Figures ...... vii

List of Tables ...... vii

Abstract ...... viii

1.0 Introduction ...... 1

2.0 Literature Review...... 3 2.1 Background ...... 3 2.2 Project methodology as derived from Literature Review ...... 5 2.3 Thematic Frameworks ...... 7 2.3.1 National schools of piano playing/teaching ...... 7 2.3.2 German School ...... 9 2.3.3 Russian School ...... 10 2.3.4 French School ...... 11 2.3.5 Hungarian School ...... 12 2.3.6 Spanish School ...... 13 2.3.7 Italian/Neapolitan School ...... 14 2.3.9 English School ...... 15 2.3.8 American School ...... 16 2.4 Pedagogical Themes ...... 18 2.4.1 Pianists on Interpretation ...... 18 2.4.2 Concepts of technique as identified by selected pianists ...... 19 2.4.3 Different teaching styles ...... 19 2.4.4 Perceptions of teaching philosophy/approach ...... 20 2.4.5 Repertoire ...... 21 2.5 One-to-one teaching at Conservatoria ...... 23 2.6 Summary ...... 26

3.0 Methodology ...... 27 3.1 Method design ...... 27 3.2 Limitations ...... 32

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4.0 Survey Responses ...... 34 4.1 Duration of teaching experience ...... 35 4.2 Average age group/level of students ...... 36 4.3 Location of international teachers as mentioned in the survey ...... 37 4.4 Participants’ diplomas and tertiary qualifications ...... 39 4.5 Completion of diplomas and/or tertiary degrees by students of survey participants ...... 41 4.6 Students of participants participating in competitions ...... 42 4.7 Participants and workshops/masterclasses ...... 44 4.8 Aspects of teachers’ approaches identified by survey participants ...... 45 4.9 Professional musical activities of former students ...... 47 4.10 Contributions of participants’ current students to the local community 49 4.11 Summary ...... 51

5.0 Interview Responses ...... 52 5.1 Introduction ...... 52 5.2 Teaching approaches of research participants...... 53 5.3 Keeping track of key points at lessons: experiences of participants ...... 76 5.4 Significant influences of interview participants ...... 84 5.5 The next generation of pianists ...... 101

6.0 Conclusion...... 110

Bibliography...... 113

Appendix A: Online Survey Questions ...... 119

Appendix B: Interview Questions ...... 120

Appendix C: Interview Transcripts ...... 121 Bernadette Harvey – 26/05/2016 ...... 121 Clemens Leske – 26/05/2016 ...... 126 Daniel Herscovitch – 05/05/2016 ...... 132 Jeanell Carrigan – 30/06/2016 ...... 137 Kim Burwell – 06/12/2016 ...... 142 Lillian Camphausen – 14/03/2017 ...... 147 Luba Totoeva – 07/12/2016 ...... 152 Meriel Owen – 11/11/2016...... 157 Monika Laczofy – 01/06/2016 ...... 162

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Natalia Ricci – 02/06/2016 ...... 168 Priscilla Alderton – 20/06/2016 ...... 192 Robin Baker – 25/11/2016 ...... 201 Sorina Zamfir – 27/05/2017 ...... 208 Stephen McIntyre – 08/11/2016 ...... 214 Wendy Bisset – 27/10/2016 ...... 224 Vicky Yang – summary of interview from 07/12/2016 ...... 231

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List of Figures Figure 1: Number of survey participants according to location ...... 27 Figure 2: Length of teaching and corresponding number of teachers ...... 35 Figure 3: Percentages of teachers who work with particular age groups ...... 36 Figure 4: Completion of diplomas/tertiary degrees by participants’ students ...... 41 Figure 5: Students of participants who have been involved in competitions ...... 42 Figure 6: Number of participants involved in giving performance workshops/masterclasses ...... 44 Figure 7: Frequency of contributions to the local community ...... 50

List of Tables Table 1: Location of teachers with whom survey participants studied ...... 38 Table 2: Number of teachers who have received diplomas or completed tertiary degrees in music ...... 39 Table 3: Types of musical activities that former students of survey participants are involved in ...... 47

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Abstract This thesis looks at a significant but little studied aspect of piano teaching traditions in Australia: the influence of external traditions and international teachers on the development of piano study in this country. As a country with a relatively short history in the Western musical tradition, many Australian pianists have furthered their music study with international teachers, either abroad or in Australia. There have also been many overseas piano teachers who have chosen to settle in Australia.

While there have been similar studies completed that have investigated international influences on piano teaching, including in America, Europe, and Asia, this is expected to be the first study that looks specifically at the influences of international pianists on piano teachers currently living and teaching in Australia.

The data collected as part of this study is based on the responses of a selection of highly experienced and well-regarded performers and teachers with most currently linked to various Australian tertiary institutions. Through a survey and interviews conducted with a selection of the whole group of survey participants, this study seeks to define the various ways that these participants perceive they have been influenced. This study will investigate the experiences and perceived influences on Australian pianists who have studied with internationally-trained teachers, either overseas or in Australia. Additionally, this thesis will address the potential impacts that these influences and experiences are having on the next generation of pianists in Australia.

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1.0 Introduction This research project aims to discover how a selected group of piano teachers in Australia perceive they have been influenced by their studies with internationally- trained teachers either overseas or in Australia. This is a significant area of study as pianists in Australia have increasingly taken the opportunity to pursue studies overseas, or have been able to study in Australia with internationally-trained teachers who have immigrated or have come to Australia for a limited period of time to give a series of masterclasses.

Aspects to be investigated include the types of influences that participants feel have impacted their current teaching approaches, as well as the musical and aspirational influences they are now contributing to the next generation of pianists. This data has been collected through an online survey and a semi- structured interview.

The observations made from data collected through these methods will give an overview of the types of international influences encountered by Australian pianists through teaching approaches in technique, interpretation, and repertoire. They may also indicate the trends that could become evident as the next generation of pianists takes up positions as performers, teachers, and other roles in music.

Chapter 2 of this thesis discusses the literature of the field, including looking at the history of music conservatories in Australia, thematic frameworks such as national schools of piano playing and teaching, and pedagogical themes that have been used to derive survey and interview questions for this study.

Chapter 3 focuses on the discussion and reasoning for this study’s methodology choice, and also addresses the limitations of this study. Additionally, this chapter outlines the process of how project participants were recruited.

In Chapter 4 responses from survey participants are discussed. This chapter gives an overview of all survey responses and showcases general themes that have come up from respondents. The responses are kept anonymous in this chapter, as one of the points that were agreed upon in the human ethics application for this project, was that pianists were allowed to participate in one part of the data collection process of this study without being identified.

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Lastly, Chapter 5 involves a more in-depth discussion of responses from participants, specifically focusing on the responses of participants who agreed to take part in a semi-structured interview. This chapter covers themes such as various teaching approaches, repertoire choice, and how participants have kept track of key points from their own lessons when they were students. Additionally, this chapter investigates the types of influences that interview participants perceive as having had a significant impact on their current teaching and playing approach. The last section of this chapter focuses on the ways that the next generation of pianists (students of project participants) are getting involved in their local communities through teaching, performance (both as solo and orchestral performers), conducting, arts administration, and other areas of music. Additionally, this section investigates whether students of participants have gone on to pursue graduate music studies and/or have gotten involved in competitions.

The list of online survey and semi-structured interview questions are available in Appendixes A and B, with interview transcripts (from participants who agreed to have their transcript included) and the summary of one interview available in Appendix C.

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2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Background Australia has a relatively short history in the Western classical musical tradition, and in its development has been influenced by external traditions. New South Wales was colonised in 1788, with further colonies being established until there were a total of six Australian colonies by “the end of the 1850s” (Australian Government 2018).

The European connections of Australian pianists have been evident from the nineteenth century. The first piano brought to Australia arrived with the first fleet in 1788, with records indicating that the owner of this piano was the English surgeon George Worgan (Lancaster 2015). According to Stewart Symonds, George Worgan was “the first piano teacher in Australia”, giving lessons to Elizabeth McArthur before gifting his piano to her (Musa 2016). Further pianos arrived in the following years and were regarded as a symbol of social success. According to Australian historian Heather Clarke (2011), during the nineteenth century, pianos were considered to be an instrument that represented the status of the middle classes of people.

The pianist Immanuel Gotthold Reimann was born in the German settlement area of Hahndorf, South Australia in 1859, and became a teacher at the Hahndorf Academy (Est. 1857) in 1875. In 1880 Reimann travelled to Germany upon his father’s wish and studied with teachers such as Theodor Kullak, Hans Bischoff, and Xaver Scharwenka (Laubenthal 1988). According to Laubenthal (1988) “Reimann was central to South Australian musical life”, being the “major editor of music” for the Australian Music Examinations Board, and the “first president of the Musical Association of South Australia”. Additionally, he established the Adelaide College of Music in 1883.

In Victoria, Melbourne-born Waldemar Carl Seidel (1893-1980) who although being of German descent, did not represent any “particular school of pianism” in his teaching (Tregear 2002). He instead chose to focus on developing each student’s style with regards to technique and interpretation. In his lifetime he taught at the Albert Street Conservatorium (now known as the Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music) and privately. According to Tregear (2002), many of

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Seidel’s students established significant careers including Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Noel Mewton-Wood, Phyllis Batchelor, and Don Banks.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, several Conservatoria were established throughout the major cities of Australia. Both the Elder Conservatorium of Music and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music were founded in the late nineteenth century in 1883 and 1894 respectively, with the Melbourne Conservatorium being established approximately fifteen years after “Australia’s first music degree was awarded in 1879 by the University of Melbourne” (University of Melbourne, n.d).

In 1915 the State Conservatorium of Music in Sydney was opened. It aimed to provide “tuition of a standard at least equal to that of the leading European Conservatoriums” (Sydney Conservatorium of Music 2016). Belgian conductor Henri Verbrugghen directed the Conservatorium until his resignation in 1921. During his time there, Australia’s first full-time professional orchestra and the Conservatorium High School were established, which created “a model for music education across the secondary, tertiary and community sectors” (Sydney Conservatorium of Music 2016). A branch of the State Conservatorium, the Newcastle Conservatorium, was established, making a “rich contribution to the development of the musical life of the region through concerts by staff, students, and visiting artists and lecturers” (Newcastle Conservatorium 1984). The Queensland Conservatorium was formally established in 1957.

This study will endeavour to explore how international teachers of the twentieth century have influenced piano teaching in Australia. It will give the opportunity to gain insight into the identity and significance of influential teachers and countries have been in the development of piano pedagogy in Australia and may additionally provide an insight into the future teaching trends in Australia. This study differs from others done in the field of piano pedagogical influences (Tzeng 1994, Lin 2002, Arx 2006) in that it may be the first study of its kind to be focusing specifically on pianists based and working in Australia. Additionally, it will serve as a document for future comparisons of past and present trends in Australian piano teaching.

Inevitably there are multiple factors that may be regarded as influencing piano teachers, such as periods of study with different teachers, and understanding gained through the student’s own study, for example through books and listening

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to live performances and recordings. However, this study will focus primarily on how piano teachers in Australia have been influenced through their studies with international teachers in the twentieth century, particularly in Europe, USA, Canada, and Asia.

Dr Katie Zhukov addresses this particular perspective of influence in her 2004 dissertation:

As a student in several tertiary music institutions in Australia and overseas I came in contact with a number of outstanding teachers who left a lasting impression on my development as a musician. (Zhukov 2004, 1)

This aligns with Professor Zhou Guangren’s experience:

I was lucky enough to have different teachers at different times when I needed the guidance…I’ve learned a lot from many great teachers, which helped create my own teaching philosophies. (Lin 2002, 25)

This is the approach to the study of teachers’ influence that will be used for this study. Several studies completed in the field of influences on piano pedagogy will be discussed below concerning their research methodologies.

2.2 Project methodology as derived from Literature Review

In her 2002 dissertation Piano teaching philosophies and influences on pianism at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China, Dr Chi Lin explores the development of the piano program at the CCOM since 1950 and discusses how the program has been affected by Russian influences. Additionally, interviews were conducted with conservatory teachers Zhou Guangren, Li Qifang, and Yang Jun to discover perceptions of how they had been influenced in their approach (Lin 2002).

This study examines first the influences of each of the above teachers, and then their current teaching approach. It discovers, for example, that Zhou Guangren was influenced by the Russian approach particularly in her technique:

…high fingers, the tightness of arms, the stiffness of wrists, etc., were the problems I encountered. I did not play with the better methods until the Russian teachers arrived…They set examples of good piano teaching. (Lin 2002, 25)

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Another example of the influence of the Russian piano school is given in the interview with Li Quifang. She states that the Polish pianist Zbigniew Drzewiecki taught her. Although Drzewiecki had his early training in Poland, he chose to impart the traditions of the Russian approach to his students. Li Qifang states that in her studies with him the most important aspect of piano playing that she learnt was “to transfer her arm weight to the fingers with relaxed arms, and shoulders and flexible wrists” (Lin 2002, 29). Lin claims that this approach is “derived from the Russian teaching system” (Lin 2002, 29).

Further on in the study, Professor Yang Jun reveals in the interview that in his studies with the Russian pianist Igor Hemanisky in Australia, he “became more knowledgeable about Russian pianism and repertoire” (Lin 2002, 34).

Another study that uses research methods such as interviews and surveys/questionnaires to collect data is the 2007 thesis The effects of Russian piano pedagogy on Vietnamese pianists, with comparisons of effects of Vietnamese piano pedagogy and UK piano pedagogy by Min Thanh Nguyen. The first part of the study investigates how various cultural contacts have influenced Vietnamese pianists, particularly from the Russian piano school (Nguyen 2007). Results were analysed and discussed in four categories of the Russian piano school approach, which included a rigorous approach to technical training, the production of a solid and powerful sound, full singing tone on the piano, and playing from memory (Nguyen 2007). The study additionally sought to discover what differences were apparent in the teaching approaches of teachers trained in Russia, Vietnam and England. To investigate this part of the study the following categories for the questionnaire were used:

Country Influence…Teacher Control…Student’s Control…Practical and Technical Advice…Piano Technique…Repertoire…Technical Skill… Nationalism…Listening…Teaching Style and Approach. (Nguyen 2007, 104-107)

A different type of study focuses on the teaching of a single master pianist. The 2006 dissertation The teaching of Claudio Arrau and his pupils: Piano pedagogy as cultural work by Dr Victoria von Arx, addresses the concept of influence by tracing how the Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau has influenced his students and students of his students. This study examines Arrau’s teaching principles to discover their origin in nineteenth-century piano pedagogy and then narrows down to focus on how his approach has influenced his students. These principles

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are described through Arrau’s published interviews, in addition to the testimonies of Arrau’s pupils. The study uses interviews with teachers who studied with him, and transcriptions of lessons that have been given by Arrau and some of his students (Arx 2006). In this way, this study examines how Arrau’s influence has been transmitted to both his students and the students of his students.

One aspect that stands out in the results of this study is that Arrau’s students were greatly affected not just by his musicianship, but also by his personal attributes, which they described as very kind and respectful. Von Arx summarises:

Arrau’s teaching, therefore, imparted to students not only knowledge and skills, but a model that they admired and sought to emulate. The respect that they received from Arrau reinforced their own musical personalities; and they responded with a concern for the musical personalities of their own students. (Arx 2006, 215)

The next section will present a discussion of some thematic frameworks that have been drawn on in interviews conducted as part of this study.

2.3 Thematic Frameworks

2.3.1 National schools of piano playing/teaching

In 1795 the Conservatoire de Musique in Paris was founded. It was considered to be the “prototype of all conservatories” (Gerig 2007, 287). Between 1800 – 1825, several other conservatories were founded in locations such as Brussels, Vienna, and Prague. The Leipzig Conservatory was established in 1843, with the St. Petersburg Conservatory founded in 1862. Gerig (2007) claims that the concept of national schools of piano began to emerge at this time.

In the present thesis, national schools of piano will be defined as piano teaching approaches based on piano teaching characteristics regarded as being typical of a particular country as they are observed and discussed by writers in the field (Lourenco 2010).

The legendary nineteenth-century Polish pedagogue Theodor Leschetizky observed stereotypical characteristics of different national schools of piano.

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Annette Hullah, a student of his, summarises the following observations in her biography, Theodor Leschetizky:

• English – good workers but bad executants.

• American – ready for the unexpected, possessing a solid technical facility, but studying music to keep up to date rather than because they love it.

• Russian – immense technique, passionate and dramatic, with extraordinary vitality.

• Polish – poetic, refined, tender, and an instinctive rhythm.

• French – dainty, phrasing well, and clear-cut playing.

• German – devotion to detail and intense love for music but lacking brightness in mood (Hullah 2009, Gerig 2007).

In a 2010 article, the Portuguese pianist Sofia Lourenco listed the following differentiating characteristics she observed when researching schools of piano:

• A preference for specific or general repertoire • Characteristic tone • Pedal use • Different piano manufacturers • Pedagogical methods/approaches • Approach to technique and interpretation (Lourenco 2010).

Like Leschetizky a century earlier, Lourenco claims that national schools of piano do exist; however, she states that the artistic personalities of performers often dominate the characteristics that piano schools may have. She declares that the characteristics of each national school of piano are generic and therefore do not apply directly to all performing artists. Her rationale is:

When we attend a piano recital it is the individual artistic personality that stands out and not a certain piano school. There is still the reality circumstance of the individual career of each international artist, with frequent contact with distinct cultural influences. (Lourenco 2010)

Similarly, the American music critic and journalist Harold Schonberg in reference to twentieth-century schools states that although there are various national

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schools of piano, Western artists are influenced by their learning in whichever countries they travel to:

…all Western artists, whatever their origin or training, cannot help but reflect a cosmopolitan point of view. As they travel the world, they automatically take in the best that their colleagues everywhere have to offer. (Schonberg 2006, 464)

This aligns with the view of Russian pianist Boris Berman, who remarks:

[T]he current cross-fertilization of traditions has left hardly any national school untouched by other influences. (Berman 2000, 7)

These viewpoints expressed by many leading pianists and teachers may suggest that up to a certain point in time there were schools of piano playing, but due to the increase in the range and number of travelling pianists, characteristics of different schools have been combined, making the schools harder to distinguish from one another. The Sydney-based Polish pianist and pedagogue Dr Wojciech Wisniewski states:

…the status of national piano schools has changed in recent years…they have undergone an evolutionary step and are currently shifting towards unification. (Wisniewski 2015, 5)

In the following section, a brief overview of the historical influences of some national schools of piano will be provided.

2.3.2 German School

Harold Schonberg comments that as a general outline, the twentieth-century German school “stresses planning and leaves nothing to chance” (Schonberg 2006, 446). He claims:

This school has its roots and alliances in the German and Austrian repertoire from Bach through Brahms…though all German pianists naturally have at one time or another investigated all aspects of the literature… (Schonberg 2006, 446)

According to Jonathan Dobson (2016), the Polish-American pianist Arthur Rubinstein was “by training a product of the great nineteenth-century German school of piano playing”. Rubinstein’s pupil Janina Fialkowska remarks:

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…he was very big on structure, a trait he possibly learned in Germany, where he studied as a child. I think that because in the German school they are big on that aspect of musicmaking. (Mach 1991, 82)

A historical perspective is given in the book Famous Pianists and Their Technique by the American Professor Reginald Gerig (2007), who states that many publications on the physiological approach to playing the piano – “especially on the functions of the arm” were written from 1890, with the number of publications increasing “at the turn of the [twentieth] century” (329).

Gerig claims that this trend was particularly prominent in Germany; however he considers it to have also affected other pianists such as Tobias Matthay in England and Marie Jaell in France. In Germany, Rudolf Breithaupt took on this approach, becoming “the most influential German proponent of arm-weight technique” (Arx 2006, 73).

Like Matthay, Breithaupt focused on the concepts of weight and relaxation. He encouraged beginner students to use a low bench when practising to encourage relaxation and advised that to develop a “loose arm”, the arm must hang loosely from the shoulder and swing freely (Norman 1968, 142).

2.3.3 Russian School

Regarding the teaching system in Russia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the Russian pedagogue Josef Lhevinne emphasised the careful grading that occurred to ensure a thorough approach that prevented the pupil from advancing too rapidly, stating:

The pupil is expected to be able to perform all the pieces in one grade acceptably before going to the next grade. (Cooke 1999, 173)

Harold Schonberg has noted that up to the 1950s, Russian pianists had particular characteristics in common:

…a warm sound, an extroverted quality, a good deal of controlled freedom, a generosity in interpretation, an ability to vary rhythms without ever losing the basic meter. (Schonberg 1995)

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Adding to the above features, Nguyen (2007) states that one of the prominent features of the Russian school is “weight and depth of tone” (47).

The above sources may indicate that the Russian piano school was regarded as more distinctive up to the first half of the twentieth-century than it has been in more recent years.

2.3.4 French School

Reginald Gerig describes the nineteenth-century French school technique as being supple and refined, “descending from the classical refinement of the Couperin-Rameau harpsichord touch” (Gerig 2007, 315).

Harold Schonberg describes the French school during the twentieth century as:

…clear, logical, fast in tempos, on top of the keys…relatively restricted in dynamics. (Schonberg 1995, 293)

In a 2012 interview, the French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet spoke about his experience of studying with French piano teacher Lucette Descaves at the Paris Conservatory. He recalls that while her piano playing was “international”, her teaching reflected the French school (Smith 2012, 12). Thibaudet remarks:

…she had the most to say about French music, since she had such close associations with those composers…She also served as Marguerite Long’s assistant, in days when national schools of piano playing were very specific. (Smith 2012, 12)

Another famous French pianist was Marguerite Long, who being a famous interpreter of Debussy’s works (Dunoyer 1993), also taught her students how to interpret works of French composers, and had a technique that was considered to be opposite of the Russian school technique with regards to weight and sound (Timbrell 1999a).

A French pianist who was influential but was seen as not typical of the French school was Lazare Lévy. In Charles Timbrell’s book “French Pianism: A historical perspective”, Lévy’s student Monique Haas describes him:

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Like Cortot, he really was ahead of his time here in France because he used more arm and back for strength. His teaching wasn’t founded on the digital, quasi-harpsichord technique of his teacher Diémer. (Timbrell 1999a, 114-115)

It appears that the ‘old’ French piano school emphasised teaching and interpretation of French repertoire, and its overall technique was quite different from other schools that emphasised a heavier weight-based approach to piano playing. Through a few French pianists who had a different approach to playing and teaching than other French pianists of their time, the French school gradually began to change to one that embraced concepts such as using “more arm and back for strength” (Timbrell 1999a, 114-115).

2.3.5 Hungarian School

In an interview with the Hungarian-American pianist Yolanda Mero (1887 – 1963), the influences of the two central Hungarian musical institutions that were founded by Franz Liszt were discussed. Mero comments:

While there are many private teachers in Budapest, the government institutions set the standard and all other teachers are obliged to live up to that standard. (Cooke 1999, 303-304)

Regarding the Hungarian approach, Mero regards the general music instruction to be similar to that of German schools. However, regarding Hungarian students, she states:

…the pupils are characterized by the enthusiastic Hungarian temperament and the interest in the work is intense in the extreme. There is constant rivalry among the pupils even in such matters as technic or simple scale playing. (Cooke 1999, 304)

This may suggest that although there can be similarities between the teaching approach of several countries, the specific cultural identity of a nation itself can have a significant impact on how that teaching is received.

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2.3.6 Spanish School

The Spanish piano school, which has its origins in the Catalan piano school, is represented by pianist-composers such as Enrique Granados (1867-1916) and Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) (Morales 2016). According to Carey Abendroth, these two composers were remembered most for “their technical mastery of the keyboard and their contributions to Romantic keyboard repertoire” (1990, 2). Although both composers were from Spain, their composition styles show differences. Abendroth (1990) remarks that Granados’s style resembles elements of Chopin’s composition style, whereas Albéniz demonstrates elements of Impressionism in his compositions.

According to Carol Hess (1993), Granados advocated the concept of “the arm, forearm, wrist, and fingers working together as a coordinated unit” (92). She also claims that Granados supported the concept of physical flexibility in piano playing, as opposed to the stiff hand approach that was popular among teachers at the turn of the twentieth-century (Hess 1993).

Harold Schonberg remarks that Albéniz is remembered more as a composer than a pianist, although “he did much touring as a virtuoso pianist and was called The Spanish Rubinstein” (Schonberg 2006, 362). He is considered to be “one of the most important and influential figures in the history of Spanish music” (Musical Sales Classical 2018).

One of the most important Spanish pianists during the twentieth-century is Alicia de Larrocha (1923-2009), who was famous for her small stature and her vibrant interpretations of Spanish music by composers such as Granados and Albéniz (Encyclopedia of World Biography 2018).

De Larrocha was known for being able to overcome the problems associated with having small hands:

...exercises which stretch the hands are helpful. However, by using your musical imagination in pedaling, phrasing, and so forth, you can still produce the big sound and overcome the technical problem. (Mach 1991, 60)

Alicia de Larrocha emphasises the importance of fingering when learning new repertoire. She remarks:

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I may decide on using a certain finger to produce a particular tone, but if it doesn’t work, then I have to change the fingering accordingly. That’s why I don’t advocate practicing away from the piano as some pianists do…(Mach 1991, 58- 59)

Additionally, she observes that her technical approach to the piano would depend on the sound she desired to create:

You must see what technique you must apply at this moment in this particular piece you are playing. But it must always be natural, not forced. (Mach 1991, 61)

2.3.7 Italian/Neapolitan School

According to Australian pianist and musicologist Viviana Ferrari, most Italian pianists of the twentieth century, including Michelangeli, Maurizio Pollini, and Aldo Ciccolini have their roots in the Neapolitan piano school, which was based on the approach used by music conservatories in Naples, Italy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Ferrari 2009).

Regarding representatives of the Neapolitan/Italian school, Harold Schonberg states:

If there is an Italian School, it is represented by the puzzling and redoubtable figure of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, the most important Italian pianist after Busoni…(Schonberg 2006, 461)

Michelangeli (1920-1995) was a well-known piano pedagogue who influenced many twentieth-century pianists, including Martha Argerich and Maurizio Pollini. During the 1950s he taught at the Italian conservatories in Bologna, Venice and Bolzano and also taught master classes in Italy and Switzerland (Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli 2009).

Michelangeli had a reputation for being unpredictable and frequently cancelled his concerts because he would not play unless “everything was exactly to his liking” (Naxos Records 2016).

According to his wife Giuliana Michelangeli, he did not enjoy teaching private lessons although he often taught in place of his father when he was younger

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(Leiser and Orga 2002). She described his teaching at the Martini Conservatory, Bologna:

He believed all piano teaching was too easy, especially in Italy…He wanted students to have more years of study and more knowledge of the repertoire…Arturo expected pupils to know all the repertoire and be grounded in technical principles. (Leiser and Orga 2002)

2.3.9 English School

In 1822, the Royal Academy of Music was founded at its initial location in Hanover Square in London and was moved to its current location on Marylebone Road, London in 1911 (Royal Academy of Music 2016).

The German pianist Mendelssohn was a frequent performer and conductor in Britain during 1829 – 1847. Professor Reginald Gerig claims that Mendelssohn had a substantial impact on establishing English pianism in the nineteenth century:

His refined, classical style appealed greatly to the methodical English temperament. (Gerig 2007, 361)

In 1880, Tobias Matthay, the legendary English piano teacher, began teaching at the Royal Academy of Music (Gerig, 2007). His approach was based on the “psychological as well as physical aspects of piano playing” (Fallows-Hammond 1984, 267).

According to Crappel and Miruku (2013), one of the main concepts that Matthay taught was that of forearm rotation. This concept is defined as “the movement your arm makes when you turn your hand from palm down to palm up in front of your body” (Topham 2013).

Regarding Matthay’s teaching approach, Crappell and Miruku (2013) state:

Matthay taught his students to be creative, and he himself was creative in his teaching approach for each individual; therefore, he detested the idea of a adhering to a “Matthay” method.

His teaching was reportedly “ahead of his time” with several of his students remarking that he “immediately addressed issues in his lessons whether musical

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or technical” rather than allowing his students to independently figure it out in their practice (Crappell & Miruku 2013). In this way, he gained the reputation of being “an immediate problem solver” (Crappell & Miruku 2013). Some of Matthay’s most famous students include Dame Myra Hess, Raie de Costa, Ray Lev, Nina Milkina, Eileen Joyce, Eunice Norton, and Bruce Simonds (Naxos Records, 2016).

2.3.8 American School

According to Michael James (1994), four principal European piano teachers influenced American piano pedagogy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. These were:

• The German pianists Ludwig Deppe and Rudolf Maria Breithaupt • The Polish pianist Theodor Leschetizky • The English pianist Tobias Matthay

James reveals that these teachers influenced American piano pedagogy “through their writings and the writings of their American students” (James 1994, 18).

Gerig (2007) states that the pedagogue William Mason (1829-1908) appears to be the first American to have a significant contribution to piano pedagogy. From 1849, Mason studied in Europe with pedagogues such as Alexander Dreyschock, Ignaz Moscheles, and Franz Liszt. When he returned to America in 1854, he settled in New York where had a significant musical influence over the next fifty years (Gerig 2007, Boulton 2016). According to the American pianist Thomas Novara, William Mason built “upon much of the groundwork which Deppe laid” (Novara 2002, 31). More recently (in the last twenty to twenty-five years), it is considered that the approach to teaching piano in America has become based on the knowledge of how the pianist's body functions. According to Niels Troldborg (2011), there are three main approaches:

1) A school that focuses on the forearm as the basic foundation of piano technique…2) A school that focuses primarily on the use of arm weight and the correct motion of the arms/shoulders…3) A school based on the Alexander technique that teaches “correct alignment and balance”… (Troldborg 2011)

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Troldborg states that while each one of these approaches “contains some factual and correct knowledge about how to move the body”, each approach also has gaps in knowledge that are provided by one of the other approaches. For example, a student may not be able to do the forearm movements of one school correctly if they do not “move the upper arms and shoulders correctly as described by the arm weight school” (Troldborg 2011).

There has been controversy surrounding the concept of national schools of piano for many years. It appears that as music careers have developed in the globalised world of the twenty-first century, the boundaries and differing characteristics of national piano schools have become increasingly ill-defined and difficult to pinpoint. This may be largely due to the fact that it is now the norm for concert pianists to travel all over the world and contribute to the mix of influences wherever they go. As was mentioned earlier, pianists automatically choose which characteristics they showcase because they have more options of where and with whom they study with than in previous eras. No two pianists will be precisely the same even if trained in the same ‘school’ or by the same teacher. This is because each pianist’s experience is different, and so how they are influenced and the extent of that influence depends entirely on the individual pianist.

As a theme, the concept of national piano schools is useful because it may assist with tracing the influences of particular piano teachers. It gives an overview of possible characteristics that pianists may have been exposed to in specific parts of the world or when studying with particular teachers. This will provide a basis from which to analyse the results gathered from the surveys and interviews conducted as part of this study.

In the next section, some themes that have been identified in interviews with pianists from the Clavier Companion magazine will be discussed. These themes will be used to analyse results from interviews and surveys with participants of this project.

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2.4 Pedagogical Themes

While surveying the literature in the research field, including interviews with piano teachers from magazines such as Clavier Companion, the following subcategories of influence were discovered:

• Interpretation • Technique • Demonstrations by teacher during lesson vs. verbal instruction • Teaching philosophy/approach • Repertoire choice

2.4.1 Pianists on Interpretation

The American pianist and author Professor Charles Timbrell described his experience of studying privately with the French pianist Jeanne-Marie Darre during the 1980s. He reflected that his teacher never tried to teach interpretation or style, rather she assumed that her students would develop their approach to interpretation once they became familiar with a piece (Timbrell 1999b).

While Jeanne-Marie Darre did not intentionally teach interpretation, other teachers certainly did. One example is the German pianist and pedagogue Martin Krause. In the book “Arrau on Music and Performance”, Claudio Arrau was asked about how frequently interpretation was discussed in his lessons with Krause. Arrau remarked:

All the time…Everything he said was inspiring, and I could work from there…He would speak of Liszt’s way of breaking chords, and of trilling. He taught us several ways to break a chord…(Horowitz 1999, 38-39)

It appears that Krause would speak from his experiences of hearing various pianists such as Brahms, Busoni, and Liszt to inspire his students’ approach to interpretation (Horowitz 1999).

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2.4.2 Concepts of technique as identified by selected pianists

Regarding Krause’s technical approach, Arrau reflected:

He believed in practicing difficult passages at different speeds, and in different rhythms, and in different keys. And then staccato, leggiero, martellato – all sorts of combinations… (Horowitz 1999, 37)

However, when it came to hand position and arm weight, Arrau stated that because he naturally played in a relaxed manner, Krause never addressed any particular movements of the arms and hands (Horowitz 1999).

In a 2012 interview, the French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet spoke about his experiences of learning technique from the distinguished French pianist Lucette Descaves. He stated that although her playing was considered to be international, her teaching was in fact representative of the French School (Smith 2012). However, not all aspects of her teaching were characteristic of the French School:

She wanted you to play deeply into the keys, and with clarity…had a solution for every technical challenge and clever practice devices for problem passages. It was not really the high-fingered playing that one often associates with the French School…(Smith 2012, 13)

As was mentioned earlier, no two pianists will have the same experience of studying piano due to differing perspectives. Therefore even if a pianist has been taught using a particular approach, it does not necessarily follow that they will use subsequently use that exact approach in their own teaching.

2.4.3 Different teaching styles

When searching through the literature of the field, it became apparent that there were teachers that emphasised teacher demonstration during the lesson and those who preferred verbal instruction or explanation. This was observed between Claudio Arrau and his assistant teacher Rafael de Silva, who often took over the teaching of Arrau’s students when he was away playing at concerts:

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Arrau depended very much on verbal descriptions and images and not at all on demonstration, while de Silva depended more on demonstration and not very much on verbal instruction. (Arx 2006, 169)

Von Arx claims that this difference in approach might demonstrate how the different aspects of teaching were divided between Arrau and de Silva (2006). She states:

…de Silva was mainly responsible for teaching Arrau’s technique…The technical preparation provided by de Silva freed Arrau to concentrate on musical and interpretive points. (Arx 2006, 169-170)

Regarding the use of demonstration and verbal instruction, Dr Katie Zhukov remarks:

While verbal directions and explanations are equally necessary, a practical demonstration can synthesise all the diverse elements together into a complete performance, which can be absorbed by all the senses (visual, aural, and tactile). (Zhukov 2012, 35).

2.4.4 Perceptions of teaching philosophy/approach

In a 2011 interview with the American pianist Anton Nel, he spoke about how his teacher, the legendary Bela Siki, had a significant contribution to his development as a musician:

…he taught me how to find my own voice. This is probably the greatest gift a teacher can give a student…Mr. Siki allowed and encouraged me to become an independent thinker. (Pierce 2011, 12)

Another teaching philosophy, which emphasised the element of sound itself, was that of Rosina Lhevinne. The American music critic Winthrop Sargeant noted:

…in the tradition of Anton Rubinstein, she always starts out by getting the student to project the appropriate mood, and to do so with beautiful piano tone as well as adequate technique. “You imagine the sound you wish to produce, and then you produce it,” she tells her students over and over. (Gerig 2007, 305)

Charles Timbrell described his experience of studying privately with the French pianist Jeanne-Marie Darre during the 1980s:

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Her advice was always pragmatic…fingering, pedalling, tempo relationships, and texture. She did not try to teach style or interpretation…She rarely demonstrated her technical or musical ideas, but preferred to suggest a bit more of this or a bit less of that. (Timbrell 1999b, 11)

In her 2015 conference paper titled “Philosophy in the Studio”, Jody Heald mentions the effectiveness of teachers who have used a master-apprentice model in their piano teaching, including teachers such as Artur Schnabel, Heinrich Neuhaus and Nadia Boulanger. She states:

Many accounts are given by students of such teachers emphasising the unique quality of the relationship and the significance of such a relationship in their own lives. (Heald 2015, 5)

As seen from the above examples, various teaching philosophies/approaches impact students in different ways. Some are perhaps based more on teaching the student independence; others on producing a beautiful tone; still others are primarily focused on technique, or on a master-apprentice model. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately it is the individual student’s perspective and learning style that decides how a particular teacher will influence them.

2.4.5 Repertoire

When asked about his approach to teaching repertoire, the American pianist Anton Nel remarked:

I expect my students to do research on the piece they are working on, since any work has a reason for its creation, and the composer was in a certain place – literally and figuratively – when the composition took place, and all of this most certainly has an influence on the performance. (Pierce 2011, 16)

Regarding his choice of repertoire for his playing, Anton Nel comments that although he admires much contemporary music, he does not play it. He goes on to say:

Some of my students have been superbly gifted in this medium, being able to learn and absorb contemporary scores with ease, but it is not my thing. (Pierce 2011, 14-15)

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Regarding his teacher Lucette Descaves’s approach to repertoire, the French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet remarks:

She had a tremendous knowledge of the repertoire and could always assign exactly the right piece at exactly the right time…No matter how well you thought you knew a work, she could say something new and fresh. (Smith 2012, 13)

Referring to his approach to repertoire, the American pianist Leon Fleisher states:

I think that students should be exposed to as much literature as possible, as early as possible – when they are the most curious, and while they have no fear. Then two or three years later, we can come back to the repertoire for more in-depth learning. (Tarchalski 2009, 25)

Fleisher emphasises the importance of learning a work, allowing it to settle for a while and then returning to it. He states that this approach gives the repertoire “time to settle, to sink in a different way, resulting in a broader understanding of the work” (Tarchalski 2009, 26).

Another aspect of repertoire concerns the student’s choice in the type of repertoire they learn. Here the intention is to assist the student in staying motivated in their practice. This issue is addressed in the 2016 journal article by Monash University-based Zijia Cheng and Dr Jane Southcott entitled ‘Improving students’ intrinsic motivation in piano learning: Expert teacher voices’. This article addresses the viewpoints of three experienced piano teachers. With regards to the selection of repertoire, it was observed that all three teachers allow for the student to make some sort of choice with the pieces that they learn:

Rosie allows students to choose which music book they prefer and which music they want to play but she does guide their choices…Valerie also tactfully negotiates with students about repertoire to help them choose achievable pieces…Margaret assesses the chosen repertoire to decide whether it is appropriate for the student. If it is too simple or too difficult, she will change [modify the arrangement of] the repertoire (Cheng and Southcott 2016, 53)

According to these authors, this type of approach allows the student to feel that they are involved in the repertoire selection process and thus may give them greater motivation to practice than if they had no part in choosing the type of repertoire that they learn.

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All of these quotations illustrate different emphases in piano teaching, some of which are based on nineteenth-century approaches, while others show more contemporary attitudes based on the context of today’s music-making and playing careers.

2.5 One-to-one teaching at Conservatoria

The teaching of one-to-one lessons at Conservatoria is a significant topic to address, as many of the project participants are currently teaching at Conservatoria and other tertiary institutions where one-to-one teaching has traditionally been the primary means of instruction. One particular source in the field that addresses this is the journal article Teacher and student perspectives on one-to-one pedagogy: Practices and possibilities by Gemma Carey and Catherine Grant (2015). This study investigates the perceptions of teachers and students at one Conservatorium in Australia and is part of a larger research project led by the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University (in partnership with a few other institutions) in the field of one-to-one pedagogy1. This is an important source in the field of piano pedagogy, as it examines the “nature, value, effectiveness and challenges of one-to-one learning and teaching” (Carey and Grant 2015, 5). This study considers the value of one-to-one teaching, using interviews with both teachers and students to discover their perspectives on this concept.

One-to-one teaching provides a focus on the individual and their needs, which impacts how a particular teacher influences the student. Each student will have different individual needs at different times to other students, and this determines and shapes the content of their one-to-one lessons. This viewpoint is addressed in the above study by one of the student participants, who states:

When you teach [one-to-one], you’re teaching...what that person needs to know at this particular point in their stage of development. (Carey and Grant 2015)

This concept of adapting teaching to the needs of the individual student is discussed in the American educator Carol Ann Tomlinson’s book ‘The

1 Transformative One-to-One Project - http://www.transformative121.com/

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Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of all Learners’, where she speaks about the use of differentiated instruction in education. She states:

…people differ in their abilities and strengths. Differentiated instruction simply takes into account those differences…our understanding of what we call differentiated instruction stems from expanded insight into the human brain and how children learn. (Tomlinson 2014, 29-30)

Another interesting point raised by a teacher who participated in the above 2015 study is that of promoting musical independence through their one-to-one lessons, rather than producing a range of students that mimic their teacher’s approach to music entirely. The teacher states:

I don’t want to churn out replicas of myself – far from it. I’d rather [students] retain their own voice, which I think you can still do with more verbal guidance [than modelling]...I think the big things is [students]...coming out of school and then going into university...They’re used to being a lot more looked after...But when they get to the Con I always try and promote musical independence. (Carey and Grant 2015, 12)

Similarly, another teacher from the above study remarks:

My main goal is to make [students] self-sufficient, by giving them these physical tools, things that they can control...when I talk to them in terms of what the muscles are doing, or this is how you arrange your body...then that belongs to them. It doesn’t belong to me anymore. They’ve taken ownership of it. (Carey and Grant 2015, 13)

This comment links in with one of the central concepts presented by some participants of this research project, which is that of equipping their students with the tools they need to continue their learning independently (Harvey 2016).

Another study in the field of music teaching at Australian Conservatoriums has been conducted by Dr Katie Zhukov, who is based at the University of Queensland. Her 2004 PhD dissertation Teaching styles and student behaviour in instrumental music lessons in Australian conservatoriums addresses trends and “patterns of behaviour exhibited by teachers and students” and identifies “teaching and learning styles present in advanced applied music teaching” (Zhukov 2004, xvi).

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Dr Zhukov’s dissertation provides an in-depth investigation into various aspects of the one-to-one music lesson, as well as looking at the relationship between the teaching approach of the teacher, and the learning response of the student. This approach is similar to one of the aspects addressed in this present thesis, which is that of investigating how research participants have responded to their teachers’ teaching approach and the way this has influenced them in their current teaching approach.

Another major Australian contributor to the field of one-to-one music teaching is Dr Kim Burwell, based at the University of New South Wales, whose 2012 book Studio-Based Instrumental Learning investigates the teaching and learning behaviours of teachers and students during instrumental one-to-one lessons. Burwell states that:

...what happens in an individual lesson can be uniquely complex, rich , sophisticated and exciting, the source of inspiration, identity and practical support at the centre of many musical lives. (Burwell 2012, 47)

Dr Burwell investigates various factors from the point of view of a selected group of teachers and their students to discover how the behaviours and style of teaching or learning have an impact on how the lesson is carried out, and the overall impression that it gives to both the teacher and student of the lesson. This is a new and original approach to the subject of one-to-one teaching. This type of research gives a valuable insight into the factors that can impact how successful, helpful, or inspirational a lesson may be for the student.

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2.6 Summary

As discussed earlier, this study will investigate two sets of thematic frameworks: the influence of national piano schools, and themes derived from interviews with piano teachers. While there may not be definitively identifiable piano schools in the twenty-first century due in part to the large number of travelling pianists and the globalised nature of piano training and performance careers, the framework of national piano schools is still a useful perspective that can give an insight into where certain musical traditions may have originated and their characteristics. This study will use themes gathered from the literature as categories to analyse results collected from the interviews and surveys conducted with participants of this project. The major research questions that will be addressed in this thesis are:

1) What are the major influences that project participants identify as being significant on their present playing and teaching approaches? 2) How significant are the influences that have been transmitted from teachers to the project subjects, and in what ways have those influences been modified in their current teaching and playing practice?

Finally, reflections by the interview subjects on their current teaching practice are considered as they pass on and modify their learnings for a new generation of musicians.

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3.0 Methodology

3.1 Method design

In order to study the interactions between current piano teachers and their past studies overseas and/or in Australia with international teachers, I decided to select a group of participants who were prepared to speak about their experiences.

Participants for the research project were located by searching through websites of Conservatoria in Australia and the Australian Music Examinations Board, in addition to sending out emails through various music teacher directories such as those of the Music Teachers Association websites for each Australian state. Emails inviting teachers to participate were sent out again a week after initial contact, and if there was no response, no further contact was initiated.

It was aimed to recruit participants from every state in Australia. However, once responses were received, the resulting group of participants came from only four states, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Figure 1 below shows the number of survey participants from each of these four states.

Number of survey participants

1 2

South Australia 9 Victoria New South Wales Queensland 22

Figure 1: Number of survey participants according to location Of these figures, 15 participants located in New South Wales were female, whereas 7 were male. From Victoria, survey respondents consisted of 5 females

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and 4 males. This was followed by 2 female participants from South Australia, and 1 from Queensland. Responses were seen predominantly from teachers in New South Wales, with more female respondents taking part in the survey than males across all four of the above states.

Participants were current piano teachers who had studied either overseas or with a piano teacher in Australia that had come from overseas. Additionally, participants had at least five years of teaching experience and were over twenty years of age. The group of participants in this project includes some of the most eminent and respected pianists and teachers currently working in Australia.

The data collection for this project consisted of a two-tiered methodology encompassing an online survey and a semi-structured interview.

For the first step of data collection, participants were asked to fill out an online survey consisting of questions about their experiences as students of international teachers, as well as about their own experiences as teachers. The survey was anonymous which allowed participants who did not wish to be identified to participate in the first part of the research project.

Participants who also wished to participate in a one-to-one semi-structured interview and who agreed to be identified, were invited to reflect in greater depth on their experiences with international teachers. The interview also included questions about their own teaching approach and the effect those influences may contribute to their students’ development. These interviews were conducted either via telephone, Skype or face-to-face, and participants were identified. Out of the interview participants who chose to remain in the project, 13 teachers were interviewed via telephone, 2 via Skype, and 2 were interviewed face-to-face. Additionally, interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Edited transcripts of the interviews are given in Appendix C. Interviewees were given the opportunity to review and edit the transcripts of their interviews. One participant requested to have a summary of their transcript rather than the transcript itself included. This summary is given in Appendix C with the interview transcripts. Another participant chose not to have their transcript included in the appendix at all. It was essential to respect the wishes of participants in the treatment of their materials.

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The data from the surveys and interview transcriptions was analysed for common pedagogical themes, which will be discussed in Chapters 4 and 5 of this thesis.

The reason for choosing this method of collecting data was that it was considered that a live dialogue with the participants would potentially have more to reveal about the experiences that they feel have shaped their present way of being a musician and their teaching. Participants did not have to explain anything that might have made them feel uncomfortable. A semi-structured format was selected for the interview to allow participants to speak beyond the question if they wished to do so. This also allowed myself as the researcher to ask them additional questions to clarify what they were saying, as well as giving the opportunity to encourage and guide them to speak more on any particular aspect of their teaching or experiences with their teachers. It additionally gave me the opportunity to slightly change the wording of the interview questions to relate to each participant’s experience and approach in the interview.

An example of a study that has also used online surveys as a research method is the 2006 dissertation Music practice habits: Teacher, parent, and student perspectives by Jessica Harris. Online surveys were used to collect data that helped the researcher “to better understand current student practice attitudes, strategies, and habits” (Harris 2016, iii). Like Harris’s study, this present thesis also took the approach of allowing research participants to take part in an online survey while keeping their identities confidential. Likewise, the data collected as part of this study was analysed and presented showing emerged patterns from survey responses.

In the 2008 book In-depth interviewing: Principles, Techniques, Analysis, the semi-structured interview tool is referred to as a process that “entails researchers using the broad topic in which they are interested to guide the interview (Minichiello, Aroni, and Hays 2008, 51). The authors of this book further state that:

An interview guide or schedule is developed around a list of topics without fixed wording or fixed ordering of questions. The content of the interview is focused on the issues that are central to the research question, but the type of questioning and discussion allow for greater flexibility than does the survey-style interview. (Minichiello, Aroni, and Hays 2008, 51)

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An example of a study that has used the semi-structured format for conducting interviews is Paul McMahon’s 2012 dissertation Baroque performance practice pedagogy and the twenty-first century practitioner: The tenor repertoire of George Frideric Handel. McMahon states:

The practitioner interviews were designed to inform the research questions and gather coherent data for coding, analysis and reporting within the study. (McMahon 2012, 183)

The purpose of using the semi-structured format for the interviews in this present thesis, was to allow for flexibility in asking the order of questions (in the event of participants’ answering questions ahead of time or the researcher wishing for the participant to expand further on a particular aspect they are speaking on) and to also have flexibility in how questions were to be posed to participants, depending on the speaking style of the participant and the previous topic that they were speaking on.

This study will take on a phenomenological philosophy in the collection and analysis of data. Dr Lucy Bainger from Monash University states that Phenomenology “addresses the reality that all data collected through interviews and observations is coming through a person’s consciousness; both that of the participant and that of the researcher” (Bainger 2011, 32)

The phenomenological approach used for this study is perhaps best aligned with and understood within Professor Darren Langdridge’s definition that it “aims to focus on people’s perceptions of the world in which they live in and what it means to them; a focus on people’s lived experience” (Langdridge 2007, 4). An example of this approach is found in Lisa Schumacher’s 2010 thesis The Caregiver’s Journey: A Phenomenological Study of The Lived Experience of Leisure for Caregivers in The Sandwich Generation Who Care For a Parent With Dementia, in which the author uses a phenomenological approach to document the experiences of caregivers who have to manage their time and attention between caring for dependent children and dependent adults with Alzheimer’s and related disorders (Schumacher 2010).

Dr Dawn Joseph, based at Deakin University, writes about her use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in researching music education. She states that she uses it to “record, explore, understand and interpret the participants’ experience in order to gain valuable insight into their lives” (Hartwig

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2014, 146). Dr Joseph additionally comments on the idea that the use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in analysing interview transcripts is made up of three stages:

- Reading the transcripts and making descriptive comments about the content, by identifying ideas and emotional responses from the interviewee. - Considering “the how and what” of the collected data from a functional point of view and “trying to understand the interviewees’ point of view.” (Hartwig 2014, 153) - Where the “researcher moves to a stage of interpreting the data”, and focuses on making sense of the meaning behind the way the interviewee has worded a response (Hartwig 2014, 153).

She states that after these three stages the researcher is now ready to “start developing themes” (Hartwig 2014, 153).

An example of where Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis has been used in the field of music education is discussed in the 2010 journal article Many layers of meaning: Multicultural music education in Victoria, Australia by Deakin University-based Dr Jane Southcott and Dr Dawn Joseph. This study involved asking students questions relating to their “educational, cultural and musical background” (Southcott and Joseph 2010, 193). The authors state:

…as a phenomenological study, this research focuses on the perceptions of the interviewees…the analysis initially involves identifying emergent themes. Then connections are made and a summary created that is illustrated by direct quotations. (Southcott and Joseph 2010, 193)

This present study will similarly take on an interpretative phenomenological analytical approach through documenting and analysing the experiences of pianists who have dedicated themselves to high level study and performance, as well as to teaching the next generation of pianists.

In this case, I am documenting the experiences of piano teachers who have studied with international teachers, and the impact that those experiences are having on their current teaching practice and their students. These teachers form a complex network of links between the generation of international teachers with

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whom they have studied, and the next generation of pianists in Australia whom they are teaching.

The phenomenological approach is aligned with the types of study undertaken by both Langdridge and Dr Joseph in that this study aims to document piano teachers’ perceptions of how they feel they have been influenced in their piano playing and teaching, and the extent to which the teacher believes they are transmitting influence to their students. Rather than searching for an absolute truth, it is looking at how the different experiences of various teachers affect how they perceive that they have been influenced.

By looking at the perceived field of influence experienced by each participant, and determining what they feel to be the underlying reasons behind the extent of the influence, it is aimed to examine the possibility for trends to emerge demonstrating a link between specific pedagogical traits of teachers and the strength of their impact on the student. The use of a phenomenological approach to this study has uncovered the impact of extraordinary experiences on people who dedicate themselves to piano performance and teaching. It is a study of teacher characteristics and the discovery of experiences that lies behind their impact.

This research project was approved by the University of Newcastle’s Human Research Ethics Committee, Approval No. H-2016-0046.

3.2 Limitations

An effort was made to draw on a field of participants from all states and territories in Australia; however, participants who came forward mainly came from South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. The list of potential participants was found by searching through websites for each state’s Music Teacher’s Association and Australian Music Examinations Board. Additionally, potential participants were found through websites of Australian Conservatoria. Potential participants were contacted via email inviting them to participate in this study.

There were no participants who came forward from other Australian states or territories apart from those listed above. A more extensive sample size of project

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participants would have been desirable to see a wider range of data and trends amongst piano teachers in Australia who have studied with international teachers. However, the restriction to participants working in the above states means that the study has produced a concentration of responses from teachers working in metropolitan centres of Australia with the greatest population density in the Australian music profession.

While this study looks at how research participants feel they are influencing the next generation of pianists, it would also be useful to conduct a study with students of research participants to investigate whether particular influences continue to be impactful in the next generation and to learn how trends are changing amongst the next generation of pianists. Although not a central emphasis of this thesis, a valuable aspect that could be specifically addressed in future research is that of investigating how participants chose their path of overseas study. For example, discovering whether it was by choice of institution, country, background, or by contacting specific pianists – and also how these contacts were made i.e. through their teacher, institution, or application for a scholarship etc.

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4.0 Survey Responses

This survey responses chapter presents data collected from those participants who chose to participate in the interview and/or the survey, and will discuss the overall data and trends from surveys conducted with research participants. The identity of participants who participated in the survey alone is kept confidential, and therefore the survey results below will be a general overview of the collection of survey responses received. There were thirty-four survey participants, of whom twenty chose to additionally participate in a semi-structured interview. Three subsequently chose to leave the study (according to the terms of participation agreed in the terms of University Research Ethics clearance) giving a total of seventeen interview participants.

A greater depth of discussion, including participant identification, will be included in Chapter 5 where results from participants who chose to additionally participate in an interview will be discussed.

In each of the following sections the survey question will be given, followed by a summary of the results for each question. From an analysis of the survey results, it became apparent that while a significant percentage of participants have studied only in a one-to-one teaching situation, many have studied one-to-one while also supplementing their learning experiences in various types of masterclass situations. Additionally, a significant number of participants who studied in one-to-one and masterclass teaching situations did so while working towards the completion of tertiary music qualifications. These included postgraduate qualifications gained both in Australian and in overseas institutions.

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4.1 Duration of teaching experience

Q: How long have you been teaching?

30

25

20

18 15 Female Male 10

5 3 7 1 2 2 0 1 5 - 10 years 11 - 15 years 16 - 20 years 20+ years

Figure 2: Length of teaching and corresponding number of teachers

The results indicate that 25 out of the 34 survey participants have at least twenty or more years of teaching experience, with 16 of these participants currently located in New South Wales, 6 from Victoria, 2 from South Australia, and 1 in Queensland. While the majority of participants have had this extended experience of teaching, other teachers took part in the survey with fewer years of teaching experience as shown above in Figure 2. This allowed the researcher to note whether any trends differentiated between the teachers who have been teaching for a significantly more extended period in comparison to those who have taught for a shorter period. It has also allowed consideration of trends in study over a period of several decades. It is interesting to note that the participant who identified as being part of the 5 – 10 year teaching experience category, is also focused on teaching the youngest range of students – 3 – 9 years of age. In the 11 – 15 years category, all three participants stated that they teach students at tertiary level, with one teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate level students. Out of the participants who have between 16 – 20 years of teaching experience, 2 are focusing on tertiary level students, with another 2 teaching teenage students, and one participant focusing on primary age students. Results

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indicate that teachers belonging to the 20+ teaching experience category are focused on teaching a combination of primary, secondary and tertiary students.

4.2 Average age group/level of students

Q: What is the average age group/level of students that you teach?

Out of the teachers surveyed, the following percentages for approximate age groups were given. The percentages indicate how many of the subjects teach students in a particular age group. Figure 3 below contains an overview of the teachers surveyed and the approximate age groups that they tend to focus on in their teaching.

Proportion of teachers who work with each age group 60%

50%

40%

30% 51% 54% 20% 45%

10% 24% 12% 15% 0% 0 - 5 6 - 10 11 - 15 16 - 20 20 - 25 26+ years years years years years

Figure 3: Percentages of teachers who work with particular age groups

On analysis of data collected from survey, results indicate that there is an emphasis on participants teaching students mainly between 11 – 25 years of age. For those who indicated the average level of students that they teach: 56% said that they teach beginners, 50% said they teach intermediate level students, and 68% indicated that they teach advanced pianists. 56% of survey participants also indicated that they specifically teach tertiary level students.

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Six participants stated that they teach from beginner through to advanced level students. Three teachers indicated that they have worked at various particular levels in the past, but are now focusing on a particular age group/level of students. One of these teachers stated that except for a few adult students, their current focus is on teaching younger students. However, this participant has worked with students up to Masters level in the past.

It appears that most survey participants who currently teach tertiary level students are focusing on this level of students at the moment because they are employed by various music university or conservatorium institutions.

4.3 Location of international teachers as mentioned in the survey

NB: In this dissertation, whenever the term ‘international teachers’ has been used, it is referring to pianists with an overseas professional career who have taught students in this research project either overseas or in Australia.

Q: List the piano teachers you studied with, and where you studied.

While there were exceptions, the majority of survey participants indicated that they have studied with two or more international teachers as part of their study experience. Some of the international teachers were based in Australia at the time that participants studied with them. However, most studies with international teachers took place overseas in a wide range of locations around the world, including Europe, the USA, Canada, and Asia. Table 1 below indicates the number of international teachers who taught participants in a specific location around the world. The number of teachers listed in each location is derived solely from the survey answers from participants of this project.

NB: There may have been more teachers mentioned in particular locations in the interviews themselves by participants, however, they have not been included here as they were not specifically mentioned in survey answers. Additionally, cities in countries outside of Australia have not been specifically stated as most survey participants did not state the exact city or cities of each country in which they studied.

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Location Number of international teachers mentioned in survey for each location Australia - Adelaide 1 - Melbourne 3 - Newcastle 1 - Sydney 5 United States of America 15 Canada 12 Asia - China 1 - Japan 1 - Singapore 1 Europe - Austria 2 - Belgium 1 - Czech Republic 1 - England 21 - France 2 - Germany 9 - Italy 7 - Netherlands 1 - Norway 1 - Poland 4 - Romania 2 - Russia 2 - Scotland 1 - Spain 3 - Switzerland 1 - Ukraine 2

Table 1: Location of teachers with whom survey participants studied

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4.4 Participants’ diplomas and tertiary qualifications

Q: List any diplomas from conservatories or tertiary degrees you have received.

This question was asked to ascertain what levels of playing and teaching participants have attained in terms of formal recognition, as this can indicate the type of qualification that the participant has regarded as important. It could also indicate whether a particular teacher may encourage their students to accomplish similar goals or attainments.

Table 2 below contains data collected from the online survey conducted with participants.

Number of teachers who have received diplomas or tertiary degrees in music AMusA, LMusA, and FMusA levels in 9 performance and/or teaching *Diploma of Music 4 Bachelor degree or equivalent 29 Postgraduate studies eg. Masters or 20 PostGrad Diplomas PhD or DMA or equivalent 12 Other qualifications in music 9

Table 2: Number of teachers who have received diplomas or completed tertiary degrees in music

*Diploma of Music refers to the qualification received in Australia that would be considered to be of lesser standing than a Bachelor degree in Australia. There are diplomas awarded in some overseas countries that are equivalent to an undergraduate degree in Australia. These diplomas are included in the ‘Bachelor degree or equivalent’ field.

‘Other qualifications in music’ refers to overseas qualifications that did not fit into any of the other categories listed here. For example, masterclass diplomas, and additional areas of study that participants specialised in alongside their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

Overall, the categories with the highest number of participants included those who had completed either a Bachelor degree or equivalent in music, postgraduate studies such as Masters or Postgrad diploma, and a PhD or DMA in music. In the category of those who have completed a Bachelor degree or

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equivalent in music, 20 participants were females, whereas 9 teachers were males. In the postgraduate qualifications category, there were 13 female teachers who indicated that they have completed a postgraduate qualification such as a Masters degree in music, in comparison to the 7 males in the same category.

The third highest category consisted of teachers who have completed either a PhD or DMA qualification. Out of the 12 participants in this category, 7 were female, whereas 5 were male. All 4 participants who have completed a DMA qualification are located in New South Wales. The participants who have completed a PhD were located across three states with 2 females and 2 males in Victoria, 2 females and 1 male in New South Wales, and 1 female in South Australia.

It is interesting to note that out of the participants who completed a PhD or DMA, 5 females and 3 males have also been teaching for over 20 years, another female teacher has been teaching for 16 – 20 years, and 2 males have been teaching for 11 – 15 years.

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4.5 Completion of diplomas and/or tertiary degrees by students of survey participants

Q: Have you had students that have completed diploma level examinations either through the AMEB examination system or other examination systems, and/or a tertiary level degree?

Figure 4 below shows data collected from the online survey conducted with participants.

Completion of diplomas/tertiary degrees by participants' students

5

Yes No

29

Figure 4: Completion of diplomas/tertiary degrees by participants’ students

The results indicate that the majority of participants have had students complete diploma level examinations/tertiary level degrees in music. This was consistent with the large number of survey participants who themselves have completed various qualifications in music. This may suggest that there is a high chance of students completing qualifications in music when studying with a teacher who has completed such qualifications themselves.

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4.6 Students of participants participating in competitions Q: Have you put students through competitions such as Eisteddfods or similar?

Participation in competitions may indicate that students themselves are quite interested in performance-based or related careers, as they tend to require pianists to have the drive, ambition and playing skills that are also necessary for a career in performance.

Students of participants involved in competitions

5

Yes No

29

Figure 5: Students of participants who have been involved in competitions

The above results indicate that the majority of survey participants have had students who have participated in competitions such as Eisteddfods or similar solo performance competitions. Generally, it appeared that for those participants who have not had students participate in competitions, it was either because the subjects themselves have not participated in competitions, or they are teaching students who are not yet at an advanced enough level to take part in competitions.

This may indicate that students of the survey subjects who have participated in competitions have done so because their teachers have spent significant time in competitions themselves, and perhaps encourage their students to spend at least some time preparing for and participating in competitions. It was also considered possibly that teachers themselves did not place great importance on their students competing.

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The comparatively high rate of participation in competitions may indicate that students of the survey subjects who have participated in competitions have done so because they are aware that their teachers have spent significant time and effort taking part in competitions themselves as a means of advancing their performance career. Perhaps, too, teachers encourage their students to devote at least some time to preparing for and participating in competitions. It may have also been because the students have been inspired by their teachers’ competition success, and the students absorb the idea that competitions are a significant stepping stone on the path to building a career in piano performance.

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4.7 Participants and workshops/masterclasses

Q: Do you give workshops/masterclasses? Where and at what level of students? This question was asked with the aim of gathering data about whether survey participants are influencing piano students through other methods besides the traditional one-to-one lesson.

30

25

20 18 15 Female Male 10

5 9 5

2 0 Yes No

Figure 6: Number of participants involved in giving performance workshops/masterclasses

Results indicate that 27 out of 34 survey participants regularly give workshops/master classes in addition to teaching one-to-one piano lessons.

By giving workshops/masterclasses the participant is influencing a greater number of students at one time, and the type of influence may vary compared to the direct influence a student would receive in a one-to-one teaching situation. It also indicates the high regard in which such a musician is held, as such masterclasses are usually the outcome of an external invitation. The way that students are influenced through workshops/masterclasses will differ from a one- to-one teaching situation as there is not a constant emphasis on one student, and also the students would learn much by observing other students’ playing. In this way they are likely to be influenced in how to approach various aspects of piano playing or general music-making that may not come up in a one-to-one lesson.

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The benefits of attending masterclasses are outlined in a 2009 journal article “Conservatoire Students’ Perceptions of Master Classes” that presents the opinions of various musicians on this subject. One research participant of the study expressed their view that although having lessons with one primary teacher is useful, they believe that attending masterclasses opens up a much wider variety of ideas and perspectives relating to music (Creech et al. 2009).

From the group of teachers who stated that they give workshops and masterclasses, there was a wide geographical spread of this work: they stated that these are given in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia, and America. The level of workshops and masterclasses ranged from beginner students all the way up to the most advanced Masters level students.

4.8 Aspects of teachers’ approaches identified by survey participants

The points below have been derived from two related questions in the survey:

1) Could you describe one of your teachers’ approaches that has affected your own approach to teaching?

2) Who has been the biggest direct influence on your teaching style, and why?

These questions were asked to discover the primary ways that survey participants felt they had been influenced in their teaching approach. Below is a summary of the main types of points that survey participants mentioned in their responses.

1) A point mentioned by several participants in the survey was that their teachers emphasised the importance of a technique based on freedom of movement and using arm weight rather than focusing only on finger technique.

2) This was followed closely by a focus on sound production, and training the complete musician by using a multi-faceted technical and musical regimen, encompassing all aspects of piano playing. This was closely related to an approach mentioned by participants in which their teachers largely focused on sound quality. While they took technique into consideration, it was mainly used

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as a pathway to get a particular desired sound on the piano.

3) The teacher’s personality was considered to have a significant impact in the case of one participant. In particular, they mentioned that a sense of responsibility to learn was placed upon them, but at the same time, their teachers had personal qualities that positively affected the student, e.g. being seen as “patient and kind” (survey response no.15). The participant who mentioned this point also indicated that they try to encourage this same type of approach through their teaching.

4) Three participants specifically stated that their teachers emphasised the importance of being mentally ready and having a conscious awareness before actually playing anything on the piano, so that practice is not done mindlessly.

5) Eight participants mentioned that listening carefully, analysing and using imagination to interpret pieces were influential aspects of the teaching they experienced.

6) A point mentioned by one participant was that their teachers placed great importance on aural training through sight-singing, sight-reading and harmonic analysis of music. They stated that this approach influenced them to the point where they do this automatically in their teaching.

In addition to these responses, the majority of survey participants stated that they felt their current approach has been shaped by several or all of their teachers, rather than by one teacher specifically.

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4.9 Professional musical activities of former students

Where applicable, survey participants were asked to identify the types of professional music activities that their former students have chosen. Table 3 shows the number of survey participants who mentioned students as having gone into various pathways in music.

Type of musical activity Number of participants who mentioned former students involved in each activity Teaching – private studios 18 Teaching – in schools 8 Teaching – at universities 5 Performance – solo pianists 10 Performance - 6 accompaniment Performance – chamber 5 music/ensembles Research - postgraduate 3 Undergraduate studies 1 Postgraduate studies 2 Conducting 3 Sound engineering 1 Arts administration 2 Composing/Arranging music 2

Table 3: Types of musical activities that former students of survey participants are involved in

According to Table 3 above, eighteen participants indicated that some of their former students have gone into starting or developing their own private teaching studio. Ten participants stated that some of their former students have gone on to make careers as solo performance pianists. This is a less numerous category but still significant, as one of the predominant ultimate aims of piano teaching at an advanced level.

The number of survey subjects who stated that their former students have gone on to undergraduate music studies was low, being mentioned by only one subject. However, this is caused mainly by the fact that many of the survey participants are already currently teaching undergraduate music students and therefore it is assumed that former students would have completed their undergraduate studies with the survey subjects before moving on to pursue other musical endeavours.

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In general, teaching across various modes was identified as the musical activity that most former students are engaged in, with music performance activities coming in as a very close second option. There were other activities identified by survey subjects that fall outside of the standard teaching and performing pathways. With the number of participants who identified former students to have gone into teaching pathways, it is likely that the influences students have received from participants will be passed onto the next generation of pianists. Also, with the ever-present and increasing factor of competition success in developing a career as a performing solo musician, many pianists choose to pursue a teaching career while continuing to perform in solo and/or ensemble situations. In this way, the two aspects of a career in piano go side by side in different degrees of intensity.

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4.10 Contributions of participants’ current students to the local community

Q: How often are your students contributing to the local community through their piano playing/teaching?

Survey participants were given a few options to select from, but were also invited to comment in addition to their answer. This allowed them to explain when/if their students did not fit into a single specific range expressing how often they are contributing to the local community. For example, there may have been someone whose students were performing 3 – 4 times a year, but was also teaching on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

The options provided were:

1) Weekly 2) Monthly 3) 3 – 4 times a year 4) 1 – 2 times a year

Figure 7 below shows an overview of how frequently students of participants contribute to their local community.

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16

14

12

10

8 Female 6 Male

4

2

0 Weekly Monthly 3 - 4 times a 1 - 2 times a Unsure year year

Figure 7: Frequency of contributions to the local community

This question was asked in preparation for a question put to interview participants, which was to discover the ways that current students of participants are contributing to their local community through their piano playing/teaching. This was asked to suggest the type of impact students of participants are having on their local community, thus demonstrating the extent of influence and impact that teacher in turn is having on the community around them through their students. This may lead to community members choosing to undertake study with participants, and this would lead their influence further into the community.

Training as a solo pianist is sometimes seen as a solitary aspiration. However, this is not the whole picture when students are encouraged to use their music- making to contribute to their community. Some students who are performing in aged care homes or music therapy settings are showing awareness of the value that is increasingly being put on live music as a contributor to physical and mental health (Langdridge 2007, 4). It also shows the teachers’ awareness of the need for students to have several avenues for performance, beyond competitions and solo concerts, which may not be their principal motivation (or destination) to study piano.

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4.11 Summary

This chapter has given a general overview of data collected from survey participants. The survey itself was constructed with the aim of enabling survey participants to give an idea of factors that may have had significant influences on them in their study and subsequent careers, as well as giving insight into how these participants are influencing future generations of pianists. In the next chapter, responses from participants who additionally chose to take part in an interview will be discussed.

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5.0 Interview Responses

5.1 Introduction

In the previous chapter, the responses from surveys conducted with research participants were discussed. Out of the thirty-four survey respondents, one half of the participants also chose to participate in a semi-structured interview. Therefore, this chapter will focus on a discussion of responses gathered from the semi-structured interviews conducted with seventeen pianists who have studied with internationally trained and/or based teachers. It will follow a similar layout to the design of the actual interviews in that firstly the teaching approaches of interviewees will be discussed, followed by their perceived significant influences and other influential aspects. This chapter will then conclude by demonstrating the types of activities and careers that students of interviewees have gone into or developed in their professional lives, and the kinds of trends identified in the next generation of pianists in Australia viewed through the musicians’ experiences outlined in this study.

Rather than including comments about every aspect in the interview from each participant, this chapter will include a selection of comments from each participant spread throughout different sections of this chapter to illustrate the points raised. The majority of participants have agreed to have most or their entire transcript included in Appendix C of this dissertation, where more details from comments made by each participant are given. As was previously mentioned in the methodology section of Chapter 2, one participant chose to have a summary of their interview transcript included, rather than the actual transcript. Another chose to have neither the transcript nor a summary included in Appendix C, but has agreed for comments from their transcript to be included in this discussion of interview results chapter.

As outlined above, the first section of this chapter will address the range of characteristics and philosophies of interviewees’ teaching approaches as identified in the interviews conducted with participants. A general overview of the interview questions asked will be provided in Appendix B.

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5.2 Teaching approaches of research participants

This section will involve a discussion based on comments from interview participants about their current teaching approaches. It will be followed by a detailed analysis of the influences that interviewees have found to be significant to them. This section will identify some of the types of teaching approaches that are currently present in piano teaching in Australia and thus may give an indication of piano teachings trends present in the next generation of pianists.

While more specific aspects of teaching approaches will be addressed later in this section, the first part will focus on a general overview of teaching approaches and philosophies described by interviewees.

Flexibility of approach according to student needs

A common philosophy among interviewees was the importance of adapting their approach depending on the needs of the particular student. One such example is Melbourne-based pianist Stephen McIntyre who reflects:

I have many approaches I suppose because it really depends on what the student needs…In some ways the challenges are equally complicated but they’re very different. So for somebody who is significantly gifted, advanced, and naturally talented – I mean that technically in a pianistic way, as well as a musical understanding way – then I suppose what you have to do is to try and guide them specifically in terms of repertoire – the pieces they should be looking at. (McIntyre 2016)

The philosophy of this particular approach is that overall the student needs to be guided through learning repertoire that will enable them to develop the technical and musical skills to make the most of any natural talent that they may have.

Associate Professor Daniel Herscovitch also remarks on the need to treat each student’s needs on an individual basis to help them to improve their skills as efficiently as possible:

To start with, obviously each student is different. When they come to me, they’re at a different level of attainment; even the tertiary students in the performance course are all at different levels, and similarly the non-performance students. So

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one has to individualise one’s teaching practice according to where the student is at. (Herscovitch 2016)

This is significant, as by altering their approach to suit the needs and personality of the individual student, the teacher helps the student to learn more efficiently. As the teacher spends more time doing this, it helps them to be able to adapt more quickly in the future to the needs of new students, thus helping them to be able to teach a broader range of student types.

Natalia Ricci also remarks on how she invests into each student as an individual:

I love teaching. I put a lot of time and effort into my students because I am very dedicated and care a lot about them as individuals and about their unique musical development. I think that the teacher-student chemistry is vital in terms of inspiring the teacher and also enhancing the student’s motivation to learn. (Ricci 2016)

Stephen McIntyre comments on the difference in his approach when he teaches students that have had a significant number of years of study with previous teachers:

With the later ones who come along at say age eighteen, some of them have in fact had excellent training and some of them have had less good training, and remaking technical and physical habits in any field – including in piano playing – it is quite a long job, and quite a difficult one because you have to re-train a whole lot of what’s become fairly natural for them, and try to combine their way of doing it with ways that I think might be more efficient, more relaxed and might get better results. (McIntyre 2016)

He states that with this type of student, he spends much time going back to the fundamentals of piano study with regards to scales, arpeggios and exercises, as well as analysing their hand and arm movements to ensure they are learning to play with a more efficient and healthy technique. Stephen McIntyre indicates that he takes this particular approach because in his studies he was also given a solid grounding in a healthy piano technique that he gives credit for his still being able to play the piano at his age without any troubles in his hands or arms. Here the various approaches outlined illustrate the overall principle of adapting the teaching method to the student, at whatever level they present.

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Teaching approach based on sound

Another type of philosophy or approach mentioned was a teaching approach based on sound. Lillian Camphausen emphasises how sound is her first priority when teaching students:

As I said with the students I tend to work more on sound and that sometimes means that in the first couple of years their fingers are perhaps not as quick and dexterous as some other students, but then they get a nicer sound. I play and teach very little highly virtuosic music and tend to choose more expressive, lyrical pieces. (Camphausen 2017)

Similarly, Sydney Conservatorium-based pianist Dr Bernadette Harvey reflects:

For me everything comes from sound. Everything that I try to teach or ask my students to do always comes back to that: sound – so that they know in their minds what sound they need to create…The other important thing I underscore with my students is an analytical approach to understanding music…they need to know just enough to be making informed choices. (Harvey 2016)

In addition to this concept of always ensuring that the student has a particular sound in mind that they are striving to achieve, Bernadette Harvey also focuses on ensuring that her students know how to analyse music so that they are equipped to be making choices in regards to interpretation.

Developing the student’s independent learning

One of the approaches mentioned with significant regularity by participants was that of introducing students to a holistic musical approach, in which they not only learnt about the piano but also about music and history in general. One such example is Adelaide-based pianist Monika Laczofy who remarks:

My philosophy is basically that I believe we need to educate children in music and not just teach them how to play an instrument. This means that right from the beginning we need to give them the full building blocks of how music is written and how it’s formed. If they understand how, they can create chords and begin to understand harmonic colour. My idea is to give them a clear understanding from which they can build. (Laczofy 2016)

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She also emphasises the importance of passing on the love and appreciation of music to her students, which involved an education of the history of music:

I think the whole idea of teaching music is to pass on a love or at least an appreciation of it, the history, the background, and the tools which enable and encourage students to investigate music for themselves, so that they can eventually become self-sufficient. (Laczofy 2016)

This was also seen in Robin Baker’s approach. She describes her approach as focusing on equipping her students to become self-sufficient by improving their confidence and teaching them how to use their strengths to improve their weaknesses:

The main philosophy I have is two things – the student and the music. What that means is how the student feels playing the music. So mainly you need to build their self-confidence. Confidence in the student is number one, and towards playing the music is number two…So I think that’s my basic philosophy – playing the best music they can – and the way that I do that is by finding out what their strengths are and using their strengths to say improve their phrasing or improve their technique. All the time I’m using their strengths to further them…I work on weaknesses but I don’t make them the conscious focus. (Baker 2016)

Teaching how to understand different styles of music

A common theme that was seen in the responses of interviews was the concept of teaching students how to understand the styles and characters of different types of music. Priscilla Alderton articulates an approach to teaching students how to understand different styles of music and composers’ intentions for their pieces:

I ask them to listen to up to ten recordings and respond to them. They write how they feel about it and what they’re actually hearing and then we go into detail together about what they’re listening for and what they hear. And we try to imagine what priorities the performer has in their listening to the piece, and analyse their approach to the piece. (Alderton 2016)

Likewise, Claire Howard Race’s approach emphasises the importance of teaching her students many ways that a piece of music could be interpreted:

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As far as the musicality goes…my philosophy really is to present them with options of interpretation. (Race 2016)

This links in with a comment made by Sydney Conservatorium-based pianist Natalia Ricci who speaks about the importance of giving students the tools to help them to grow as musicians:

I would say the cornerstone of my philosophy lies in encouraging a student’s spirit of inquiry and activating their imaginative potential to discover the deeper artistic meaning that lies beyond the notes. One could describe it as a process of guiding them in their journey – the piano as their vehicle – to discover and develop their own unique musical voice through their playing. (Ricci 2016)

The discovery of artistic meaning beyond the notes is also addressed by Associate Professor Jeanell Carrigan, who remarks:

When I teach piano I try and make sure that the student is learning about music and that it’s not just teaching technical issues, but it’s definitely teaching them about understanding styles and character. The music is probably as important as the instrument that you’re trying to teach. (Carrigan 2016)

By presenting students with different ways to interpret a particular piece, it opens up opportunities for the student to experiment and find what works best for them while staying true to the composer’s intentions. Another interviewee, Vicky Yang (2016), shares this approach, stating that she provides students with demonstrations of a few interpretations of a passage, and then discusses each of the interpretations with them.

Neuro-pedagogical teaching approach

Another important point mentioned by Bernadette Harvey is that of using a neuro- pedagogical approach in her teaching (2016). Sara Naegele, an education consultant, describes neuro-pedagogy as recognising “the learning process that processes from a brain and proceeds into the body offers perspective and solutions to teaching with the body in mind.” (Naegele 2015).

Bernadette Harvey states that this neuro-pedagogical approach is based on the search for physical freedom:

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Only years into my career did I understand the importance of the physical coordination that is required. More recently, the neuro-pedagogical approach to piano playing in general has become quite important to me. (Harvey 2016)

She reflects that it was her studies with the American pianist Barbara Lister-Sink, that impressed upon her the importance of this approach:

...I studied with Barbara Lister-Sink so I guess she has really opened my mind in terms of a neuro-pedagogical and physical freedom approach to teaching. (Harvey 2016)

A similar type of approach is also seen in Priscilla Alderton’s interview where she describes herself as being interested in the psychology of learning and in creating a set of habits that take care of the body:

I really spend time finding out who they are. I suppose my approach would be quite psychological from that point of view – going with who they are and encouraging them to be more of who they are...I’m very interested in using the body correctly and creating a set of habits that take care of your body and allow blood to flow freely. (Alderton 2016)

This is an approach that is related to the principle of adapting teaching to the individuality of each student, while simultaneously helping them to take care of their body at the instrument.

Technical aims: freedom and relaxation

Another significant characteristic observed amongst subjects’ teaching approaches was that of encouraging a technique that allows freedom and relaxation in the student’s arms and hands by using the whole arm and hand in playing rather than just the fingers. This approach is significant as it encourages the student to learn to play the piano in an economical manner that releases tension in the arms and hands, thus promoting a healthier technique that is important for the student to have the ability to play the piano for long periods of time. Additionally, the student will be able to produce virtually any pianistic sound through such a technique, as they will be playing using the most comfortable and healthiest approach for them individually. Again, many of these expert teachers stressed the student’s individuality as a priority to be nurtured.

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Associate Professor Jeanell Carrigan speaks about the importance of the student first developing a solid technique before they can work on their musicality.

Well technical training often has to be addressed separately because you have to have the technical skills to work on the musical side. If people haven’t got the technical skills, which have to be taught quite intensely, then they can’t start working on musical things…the most important thing for a pianist is control and sound. They need the ability to make a good sound, which is both a technical and a musical aspect. (Carrigan 2016)

Similarly, Sydney Conservatorium-based pianist Clemens Leske reflects on his teaching philosophy based on teaching a solid technique as early as possible in the student’s development:

My teaching philosophy in general is based first and foremost upon technical aspects – scales, arpeggios, and a mixture of exercises of varying degrees of difficulty. But all pieces are based on that – basically scales and arpeggios. They are drilled in from a very early age. Philosophy – I try and get the technique as early as possible if the person’s not too late. I’ve taught students who have been taught in many different ways, which can be very difficult to change. (Leske 2016)

He goes on to speak about the need to explain oneself clearly and as simply as possible to the student while also providing all essential details needed for the student to understand the concept being introduced:

As far as the actual teaching, I think it’s very important to be as detailed as possible yet maintaining a certain degree of simplicity to be understood and put into practice by the student. A fine balance between positive encouragement - essential in my view - and constructive advice is desirable…You need to find the best in students and work with that, and of course work on their weaknesses. At the centre of everything is the technical basis – scales and studies – specifically working on whatever the student lacks or needs to improve, on a case-by-case basis. (Leske 2016)

This emphasis on technical skills training is also emphasised by Sydney Conservatorium-based pianist Natalia Ricci who describes how she uses biomechanical principles to help her students to develop a piano technique that is based on a whole-body approach:

On a more concrete level I would say my approach is one that encourages a greater awareness and freedom of body movement that’s based on sound

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biomechanical principles. So my students learn how to cultivate efficient habits of movement and coordinate many different body parts, rather than isolated finger movements. The forging of a solid and flexible piano technique is paramount in helping students meet a range of complex challenges found across the repertoire. (Ricci 2016)

Priscilla Alderton also comments on this holistic approach to technique:

Technique is absolutely vital to me…Every pianist needs to learn at least two very different techniques – the first we work on is based on finger-work and having a free wrist, a free hand and the strength, intention being in the ends of well-shaped fingers, working towards very clear and neat, precise articulation. The other is based on arm weight and when we start that depends on where the student is in their development. We work together to find repertoire that suits the student and encourages them to keep developing. So quite often we’ll find technical exercises or create and improvise technical exercises that help them work on their pieces. (Alderton 2016)

She describes how she teaches her students a combination of two main piano techniques – one that is based on finger-work and the other on using arm weight. She states the importance of finding repertoire that suits the individual student to develop the students' technique and speaks about how she collaborates with her students to create technical exercises to help them with the particular repertoire that they are learning.

Individual shape and size of the hand

An interesting technical approach is noted in Lillian Camphausen’s interview where she speaks about how when initially introducing scales to students she chooses to start by teaching them B Major scales, rather than C Major scales as is more frequently seen among teachers. This is because she believes that the B Major scale allows the hand to remain in the most natural position and is therefore ideal for a beginner pianist:

I work with the shape of the hand so for example I don’t start with the C Major scales. My students start with B Major scales because you have the long fingers on the black notes and the thumb under thing works a lot easier in B Major than it does in C Major. It’s also a lot easier to remember the fingering. (Camphausen 2017)

Monika Rutkowska - 3145630 60 Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

This shows a link with the Polish composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin’s teaching approach to scales. Records from some of his students show that he insisted on his students learning the B Major scale before progressing to further scales. He considered the C Major scale to be the most difficult, and he taught it last (Eigeldinger 1986).

Meriel Owen also describes her approach as being similar regarding the importance of adapting the technique to the individual student’s hand:

My idea is that there is no fixed technique, as it depends on the shape of the hand and its flexibility. You can produce different sounds from different movements, so there’s always variability with every student. But aiming to get a good sound without any tension in the arms and body is important. (Owen 2016)

Similarly, Monika Laczofy’s discussion of teaching technique is also shown to take the individual shape and size of the hand into consideration when teaching her students scales, arpeggios and other technical exercises:

Hands are all very different. We must look at the hand and how it works best. If the hand is stretched out of its natural and healthiest position, it’s not going to function very well. I certainly introduce small exercises, often made up of scale and arpeggio figures. If other exercises are needed, I use some of the very early AMEB Piano Series from quite a few years ago, which all had little exercises in the front of the book. They included two part exercises, an introduction to dealing with two voices in the one hand, contrasting articulation/tonal colours etc., in very small stages. There are some for each level of difficulty. (Laczofy 2016)

Monika Rutkowska - 3145630 61 Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

Scales, finger exercises and studies

The emphasis on ensuring that her students develop a correct technique by practising scales in a variety of articulations and rhythms, supplemented by finger exercises is seen in Luba Totoeva’s approach:

Firstly I ask my students to practice scales in various rhythms and articulations: staccato – legato, then with dotted rhythm, with triplets, with quadruplets. Secondly we use many existing books on finger exercises. Some simple ones like the 60 Hanon exercises that everybody knows are irreplaceable2. They do a great job to relax wrists and to get the agility and the precision of fingers. There are other valuable albums of exercises by Pischna3, Schmitt4, Brahms5 and Dohnanyi6. (Totoeva 2016)

She also speaks about how she uses studies to target any piano technique weaknesses that a student is exhibiting, as she believes that students learn technique much more rapidly when situated in a study rather than just through technical exercises:

In my teaching I use a lot of studies by Czerny Op.261, Op.299, Op.740. I normally target a particular weakness in piano technique with a specific study to eradicate this weakness. Studies promote technique so much faster. Scales develop overall fluency and stamina whereas studies strengthen double notes, trills, octaves, thirds etc. (Totoeva 2016)

Claire Howard Race also speaks about the benefits of using studies for the purpose of developing technique:

I find that I do Moszkowski – either the short studies of Moszkowski or the Op.72 studies. They need to do a technical exam here [Avondale College, NSW] in semester one, so Moszkowski seems to be an approachable way for some beginner technique. It’s also in the AMEB syllabus so I find myself dancing between the BA requirements here and also what’s the equivalent grade seven or grade eight exam requirement. (Race 2016)

2 Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises 3 Pischna: Sixty Progressive Exercises for the Piano 4 Schmitt: Op.16 Preparatory Exercises for the Piano 5 Brahms: 51 Exercises for Piano 6 Dohnanyi: Essential Finger Exercises

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Overall, it may be observed that the overall teaching philosophies of participants are based on the principle of developing the student’s individual potential, and that they consider carefully how to balance technical and musical or interpretational aspects of piano playing. The next section will discuss the various points made by interviewees about repertoire choice, and will take into account any specific types of repertoire that research participants choose to use in their teaching and the reasons for taking such an approach.

Monika Rutkowska - 3145630 63 Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

5.2.1 Repertoire

J.S. Bach, and repertoire for technical purposes

Within the topic of repertoire choice and approach, one recurrent emphasis noted by some participants centres on the keyboard works of J.S. Bach to teach the fundamentals of piano playing to students. One such example is Sydney Conservatorium-based Dr Bernadette Harvey who states:

I always begin with Bach. It’s more a matter of what I think they need in starting out, so I do have certain composers that I encourage my students to learn and then if I see a student has the mind for it, I introduce contemporary music early on as well. (Harvey 2016)

This emphasis on ensuring that students play Bach’s music is also seen in the response of another Sydney Conservatorium-based interviewee Clemens Leske, who comments:

I think it’s important to be flexible. But you cannot really go past Bach – a composer you can either play technically and in style – or you can’t. As far as developing legato technique, which can be acquired pretty much by any other composer really, and also awareness of voicing…there are thousands of pieces. (Leske 2016)

Regarding the importance of Bach’s keyboard works in the musical world, among other repertoire, he states:

The requirements of any serious tertiary musical institutions will always require in audition a performance of a Bach Prelude and Fugue and a Classical Sonata. So that’s the next one – Classical Sonata. Probably Mozart and Beethoven are the obvious choice…Chopin’s Etudes are the obvious choice from the romantic era – [his] Preludes as well. However, very few students are able to perform these to a high standard due to their extreme technical/interpretative challenges, so one must be acutely aware of each student’s strengths and limitations at the same time. (Leske 2016)

The above example shows the significance of learning pieces classified as the fundamentals of piano repertoire. Mr Leske emphasises the significance of exposing students to the classic types of piano repertoire. However, he also notes the importance of taking into account the individual student’s level, strengths and weaknesses, as the focus needs to be on building the student’s

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technical and interpretative skills, while also not overwhelming them with repertoire that is too challenging for them at any given time.

Newcastle-based interviewee Luba Totoeva addresses her emphasis on teaching studies to her students, while at the same time she speaks about the importance of giving her students repertoire from a variety of composers and styles. Like previous examples, Ms Totoeva also considers Bach’s works to be invaluable for students of all levels:

I have the concept that studies are important. I tend to teach students a variety of styles. I love teaching romantic repertoire. Classical sonatas and sonatine play an important role in understanding the characteristics of the classical period. Bach’s legacy is as valuable for beginners as for advanced students…I try to give a variety of composers to my students and again let them experience different styles. In modern music quite often students like to learn jazz pieces. (Totoeva 2016)

This subsection has consisted of participant’s thoughts on choice of repertoire for technical purposes, however there have also been some interesting points brought forward regarding exposing students to a broad range of composers’ works that are to be used as performance repertoire.

Impact of the teacher’s repertoire tradition

This importance of exposing students to a broad range of composers’ works is emphasised by Associate Professor Daniel Herscovitch who remarks:

…[M]y teachers were fairly conservative with repertoire. You know - Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, a bit of Bartok. But I try with my own students to give them a much broader repertoire because I tell them that nowadays if you want to make a career in music, you have to have a repertoire that sets you apart from everybody else…As well as the traditional repertoire I get them to explore the lesser well- known repertoire. (Herscovitch 2016)

This approach clearly differs from the experience he had with his teachers – whom he describes as being “conservative” with their repertoire requirements for the student; Daniel Herscovitch was shown to have a broader range of repertoire preferences, which is something that he encourages his students to have if they intend to pursue careers in music (Herscovitch 2016).

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An example opposite to Daniel Herscovitch’s experience in Germany is that of Sydney Conservatorium-based Natalia Ricci, who through her many years of studies overseas with various international teachers in Europe and the USA, has been exposed to an incredibly broad range of repertoire. This has had an immense effect on her approach to repertoire and her enthusiasm for exploring new repertoire:

…because I was exposed to a wide range of repertoire and styles in my training and have also played a huge variety of music in my performing career…the repertoire I cover in my teaching is also very broad. Also I am not one of these teachers who tends to stick to or assign students only the repertoire they themselves are familiar with or that they have played or taught themselves. I have an insatiable curiosity for discovering new music so if a student wants to work on a piece I have never played or taught before I look on it as a challenge and an opportunity to explore and familiarize myself with new repertoire. (Ricci 2016)

However, Natalia Ricci gives emphasis to one specific area of repertoire: she encourages her students to play Spanish works if they have not been exposed to them, as she believes that Spanish piano literature provides challenges that she considers to be helpful for developing the essential qualities needed in a pianist:

I try to encourage students to play the Spanish literature because it’s just so fantastic – so vibrant, colourful and expressive and it occupies such an important place in the whole of the piano repertoire…The Spanish literature is very demanding from both a technical and musical viewpoint and requires essential qualities in a pianist: a strong and meticulous rhythm sense, rhythm flexibility and freedom, a wide ranging palette of colour, the ability to manage and clearly voice multi-layered textures, a meticulous approach to articulation, and a sophisticated and refined piano technique. So working on this literature helps students develop many important aspects of pianism…I do try to encourage Spanish works if pianists have not been exposed to them. (Ricci 2016)

She states that this emphasis on Spanish piano music comes from her husband “Gian-Franco’s influence because of his Spanish and South American roots” and because they “lived in Spain for a couple of years” where she “came into contact with people at the Marshall Academy, which was the school that [Enrique] Granados founded in Barcelona and which [Alicia] de Larrocha presided over as Artistic Director for many years” (Ricci 2016).

Monika Rutkowska - 3145630 66 Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

An example of an interviewee whose approach is to teach repertoire similar to what she learnt with her teachers is Sydney Conservatorium-based Associate Professor Jeanell Carrigan, who states:

I guess that there’s certain repertoire that I have done myself and I think probably I would give that to students more often than any other repertoire. For example, I haven’t played much Liszt myself so I don’t really teach any of it…In the past when I was mostly focused on teaching piano, etudes would be Chopin etudes rather than Liszt etudes, and probably there would be a lot of classical and romantic works like Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Haydn and Mendelsohn, Schumann, rather than Liszt for example or late romantics like Rachmaninoff. Then twentieth-century music would be more Messiaen, perhaps Ravel, Debussy rather than Scriabin. That was the music that I focused on when I was studying. (Carrigan 2016)

This is an example where familiarity with particular types of repertoire has had a significant impact on the kind of repertoire that Jeanell Carrigan now teaches to her students. A similarity can be seen in the approach of Dr Kim Burwell, who remarks:

…I suppose everybody teaches within certain parameters. I don’t teach jazz for example. The repertoire that the students bring does tend to fall into the usual categories that I guess you see represented in the AMEB lists. (Burwell 2016)

Kim Burwell makes the point that all teachers will teach particular types of repertoire and possibly avoid pieces that they may not feel comfortable teaching. She makes the interesting point that many teachers stick with the repertoire seen in the AMEB syllabus lists. However, it was generally seen that many participants show a much more varied approach to selecting repertoire. As the next section will discuss, there were a number of participants who adjust repertoire choice to the personal repertoire tastes of their students.

Matching repertoire to students’ personal tastes

Another type of approach observed is that of selecting repertoire based on the particular student’s personality, tastes and musical goals. Sorina Zamfir comments:

Monika Rutkowska - 3145630 67 Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

I am teaching individuals with different personalities, tastes, backgrounds and goals, which to me is very refreshing. Beyond the required technical exercises and ‘staple’ repertoire, I enjoy allocating my students repertoire that suits their needs and personalities whilst also extending them to become better musicians. (Zamfir 2017)

This example shows that although Sorina Zamfir does allocate repertoire that is considered to be necessary for establishing fundamental pianistic skills, she also takes into account the particular student’s needs and personality when selecting repertoire. This is similarly seen in Robin Baker’s approach when she states:

…I look very individually at the student and then work with their strengths and their likes and dislikes – then head perfectly in the same direction with everyone towards playing the greatest music that they can play. (Baker 2016)

Therefore, the ultimate goal of this teacher is to work together with the student’s skills, and their likes and dislikes to put together a repertoire plan that helps them to become the best musician they can be by developing their playing through various types of repertoire.

This goal of the teacher working together with the student’s repertoire preferences is also seen in Priscilla Alderton’s approach where she remarks:

I personally love Bartok for beginners, but few young students agree. So the repertoire really comes out of their interest. Sometimes a student will spend half the lesson choosing a piece and I’m prepared to go along with that because for them to really live with a piece and to get to know it deeply, they need to love it. But I also encourage weekly preparation of much smaller pieces that they are spending time perfecting, researching them, finding out where they come from, and playing a convincing interpretation of that little piece. (Alderton 2016)

Priscilla Alderton makes a point of encouraging her students to learn extra smaller pieces on a weekly basis – researching and working on them so that each week they can confidently play at least one whole piece. This strategy, she feels, ensures that while students are working on more advanced repertoire over an extended period of time, they are also feeling a sense of accomplishment by learning less challenging pieces and thus broadening their repertoire and building pianistic skills. The approach that Ms Alderton outlined with regards to allowing students to choose repertoire that they like as a way to help the student to stay motivated, has additional support from the 2016 article by Zijia Cheng and Dr

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Jane Southcott (see above, Chapter 2 Section 4.5). Here they maintain, “the selection of appropriate repertoire can be a very important factor in maintaining students’ intrinsic motivation” (Cheng and Southcott 2016)

Physical development of the student’s hands and technical capacity

An important point discussed by interviewee Meriel Owen is that because students have different hands, choosing repertoire can sometimes prove to be challenging:

Each student is an individual, so choosing repertoire is sometimes a challenge. Small hands need thoughtful choices, and Baroque and Early Classical eras provide much material for those students. (Owen 2016)

This is significant particularly for students with smaller hands, as choice of repertoire needs to be considered carefully to ensure that the student can span any stretches comfortably and that the piece will not be physically impossible for them to play. This effect that having small hands has on the choice of repertoire was seen in Luba Totoeva’s interview where she speaks about how her teachers chose repertoire that would fit her small hands and the effect this has on her choices of repertoire with students:

I have small hands and could not physically play big works of Liszt or Beethoven. I concentrated more on playing Debussy, Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, Bach. I used to play the whole Schumann piano repertoire. It was within my physical ability and I loved it…I think it’s a benefit to have big hands. My teaching method will stay the same. The choice of repertoire could be different. We discuss various approaches with my students. They can play big textures or chords different as they have bigger hands. (Totoeva 2016)

Although Luba Totoeva herself grew up learning repertoire that was more suitable for smaller hands, it has not stopped her from teaching students who have larger hands and has given her the benefit of being able to show students with smaller hands any adaptations that they may need to take into consideration, as well as repertoire recommendations.

Monika Rutkowska - 3145630 69 Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

5.2.2 Styles of piano instruction

Teaching styles: Demonstration-based and verbal-based instruction

Research participants were asked about whether they consider their teaching approach to be primarily based on demonstration, or if they perceive their approach as being more verbal-instruction based. This question was asked to discover whether participants use either of these teaching tools more frequently than the other, and to gather data about which approach they consider to be most useful when teaching different musical concepts.

The question brought a variety of responses – ranging from using a lot of demonstration or verbal instruction, using a mixture of both, or incorporating other types of instruction, depending on the perceived needs of the student.

Interviewee Sorina Zamfir is an example of a teacher who emphasises the use of demonstration in the lesson. During her studies, demonstration of various musical concepts was considered to be an essential part of the lesson. As a result, she chooses to use the same type of approach in her teaching:

I know that there are some teachers that don’t touch the piano at all during a lesson, but I feel that demonstrating is vital and often speaks louder than words. (Zamfir 2017)

This approach is also observed in the interview with Priscilla Alderton, who speaks about how she dedicates much time demonstrating for her beginners. Ms Alderton also adds that for her advanced students, she tends to demonstrate a smaller proportion of their repertoire as they tend to play longer and a more substantial amount of pieces than beginner students:

I like to inspire and demonstrate, often demonstrating to beginners, always playing their pieces to them then with them, a hand each if they are willing. As students advance I will demonstrate very small things. If they’re doing an exam or have a repertoire of a number of pieces, I’ll probably only play one of them. (Alderton 2016)

Similarly, Clemens Leske comments on the value of demonstration in the lesson, and emphasises the importance of allowing the student to observe a demonstration to understand particular technical and musical concepts:

Monika Rutkowska - 3145630 70 Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

Definitely demonstration…The over-riding necessity is to encourage as much playing within the lesson from the student as possible, especially immediately following a new concept/suggestion. I have two pianos in the studio. While students can watch a demonstration, they have to figure things out physically and mentally for themselves. The best way of doing that is solving it by themselves – you don’t want to spoon-feed them. I suppose the younger ones of course you help much more. (Leske 2016)

Likewise, interviewee Robin Baker speaks about how when she uses demonstration as a teaching tool, she explains to the student what they are to observe and learn from the demonstration:

I demonstrate so that they can watch and listen to the result of my movement…When I do a demonstration I tell them specifically what to listen for or to look at rather than saying, “Do it like this”. I say perhaps, “Look at my hand” or perhaps, “Listen to the way I play this”. So I demonstrate with a specific outcome. (Baker 2016)

With this approach, it is clear that the teacher’s aim is to impart awareness of what concept is being demonstrated and how the student can take their observations of the demonstration and put them into practice in their own piano playing. The importance of using demonstration in the lesson aligns with Dr Katie Zhukov’s view that “teacher demonstration is an essential part of an applied music lesson” (Zhukov 2004, 66).

An example of a participant who found their teacher Jiri Hlinka’s approach to demonstration as being very impactful is Natalia Ricci, who reflects:

I found that aspect of Jiri’s teaching very exciting – the fact that he could just sit down and demonstrate. I know different people respond to different things but for me, actually hearing and seeing something being demonstrated, worked much better than getting a verbal instruction...I do that all the time in my own teaching as well – I always teach at two pianos and I’ll always demonstrate. (Ricci 2016)

There were also research participants in the group interviewed whose teaching approach was shown to be composed of a combination of demonstration and verbal-based instruction. One such example is Sydney Conservatorium-based Associate Professor Daniel Herscovitch who estimates the ratios that he uses of demonstration and verbal-based instruction in his lessons:

Monika Rutkowska - 3145630 71 Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

I guess my lessons are about 50/50 demonstration and verbal, or maybe more realistically 40/60 – 40% being demonstration, 60% verbal. (Herscovitch 2016)

Likewise, Dr Kim Burwell comments on the usefulness of combining demonstration and verbal-based instruction:

I think they’re both extremely useful. It depends on what you’re trying to get across. Technically I think a mixture of both is going to be useful. It depends on what you want to achieve. (Burwell 2016)

Interviewee Wendy Bisset remarks on how she adapts the type of instruction she gives to her students depending on what concept she is teaching and the student. She states that as the teacher, it is her responsibility to find a suitable approach for each student to ensure they are learning as efficiently as possible:

Regarding demonstration, if you want to show something, you show it. I will demonstrate role modelling. It’s not just a case of telling. It’s very much a case of modelling. Again it’s not a case of “do as I say”. I go around and around and if for some reason the student doesn’t grasp something or something is too difficult, then it’s my task to get another approach to it...because when you’ve got the music in your head, it definitely comes out of your fingers. (Bisset 2016)

Another example of a teacher that uses a variety of approaches regarding instruction is Melbourne-based pianist Stephen McIntyre, who describes his approach as a combination of demonstration, analysis and discussion:

Some demonstration, particularly with the more advanced ones. I use a whole lot of discussion. I use a whole lot of sitting back and prodding etc. And sitting by their side and analysing movements if it’s a technical thing, and analysing sound if it’s a sound thing. Some days I do a lot of demonstration and other days none at all. So I’m not fixed on any one particular thing. I think it depends on what stage the person you’re teaching is at. Some students respond very well to analysis, some to technical and definition in great detail, and others respond very well to musical things in great detail. Some of them respond by just copying what you’re doing. That’s not necessarily the best thing, although if they’re very smart they can look artistically between the idiosyncrasies. (McIntyre 2016)

The reasoning for such an approach is that individual students will respond differently to various types of instruction types. In the above comments Stephen McIntyre outlines that some of his students respond best to an analytical approach, while others may respond better to discussions about technique or

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musical concepts. Still, others respond to a demonstration by imitating the teacher. However, Stephen McIntyre states that unless the student can understand a demonstration beyond the particular idiosyncrasies that they see, demonstration of a concept might not be the best option for that particular student.

This is an example of a teacher who allows his students’ needs to dictate how he introduces various concepts to them. Whether he chooses to use more demonstration or a verbal-based approach all depends on how the individual student may learn most efficiently. Results show that while some teachers might prefer to use more demonstration, verbal or analysis-based instruction, overall a mixture of all these approaches was regarded as useful to adapt to the needs of the individual student and the particular concepts taught at the time.

5.2.3 Staying abreast in teaching and playing skills

In addition to being asked about their teaching approaches and philosophies, research participants were also invited to speak about how they presently stay abreast of current developments in their teaching and playing skills. This question was asked to discover what type of activities participants get involved in outside of teaching or performing. Below is an overview of some activities that interviewees mentioned as important supplements to their teaching and performing.

One type of activity is that of doing research. One example is Bernadette Harvey, who remarks how personal research is a major way that she stays abreast in her teaching skills:

I do my own research constantly. I’m always researching. So I subscribe to magazines. I subscribe online to various publications. My research at the moment requires me to stay abreast of everything that’s happening as much as I can. (Harvey 2016)

Similarly, Lillian Camphausen reflects:

I do also spend a fair bit of time reading about the music I play, the composers, and historical context. (Camphausen 2017)

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Another approach to staying abreast in teaching and playing skills, involving the attendance of masterclasses, is identified by Daniel Herscovitch who states:

At the [Sydney] Conservatorium we have quite a lot of masterclasses…We generally have four or five each year from visiting pianists. It’s actually very interesting to compare the different approaches. I myself am still giving a lot of concerts so that keeps my playing skills up. (Herscovitch 2016)

Several participants, one of whom includes Jeanell Carrigan, share this approach of attending masterclasses and the value of interaction with fellow professionals:

…I’m always working with professionals from overseas who are giving masterclasses in different instruments. I attend conferences and I’m often giving papers at conferences. I give workshops all around the place, so that I’m actually keeping the learning going by teaching and I’m picking up things from other people who are teaching at the same time. (Carrigan 2016)

Kim Burwell also states that she finds great value in attending masterclasses:

I love attending masterclasses. They’re not limited to piano. I’m happy to go along to any masterclass because you can learn so much from that…They tend to be a bit more generic, a bit more about principles than details. (Burwell 2016)

Likewise, Robin Baker also notes that she attends many masterclasses and that she keeps up her playing skills through her role as a piano accompanist:

Well I also work as a piano accompanist, so I’m playing all the time. I’m always preparing for playing for students in auditions…That keeps me at concert level. But I also do a lot of professional development throughout the year. I go to lots of masterclasses, quite a lot going on here in Melbourne. I go to any pedagogy event that I can. (Baker 2016)

More informal interactions with other pianists also play a part in maintaining stimulus in teaching and playing skills. One example is that of Natalia Ricci, who states:

…I discuss a lot with my husband Gian-Franco, who is also a pianist and who’s been a big influence on me in terms of my teaching and playing too. We bounce ideas off each other a lot. That’s very helpful too. (Ricci 2016)

This approach to learning through discussion of ideas with other pianists is also shared by Stephen McIntyre, who remarks:

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There’s a group of us here in Melbourne. We’re all pianists – three or four of us. We have a little piano club, and we trot along and play to each other…we actually learn quite a lot from each other in terms of we all have different hands. We all have different ways of fingering. We all have different ways of thinking about the music… (McIntyre 2016)

Evidently, the discussion of ideas between pianists is regarded as very useful by these teachers, as it helps to gain new perspectives and exchange ideas on different approaches.

Summary

In conclusion of this section, various trends have been observed amongst interviewees regarding approaches to the development of technique, repertoire and musicality. Various teaching styles are highlighted, including the teacher’s attitude to demonstration at the piano and other aspects of teaching style. Taking into account the trends that have been observed through interviews with participants, one can note the types of teaching approaches and influential trends that are being passed on to the next generation of pianists who are studying with them in Australia.

There has also been an emphasis seen on the value that interviewees place on staying abreast in their teaching and playing skills, mainly through attending and giving masterclasses, as well as their own personal research and discussing ideas with other pianists.

The next section will identify and discuss some of the significant influences that interviewees have found to be most impactful on their current teaching approaches.

Monika Rutkowska - 3145630 75 Master of Philosophy (Music) The University of Newcastle (Australia)

5.3 Keeping track of key points at lessons: experiences of participants

Interview participants were invited to speak about how they kept track of notes at their lessons for two reasons: firstly to see if there was a record that they could refer back to subsequently, and secondly, to investigate if there is possibly any link between the way their teachers encouraged them to keep notes and the way they encourage their students nowadays to keep notes.

Note-taking during the lesson

Various approaches to marking up scores and keeping lesson notes were evident. One type of approach involved taking notes during the lesson. This involved either the teacher or student writing in the score, and writing in an exercise book to ensure that the student would remember notes from each lesson.

Claire Howard Race remarks that during her lessons, notes were made on the music score. She reflects on how she decided to keep the notes made on scores that belonged to the library after she had completed her Master's degree:

I remember after finishing my Masters recital at the [Royal] Academy [of Music, London], I had to return all the books to the library but I wanted to keep the markings. So I finally bought the originals for myself and went through on my copies and put the initials of what teacher had said what. Because by that stage I'd had a couple of other lessons with some other staff members so I had ‘M.M’ for Malcolm Martineau and ‘I.L’ for Iain Ledingham. But I just wrote if they'd made a point, a comment there, so I'd know it came from them for the future on my own hard copies. (Race 2016)

Similarly, Luba Totoeva reflects on how her teachers would write on her music scores:

All of my teachers wrote in the score. Everything - fingering, dynamics, phrasing, pedalling. I have a few books left from those days - quite a few actually. So there would be a lot of comments. We used to have diaries in my school years. So teachers used to write what I was supposed to do. (Totoeva 2016)

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Luba Totoeva states that she takes the same approach now with her students: she writes in music scores, and for some students she will write in an exercise book for them:

I do write in students’ scores. With the higher grades I find there is no point of writing in their diaries, unless I like to protect myself. Normally their memory is quite good. Some students are notoriously not attentive. Writing key points is helpful for those students. I've seen some students writing notes by themselves. Sometimes I suggest to students to write in their own words rather than my own so the message gets to them quicker. (Totoeva 2016)

Likewise, Meriel Owen reflects on how she wrote notes in the score when she was studying:

I wrote notes in the score, and wrote things down later. Going over the notes I'm reminded of things that we had discussed in the years previously, and hearing students play jogs the memory. (Owen 2016)

Ms Owen additionally states that she periodically goes over notes from the past; however she believes that “many aspects of musicianship become ingrained, and responses become automatic” (Owen 2016).

In his teaching, Clemens Leske refers to how he changes his approach to note- taking with each student that he teaches:

You learn through your teaching over the years what to do. So you learn whether a student needs more or less input - whether that means writing things down or not. The younger students use a notebook where their suggested routines are written in so that they work towards something - especially technical exercises. Not so much with the older students but sometimes it is needed. (Leske 2016)

This emphasis on responding to the individuality of each student was also seen in Stephen McIntyre and Daniel Herscovitch’s approaches that were mentioned in the previous section on teaching approaches of interview participants.

Another example of a teacher who took notes during the scores and continues to do so in her students’ music scores is Wendy Bisset, who reflects:

When we were working with the teachers we analysed the scores. It's written all over in pencil - still doing it. I also write in my students’ scores. (Bisset 2016)

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Similarly, Robin Baker speaks about how her notes were recorded on her music scores and also in a notebook:

The way it was recorded was on the music - written on the music, and in a manuscript book. I’ve got my piano notes that Ada Corder wrote in my lessons…I’m still playing from those scores. I'm still using the fingering. And this is from the late 70's and 80s particularly. I've still got music from the 60's with fingering. (Baker 2016)

One observation is that interviewees who took notes during study on the scores, or had their teachers write notes in their scores or notebooks, tend to follow this same approach with their students. One such example is Sorina Zamfir, who reflects:

My teachers were writing things down. This is what I do now as well with my students. I write a lot… Sometimes I take a very short video of a specific elbow or arm position if I think there is something wrong. I like to show them from my perspective or from the audience's perspective what is wrong. If we have a concert then yes I would have a video taken and then I give all of them a copy of it. I wish I had access to this wealth of technology when I was growing up - it's very important to hear and see yourself play. (Zamfir 2017)

It is interesting to see that Sorina Zamfir, who just like her teachers, writes a lot in the lesson, and has also adopted an additional method of documenting a segment of the lesson. She speaks about how sometimes she will record a video of the student's elbow or arm position to show them what their current habitual posture is, and thus help them to work towards a position that will enable them to play with a healthier technique.

Lillian Camphausen also reports that over time she has modified her use of note- taking for her students to encourage more efficient practice, by giving her students goals to meet between lessons:

Every teacher that I've had, we had an exercise book that they wrote things in, and I was supposed to read them...However, what I've just recently started doing with my students is also having charts that they have to fill out during the week. Sort of more specific like, "I fixed the fingering in bar seventeen", and then they can tick the box when they've actually done that. So that's just my way of now trying to break that cycle of people not actually reading exercise books. (Camphausen 2017)

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Keeping Notes after Lesson or during Practice Session

Another method of documenting key points from the lesson observed is that of participants writing them down right after the lesson or keeping notes about their observations during practice sessions.

Dr Bernadette Harvey speaks about her experiences with taking notes of key points at her lessons, saying that her most important notes were those made during her practice sessions, rather than at the lesson itself:

When I was a student I didn't do that [keeping notes] until I went to do my Masters, and then Nelita [True] would just write a little bit in the score. Because I was just practicing all the time, after a lesson I would go back and solidify what she said and I would keep a little practice logbook. So it became more important to me what I wrote during my practice sessions. Then I would take my questions to her and she would help me with those. So I was kind of directing things. (Harvey 2016)

Similarly, Clemens Leske also reflects on how he would write notes down after each lesson that he had with Alfred Brendel in London, England:

I took notes from Brendel's lessons, virtually word for word. Unfortunately I didn't record them. Generally I wrote the notes down straight after the lesson - bar by bar. (Leske 2016)

Dr Kim Burwell notes that when she was studying with Ronald Smith in England, he wanted his students to write notes after lessons:

He always liked pupils to take notes after their lessons and I generally did that to please him. But frankly I don't think I needed to, unless writing them down meant that that exercise itself was all I needed to make things stick. So he liked writing things down, but I'm not sure it was all that helpful to me personally…He was quite specific about how to go about what he wanted me to do. And I followed it up. (Burwell 2016)

However, she states that the approach she has now developed with students is different. Kim Burwell's approach is based more on helping her students to realise the importance of being organised and encouraging them to reflect on what they need to do to accomplish their musical goals:

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I encourage them to think about how they're organising themselves. I think it's usually more helpful when people realise to take notes about their timetable and scheduling and what they want to accomplish...Part of it I guess comes from research that tells me that students don't usually get much input on how to organise themselves. It's very useful so I encourage that. (Burwell 2016)

Recording the lessons: Documenting Using Technology

Due to the majority of interviewees studying during the later twentieth century when using technology to record either audio or visual of lessons seems not to have been a common practice, there was not much mention by interviewees of their teachers recording their lessons for them.

It is likely that as technology has developed and become more accepted and less obtrusive, there has an increase in the number of teachers who record their lessons, however there has not been any formal research done in this particular aspect. There has certainly been a development in the occurrence of recording masterclasses that are then uploaded online to be shared all around the world. For example, in 2017 the Juilliard School in New York hosted a series of masterclasses that were recorded and then uploaded online to be accessed by musicians all over the world (Juilliard 2017).

This is an aspect of the dynamics between student and teacher that has changed in more recent years. However, in this current thesis there are examples of research subjects that do record all or part of their students’ lessons. One such example is Dr Bernadette Harvey who prefers to video her students’ lessons rather than writing directly on the score and encourages the student to watch the video, analyse it, and develop questions from it:

I find writing in the score not to be so effective with students. What's more effective to me is that I bring in a nice chip/card and video on a good camera, and they go through that video and develop questions and a practice routine from that video. So I try as much as possible to put the responsibility on them to search for answers and understand problems. I try to guide them through the process of becoming independent. (Harvey 2016)

Stephen McIntyre mentions that some of his students like to record their lessons; however, he does not record the lessons himself:

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Some students like to record lessons and I say that’s ok. I don’t specifically try to record them all, or follow any recording practice myself. For those who find it useful I'm very happy for them to do it. (McIntyre 2016)

He reflects on an interesting experience where during the twentieth-century he observed some lessons of a German teacher who would use a recording device to help students learn how to play different types of repertoire correctly:

I sat in on some classes of a German teacher about twenty or thirty years ago in Munich. He had a recording device and he got the student to repeat and repeat until he got the student playing whatever it was in the way that he was happy with, and then he recorded that. Then he would work on another section and recorded that when it was right. And so the student would actually take home the recording with all the right performances of the sections. I thought that was quite an interesting technique. (McIntyre 2016)

This is an interesting experience because at the time that this teacher was recording the lesson, it would likely have been very rare to hear or see anyone recording a piano lesson due to the recording technology that would have been available back then.

Remembering key points from the lesson

Some participants spoke about how their preferred method was to remember the points discussed in each lesson and practice straight away the lesson to ensure that it became ingrained straight away while it was still fresh in the memory. One example is Jeanell Carrigan, who reflects:

I used to write things on my music. I didn't ever record the lesson. I just used to try and remember. Everything that they said I'd go away and practice straight away anyway so it wasn't that I needed to write it down to record it because I'd already basically absorbed it and would practice whatever they said. It’s a good idea to record things but I never did that. I just always used to go away and play it. (Carrigan 2016)

Similarly, Dr Vicky Yang spoke about how when she was studying she made the repertoire learning process as efficient as possible by writing proper fingering, phrasing and analysis markings on the score right from the beginning. She did not record lessons or do any note-taking during her lessons (Yang 2016).

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This was also touched on by Daniel Herscovitch, who stated that when he was studying, his teachers would write markings on the score and he would also remember points from the lesson. He did not intentionally write any notes:

Well, my teacher obviously put markings in my score and I guess apart from that I would have remembered. I didn’t write things down. I didn’t record the lessons. (Herscovitch 2016)

Dr Burwell makes an interesting statement about how if points are addressed correctly in the lesson, they should impact the student immediately:

If a teacher is really doing his job, then what he's teaching becomes part of what you are almost immediately. (Burwell 2016)

Natalia Ricci remarks that although as a student she did not keep notes from studies with her teachers, her current practice is to record her students’ lessons so that they have a resource they can refer back to between lessons:

Nowadays I record all my students' lessons for them and they can access it through Dropbox or they record them themselves with their own devices. But in those days we didn't have any of that, so it's an interesting question actually. I wish now that I had done that, so that I would be able to go back and listen to my old lessons from way back and reflect on this huge array of different influences on my musical and pianistic development over the decades! That would be really amazing actually, but no - sadly I have no records of anything. I wasn't a note taker. I would just go straight to the practice room and practice for hours in the hope of absorbing some of what they were teaching me! I had a pretty good memory. But certainly in my own teaching, the kids who record the lessons and listen to them during the week - or record themselves regularly - are the ones that progress much faster. (Ricci 2016)

Similarly, Priscilla Alderton preferred as a student to remember points from her lessons. However, she now takes a different approach with her students:

I think that things sink in deeply and I have a very good memory, and so I use that. I'll have almost complete recall of everything that’s happened in the lesson. Whereas with students I take notes and if I feel that they're not really owning their own music, I ask them to write notes. But often it's tedious because it takes too long, as kids don't write quickly. Occasionally I've asked students to email me a list of points if I think that I really want their attention - of points that we're focussing on that week. Or I'll ask them to come back and say to me what was

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this lesson about and what they’re going to do at home. We actually check in and make sure that we both agree with what's happening, especially when preparing for exams and performances. (Alderton 2016)

It appears that many participants chose to remember the key points from their lessons and apply them directly after the lesson by going straight to the practice room.

Summary

According to data collected through interviews, there were three main ways that key points at lessons were recorded or put into practice by interviewees during their time as students. This involved:

• Writing notes on the score and in a notebook, • Writing key points right after the lesson and keeping a practice log • Remembering points addressed in the lesson and putting them into practice straight away.

Because most participants studied with international teachers during the twentieth century when audio and video recording infrequently practised, it was not seen to be something that participants frequently experienced in lessons with their teachers. With the rapid development of technology during the twenty-first century, there has been an increase in technology used in the lesson. As a result, it is becoming more common to hear of teachers allowing students to record their lessons. While many teachers do allow their students to record lessons, it is still necessary to gain permission before recording the lesson.

According to data gathered from interviews, some participants choose to use recording as a note-taking method in their lessons or allow their students to record lessons with them. This is possibly due to a learning style issue, with the teachers being aware that listening to recordings could be a more beneficial way of learning for many students who are regularly immersed in audio/video content through fixed and mobile technology.

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5.4 Significant influences of interview participants

Participants were asked to speak about the primary ways that they perceived their studies with internationally trained teachers had influenced them. While a few interviewees also mentioned influences from Australian-trained teachers, the primary focus of this thesis is to investigate the impacts of internationally trained performers and teachers on teachers in Australia, and the significance of those influences.

The topics to be addressed in this section include the various ways that participants perceive they have been significantly influenced in various aspects of their piano playing and teaching approach. Topics addressed include technique, musicality/interpretation, repertoire, teacher's personality and teaching style, and the concept of a holistic learning experience.

Within the aspect of teaching styles, the following two aspects were addressed:

- whether their teachers used demonstration in their teaching approach, a combination of demonstration and verbal instruction, or verbal instruction without demonstration when participants were learning from them,

- and whether they consider this has had any effect on how they now teach.

A significant point addressed by some participants is that for the duration of their studies they were entirely immersed in a musical environment where they dedicated practically all of their time to music (Baker 2016).

This point gave an impression of how challenging that type of environment was, and how much it meant to the participant - especially if they were on scholarship or had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study with a specific renowned teacher. In addition to this, another issue that will be addressed is whether the type of lesson or learning environment had a significant impact on the strength of their influences, as participants experienced a range of lesson types including one-to- one lessons, masterclasses, and classroom group-style lessons.

A subsequent part of this section will also be devoted to discussing some examples of internationally trained teachers who are not pianists, and how those influences have transferred to participants’ approaches to teaching the piano. i.e.

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participants who have attended masterclasses that are either aimed at different instruments other than the piano, or general performance masterclasses.

5.4.1 Types of influence

Technique

The first part of this section will investigate how some interviewees perceive their studies with international teachers to have influenced their approach to piano technique. One of the main ways that many participants perceived this influence was through their teacher’s emphasis on instilling a solid and holistic piano technique, that has equipped them with the skills to play the piano with minimal muscular tension, while at the same time using this healthy technique to produce various tone colours at the piano.

One of the interviewees, Sydney Conservatorium-based Natalia Ricci, reflects on her studies with the Hungarian-born American pedagogue György Sebök:

One could describe Sebok’s approach to piano technique as quite holistic: he taught how to use one’s whole body to assist in getting around the keyboard. He also worked with students on eliminating any unnecessary tension as well as harnessing tension in a controlled fashion to great effect when the drama of the music demanded it. (Ricci 2016)

Similarly, Sydney Conservatorium-based pianist Dr Bernadette Harvey also identifies with this type of approach. She refers to this type of approach as being used by her teacher Nelita True in the United States. Comparing Nelita True to one of her Australian teachers, Bernadette states:

Nelita taught more about technique and freedom. She was also very big on freedom in the upper arm. She was from the Russian school. (Harvey 2016)

This mention of the Russian school relates to the concept of various national piano schools, as described in the literature review in Chapter 2, section 3, with particular reference to the legendary teacher Leschetizky, who noted particular differing characteristics between various national piano schools (Baker 2016). Evidently, Bernadette perceives her teacher Nelita True as having an approach that corresponded with the stereotypical characteristics of the Russian school,

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such as the immense focus on technique and freedom (Hullah 2009, Gerig 2007).

Dr Harvey also describes the impact that her studies with the American pianist Barbara Lister-Sink had on her approach. Lister-Sink was known for prioritising a technique designed for preventing injuries at the piano. Dr Harvey reflects that this experience of studying with Lister-Sink “really opened my mind in terms of a neuro-pedagogical and physical freedom approach to teaching” (Harvey 2016).

Expanding on what a holistic technical approach means to the student, Sydney- based pianist Natalia Ricci describes how this approach was emphasised in her studies with Norwegian-Czech pianist Jiri Hlinka:

…he taught me the importance of musical gestures at the instrument: how pianistic gestures influence the quality of our sound, how appropriate gestures enhance both the quality and character of the sound, and how every movement we make at the piano should connect to and reflect the character of the music and its dramatic and emotional content. In this way I learnt that gesture should always serve the music… (Ricci 2016)

On the basis of the few examples given here, it appears that some participants felt that a holistic technical approach was exceptionally influential on them because it essentially gave them the tools they needed to develop a technique that would help them to achieve any pianistic sound that they were after, while knowing that they were using a healthy and sustainable piano technique.

This leads to another important type of influence – musicality and interpretation – which involves the overall teaching of musical aspects such as phrasing, articulation and dynamics, as well as specific approaches to repertoire composed during different musical periods.

Musicality/interpretation

Sydney-based pianist Lillian Camphausen describes her very first piano lesson, which took place in Singapore, where her teacher taught her how to translate an idea into sound. She reflects:

…the first thing he did was to take me over to this pot plant. And the way the leaves curved on this pot plant – it was pretty dark and the leaves just got lighter

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and lighter until it was a really bright spot…Then we went to the piano and he just got me to play, to experiment on the piano, to make that picture. So we just basically started very low in the piano, very soft and just with one finger, and went up the piano until we got to a really high bright sound…So from the start translating something real, non-sound into sound. (Camphausen 2017)

In this example, it is clear that Lillian Camphausen's teacher wanted to show her the importance of taking a visual picture and translating it into sound at the piano. Ultimately when it comes to being musical at the piano, many pianists will imagine some visual image or an emotion and will attempt to translate that into a particular sound, and portray that in their playing. The approach used here by Camphausen's teacher ensured that she as a beginner student knew the importance of conveying emotion and expression right from the start, rather than just focusing on technique entirely and then bringing in musicality at a later stage.

Lillian Camphausen also speaks about how other teachers of hers - German pianists Detlef Kraus and Harmut Höll - taught her the significance of 'drawing' the sound out of the piano using the whole body, rather than just producing a sound with the fingers:

The piano teacher I studied with in Germany – Detlef Kraus – both he and my lied accompaniment teacher Hartmut Höll worked a lot on sound. Sound is more with your whole hand and whole body, rather than the individual fingers…you imagine the sound to be an object that you actually pick up and carry rather than making it with your fingers – so it’s more like drawing the sound out of the piano, rather than producing it. (Camphausen 2017)

Another interviewee, Luba Totoeva speaks about how her Ukraine teachers Igor Zoubenko and Zoe Barskaja taught her the importance of learning about the composer’s intentions for a particular piece to be able to approach interpretation accurately:

Both of them taught me to be very committed in my practice and to be true to the music. The paramount [aim] was always a composer’s intention, then my interpretation of it and how I was going to pass these ideas to the listeners. Technique was very important but secondary. (Totoeva 2016)

Sydney Conservatorium-based pianist Clemens Leske reflects on his studies with the Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel, one of the foremost pianists of his time, as being influential on the way that he approaches musicality and interpretation at

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the piano. According to Leske (2016), Brendel taught his students to imagine that the different registers of the piano were various types of orchestral instruments and that they could use this approach to achieve a particular sound in any given piece:

Brendel thought of the piano as if it were different parts (instruments) of an orchestra…We worked together on Bach’s masterpiece “The Goldenberg Variations”. He suggested that I imagine a title for each variation…I still apply this principle to any work that involves the themes and variations structure. There can be variation in sound, touch, dynamics, character, tempo etc. (Leske 2016)

Similarly, Melbourne-based pianist Stephen McIntyre describes how he was influenced musically by his studies at masterclasses with Italian pianist Guido Agosti:

In those masterclasses he covered much of the major piano repertoire. He demonstrated it all. And so pieces you didn’t know at that stage, or pieces you were going to learn later, you got to hear them…I still find now when I’m teaching some of those big pieces that we did together in Siena with Agosti, that automatically without even thinking about it I tend to repeat some of the things he said. (McIntyre 2016)

Through this observation, it is clear that Stephen McIntyre has been influenced musically and interpretatively through all the explanations and demonstrations of various types of repertoire, which has now led him to use the same approach when teaching musicality and interpretation in repertoire to his students.

The impact of a teacher's approach to interpretation is also seen in another interviewee, Claire Howard Race, who describes the impact of her Scottish teacher Malcolm Martineau, a particularly noted accompanist and chamber player, on her approach to interpretation:

As far as the musicality goes, I have been influenced by my teacher Malcolm Martineau. He will perform something a different way at different concerts, so I say to students, “Look there’s not only one interpretation here”. My philosophy really is to present them with options of interpretation. (Race 2016)

This approach to freedom of interpretation is similarly seen in reminiscences by great pianists of past generations (see literature review in Chapter 2). For example, the Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau spoke about how his German teacher Martin Krause frequently emphasised the teaching of interpretation and would

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inspire his students by speaking about his experiences of hearing various famous pianists (Horowitz 1999). Thus this approach of absorbing many influences through listening to different performers has a long tradition in the transmission of piano teaching at the highest level.

In her interview, Sydney-based pianist Sorina Zamfir comments on how her Romanian teachers would encourage her to discover the approach to interpretation, particularly in modern pieces. She states:

I particularly struggled with some of the modern pieces…but my teacher inspired me to search for the beauty within and practice the piece as if I loved it. This experience has particularly influenced me in encouraging students to go out of their comfort zone when it comes to repertoire selection and interpretation. (Zamfir 2017)

Hence, it can be seen that through Sorina Zamfir’s experience of learning how to interpret particular repertoire out of her comfort zone, she now feels equipped to encourage her students in the same way and can offer them guidance in this area.

This point leads to another significant area of influence that was discussed by interviewees – repertoire. This area includes the topics of choosing repertoire and approaches to learning various types of repertoire.

Repertoire

Melbourne-based piano teacher and accompanist Robin Baker reflects on the thoroughness of repertoire that her teachers taught her:

My teachers gave me a superb grounding in the repertoire. They clearly influenced me in that. I never questioned as to what are the great pieces, or what’s out there for piano. They gave me all that. So I have that basis and I use that basis. (Baker 2016)

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It is clear from the above reflection that Baker felt that because she was given such a thorough schooling in the accepted repertoire7 for the piano, she is now able to use that knowledge when assigning repertoire to her students.

Another interviewee, Natalia Ricci reflects on her repertoire studies at the University of Michigan with Theodore Lettvin, whom she describes as having an unusual approach to teaching his students how to play challenging repertoire. Lettvin was known as a pianist who “thrived on challenges” (Bullamore 2003):

He knew the tricks of the trade – how to make things easy at the instrument – and he would show his students ingenious methods to facilitate difficult passages, which enabled them to work on big and daunting repertoire that they may not otherwise have dared to tackle. Sometimes his ideas seemed far- fetched, quite wild and daring, but they actually worked very well in solving technical problems. (Ricci 2016)

Evidently, a teacher’s emphasis on thoroughly teaching repertoire and having a creative and memorable approach to teaching how to approach various passages is likely to have a strong influence on the student’s approach to repertoire - one which will be imprinted on the student in future years.

Natalia Ricci also speaks about how her Norwegian-Czech piano teacher introduced her to the piano works of Czech composer Leoš Janáček. She states:

I was incredibly grateful for that because I really found myself drawn into Janáček’s unique and often very uncompromising sound world. Janáček’s music is very strongly rooted in his native culture, but it is also intensely personal. Essentially he uses traditional musical elements, but he evolved a style that is quite extraordinary in terms of its vitality, spontaneity, the sheer force of its expression and the profound inner emotional states it evokes. (Ricci 2016)

Sydney-based Associate Professor Jeanell Carrigan describes how her international teachers Karl Engel in Switzerland and Alfons Kontasky in Germany focused on particular repertoire in her training and the effect this has had on her teaching of repertoire to her students. She reflects on how when she was studying in Switzerland with her teacher Karl Engel he would teach her much of the Viennese classical repertoire of Schubert's and Mozart's repertoire as that was his specialisation:

7 The reference to repertoire here is used to cover a particular concept of repertoire, which could vary amongst different musicians.

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…he was really a Mozart/Schubert specialist…he always played a lot of Schubert. So I also played a lot of Schubert and Mozart in that time. (Carrigan 2016)

Jeanell Carrigan goes on to say that when she studied with Alfons Kontarsky in Germany, the focus was almost entirely on German repertoire:

We did mostly German repertoire: Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Beethoven. We did quite a few of the Beethoven Sonatas. (Carrigan 2016)

She makes an interesting point that neither of her European teachers focused much on French repertoire, particularly noting that Alfons Kontarsky never taught her any French repertoire, instead choosing to focus on the mainstream German composers.

Evidently, these two teachers focused on their specialities in repertoire and chose not to expand much outside of these specialities. This is an interesting observation because many high calibre teachers expect that people who come to study with them do so to get their perspective on their repertoire specialities, and will receive instruction on different specialities from other teachers.

Teaching Styles

The next influential aspect discovered in the analysis of the interviews was that of teacher’s personality and teaching style, which involved topics such as humour, use of imagery, and studying with a teacher despite language barriers.

A point brought up with regards to teacher’s personality was the commitment and conviction of playing the piano. Dr Kim Burwell experienced this in her studies with the English pianist Ronald Smith:

…I think if you’re looking at their individual characteristics then probably the most influential thing is their commitment to the subject, passion for music, commitment to playing the piano, conviction – that this was just about the most wonderful thing in the world. (Burwell 2016)

Through Dr Kim Burwell’s experience, this example shows how influential a teacher’s enthusiasm, passion and commitment toward teaching the piano can transfer over to their students and as a result end up being a role model in their chosen profession.

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Similarly, in the literature, it is found that the famous Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau was known for having an approach that was considered by his students to be passionate and inspirational and in turn had a significant impact on the approach that they decided to take with their students (Arx 2006).

Continuing along the path of a teacher’s personality being inspiring, Newcastle Conservatorium-based Luba Totoeva describes how the personality of her teacher Zoe Barskaja in Kiev, Ukraine inspired her:

She was very encouraging. She kept repeating that I’ve got something special to share. Praising was her major tool. It did work for me. I got very inspired. (Totoeva 2016)

Another significant aspect of this category was language – the use of language such as metaphors, and also the effect that an apparent language barrier can have on a teaching approach.

Dr Bernadette Harvey highlights the significance of her teacher Nelita True’s use of language and humour in the development of her teaching approach:

Nelita’s sense of humour was really important when she taught. She’s very gifted with language. Her metaphors that I like to use a lot of were wonderful. (Harvey 2016)

It is clear that Dr Harvey has found Nelita True’s metaphors to be immensely useful and as a result, now uses this aspect in a great deal of her teaching.

Similarly, this is seen in Claire Howard Race’s reflection on her studies with Malcolm Martineau in London, where she speaks about his use of imagery to get his points across:

…he was a wordsmith in just being able to verbally express what he was wanting to get out…He was very concise with what he would say. So for example, if my musicality was getting bogged down, he would say, “Oh you’re sounding like a penguin crossing the road.” Or if I was getting bogged down in the details and not getting the larger direction, he would say, “Just get to where you have to go.” (Race 2016)

An example where a language barrier was a decisive factor influencing the teacher/student relationship was in the case of interviewee Dr Vicky Yang. She studied with the Soviet-born pianist Bella Davidovich at the Juilliard School in

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New York City, who likely due to her limited spoken English skills, taught Vicky primarily through demonstration (Yang 2016). This focus on demonstration meant that Dr Vicky Vang absorbed much knowledge through merely observing what her teacher was demonstrating - whether that was a particular technical or musical aspect. Perhaps this may have meant that Dr Vicky Yang had to interpret much of what her teacher was showing her, rather than being able to verbally hear an explanation of how to approach a particular pianistic aspect.

Vicky Yang’s experience is interesting because it suggests that even teachers whose approach primarily involves demonstrating will still include verbal explanations as they see fit. In Dr Vicky Yang’s study with Bella Davidovich at Juilliard, in New York, there would not have been many opportunities for verbal explanations due to the language barrier between this teacher and student. Therefore Dr Vicky Yang’s observational and analytical skills would have likely been refined as a result of this experience. In her interview she notes that demonstrating makes up a large part of her teaching approach, particularly when teaching her students how to interpret a passage; this on-going use of demonstration may very well be a result of the influence of Davidovich’s approach.

Holistic learning experience and immersion into musical environment

Another impactful aspect that participants mentioned as significant is that of having a holistic music learning experience in their overseas studies. This emphasis has involved their teacher not only focusing on teaching the piano but also giving their students a grounding in music overall - including learning about history and attending operas and orchestra performances. Additionally, this has involved learning about different music periods and looking at costumes, dances and architecture of that particular time. Interviewees who mentioned experiencing this type of learning appeared to find this extremely useful for them, helping them to understand music from a cultural perspective and not only from the pianistic side of things.

Sydney-based pianist Lillian Camphausen reflects on the holistic approach her teachers in Germany took with their students and the impact it has had on her teaching:

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All my teachers in Germany spoke about literature, history, visual arts, opera, and philosophy. Detlef Kraus was even more hands-on about it. He took us – his class of piano students – to exhibitions. He gave us books to read about Germany history and art history. We had lots of political discussions etc. This has definitely influenced the way I myself teach both my piano students and the other instrumentalists I accompany. I give all my students long listening lists, or YouTube links to opera and ballet, baroque dances, and show them pictures of architecture, period costumes etc. (Camphausen 2017)

Luba Totoeva in reference to her studies with Zoe Barskaja in Kiev, Ukraine states:

…my primary/secondary school teacher gave me such a good foundation. She was very encouraging…She used to take us to Kiev Opera House to see various opera and ballet productions. This is perhaps how my taste and admiration for music were formed. (Totoeva 2016)

The holistic approaches described by both Lillian Camphausen and Luba Totoeva involved their teachers ensuring that the students they taught gained a musical understanding of cultural context, as well as learning to play the piano.

This is seen as a valuable approach whenever mentioned in the literature as well as by interviewees, as when a student gains a cultural understanding of music, it can assist with the interpretation of various styles of music. In the above quotation, Luba herself states that she considers that this approach could have been how she formed her musical tastes, as she had the opportunity to learn more about music than just the pianistic side of things.

Melbourne-based pianist Robin Baker describes another type of holistic approach to learning when she speaks about her study at the Royal Northern College of Music in England. She reflects on having lessons in pedagogy and how overlapping of lessons with other students allowed students to observe and learn more about playing the piano than just about the topics addressed in their own lessons: a beneficial experience for all the students:

We learnt how to teach at the Royal Northern College of Music [Manchester]. I also had pedagogical lessons and things like that, which was also unique at the time [i.e. at the Royal Northern College]. It was encouraged that we play to each other privately. All of them were individual lessons and we had group lessons on that art of teaching. Sometimes as a teenager we would overlap lessons…When

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learning a fugue and pieces like that, we were told to get someone to play the alto part and you play the others. (Baker 2016)

Similarly, the experience of total immersion in a musical environment where the level expected was extremely high was considered by some participants to have high impact on their studies.

Robin Baker describes her experience of being completely immersed in a musical environment at the Royal Northern College of Music in England:

The biggest influence on my career was going overseas for six years where I spent seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day on music. That was a massive impact. I also majored in piano accompaniment after my years of solo piano study there. The structure of the course at the RNCM was incredibly impactful. For example, I had three lessons a week. The intensity was huge and the expectations were very high. We had plenty of performance opportunities. The education over there fitted me beautifully… (Baker 2016)

She additionally explains that her particular teachers have been so influential on her because they were teaching her about and leading the type of lives in music that she wanted to lead:

My English experience was massive. Derrick Wyndham and John Wilson – huge because John was living the life that I wanted to lead. He was a professional accompanist, world class, and teaching piano accompaniment, which I love to do as well. I think also of Ada Corder and then Bill Whitfield…They are all massive influences because of the high level in which they taught me – no compromise…They taught me what it takes to create beautiful music. (Baker 2016)

Priscilla Alderton spoke about the level of immersion in music that she experienced during her studies in Europe, stating:

I attended a series of masterclasses with Gustav Leonhardt and I was deeply influenced by him and his work with students. It was ten days, morning, noon and night. My time studying in Europe wasn’t just having the one-to-one lessons. It was going to masterclasses, festivals, to day after day of rehearsals, then I would go to concerts at the end of that whole process…I watched different groups work with a programme, as it grew, developed and unfolded. (Alderton 2016)

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Similarly, Sydney-based pianist Sorina Zamfir, who attended a selective music school in Romania, describes her experience of being completely immersed in a musical environment. She reflects:

It was like a normal school and then on top of that we had instrument lessons twice a week, chamber music twice a week, two or three times a week we had choir. Later we had history of music, aesthetics and harmony, and counterpoint…It was extremely hard to get into this school… (Zamfir 2017)

Sorina Zamfir was involved in an intense musical environment from a young age that ended up having a substantial impact on her musically, as the standards expected of students were extremely high, a fact confirmed by her statement that it was extremely difficult to be accepted into the school.

Earlier there was an example of a teaching approach that interviewee Vicky Yang experienced while studying with her teacher Bella Davidovich. This is an approach that was mostly based on demonstration, due to a language barrier. While approaches described by most of the other interviewees did not involve demonstration as the primary way that a teacher taught, there were several examples in which interviewees spoke about their teachers having a preference for using demonstration to show students particular musical concepts.

Demonstration and verbal instruction The benefits of using a mix of verbal explanations and demonstration are noted by authors such as Dr Katie Zhukov (2012) in her article Teaching strategies in higher education instrumental studios, where she underlines the impact that combining these elements together can have on the student.

An example of an interviewee who experienced a range of teachers using demonstration in their teaching is Claire Howard Race, who notes that several of her teachers including Gian-Franco Ricci, Natalia Ricci, and Iain Ledingham all chose to use demonstration as a large part of their teaching approach. Claire observes that because of this experience, her teaching now involves a considerable amount of demonstration:

We’re often swapping from the piano stool and swapping around. I try and demonstrate. I will play the passage for the student to either show the sound that

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I’m after, the voicing or the mood, or also the hand movements – the technique – if necessary. (Race 2016)

Similarly, Sorina Zamfir reflects:

When I was studying, my teachers always had two pianos in the studio, one for the student and for the teacher to demonstrate on. Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of two pianos at home but I often find myself explaining and demonstrating tone, dynamics and phrasing. As humans we often do things instinctively without realising how we produced the result, so in this case I find it most beneficial for the students to learn through observation. (Zamfir 2017)

There were also other examples where interviewees commented on their teachers using a small amount of demonstration in their lessons and preferring to use more of a verbal instruction approach. One such example was Adelaide- based pianist Monika Laczofy who describes her teacher Edith Farnadi’s approach to demonstration and verbal instruction:

Farnadi did demonstrate a little, but we had so many recordings of her we could just listen to these. She didn’t actually demonstrate the works that we were working on. There just never seemed any need. (Laczofy 2016)

Monika Laczofy also describes her Australian teacher Nancy Weir’s approach to demonstration; a similar approach to Farnadi’s:

As far as demonstrating was concerned, she would only demonstrate if she needed to make something clear to us that was difficult to explain in words. (Laczofy 2016)

This approach is shown to be central to Monika Laczofy’s approach when she speaks about her use of demonstration when teaching children:

I’ll play them a phrase to show them the arm/hand movements because sometimes words are enough in one area but not the other. Often they don’t really understand what you’re talking about until you actually show them, then they copy it…I think the teaching approach has to be very much geared to the need of the moment and the need of the student – always different. (Laczofy 2016)

Therefore in this passage, it is seen that Monika Laczofy has adopted a similar approach to that of her teachers, whereby she uses demonstration as a tool to introduce a concept to students when it cannot be explained clearly using verbal

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instruction. This concept of adapting the approach to education depending on the needs of the individual student was addressed in Chapter 2, section 5 in Carol Ann Tomlinson’s 2014 book ‘The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of all Learners’.

Although this thesis is primarily aimed at discovering the particular influences of international pianists on piano teachers in Australia, the interviews also drew comments by some interviewees that involved influences from international teachers other than pianists. A short discussion of these comments is included below.

5.4.2 Broadening keyboard skills through influences from international teachers of instruments other than piano

Regarding her approach to teaching students how to develop and play a phrase, Dr Bernadette Harvey remarks:

I learned a lot actually from one teacher who was a double bass player. I spent some time with him in Boston. He was able to talk to me about phrasing – how to develop a phrase, how to let a phrase breathe, and how to make long-term connections in music. This comes up a lot in my lessons when students ask me how to play a long line while keeping all the nuances. (Harvey 2016)

Here Dr Harvey indicates that the teaching and playing of a double bass player was an important ongoing influence for her, although it was unexpected. This shows how a piano teacher can be significantly influenced by other instrumentalists through application of learnt points to their piano playing.

Similarly, another participant Priscilla Alderton has been influenced in her piano playing through her studies with international harpsichord teachers:

I spent twenty years professionally at the harpsichord, and had years and years of study on the harpsichord. I think that it gave me a freedom at the piano because I didn’t have a vested interest at the piano…The harpsichord was creative for me. It was a new field of study at university, composers didn’t write all those instructions about how to play. Now my approach to what the composer has written in terms of direction is to think compositionally – what they are saying in terms of context, what their intention is based on, and where the piece of music is going. (Alderton 2016)

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She goes on to say:

I have learnt as much from playing on original instruments as I have from teachers I think. Playing Haydn on a Haydn piano, Clementi on one of Clementi’s, Chopin on a Chopin piano, not to mention playing French, Italian, English and German music on original instruments, tells you so much about what is easy, the appropriate touch, the sound composers heard, the relevance of articulation, pedalling, registers and so on. It has immeasurably enriched my approach to playing and teaching. (Alderton 2016)

Regarding the influence of her harpsichord teachers, Priscilla Alderton remarks:

I had two harpsichord teachers who were absolutely brilliant. Trevor Pinnock in London and Tijn van Eijk in Holland would be the two strongest influences because they would sit and work with me until I understood something. I would have two and three-hour lessons, and we would go deeply into what it was that I was learning. (Alderton 2016)

Thus it is evident that through studies and interactions with teachers of instruments other than the piano, both Dr Bernadette Harvey and Priscilla Alderton developed new insights and skills that they have found to be applicable to their current piano teaching and playing approaches. It is interesting to note the different ways in which these two teachers have been influenced by teachers of different instruments.

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5.4.3 Summary

In conclusion of this section, it is interesting to note the overall impact on interviewees who studied with several internationally-trained teachers. One example that stands out is that of Natalia Ricci, who over the period of approximately 30 years, studied with various teachers all over the world. She describes her experience:

…my training was highly unusual and deviated considerably from the norm, in that it was incredibly diverse and widespread taking place in so many different countries and with many pedagogues. I think the exposure and assimilation of such a variety of different pianistic approaches, traditions and schools has given me quite a unique perspective in a certain sense, which I can pass onto my students. (Ricci 2016)

There is no doubt that the experiences drawn on by this group of highly experienced Australian pianists have contributed to the variety and depth of their teaching in the Australian context, whether at the highest level of tertiary training or at earlier stages of the student’s development. As was observed in this section, immersion experiences can take on many forms. Some of the examples observed included studying historical keyboard instruments, paying attention to the musicality of other instrumentalists, or immersion in the musical life and literature of a culture that is relevant to studying piano repertoire. It has evidently been significant for research participants to keep alive the inspiration of their studies with internationally-trained teachers by drawing on approaches and even phrases that they have learnt from the various teachers, especially from studies overseas.

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5.5 The next generation of pianists

This next section will focus on the achievements and musical careers/activities that research participants have identified amongst their students. This section will indicate the types of activities that the next generation of pianists in Australia is becoming involved in.

Overall this research project has involved looking at three aspects – influences on interviewees of their internationally-based piano studies; the current teaching approaches of interviewees; and the types of activities and careers that their students, the next generation of pianists are currently pursuing. In order to form an impression of the possible futures of pianists in Australia, a brief overview of the goals and destinations of the next generation of pianists trained by this group of participants will be presented. A follow-up study investigating whether influences on future generations are evident from their teaching approaches would be useful, however this is beyond the scope of the current thesis.

This section is based on two related interview questions asked about students of interviewees. The participants were invited to speak about highlights that their students have achieved, especially with regards to diploma level exams and playing in competitions, and notable performances. The second question invited participants to discuss the types of activities and career paths (where applicable) that their students have chosen. The purpose of asking this question was to discover the types of influence and contributions that piano students of interviewees are bringing to the community. This section will take into account teachers’ reports of the activities of a wide range of students from beginners to more advanced students at tertiary level and above.

To begin with, it is clear that community outreach activities figure prominently in the performance activities of current students: some of the most common mentioned include playing in churches, hospitals, and nursing homes. Associate Professor Daniel Herscovitch remarks:

Some of them belong to churches and they help out with the music there and play in nursing homes. (Herscovitch 2016)

This type of community involvement was also observed by Meriel Owen, who states that her students often play at nursing homes and hospitals:

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Voluntary performances for nursing homes and hospitals are frequent. (Owen 2016)

Claire Howard Race also notes that some of her students are involved in playing music or doing music coordination at church, and playing at nursing homes as well:

Playing in church would be the main one at the moment – doing special items…Or they might be involved in coordinating some of the music…Playing in the nursing home up the road here [Avondale College, NSW] – one or two of them have done that – that sort of contribution. (Ricci 2016)

It appears that this type of community outreach is common in the activities of today’s performance students, as it benefits the listener – whether a church attendee, a nursing home resident, or a hospital patient – and allows the student to develop their performance skills without the pressure that comes with performing under scrutiny on stage, especially at competitions.

While community outreach performances make up an important avenue for the student performer, Dr Kim Burwell makes an interesting comment about musicians getting involved in many musical activities during their careers. She states:

As you’ll know, musicians normally have portfolio careers. They do lots of different things. So most piano students when they get beyond a certain level of advancement they teach privately. Most of them are earning a spot of money through accompanying. Less often they get opportunities for solo performance. Ensemble performances are much more common. But if they’re studying music full-time, as would normally be the case for my students, then they’re going to be involved in a very wide range of music activities. (Burwell 2016)

Likewise, Stephen McIntyre comments on the range of music-related activities and careers that his students pursue:

Some of them do a lot of one-to-one teaching. Some of them do teaching at private music schools, and some teach at secondary music schools. A lot of them play in community concerts. There are a couple of them who play for charity concerts. They’re very keen – as I’m sure most young people are – to get as much exposure as possible. There are two or three of them attached to various music schools, and at a high level internationally. (McIntyre 2016)

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It is a well-established fact that today’s musicians will usually embark on a multi- faceted career in which they may be doing any combination of teaching, accompanying, performing, and other musical activities. In her 2008 book Understanding the Classical Music Profession: The Past, the Present and Strategies for the Future, Professor Dawn Bennett states:

In describing their use of different skills, musicians note a wide variety of arts- related roles such as orchestral, freelance and chamber work, retail and hire businesses, teaching practices, artist management and positions on boards and committees. The skills that musicians describe are indicative of the dominance of protean careers. (Bennett 2008, 124)

Adelaide-based pianist Monika Laczofy comments on the wide range of musical career paths that her students have chosen:

Trained musicians are needed in ABC administration, libraries, and entrepreneurial organisations to name just a few. They’re still working in music, in musicology, music history areas – so there’s plenty of scope outside actual performance or teaching! (Laczofy 2016)

Similarly, Victorian-based harpsichordist and teacher Priscilla Alderton describes the variety of career paths that her students have developed when pursuing musical studies at university:

I’ve had a number of students do music at university, including Masters and Doctorate courses. Quite a few of them are teachers, performers. One of them is in music administration at Melbourne University, setting up courses. One is a music therapist. One is a composer. (Alderton 2016)

The career path most commonly chosen by participants’ students is that of teaching, which includes one-to-one teaching, giving masterclasses, and secondary music teaching in schools. Claire Howard Race remarks:

Most of our graduates here [Avondale College, NSW] would be going into secondary teaching. (Race 2016)

Monika Laczofy from the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide comments on the fact that many students go into teaching because the performance world is not considered a full-time career for most pianists:

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Most of them have gone into schools to teach because there’s only so much room for performance. We run a lunch hour concert series here for advanced students and a lot of them come back and play in those. (Laczofy 2016)

Similarly, Vicky Yang estimates that approximately half of all her students choose to pursue careers as piano teachers, with some students wishing to become both solo and orchestral performers (Yang 2016).

Regarding the activities that her students get involved within the community, Dr Bernadette Harvey states:

Well they are teaching and I think my students are lucky in that because I teach the pedagogy program there will be things in the coming curriculum that do engage with the community more…I see it as vitally important that my students are connected to the outside community so that they feel comfortable, safe or validated in their studies at the [Sydney] conservatorium – that they’ll have something to go into when they leave. (Harvey 2016)

This engagement with the community is also seen in Clemens Leske’s interview where he comments on the performance and community engagement opportunities that his students take part in both at Sydney Conservatorium and at various music clubs:

As far as performances go, there’s quite a bit at the Conservatorium – organised outreach events, not only for piano but ensemble studies as well – where many tours can be arranged. The actual lunch hour concerts here in Sydney every Wednesday are a very good opportunity for them, and a whole bunch of the public come. And finally, performances for the many and varied music clubs around Australia and NSW…(Leske 2016)

Some teachers emphasised having students who had gone on to become either solo or chamber music performing artists, or accompanists. This category is interesting to observe as many pianists strive to make music performance to be at least some part of their career or ambitions, even if they primarily take part in another musical activity such as teaching or composing.

A prominent area of piano performance that students of some interviewees have gone into is that of accompaniment. Associate Professor Jeanell Carrigan from Sydney Conservatorium speaks about how she emphasises the teaching of accompaniment and training her students how to become teachers:

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I’ve tried to train students to be able to work as accompanists, and so that’s obviously helping the community, but I think not only just that, but that they actually understand what the actual role of an accompanist is…Of course I try and teach my students to be good teachers themselves so that they take into the community proper instruction, that they can actually start properly instructing as well. (Carrigan 2016)

She additionally states:

A lot of my students are doing accompaniment and chamber music. So highlights I guess are really successful performances they’ve had. I had a student a few years ago who came in second for an accompaniment Eisteddfod, which was quite an amazing achievement. (Carrigan 2016)

Luba Totoeva also remarks on how her students contribute to the community through accompaniment:

Those ones take that it more seriously sometimes form trios or duets or they participate in orchestras…Sometimes they accompany students who are doing AMEB beginner grades. (Totoeva 2016)

Similarly, Meriel Owen states:

Sometimes when they get to be a little more advanced they accompany friends, and play for a friend or family or they perform for church. We encourage them to do as much as possible. (Owen 2016)

Likewise, Wendy Bisset indicates that two of her students – a mother and her child – both do some accompanying (Bisset 2016).

The effect of accompaniment is two-fold. It helps the soloist to learn how to work with other musicians, which sooner or later they will need to be able to do for their own performances. On the other hand, the accompanist learns how to anticipate any improvisation from the soloist on the spot and can rapidly adapt so that there is coordination between the roles of accompanist and soloist.

While there are various career pathways that students of interviewees have taken in music, there has also been a great variety of outreach activities observed that allow the students to get involved with the community. From the interviews, it can be seen that professional teachers regard it as essential for pianists (and all musicians in general) to be involved in musical activities that have a positive

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impact on members of the community and also gives musicians the opportunity to develop their performing skills.

An example of developing the student as a recitalist is highlighted by Natalia Ricci who discusses the contribution of two of her past students who have become involved in giving lecture-recitals, performances and teaching:

Both students did an enormous amount to disseminate their research in the local community and educate audiences here about Spanish piano music. (Ricci 2016)

This is another way that students of participants have contributed to the community. In this case, these students of Natalia Ricci have made it their goal to introduce and educate community members about Spanish piano music. Natalia Ricci noted that piano students in Australia are rarely exposed to Spanish repertoire (Ricci 2016).

Some interesting career pathways noted are that piano students have gone into arts administration, have explored various types of performances – solo, accompaniment, and as part of ensembles, as well as different types of piano or general music teaching roles. For most pianists who make a career in music, they will have a multi-faceted career, as mentioned above by Dr Kim Burwell, and emphasised by Dawn Bennett (2008). Hence, the next generation of pianists appears to be one that will take on many roles, rather than staying exclusively with one type of career pathway in music that may not support them financially or in terms of emotional satisfaction throughout their lives.

Competitions

One of many significant achievements of participants’ students mentioned was that of taking part in competitions. There are several examples presented by interviewees who speak about their students participating in competitions. One example is Sydney Conservatorium-based pianist Clemens Leske who reflects:

Well I’ve had many successes in the Sydney Eisteddfod and international competitions – which involve a far greater and more challenging pool of repertoire, as well as the experience of being soloist in piano concerto and orchestra performances (such as the Lev Vlassenko International Piano Competition). I’ve had a couple who recently received major overseas study

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scholarships, as well as being accepted into prestigious European and US tertiary institutions. (Leske 2016)

This is a very notable example of students who have gone into competitions, and as a result of their high level of achievement, they have received scholarships and opportunities to study at prestigious musical institutions overseas. Similarly it is seen in Vicky Yang’s interview that due to her connections with many overseas music institutions, she has information about various places of study, and as a result, some of her students have been able to choose to study overseas for some time (Yang 2016).

Some project participants who have had students take part in competitions have also indicated that they do not actively encourage their students to take part in competitions. One participant, Dr Bernadette Harvey remarks:

…students have done competitions but I tend not to keep track of competitions too much…I don’t force them into competitions. If they want to go in then I tell them to enrol themselves…I have had one particular student who’s very talented win concerto competitions here and there. (Harvey 2016)

Claire Howard Race comments on her students being relatively uninterested in taking part in competitions.

None of them are really keen to do competitions…It’s not overly encouraged in this environment [Avondale College, NSW]. (Race 2016)

She emphasises that rather than competitions, a particular type of achievement that stood out amongst students is that their confidence levels increased:

The small achievements are just students being confident enough to play at church and being happy to do a special item. I think for them they feel a sense of satisfaction so that makes me think, “Oh that’s great. I’m glad I encouraged them to do that because they felt good.” (Race 2016)

Similarly, Sydney Conservatorium-based Associate Professor Jeanell Carrigan remarks:

The most important thing I think is the performance, not just the winning of the competition. So I don’t know if I’m looking at my students hoping that what they’re achieving will be something like a first prize. Whereas if they give a really good performance, they understood something and they pass the exam at the same time, well that’s always an asset I think. (Carrigan 2016)

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It is clear that although Jeanell Carrigan does have students taking part in competitions, she prioritises the quality of the performance and the musical learning that can come from it, over a competition result. She emphasises the importance of not allowing the winning of first place at a competition to be the primary goal or priority of her students.

This relaxed attitude of letting students choose their own path with regards to competitions is typical of the majority of this study’s participants. If students absorb this approach from their teachers, they would be able to gain value from competing while not being preoccupied with winning. They may feel encouraged to prepare well for competitions, while at the same time absorbing the attitude and feeling that the quality of the performance and the experience are more important than winning. The extra pressure of being expected to win is an element that the teachers surveyed would clearly wish to avoid in their students’ experience.

Graduate studies

Regarding graduate studies, Dr Bernadette Harvey states:

…I’ve had a few students go overseas to further their education through graduate studies. (Harvey 2016)

Similarly, regarding his students choosing to pursue graduate studies, Associate Professor Daniel Herscovitch remarks:

In Australia I’ve had a few who after they’ve done their undergraduate [study] want to continue with a postgraduate degree, and I generally encourage them not to do postgraduate at the [Sydney] Conservatorium. I think that they should go elsewhere and if possible, overseas…I encourage my students when they graduate to go overseas to do postgraduate studies, and I’ve had postgraduate students come to me from overseas. (Herscovitch 2016)

This is an example of a teacher who actively encourages his students to pursue postgraduate studies overseas, and in turn is approached by overseas students to teach at postgraduate level. This emphasis may perhaps be because Herscovitch himself continued studies abroad after first studying at Sydney Conservatorium: the students follow in the footsteps of the teacher with the

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encouragement of his example. It is possible that the opportunity to study overseas can have far more impact on a student who has been prepared for the experience by their teacher’s previous experience. This may be due to factors such as different standards of learning, being completely immersed into a musical environment, and/or having the opportunity to study with well-known international teachers.

Summary

It seems from the extensive comments of the participants that overall it is viewed as essential for students to develop an approach to sharing their music through playing/teaching in the community and having a positive impact, rather than just pursuing music as a solitary venture. This community involvement allows them to enjoy the activity more than if it is merely an isolated venture, and it gives them the chance to collaborate with other musicians and share information about music/piano specifically.

As with the teacher trained to teach in a school or tertiary institution, the aim is to produce a student attuned to the social and educational needs of the next generation. The piano student usually experiences both forms of music learning – the one-to-one lesson on their instrument, as well as the classroom experience not specifically directed towards that instrument. How students combine and integrate these different forms of learning may be a key to their ultimate development and ongoing enthusiasm for their music-making.

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6.0 Conclusion

This study set out to capture the experiences of Australian pianists who have pursued studies with internationally-trained teachers either overseas or in Australia, and to investigate the teaching trends and perspectives that have emerged out of these experiences. This was done by conducting online surveys and interviews with a selected group of Australian pianists, who were invited to speak about their experiences and perceived influences. A varied collection of experiences were gathered that not only gave a fascinating insight into the piano teaching trends that are being passed on to the next generation of pianists, but also revealed valuable knowledge about the types of factors that can impact how the individual pianist is influenced through their studies with a particular teacher(s). From the collected data, it is evident that project participants have been significantly influenced by studies with internationally-trained teachers. At the same time, the data shows that for some participants, their work with teachers whose studies have been based entirely in Australia was also shown to be highly impactful.

While each of the individual research participants experienced a different sort of impact from their studies with internationally-trained teachers, it has been interesting to note particular trends amongst many participants. There was a link seen between how the participants perceived they have been influenced, and the strength of their teachers’ attitude towards the particular concepts that made a lasting impact upon participants.

It was interesting to note that while there were examples of participants who studied with very highly regarded and influential internationally-trained teachers and were greatly influenced by these periods of study, some of those interviewed reported that they were not impacted so greatly through these studies abroad, either because they did not agree with the teaching style, or because they had already developed their own ideas through research at that stage or later on in their career. Similarly, there were also examples of participants who were so greatly impacted in their early years of study with Australian-trained teachers that the fundamentals of their approach stayed with the approach of those teachers. This was a pattern seen amongst participants who studied with internationally-

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trained teachers later on in their careers as postgraduate students, and in general among subjects who were not born overseas.

The selected group of participants pursued studies with internationally-trained teachers in almost all parts of the world where Western classical music is studied and performed, with training identified as taking place throughout various countries in Europe, China, Singapore and Japan, the USA, and Canada. It is clear that the pianists who were interviewed for this thesis have brought a wide spread of pianistic traditions and styles to Australia. Interviewed participants did not necessarily choose their study destinations on the basis of English being the first language of study or the primary language of the host country, but selected their studies based on particular music institutions or pedagogues with whom they wished to study. It was also noted that several participants stated that their studies took place in various countries around the world.

The overall categories of influence which participants were asked to discuss included their teachers' approach to technique, interpretation and the interconnections between these aspects, as well as verbal and demonstration- based instruction in the lesson. Additionally, repertoire choice was seen to be a predominant factor that shaped the learning experiences. Concepts of a holistic learning approach that included learning about the historical context of repertoire and generally about music, were also identified as being impactful on many participants.

Another theme that stood out in the interviews is the awareness of generational change that current piano teachers are bringing to their teaching. The impact of digital technology is one of the most obvious areas of change. Several teachers spoke about how they adapt to the way that young students learn in today’s world, and so they use technology in lessons that was not available in their own student days. Aspects embraced by the participants in this study include the use of YouTube to study different performance styles, and recording of lessons so that their students can reinforce lesson points in their practice at home. This has led to pianists who have trained with teachers of previous generations now working in different circumstances where technology is accepted as an essential part of learning. The incorporation of technology in music education is viewed as being beneficial towards students as outlined by Doane University-based Dr Danni Gilbert who states:

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Music teacher educators can benefit students by ensuring they are fully primed to navigate the current trends in policy and culture. This includes the need for them to be able to successfully select and incorporate technologies relevant to the courses and students they will teach. (Gilbert 2016, 162)

These overarching aspects have contributed to the breadth of vision that the pianists interviewed for this study brought back to Australia, to impart to the next generation of Australian piano students through their playing and teaching.

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Appendix A: Online Survey Questions

1) How long have you been teaching? (check relevant box – Less than 5 years, 5 – 10 years, 11 – 15 years, 15 – 20 years, 20+ years) 2) What is the average age group/level of students that you teach? 3) List the piano teachers you studied with and where you studied. 4) List any diplomas from conservatories or tertiary degrees you have received. 5) Have you had students that have completed diploma level examinations either through the AMEB examination system or other examination systems, and/or a tertiary level degree? 6) Have you put students through competitions such as Eisteddfods or similar? 7) Do you give workshops/masterclasses? Where and at what level of students? 8) Could you describe one of your teachers’ approaches that has affected your own approach to teaching? 9) Who has been the biggest direct influence on your teaching style, and why? 10) What professional activities are your former students currently involved in? (Answer if applicable) 11) How often are your students contributing to the local community through their piano playing/teaching? (check most relevant box – weekly, monthly, 3 – 4 times a year, 1 – 2 times a year)

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Appendix B: Interview Questions

The teacher’s approach

1) Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice? 2) How do you go about updating your teaching/playing skills? i.e. attending masterclasses, studying with particular teachers in Australia or overseas, through conferences, research etc.

Influences

3) Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could first tell me what teachers you studied with and where? 4) Who have been the main influences on your own playing and teaching approach, and how have they influenced you? 5) How have your teachers influenced your choice of repertoire in teaching and/or playing? 6) How did you keep track of key points at your lessons?

Students’ Achievements

7) Could you talk a bit about highlights that your students have had? For example, having completed diploma level examinations in the AMEB examination system or other examination systems, playing in competitions such as Eisteddfods, significant performances etc. 8) What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing/teaching?

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Appendix C: Interview Transcripts

Bernadette Harvey – 26/05/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice with regards to any teaching philosophies or approach you may have?

BH: For me everything comes from sound. Everything that I try to teach or ask my students to do always comes back to that: sound – so that they know in their minds what sound they need to create. Only years into my career did I understand the importance of the physical coordination that is required. More recently, the neuro-pedagogical approach to piano playing in general has become quite important to me. My approach I wouldn't call particularly from any piano tradition - like the Russian school or the French tradition, or German - but I'd say that my upbringing as a student was a combination of those – so that would be a Russian influence and French influence. The other important thing I underscore with my students is an analytical approach to understanding music so I do make my students analyse music. It's very basic, but I find they need to know just enough to be making informed choices. And what else? Well I studied with Barbara Lister-Sink8 so I guess she has really opened my mind in terms of a neuro-pedagogical and physical freedom approach to teaching.

MR: So would you say that she was the main one that influenced you technically?

BH: She would be the one more recently. I mean my teacher in America at Eastman: Nelita True was very big on freedom. But I’ve found that a lot of teachers don't really know enough about the body to teach it effectively. So whilst my teacher Nelita was wonderful - probably the best influence in my musical life - it's not until I started teaching pedagogy at the Conservatorium that I really deepened my knowledge of teaching. That's when I came across Barbara and I went to visit her in the States and started her certificate program.

MR: Do you have any type of repertoire that you prefer to teach to your students?

8 An American teacher specialising in preventing playing-related injury.

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BH: I always begin with Bach. It's more a matter of what I think they need in starting out, so I do have certain composers that I encourage my students to learn and then if I see a student has the mind for it, I introduce contemporary music early on as well.

MR: Would you say that any of your teachers influenced your choice of repertoire in teaching or playing?

BH: Yeah I would say Neta Maughan. I studied with her when I was in Sydney when I was quite young, and she was always searching for different repertoire. Not necessarily contemporary music but just things that are different. She really instilled that in me. I found that when I was in the States I had a much broader set of preferences than students there.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? For example, do you attend masterclasses, keep studying with teachers, or do research?

BH: I do my own research constantly. I'm always researching. So I subscribe to magazines. I subscribe online to various publications. My research at the moment requires me to stay abreast of everything that's happening as much as I can. I don't go and study with teachers. I like to listen to masterclasses and see what other teachers do, but I find going to masterclasses something that's not really that helpful. It's more like a big show for the teacher. In terms of my playing I make sure that I have always projects to work on. They have been mostly contemporary repertoire. I'm always searching for new pieces. So I get money to commission people to write things for me. I do like playing new pieces all the time. I haven't really liked re-visiting repertoire but now I am, so I'm going back to Liszt and picking up my Bach again. I kind of like the balance that I have now, in terms of keeping my playing skills going, and I find recording is very good. I perform internationally still every year - especially in the States - and I get to play with wonderful international artists. So I think I'm pretty lucky and I'm still very involved in performing.

MR: Moving towards your influences, could you briefly tell me who you studied with and where?

BH: So my first teachers were my mother and my grandmother. My mother studied with Sverjensky, a really wonderful Russian teacher here in Sydney and

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so she would pass on what she learnt from him to me. Then I studied in Canberra with Ann Thompson. Then we moved to Sydney and I went through various teachers. I had Meriel Owen, Marjorie Hesse and Gordon Watson. I had a brief period of time with Tamás Ungár and Robert Silverman. Then I had Neta Maughan, and then I went to the States. That was all just in Australia. We moved around a lot. But I would always play for my mum and always get her feedback - I still do actually.

MR: Out of the teachers that you listed, who were the main influences on your teaching or playing and how did they influence you?

BH: My main influences would be Nelita True and Neta Maughan - Neta because she was so committed to her students and was very concerned, very caring, and she made what you were doing seem of utmost importance. She's just a great person – and as mentioned before she was always exploring different repertoire.

Nelita taught more about technique and freedom. She was also very big on freedom in the upper arm. She was from the Russian school. Neta never played. Nelita did play and was a very beautiful pianist, and she had an amazing sense of colour that I admired. She talked about colour a lot and was also able to develop each student at Eastman individually, so it's not like "Here is the Nelita True approach, here's a Nelita True student" - you know where a teacher sometimes feels the need to leave their stamp on a student. I don't like to see that either. I don't like to be able to identify a student's teacher. In a sense I guess it's a student-led form of teaching. Both women are great humanitarians and I like that more encouraging, and just a more easy kind of atmosphere in lessons. Nelita's sense of humour was really important when she taught. She's very gifted with language. Her metaphors that I like to use a lot of were wonderful. She's also very professional, very different - like never played favourites and very supportive of me - just very supportive of women in music.

MR: Did any of your teachers demonstrate for you in your lessons?

BH: Nelita would demonstrate a lot but not many of my other teachers did, and so I have to say that my approach to technique is my own through what I've read and just discovered on my own, and Barbara Lister-Sink has validated what I was doing naturally. So what I love about that is that I'm able to verbalise and tell

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people how I do things. I tell my students how I play technically and help them with that.

What my other teachers mostly did was just give general approaches to character. So in terms of how to do things specifically there was not much help that I can remember. I might be being unfair but I don't have a general feeling that I was taught anything particularly mechanical. As I went to Nelita rather later - for my Masters and Doctorate - my technique was something that she didn't really focus on. She does for her undergraduate students. I know she has quite a technical regime. I learned a lot actually from one teacher who was a double bass player. I spent some time with him in Boston. He was able to talk to me about phrasing - how to develop a phrase, how to let a phrase breathe, and how to make long-term connections in music. This comes up a lot in my lessons when students ask me how to play a long line while keeping all the nuances. So he taught a lot about that. Not in terms of playing the double bass, but in terms of feeling it in your body - through singing or breathing.

MR: When you were a student, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? For example, did you write things down, were your lessons recorded?

BH: When I was a student I didn't do that until I went to do my Masters, and then Nelita would just write a little bit in the score. Because I was just practicing all the time, after a lesson I would go back and solidify what she said and I would keep a little practice logbook. So it became more important to me what I wrote during my practice sessions. Then I would take my questions to her and she would help me with those. So I was kind of directing things.

MR: You said that your teacher would write little notes in your music. Do you go back to now? As a teacher do you see it affecting how you approach things now?

BH: I find writing in the score not to be so effective with students. What's more effective to me is that I bring in a nice chip/card and video on a good camera, and they go through that video and develop questions and a practice routine from that video. So I try as much as possible to put the responsibility on them to search for answers and understand problems. I try to guide them through the process of becoming independent. I just find that with writing in the score the student's don't

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look at it - not most of them anyway. It's not until things are in their own handwriting, or they type it up themselves that things sink in.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that your students have had? For example, diploma examinations, playing in competitions like Eisteddfodds, significant performances etc.

BH: I would say one beautiful result was a Chinese student who came over from China to do two years here at the Conservatorium. She came over very shy with absolutely no English and was a very timid kind of player. By the end of her second year she was playing really big repertoire. She scored the top mark that year in recitals, and I find her progress just a huge highlight – including the amount of English that she learned – a wonderful pianist.

Competitions – students have done competitions but I tend not to keep track of competitions too much. Again, I don't force them into competitions. If they want to go in then I tell them to enrol themselves. But I've had a few students go overseas to further their education through graduate studies. I have had one particular student who’s very talented win concerto competitions here and there.

MR: What other kinds of contributions are your students making to the local community through their piano playing/teaching?

BH: Well they are teaching and I think my students are lucky in that because I teach the pedagogy program there will be things in the coming curriculum that do engage with the community more. In June (2016) we're doing a refugee concert where all my students are playing. It's a public concert held at the conservatorium. I really feel strongly about the children of refugees and so I'm trying to find a way to connect with them musically even though our music is quite different from their community. I see it as vitally important that my students are connected to the outside community so that they feel comfortable, safe or validated in their studies at the conservatorium - that they'll have something to go into when they leave.

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Clemens Leske – 26/05/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice with regards to any teaching philosophy or approach you might have? And how you might relate technical training to musical training?

CL: My teaching philosophy in general is based first and foremost upon technical aspects - scales, arpeggios, and a mixture of exercises of varying degrees of difficulty. But all pieces are based on that - basically scales and arpeggios. They are drilled in from a very early age. Philosophy - I try and get the technique as early as possible if the person's not too late. I've taught students who have been taught in many different ways, which can be very difficult to change. I’ve tried to inculcate the absolute necessity of the arched palm or clawed hand with a view to achieving maximum finger strength, independence and dexterity. Shaped hands from a very early age or whenever they're starting basically. But mostly it's primary school upwards. Philosophy I suppose is all-encompassing, so it's not just practice at home and sort of knowledge of repertoire. I suggest to my students to listen to recordings of works, to be aware of early twentieth-century to middle twentieth-century recordings, as well as today’s live performances, and perhaps come to a comparison between the two and how performance practice has changed over the past century or so. Concerts - to experience live concerts. As far as the actual teaching, I think it's very important to be as detailed as possible yet maintaining a certain degree of simplicity to be understood and put into practice by the student. A fine balance between positive encouragement (essential in my view) and constructive advice is desirable. On the one hand you do not wish to overly discourage or depress the student, but on the other – and perhaps even worse – you do not wish to impart false delusions of grandeur. You need to find the best in students and work with that, and of course work on their weaknesses. At the centre of everything is the technical basis - scales and studies - specifically working on whatever the student lacks or needs to improve, on a case-by-case basis.

MR: Do you use a similar technical approach to any of your teachers?

CL: Yes in a way my technical approach is similar to some of my early teachers. My later teachers did not place as much emphasis on it because I had already developed a technique - an advanced technical skill. But the early ones - my very

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first teachers – were excellent, quite disciplined, and focused on the shape of the hand and so forth. One of their focuses was to make scales and arpeggios as musical as possible, not just exercises. It can be rather tedious at times just going up and down the keyboard, so one suggests varying touches, tempi, rhythms and melodic line shapes. I learnt a lot from my very first teacher Thea Kriek in Adelaide, who was very good at early performance training. Her concerts for the young students were famous around Adelaide every year.

MR: Would you consider demonstration to be a significant part of your teaching? Or are you more of a verbal instruction type of teacher?

CL: Definitely demonstration. Yes, definitely. However, I find myself occasionally getting carried away with this aspect. The over-riding necessity is to encourage as much playing within the lesson from the student as possible, especially immediately following a new concept/suggestion. I have two pianos in the studio. While students can watch a demonstration, they have to figure things out physically and mentally for themselves. The best way of doing that is solving it by themselves - you don't want to spoon-feed them. I suppose the younger ones of course you help much more. Talking about degree students, at that stage one hopes they are mostly problem-solving themselves.

MR: Do you have a particular type of repertoire that you prefer to teach your students, and if so, how does it relate to the training you received?

CL: I think that's a good question because the personal training early on is very impactful. I think you can't help but be influenced. It's the same thing as being influenced by your parents. Both of my parents are classical musicians so they instilled a routine early on. It can be, in certain circumstances, much more of a challenge for students whose parents have little or no musical background, and therefore understand little of what high level of commitment is required to arrive at a performing career. At that younger age, it's essential to have a good influence.

I try to have one to two pieces from each century so that they're working on different styles at the same time - cross-training. I think it's important to be flexible. But you cannot really go past Bach – a composer you can either play technically and in style – or you can’t. As far as developing legato technique, which can be acquired pretty much by any other composer really, and also

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awareness of voicing (i.e. the joining – or ‘elision’ – of consecutive notes within a melodic line - there are thousands of pieces. The requirements of any serious tertiary musical institution will always require in audition a performance of a Bach Prelude and Fugue and a Classical Sonata. So that's the next one - Classical Sonata. Probably Mozart and Beethoven are the obvious choice. Less obvious is Schubert, because the interpretative challenges are a trifle more subtle sound and articulation-wise (in my view anyway). Chopin's Etudes are the obvious choice from the romantic era – preludes as well. However, very few students are able to perform these to a high standard due to their extreme technical/interpretative challenges, so one must be acutely aware of each student’s strengths and limitations at the same time.

But I also study a fair amount of Russian romantic lieds, twentieth-century like Rachmaninoff. Also I like to encourage wherever possible new and interesting composers, not just the staple ones - they're all wonderful of course. I think it's good when a student finds their own loves and passions in repertoire rather than the teacher necessarily telling them what they must study all the time. Of course, there's a routine that you can give them, but after a while especially in the teens and late teens some students forge their own paths.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? Do you attend masterclasses, do you study with anyone once in a while, do you participate or attend conferences?

CL: Certainly one never really stops learning. As Socrates suggested, “Your first path to knowledge is to admit you know nothing.” Learning from and cross- fertilising ideas with my revered and respected colleagues is ongoing and essential, in addition to performing with them. Or there's video-conferencing which has been useful where sometimes the student is in a different university, but certainly masterclasses are very important and sometimes you get those within competitions - sitting on juries or discussion - not only about pedagogical techniques but just a short talk - recordings and stuff like that. It's important to get out there and not just be inside the teaching studio all the time. I haven't been to many conferences yet but have concrete plans to co-mingle ideas in upcoming conferences in Adelaide and Sydney over the next couple of years as part of my PhD studies on the “Piano Miniature”.

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MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could first list what teachers you studied with and where?

CL: Thea Kriek was my very first teacher in Adelaide when I was in primary school at age seven. And then when I was about twelve I changed to Noreen Stokes and they had a program called Single Study at the Elder Conservatorium. I was able to learn from her throughout my teens when I was in high school. Then I went to the Juilliard School in 1990 where I learnt from Herbert Stessin. I went to London where I studied with Joseph Seiger who was the pianist for one of the great romantic violinists of the twentieth century – Mischa Elmann. And I also had 6 – 8 lessons with Alfred Brendel, usually three hours long and accompanied by a serviced cup of English tea. Then I came back to Australia and landed a job at Sydney Conservatorium.

MR: Out of the teachers that you studied with, who have been the main influences on your own playing and teaching approach, and how have they influenced you?

CL: Noreen Stokes taught me things like following the score. Her discipline was exemplary - discipline is a very good habit to get into. It transfers into your overall work ethic. Each teacher was obviously very good. Some connect with some students more than others. I'm constantly trying to do that in my own teaching.

My greatest musical influences – although never being my teacher(s) per se – were my parents, violinist Beryl Kimber and pianist Clemens Leske (Snr.).

MR: Would you say that any of your international teachers stood out as having a major influence on you?

CL: Certainly, there were moments, fantastic insights that I still use today. Every teacher had a wonderful influence on me. It's just that my most impressionable years were in Adelaide. This was an extremely impressionable time. That's not to say that I didn't learn from the others, but that's just the time it was. I took notes from Brendel's lessons, virtually word for word. Unfortunately I didn't record them. Generally I wrote the notes down straight after the lesson - bar by bar.

Brendel thought of the piano as if it were different parts (instruments) of an orchestra. He was a world-class performing artist. We worked together on Bach’s masterpiece “The Goldberg Variations”. He suggested that I imagine a title for

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each variation. But I won’t go into details on that for now. I still apply this principle to any work that involves the themes and variations structure. There can be variation in sound, touch, dynamics, character, tempo etc.

MR: You've already mentioned how you took notes in Brendel's lessons, but for the other teachers, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? Did you just write notes on the score, were lessons ever recorded, or did you just remember things?

CL: I had a pencil on hand or my teachers would write in the score themselves. Noreen Stokes used to write things in the score at that younger age. So that helped a lot. At a younger age my memory was sharper and more acute, and I had a thirst for knowledge and felt that performing the piano presented an exciting challenge to approach mastery of the instrument.

MR: Do you keep track of key points for your students in any way? Do you encourage them to write down notes, or do you record their lessons?

CL: Yes some have recorded their lessons (sound and vision). But I think you can tell straight away from the first time which students have to work harder to learn some of the concepts. Some students are very quick to take on the concepts and keep them, and are therefore an absolute pleasure to work with. Others take more time to take on board new and challenging concepts; seeing improvement in these less talented students can be just as rewarding – if not more rewarding – as working with a talent.

You learn through your teaching over the years what to do. So you learn whether a student needs more or less input - whether that means writing things down or not. The younger students use a notebook where their suggested routines are written in so that they work towards something - especially technical exercises. Not so much with the older students but sometimes it is needed.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that some of your students have had? For example, having completed diploma level examinations, playing in competitions like Eisteddfods, or other significant performances?

CL: Well I’ve had many successes in the Sydney Eisteddfod and international competitions – which involve a far greater and more challenging pool of repertoire, as well as the experience of being soloist in piano concerto and

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orchestra performances (such as the Lev Vlassenko International Piano Competition). I’ve had a couple who recently received major overseas study scholarships, as well as being accepted into prestigious European and US tertiary institutions.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing and teaching?

CL: They do go into teaching and hopefully impart accurately what they have learnt previously. As far as performances go, there’s quite a bit at the Conservatorium – organised outreach events, not only for piano but ensemble studies as well – where many tours can be arranged. The actual lunch hour concerts here in Sydney every Wednesday are a very good opportunity for them, and a whole bunch of the public come. And finally, performances for the many and varied music clubs around Australia and NSW, (FMCA)9.

9 Federated Music Clubs of Australia

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Daniel Herscovitch – 05/05/2016

MR: First of all, could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice? With regards to your teaching philosophy and approach?

DH: That’s a pretty broad subject. To start with, obviously each student is different. When they come to me, they’re at a different level of attainment; even the tertiary students in the performance course are all at different levels, and similarly the non-performance students. So one has to individualise one’s teaching practice according to where the student is at. Beyond that, I guess in the first year that they’re with me I tend to be prescriptive with technical and musical matters that need to be addressed, but as they progress through the tertiary course I give them more and more freedom to do their own thing, interpretatively. Someone actually paid me a great compliment, an ex-student of mine. They say that at the Conservatorium10 all my students sound different. I thought that was very good because I don’t want them all to sound like me.

MR: Would you say that in your teaching you use a similar technical approach to any of your teachers?

DH: To an extent. Not so much to my teacher in Sydney, but to my teacher in Germany. But even there I’ve developed my own ideas partly through my own experience and partly through reading about these things. Of course the other thing is that all students have a different physiognomy, so if I teach a big 6’6” male student, he will have a different approach to the piano than a 4’9” female student. We all have different hands; some have big hands and some have small hands. One has to be flexible.

MR: Do you consider demonstration to be a significant part of your teaching approach, or is your approach more verbal instruction based?

DH: I certainly regard demonstration as equally important. I guess my lessons are about 50/50 demonstration and verbal, or maybe more realistically 40/60 – 40% being demonstration, 60% verbal.

MR: How do you keep abreast in your teaching and playing skills? For example, do you attend masterclasses, do research etc?

10 Sydney Conservatorium

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DH: Yes. At the Conservatorium we have quite a lot of masterclasses. We had Stephen Hough a couple of weeks ago. We generally have four or five each year from visiting pianists. It’s actually very interesting to compare the different approaches. I myself am still giving a lot of concerts so that keeps my playing skills up.

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could just tell me the names of your most influential teachers and where you studied with them?

DH: At the Conservatorium I studied with Alexander Sverjensky. I started with him as a private student but then I did the course so it was five years with him altogether. Then I went to Germany where I studied with Rosl Schmid. I was with her for four years.

She was very big on finger technique, which I needed because I didn’t have any when I arrived. She was a very firm disciplinarian, which I also needed. But I didn’t agree with a lot of her musical ideas. She was very prescriptive and also reflecting back I thought that there were more technical possibilities that she could have taught me. What she had taught me was probably perfect for her. If you asked her to play the Brahms second concerto on Saturday, she’d be able to do it. So she had an incredible facility. She had a very small hand and for that reason she probably thought subconsciously that what was good for her was going to be right for everybody. That’s not necessarily the case.

MR: How would you say your teachers have influenced your repertoire in your teaching and/or playing?

DH: Not a great deal because my teachers were fairly conservative with repertoire. You know - Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, a bit of Bartok. But I try with my own students to give them a much broader repertoire because I tell them that nowadays if you want to make a career in music, you have to have a repertoire that sets you apart from everybody else. So by all means play your Bach and Chopin, the Bach especially for polyphony. But I encourage them to play contemporary music and I encourage them also to look out for less well-known traditional composers, for instance Clementi and Hummel wrote fantastic sonatas. As well as the traditional repertoire I get them to explore the lesser well- known repertoire.

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MR: In the survey11, you mentioned that books by Neuhaus and Schnabel influenced you. Could you elaborate a little bit on how those books have influenced you?

DH: Neuhaus was a descendant of the Russian School. He talks a lot in his book about technique but also about sound and pedalling. And of course I’m a great admirer of pianists like Richter, Gilels, both of whom he taught. So I like to read Neuhaus’s thoughts on how he taught them all and the sorts of things he concentrated on. And interestingly he also talks about when he was teaching his weakest students, and the sort of things that he focused on. So although he does talk about technique in that book, he also talks about interpretation, pedalling. It’s the book of a musician, not just of someone who teaches. I guess I’d put it like that. He’s very aware that obviously we have to teach technique but in the last resort, technique is at the service of the music. Not an end in itself. In regard to Schnabel, obviously he’s an older generation… He doesn’t talk very much about technique. Also he didn’t write that book. It was written by a student of his. And he doesn’t talk very much about technique, but he does talk about interpretation a great deal, and about really reading the score. And not just reading the score precisely but working out the implications of the markings; what does an accent mean? It’s obviously different according to the different contexts. He talks about trying to work out the implications of the different markings and integrating those into your interpretation. And of course he also talks about pedalling and tone colour and so on. So it’s quite a fascinating book. I’ve looked at other similar books, but the ones that were most influential were Neuhaus and the teachings of Schnabel.

MR: When you were taking lessons with your teachers, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? For example, did you take notes, were the lessons recorded, or did you just remember them?

DH: Well, my teacher obviously put markings in my score and I guess apart from that I would have remembered. I didn’t write things down. I didn’t record the lessons.

MR: Do you refer back to those notes that your teachers wrote in the scores?

11 Online survey conducted with participants. The participant agreed to speak about this aspect that stood out in his survey response.

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DH: In my old scores yes. My teacher in Germany, her writing was very emphatic so I’ve still got all her markings. Some of which I disagree with, but I mean she was a fabulous musician so when I disagree it might not have been right for me, but it certainly worked for her. I heard her perform many times and she was always very convincing.

MR: Looking back on those notes/markings, do you see them affecting the way you teach now?

DH: Probably not a great deal, but it’s a bit hard to know what’s become part of your subconscious. They probably do subconsciously but certainly not consciously. I guess a lot of the things she taught me about technique, those I do pass on, the ones that are relevant for a particular student. But that would be the one thing that I do pass on. I am now an older generation, and she was yet from an even older generation, so we’re talking about two generations ago. I was studying with her in the early 1970s and piano playing now has become much freer. In the post-war years, particularly the 1960s and 1970s, there was obviously still the old generation, but the next generation was very precise, clinical, and very bound to the score. In the last twenty or thirty years the younger generation has been moving away from that, which I think is great. But my teacher in Germany taught absolute faithfulness to the score, more or less the same tempo throughout it and she did it with great musicality, so it really worked but it’s certainly not the only way. It’s not something I necessarily encourage unless in particular repertoire.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that your students have had like diploma level exams, playing in competitions?

DH: When I was in Germany, I freelanced after I finished my studies. I did that for about thirteen years. And one of my students used to improvise four-part fugues and things like that. He became an organist and the conductor of one of the most important choirs in Germany. He used to record for Deutsche Grammophon and I’ve got a couple of his CDs. So he’s one success. I’m aware that’s not piano but I try and give my students musical ideas, as well as about the piano. In Australia I’ve had a few who after they’ve done their undergraduate want to continue with a postgraduate degree, and I generally encourage them not to do postgraduate at the Conservatorium. I think that they should go elsewhere and if possible, overseas. A number of them have done that and have not exactly made

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international careers in the sense of always touring but have performed a lot overseas. I have one ex-student who recently did about sixteen or seventeen concerts in China. I have another ex-student who has performed widely in Europe. I’ve had students who’ve graduated from the University with first class honours. I have a girl whose honours project was Michael Tippett and she graduated with first class honours. She memorised all the Tippett sonatas, which is remarkable. But then she went on and did a degree in engineering and is now building bridges. She was quite remarkable. I also have an ex-student who’s become a rock star. She’s toured internationally with a rock group. I guess they’re the outstanding successes. I’ve had a few students graduate with honours. I encourage my students when they graduate to go overseas to do postgraduate studies, and I’ve had postgraduate students come to me from overseas. I’ve also got another ex-student who was a postgraduate student who also did a Masters. He’s Indonesian and he’s done a lot of concerts in both Australia and Indonesia. He’s made a lot of CDs as well. I also had an American student who came to me about 5 years ago. She did a graduate diploma and she’s since recorded CDs. She’s concentrated on black American composers. She did a CD and it got on the cover of an American magazine called Fanfare. There was a big interview with her and she talked about her experiences in Australia and what she felt she learned there. So those are some of the pupils who have done well after their studies.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing/teaching?

DH: A lot of them start teaching while they’re still studying. They do things like give little concerts in nursing homes and things like that. At the Conservatorium we obviously have performance and non-performance majors, and the non- performance majors - some of them have gone into very interesting fields such as musicology. But even though they’re non-performance majors they can still play at a reasonable level and they do a lot of teaching but also they organise their own little concerts, often with friends - chamber music concerts. Some of them belong to churches and they help out with the music there and play in nursing homes.

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Jeanell Carrigan – 30/06/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice, like your approach, your teaching philosophies?

JC: That's quite a broad question. I teach at the Conservatorium12 – accompaniment, chamber music, and ensemble. I don't actually teach solo piano very much at the moment because of how the workloads at the Conservatorium are allocated. When I teach piano I try and make sure that the student is learning about music and that it's not just teaching technical issues, but it's definitely teaching them about understanding styles and character. The music is probably as important as the instrument that you're trying to teach.

MR: How do you relate technical training to musical interpretation?

JC: Well technical training often has to be addressed separately because you have to have the technical skills to work on the musical side. If people haven't got the technical skills, which have to be taught quite intensely, then they can't start working on musical things so the bottom line is of course all about notes, about rhythm and control. The most important thing for a pianist is control and sound. They need the ability to make a good sound, which is both a technical and a musical aspect. So the technical issues are getting your fingers working, getting the control, and tone production.

MR: In the teaching that you do now, do you find that any of your teachers from the past have influenced the choice of repertoire you teach?

JC: I guess that there's certain repertoire that I have done myself and I think probably I would give that to students more often than any other repertoire. For example, I haven't played much Liszt myself so I don't really teach any of it. I don't very teach very much Rachmaninoff. In the past when I was mostly focused on teaching piano, etudes would be Chopin etudes rather than Liszt etudes, and probably there would be a lot of classical and romantic works like Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Haydn and Mendelssohn, Schumann, rather than Liszt for example or late romantics like Rachmaninoff. Then twentieth-century music would be more Messiaen, perhaps Ravel, Debussy rather than Scriabin. That was the music that I focused on when I was studying.

12 Sydney Conservatorium of Music

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MR: The teachers you've studied with, especially the international ones, did any of them focus on a particular type of music?

JC: One international teacher I've studied with was Karl Engel in Switzerland and he was really a Mozart/Schubert specialist. He himself used to do a lot of chamber music and a lot of song accompaniment, and he also had a few different courses in Switzerland. However he always played a lot of Schubert. So I also played a lot of Schubert and Mozart in that time. When I studied with my other teacher Alfons Kontarsky in Munich, he would try and find where he saw gaps in my training and we didn't do any French repertoire at all. We did mostly German repertoire: Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Beethoven. We did quite a few of the Beethoven Sonatas. We did four Schubert sonatas, and a lot of Brahms. But those were the composers that those two teachers were expert at. None of the teachers that I had in Europe did very much French repertoire, for example.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? For example, do you attend masterclasses, do you keep on studying with particular teachers, or do you do research, attend conferences?

JC: I play all the time and because I'm playing accompaniments and chamber music quite often, I'm also working with lots of other musicians who are obviously keeping me in shape. They're professional musicians as well as students. I also play for master classes for different students and I'm always working with professionals from overseas who are giving masterclasses in different instruments. I attend conferences and I'm often giving papers at conferences. I give workshops all around the place, so that I'm actually keeping the learning going by teaching and I'm picking up things from other people who are teaching at the same time.

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could just list for me the teachers that you've studied with and where?

JC: I studied with Nancy Salas in Sydney when I was late secondary and early tertiary level. Then I studied with Leah Horwitz at the Queensland Conservatorium until I went overseas and studied with Alfons Kontarsky in Munich, Konrad Richter in Stuttgart, and Karl Engel in Bern, Switzerland. On returning to Australia I did a Masters and studied with Pamela Page in Queensland. When I did my DMA, I didn't actually have any teacher, but had

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some lessons from Leah Horwitz on one or two works. The DMA I pretty much prepared myself. It was more focused on the thesis part.

MR: Out of the teachers that you listed, could you tell me a bit about the ones that influenced you most and how they influenced you?

JC: Well Alfons Kontarsky and Karl Engel I think influenced me the most. These teachers opened my eyes to the real piano playing standards. Alfons Kontarsky was such a brilliant sight-reader. He would often be called in to play concerts where he had to play Mendelssohn trios which he would just sight-read, which was amazing and that was the standard that he expected. He worked on the technical aspects in his own way and then he would work on the music apart from that. He also opened my eyes to using proper editions, as I'd never actually been really aware of the importance of playing from a proper score beforehand. I think that was something that was very influential. With Karl Engel I think he was such a great chamber musician but he treated lots of music as chamber music so that even if he was playing by himself he'd treat it almost as something that two people were playing - right and left hand as different people and he had a great idea of ensemble, which was fabulous.

MR: When you were a student, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? Did you have them recorded, did you take notes, or just remember the points addressed in the lesson?

JC: I used to write things on my music. I didn't ever record the lesson. I just used to try and remember. Everything that they said I'd go away and practice straight away anyway so it wasn't that I needed to write it down to record it because I'd already basically absorbed it and would practice whatever they said. It’s a good idea to record things but I never did that. I just always used to go away and play it.

MR: Regarding what you said about remembering things in your lessons, do you sort of see that affecting how approach teaching or playing now?

JC: A lot of things that I say to my students in lessons are frustrating of course if they go out of the room and they've forgotten it. But I know that sometimes they've got lots of things that they're trying to do and sometimes it probably would be a good idea if they could go out of the room and have a recording of the lesson. I wonder how many students actually listen back to the recording and so I

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think it's better to try and absorb and actually apply what they've learnt straight away to the piece that they're doing. I think they really have to understand why you say things and then absorb them, rather than listening back. You can't have students doing things that they don't agree with because it won't become natural in their playing. They have to understand why they're doing it and then actually really agree to do it so they also feel the same way. If they don't feel the same way then whether you listen back or whatever else, it's not going to change the fact that they don't want to do it that way - especially with things like sound or dynamics.

MR: Could you talk about highlights that your students have had? For example, diploma level examinations, playing in competitions like Eisteddfods, significant performances, those kinds of things.

JC: A lot of my students are doing accompaniment and chamber music. So highlights I guess are really successful performances they've had. I had a student a few years ago who came in second for an accompaniment Eisteddfod, which was quite an amazing achievement. I worked with her for quite a bit. Again I've had students who have gotten LMusAs, AMusAs and that's always very exciting, especially the ones who've worked really hard and have achieved that. I guess I'm not teaching so many students who are going into Eisteddfods. It's always nice though if they do really well or get A+'s in exams and things. The most important thing I think is the performance, not just the winning of the competition. So I don't know if I'm looking at my students hoping that what they're achieving will be something like a first prize. Whereas if they give a really good performance, they understood something and they pass the exam at the same time, well that's always an asset I think.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing and teaching?

JC: I've tried to train students to be able to work as accompanists and so that's obviously helping the community, but I think not only just that, but that they actually understand what the actual role of an accompanist is. I'm trying to teach them how to be that. Of course I try and teach my students to be good teachers themselves so that they take into the community proper instruction, that they can actually start properly instructing as well. So that they don't think that starting a beginner is something that anyone can do, but it's actually one of the harder

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things to do because you've got to start them off properly. But I'm hoping that they will take it out to the community.

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Kim Burwell – 06/12/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your piano teaching practice with regards to any technical or musical approaches you have?

KB: I'd find it very difficult to describe what I do in a nutshell. But the teacher who has probably influenced me the most in my life happened to be an international teacher.

MR: Do you have any specific technical approaches in your teaching that you like to use or does it change between students?

KB: There are some things that are pretty regular. There are principles, especially technical principles that I think are normally relevant to all people.

MR: Is there any type of repertoire that you prefer to teach?

KB: Not really, except that I suppose everybody teaches within certain parameters. I don't teach jazz for example. The repertoire that the students bring does tend to fall into the usual categories that I guess you see represented in the AMEB lists.

MR: Would you consider demonstrating on the piano to be a large part of your teaching, or would you consider yourself to be more of a verbal instruction type of teacher?

KB: I think they're both extremely useful. It depends on what you're trying to get across. Technically I think a mixture of both is going to be useful. It depends on what you want to achieve.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? Do you keep attending masterclasses, study with anyone in Australia or overseas, or do research?

KB: I love attending masterclasses. They're not limited to piano. I'm happy to go along to any masterclass because you can learn so much from that. In masterclasses you rarely see technique addressed in much detail so I wouldn't have thought that anyone would learn very much from a piano masterclass about technique in normal circumstances. They tend to be a bit more generic, a bit

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more about principles than details. And of course masterclasses are so limited in time that there's only so much that you can do.

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could tell me what teachers you studied with and where?

KB: While I was at school I had five teachers, and when I went to the conservatorium at Newcastle I studied with Carmel Lutton. And after that I went to Ronald Smith in England.

MR: Were all these one-on-one lessons or were there ever group lessons?

KB: No, never group lessons.

MR: How long would you say that you studied with each teacher?

KB: The first one was for a couple of years. Next one was a little bit more. They varied quite a lot.

MR: Which teachers would you say have been the main influences on your own playing and teaching approach, and what are the main ways that they have influenced you?

KB: That's Ronald Smith. His approach was pretty comprehensive actually. He addressed technique from square one onwards. But also that you can't really divorce technique from interpretation. So that was a pretty complete package.

MR: So you feel that he was the biggest influence on your playing and teaching?

KB: Yes.

MR: Would you say that any of your teachers influenced your choice of repertoire in teaching or playing?

KB: All of them actually. Yes, being more common for a teacher to choose repertoire for me than for me to choose it for myself.

MR: How much would you say that your teachers, especially the one that you studied with overseas, that their personality influenced you and in what way?

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KB: It depends on what you mean by personality, but I think if you're looking at their individual characteristics then probably the most influential thing is their commitment to the subject, passion for music, commitment to playing the piano, conviction - that this was just about the most wonderful thing in the world. It was all pretty impressive.

MR: So you're describing Ronald Smith at the moment?

KB: Yes that's right.

MR: How much would you say that his pianistic skills influenced you and in what way?

KB: Profoundly influenced. That teacher equipped me to develop myself so from him I got the tools that I needed to say what I wanted to say and to develop as an individual musician.

MR: How much would you say that your teacher's knowledge of the repertoire influenced you? Did they ever direct you to particular types of repertoire when you were learning?

KB: Yes he did and he was very good at picking out things that would be good for me. I'd discussed what I wanted for my future and he was good with that. There were parts of repertoire that Ronald Smith wasn't particularly interested in - more contemporary music for example. That didn't really influence me at all because I had the tools I needed to deal with that.

MR: When you were studying with him, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? Were things written down, were things recorded?

KB: Not recorded, no. He always liked pupils to take notes after their lessons and I generally did that to please him. But frankly I don't think I needed to, unless writing them down meant that that exercise itself was all I needed to make things stick. So he liked writing things down, but I'm not sure it was all that helpful to me personally.

MR: Did you usually go and practice right after your lessons? How did you absorb or cement the ideas that you came across in your lessons?

KB: He was quite specific about how to go about what he wanted me to do. And I followed it up.

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MR: Do you do the same thing in your lessons? Do you get your students to take notes after the lessons or do you have a different approach?

KB: A little bit different. I encourage them to think about how they're organising themselves. I think it's usually more helpful when people realise to take notes about their timetable and scheduling and what they want to accomplish. Writing down other kinds of details and annotating sources are usually useful but only because it reflects that process that you should be going through anyway. Part of it I guess comes from research that tells me that students don't usually get much input on how to organise themselves. It's very useful so I encourage that.

MR: Do you go back over those notes that you took when you were studying with Ronald Smith?

KB: Hardly ever. If I did I think it would be for sentimental reasons. If a teacher is really doing his job, then what he's teaching becomes part of what you are almost immediately.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that some of your students have had? For example having completed diploma level examinations, playing in competitions like Eistedfodds, other significant performances.

KB: Many of my students have studied for a Masters of music in piano performance. Competitions, I've never been much into. Children are more likely to participate than adults. In England where I've done most of my teaching, festivals and opportunities for children through competitions are just about the best platform that they can get for performing. And it's actually very useful as they enjoy getting together and playing for one another.

MR: What sort of age group do you mainly teach these days?

KB: Adults these days.

MR: So you would be teaching mostly advanced level students at this time?

KB: Yes.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community do your students make through their piano playing and teaching? For example, do they go into teaching, accompanying, or do they go off into other careers in music?

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KB: As you'll know, musicians normally have portfolio careers. They do lots of different things. So most piano students when they get beyond a certain level of advancement they teach privately. Most of them are earning a spot of money through accompanying. Less often they get opportunities for solo performance. Ensemble performances are much more common. But if they're studying music full-time, as would normally be the case for my students, then they're going to be involved in a very wide range of music activities.

MR: Just going back to your studies with Ronald Smith, could you tell me just a little bit more on what it was like to study with him? What were the sorts of things that he really liked to focus on in his lessons?

KB: He had very clear ideas about piano technique. He'd been reflecting on that, trying it out for many years by the time I met him. He was interested in macro- muscular control. His most influential teacher was probably Russian, and I believe the Russian school likes to emphasise that macro-muscular thing. Musically he was interested in argument, in structure. I think he'd been quite a keen composer himself. He was always interested in getting inside a composition and looking at problems that had been solved, so that he could make each piece that you're playing sound as good as possible. That's your job, to make it sound like a great piece. To find out how you can do that. He was also very interested in tone and colour.

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Lillian Camphausen – 14/03/2017

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your current teaching practice with regards to any technical or musical approaches you have, or any philosophies you might have in your teaching?

LC: The main thing is that I'm not into very finger-based technical things. I'll work more from the whole hand rather than just individual fingers. I work with the shape of the hand so for example I don't start with the C Major scales. My students start with B Major scales because you have the long fingers on the black notes and the thumb under thing works a lot easier in B Major than it does in C Major. It's also a lot easier to remember the fingering.

And then I do a lot from sound, rather than getting the right notes sort of thing. But having said that, I only have very few piano students. I haven't done a lot of piano teaching in the last few years. I've done a lot of music teaching because usually when I'm accompanying, I work with other students.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your playing and teaching skills? Do you attend masterclasses, still study with any particular teachers, attend conferences or do any research?

LC: I attend masterclasses but I must admit that they're not always piano masterclasses. They're usually string masterclasses or sort of more general pedagogy classes.

I don't do any formal research. I spend a lot of time watching masterclasses on YouTube, and I must admit I can’t often just enjoy other pianists’ performances, whether in concert or online, because I am constantly analyzing what they’re doing. I do also spend a fair bit of time reading about the music I play, the composers, and the historical context.

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could just tell me what piano teachers you studied with and where?

LC: After university in Adelaide, I studied with Detlef Kraus in Germany, and then I actually switched to harpsichord for a couple of years. Then I switched back to piano and I studied Lied interpretation, but of course a lot of that is very pianistic so it's a lot of work on sound in particular.

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Although my very first piano teacher wasn't very finger based, what I learnt from him was a lot again about sound. At my very first piano lesson when I was six I went into his studio. I was absolutely petrified. He was an Indian so he was dark, really big and really sort of messy and untidy. I had a grand piano in front of me and until then I'd only ever seen upright pianos. So it was all a little bit scary but the first thing he did was to take me over to his pot plant and there was light coming in through the window onto this pot plant. And the way the leaves curved on this pot plant - it was pretty dark and the leaves just got lighter and lighter until it was a really bright spot. I've still got that picture in my head. Then we went to the piano and he just got me to play, to experiment on the piano, to make that picture. So we just basically started very low in the piano, very soft and just with one finger, and went up the piano until we got to a really high bright sound. So that was my absolutely first experience in learning the piano. So from the start translating something real, non-sound into sound. After that I must say he went back to the traditional way of teaching with fingers. But he was always playing with expression. My parents did a few tape recordings of us when we were little, and when I listen to them I just cringe. It's just so terrible - completely un- rhythmical and uneven, and all the ways that you don't ever want a piano student to play.

But he planted enough of a seed in me. When I came to Australia (I was eleven at the time), I started studying with Noreen Stokes, who is a fantastic piano teacher. She worked a lot on sound and on expression with a decent technique. So it was really easy for me to know what she was talking about when we went onto expression and sound. But then learning the technique that she gave me, I could actually do it. Whereas back in Singapore, I knew what he was talking about but I just couldn't do it because I didn’t have any technique. I was so lucky to then study with Clemens Leske Senior at University who also focused on being efficient technically and on sound production.

MR: Who would you say have been the main influences on your playing and teaching approach, and how have they influenced you?

LC: The piano teacher I studied with in Germany - Detlef Kraus - both he and my lied accompaniment teacher Hartmut Höll worked a lot on sound. Sound is more with your whole hand and whole body, rather than the individual fingers. So both of them had this approach of carrying the sound in your hand. If you imagine the

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sound to be an object that you actually pick up and carry rather than making it with your fingers - so it's more like drawing the sound out of the piano, rather than producing it. I guess that's been the biggest difference between the sort of more conventional way of playing the piano and what I've learnt.

All my teachers in Germany spoke about literature, history, visual arts, opera, and philosophy. Detlef Kraus was even more hands-on about it. He took us – his class of piano students – to exhibitions. He gave us books to read about German history and art history. We had lots of political discussions etc. This has definitely influenced the way I myself teach both my piano students and the other instrumentalists I accompany. I give all my students long listening lists, or YouTube links to opera and ballet, baroque dances, and show them pictures of architecture, period costumes etc.

MR: Have your teachers had a great influence on your choice of repertoire in teaching and playing?

LC: Well yes, because it affects the way I play and therefore the way I teach. As I said with the students I tend to work more on sound and that sometimes means that in the first couple of years their fingers are perhaps not as quick and dexterous as some other students, but then they get a nicer sound. I play and teach very little highly virtuosic music and tend to choose more expressive, lyrical pieces.

MR: How much would you say that your international teachers' pianistic skills influenced you and in what way?

LC: Well again I think it's all this emphasis on sound. To exaggerate it, it would be like it wouldn't matter if I played it with my head or my feet as long as the sound is right. So it's starting from a different basis. Obviously you have to work out fingerings. I guess I work on hand positions a lot more than I did before. So it's finding out which hand position I need in order to make the sound I want to get… I think a lot more about the position of the hand and how to get there, and how to get to the ideal position for the next bit. So Detlef Kraus worked a lot on that, even in simple finger studies. We did the fifty-one finger exercises of Brahms. We started every lesson with those in front of everybody else. It was all about positioning your hand for every single note. Exactly how much rotation you

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need in your wrist, how high your elbow is, all that kind of thing - to get the optimal sound for every note. It was not just on what's comfortable for your hands or your fingers. It was just always about the sound.

MR: When you were a student, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? Did you write notes down, were your lessons every recorded? Do you see what you did back then affecting how notes are taken in lessons with your students now?

LC: I think from the start I always had an exercise book at lessons. Every teacher that I've had, we had an exercise book that they wrote things in, and I was supposed to read them. Like most students I probably didn’t look at them during the week and just before I went for my lesson I’d have a quick glance at it. I find my students doing exactly the same thing. However, what I've just recently started doing with my students is also having charts that they have to fill out during the week. Sort of more specific like, "I fixed the fingering in bar seventeen", and then they can tick the box when they've actually done that. So that's just my way of now trying to break that cycle of people not actually reading exercise books. I have some young students who have just started school. So they don't actually read and that's sometimes a bit of a challenge. It means that you've got to have the parents on board who are willing to read it with them every single time. They keep thinking that they only have to read it once a week, and I have to say to them that they have to read it every day. But I know that from myself I never did it either. Later on when I was older, once I started studying in Germany and even university here in Australia, then yes I wrote things down myself but I tend to write them into the scores, rather than in a separate exercise book.

In Germany all our lessons were in a class situation, so you never had your lesson all by yourself with the teacher. You had your lesson in front of the whole class. You got pulled to bits in front of the whole class. So I took a lot of notes there. I still have the notes from my exercise books and it's good to go back over them. Our teacher expected that if at some point you play the same piece that somebody else has played, that you've actually learnt from what they did and you are going to apply it. He used to get cranky if you put an accent on a certain note that doesn't have an accent, but he'd already told another student that three weeks before, stating that you should have been listening so you shouldn't be

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making the same mistake. It kept us on our toes.

MR: How long did you study with each teacher in Germany for?

LC: With Detlef Kraus, I was there from October 1980 - October 1984 and then I did harpsichord with Iwona Salling in October 1984 - 1986. Then I went to Cologne, Germany probably for two and a half years to study with Hartmut Höll. I think I did my exam in 1989 January/February.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that some of your students have had? For example diploma level examinations?

LC: I haven't had any students come up to a high level on the piano. I've coached a lot of other instrumentalists who have done diplomas and stuff. So it's working on more general musical things, not specifically pianistic things.

MR: Do you find that you bring what you learnt from your piano teachers over into when you teach other instruments?

LC: Yes definitely because what I learnt from piano teachers was mainly about sound, mainly about balance and about style and interpretation, and how that translates into sound. So that applies to all instruments.

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Luba Totoeva – 07/12/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice with regards to any teaching philosophies you have, especially with technique or musicality, how you go about teaching your students those kinds of things?

LT: My philosophy is based on what I was taught in my youth and on the knowledge I acquired in my later years at masterclasses and pedagogical conferences. So how do I go about teaching correct technique? Firstly I ask my students to practice scales in various rhythms and articulations: staccato - legato, then with dotted rhythm, with triplets, with quadruplets. Secondly we use many existing books on finger exercises. Some simple ones like the 60 Hanon exercises that everybody knows are irreplaceable. They do a great job to relax wrists and to get the agility and the precision of fingers. There are other valuable albums of exercises by Pischna, Schmitt, Brahms and Dohnanyi. The latter one offers a rather difficult set of exercises and I've found that students are quite reluctant to learn them. Many of these exercises include double notes, held or tied notes – which are difficult to execute. It causes discomfort, so students try to avoid them at all costs unless I find time in my lessons to go through them. And I do. Pischna or Schmitt books are having a higher success rate mainly because they don't cause uncomfortable sensations.

In my teaching I use a lot of studies by Czerny Op.261, Op.299, Op.740. I normally target a particular weakness in piano technique with a specific study to eradicate this weakness. Studies promote technique so much faster. Scales develop overall fluency and stamina whereas studies strengthen double notes, trills, octaves, thirds etc. AMEB is structured in such a way that one can actually avoid learning a study and choose to play a baroque piece in List A. Back when I was studying, studies were a necessity.

If we're talking about musicality, it is a different story as it's a very difficult element to teach. You can teach phrasing, interpretation skills, reading scores, dynamics and tempi markings more accurately – paying attention to everything that the composer has indicated us to do. And I do this at my best. However, if by nature a particular student is not musical or attentive it becomes more difficult. I had an experience when I had students who I had been teaching since the very

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beginning and they were quite inexpressive and emotionless to the music, and then by grade six they will suddenly open up and you can hear that they are making real music. And it is very rewarding to hear that they paying attention to all beautiful details. So sometimes students need time to start blossoming. However, with other students you can wait for much longer and it's still not happening. No matter how much you teach them phrasing and you demonstrate and listen with them, and recommend different CDs, they're just not very interested or artistic.

MR: When you're teaching a student, is demonstration a big part of the way that you teach? Or do you prefer to give more verbal instruction?

LT: I do both. It depends - if it's phrasing then I like to show. If it's a bit of a technical issue then I like to show them what I do with my fingers, with my wrist, hand and arm. I demonstrate phrasing. When there are big phrases and long sentences - sometimes half a page - there is no point to sit down and play the whole piece – then we analyse the score and discuss. I often sing or conduct. Sometimes I get my students to sing and feel how the phrases are developing and where the climax is. It depends on the age as well. With some students you can play the whole piece and it takes one and a half minutes. When we're talking about AMusA students, it's really just snippets of things that you can demonstrate.

MR: Do you have a type of repertoire that you like to teach your students?

LT: I think I don't. It's hard to say. I used to teach a lot of Schumann because I love Schumann a lot myself but I realise what I like isn’t necessarily what my students would like, and actually Schumann is a very difficult composer to play. I have the concept that studies are important. I tend to teach students a variety of styles. I love teaching romantic repertoire. Classical sonatas and sonatine play an important role in understanding the characteristics of the classical period. Bach’s legacy is as valuable for beginners as for advanced students. Chopin is a must for every pianist to experience. Mendelssohn Songs Without Words are fantastic teaching material. Brahms pieces are my favourite at the moment but only musical students can handle them. So I try to give a variety of composers to my students and again let them experience different styles. In modern music quite often students like to learn jazz pieces. And I like jazz myself, so we either explore Joplin or more recent composers such as Bailey or Norton.

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MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? Do you attend masterclasses, conferences, do you do research? Do you study with anybody else on occasion?

LT: Every now and again I do. I study now a different genre. I always wanted to learn improvisation so I am learning to improvise now. This skill was necessary in Baroque era. It would be great for me to learn it now and perhaps to teach as well. On a regular basis I attend masterclasses and lectures that are organised by Music Teachers Association. I like to encourage my students to participate in them, learning new approaches and absorbing different ideas. Last October I attended a pedagogy conference held in Sydney. Two days of lectures, demonstrations and meetings with composers were very fulfilling and informative.

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could first tell me what teachers you studied with and where?

LT: I studied with Igor Zoubenko in Kiev, Ukraine in the State College of Music, and I studied with Zoe Barskaja in Kiev as well. Both of them taught me to be very committed in my practice and to be true to the music. The paramount was always a composer’s intention, then my interpretation of it and how I was going to pass these ideas to the listeners. Technique was very important but secondary.

MR: So those two teachers you would say were your main influences?

LT: Yes I would say so. Well, my primary/secondary school teacher gave me such a good foundation. She was very encouraging. She kept repeating that I've got something special to share. Praising was her major tool. It did work for me. I got very inspired. She used to take us to Kiev Opera House to see various opera and ballet productions. This is perhaps how my taste and admiration for music were formed. My college teacher Igor Zoubenko took it to a different level. I was in my late teens and ready to embrace a more mature approach.

MR: How have your teachers influenced your choice of repertoire in teaching and/or playing?

LT: I have small hands and could not physically play big works of Liszt or Beethoven. I concentrated more on playing Debussy, Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, Bach. I used to play the whole Schumann piano repertoire. It was within my physical ability and I loved it. In primary and at the beginning of high school one

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can pretty much play anything because hands are still developing and the repertoire of seventh or eighth grade is quite manageable even with small hands. But later I had to choose carefully which Chopin Etude or Beethoven Sonata to play.

MT: So do you find it very different to teach students with big hands then?

LT: I think it's a benefit to have big hands. My teaching method will stay the same. The choice of repertoire could be different. We discuss various approaches with my students. They can play big textures or chords differently as they have bigger hands. However, interpretation requirements would be similar for any student.

MR: When you were studying with your teachers, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? Did you write notes on the score, were things every recorded?

LT: All of my teachers wrote in the score. Everything - fingering, dynamics, phrasing, pedalling. I have a few books left from those days - quite a few actually. So there would be a lot of comments. We used to have diaries in my school years. So teachers used to write what I was supposed to do.

MR: Now in your own teaching, do you write in your students' scores?

LT: I do write in students’ scores. With the higher grades I find there is no point of writing in their diaries, unless I like to protect myself. Normally their memory is quite good. Some students are notoriously not attentive. Writing key points is helpful for those students. I've seen some students writing notes by themselves. Sometimes I suggest to students to write in their own words rather than my own so the message gets to them quicker.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that some of your students have had? Eg. completing diploma level examinations, or playing in competitions, or had significant performances.

LT: Yes, two of my students this year passed their AMusA, which is fantastic. One of them came to me probably in year one, with some piano skills. I have been teaching him for about ten years and he just passed his diploma. I'm very happy for him. He is a very musical young man. He has been holding a Conservatorium scholarship for a number of years.

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Another student is a very focused young man. He actually did two AMusA’s this year - on flute and piano…So I have very intelligent students - they just have a passion for music. One of my students got a second prize in Nan’s Prize scholarship. I've got another student who studied with me since she was little. She came from China and couldn't speak a word of English. Now she is in year eleven and started to prepare for her AMusA. She did her certificate of performance last year - passed with A. I have a student who decided to make music his career. He plays a few instruments, so hopefully will see him in one of the courses either here or in Sydney. So I do have very dedicated students who I am very proud of.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing and teaching?

LT: I have a student who finished Newcastle Conservatorium and now teaches in Valentine. She has a very successful studio. Sometimes I help her with her advanced students. Another student of mine is a secondary school music teacher. Both of them perform regularly.

MR: Do many of your students end up going into accompanying and similar pathways?

LT: Those ones that take it more seriously sometimes form trios or duets or they participate in orchestras. A few of them are doing piano as a first instrument with flute, drums or saxophone as a second instrument. They perform in different ensembles. Sometimes they accompany students who are doing AMEB beginner grades.

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Meriel Owen – 11/11/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice with regards to any teaching philosophies or approach you like to use with regards to technique or interpretation, fostering student independence etc.?

MO: I recently spent three weeks in Italy with my teacher whom I studied with in 1978-9 - Lidia Baldecchi. Because I'm still teaching here in Orange Conservatorium, I've got a range of students, each requiring a different approach.

My philosophy is about producing good sound and also looking at different periods and explaining why the periods are different. Technique is something that comes with practice - using the fingers without tension in the arms and shoulders. My idea is that there is no fixed technique, as it depends on the shape of the hand and its flexibility. You can produce different sounds from different movements, so there's always variability with every student. But aiming to get a good sound without any tension in the arms and body is important. The choice of instrument is another important consideration; this needs to be maintained regularly so that practice is always a musical experience. Each student is encouraged to practice after the lesson to reinforce the immediate experience.

MR: Do you have a specific type of repertoire that you like to teaching above others?

MO: Each student is an individual, so choosing repertoire is sometimes a challenge. Small hands need thoughtful choices, and Baroque and Early Classical eras provide much material for those students. Also I prefer to teach good standard repertoire to accustom the students to quality music. Practice strategies are encouraged, with reading of the score in detail a priority, and analysing the structure and texture to provide insight to the composers’ methods.

MR: Do you use much demonstration in your lessons?

MO: Yes, after the student has made a conscious effort to unravel all the signs and directions.

MR: Were any of your teachers similar? Like they used demonstration rather than just verbal instruction?

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MO: Well I can't remember much about my very first teacher because I started when I was five. I know that I would practice judiciously and found correcting the errors difficult. Then I had a year or so with a nun in the country convent up near the Queensland border, who was very consistent and encouraged me to practice. I think I was probably more advanced more than most of their students and so they guided me as much as they could. I came to the Sydney Conservatorium at about the age of fifteen to the high school, and studied my diploma course with Alexander Sverjensky. I think he found my technique was pretty well established but he just made suggestions about different works where specific techniques were required.

I remember doing a Mozart concerto and there was a scale passage that was supposed to be played detached in the right hand, and so he showed me how to do that so that it had a consistent tone. One of the first things was reading the score and not looking down at the keys, working on gathering speed and making sure that there were certain aspects of style that belonged to each composer, like Beethoven's metronome marks. It involved learning a lot of repertoire and performing as much as possible.

Then I'd established my studio at home while my children were growing up. I was around forty when Lidia Baldecchi came. She came every year for about twelve years and I was so impressed with her methodology and her way of explaining things that I arranged to study with her in Italy. This association has been ongoing since the late 70s. (She just published a book in Italian and she's preparing an English translation).

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? You've mentioned that you have just come back from taking some lessons in Italy. Do you keep attending things like masterclasses, conferences, doing research?

MO: Yes. I go to the piano series in Sydney the city recital hall. This year I went to see Lang Lang. And I'm involved in adjudicating, giving workshops, and I attend other people's workshops whenever I can. My philosophy is that one never stops learning.

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MR: With the teachers that you studied with, could you tell me what sort of setting the teaching was taking place in? Was it always a one-on-one lesson, in a masterclass situation, or group lessons?

MO: They were mostly one-on-one lessons. I think probably when I was five I might've had twenty minute lessons a week. My mother probably supervised my practice. But yes the masterclasses, I would've participated in some. The first time I went to Italy two colleagues came with me and we'd go two or three times a week to three hour sessions with Lidia. Each one of us would have an hour but we would observe what each other was doing. So that was like a masterclass.

MR: Who have been the main influences on your teaching and piano playing approach, and how have they influenced you?

MO: Well I suppose all my teachers influenced me. I had lots of encouragement when I went to the conservatorium - people like Marjory Hesse, and the Music Teachers Association who organised Summer schools, competitions, performing opportunities. Eisteddfods and AMEB exams were a regular source of performing, and feedback.

MR: How much would you say that your teacher's style of teaching influenced you? Would you say it's greatly influential?

MO: Oh, yes. Every teacher influenced me in a positive way. I remember my first teacher would take us to the Eisteddfod and say, "Just remember whoever wins, it's the choice of the adjudicator. It's just one person's opinion. Don't be disappointed if you don't win." The student has to be able to accept criticism to learn from that experience that it takes dedication and practice to get better results.

MR: How much would you say that your teachers' knowledge of repertoire influenced you and in what way?

MO: Well I think that they chose what was appropriate for me, because I have fairly small hands but a pretty good stretch. But I also had very flexible hands so I could play fast pieces. I think at the Conservatorium my pieces were chosen very carefully for not only my technical ability but for my personality. Then I think I expanded my repertoire when I came to Italy as a teaching tool. Repertoire is

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very important in reflecting personality and musical insight, as well as being an entertaining tool.

MR: As a student how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? Did you write notes in your scores, or were the lessons ever recorded?

MO: I wrote notes in the score, and wrote things down later. Going over the notes I'm reminded of things that we had discussed in the years previously, and hearing students play jogs the memory.

MR: Do you ever go back to those notes from the past and read over them, and do they affect how you interpret things now?

MO: Periodically, but I need to do it more often. However many aspects of musicianship become ingrained, and responses become automatic.

MR: The influences that you got from your teachers, do you see them affecting you more as time has gone on, as opposed to when you initially studied with them?

MO: Oh, yes. Because you hear advice, and sometimes do not absorb the message until a later moment.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that your students have had? For example, completing diploma level examinations, Eisteddfods, other significant performances. Do you take your students through Eisteddfods?

MO: It is always a challenge to prepare students for Diplomas as well as Grade exams, ensuring the syllabus is followed carefully and attention is given to each dimension of the requirements. Eisteddfods give assurance in performance skills, and in all experiences the feedback from adjudicators and examiners is always valuable.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing and teaching?

MO: I think they get involved in musical performances and in musicals. They're either playing keyboard in the orchestra or they're performing by singing. Many of them are learning a second instrument and so they play in ensembles. Sometimes when they get to be a little more advanced they accompany friends, and play for a friend or family or they perform for church. We encourage them to

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do as much as possible. Busking is popular at Christmas time. Voluntary performances for nursing homes and hospitals are frequent.

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Monika Laczofy – 01/06/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice, with regards to teaching philosophies such as fostering student independence, or relating musical interpretation to technical training, etc.?

ML: My philosophy is basically that I believe we need to educate children in music and not just teach them how to play an instrument. This means that right from the beginning we need to give them the full building blocks of how music is written and how it's formed. If they understand how, they can create chords and begin to understand harmonic colour. My idea is to give them a clear understanding from which they can build. I’ve seen that children can go successfully through the AMEB exams, they can memorise their three or four pieces and ‘blitz’ them through, having learnt them all by ear. I have accepted new students who have come asking me to teach them from about third grade on, saying "Oh yes I got an A+ for grade two". Giving them a piece of music to read, I’ve found that they can't read the notes. There seems to be a lot of rote teaching going on geared mainly toward passing exams. This is really not good because they grow up learning only by memory, by copying. When they reach a level at which the process gets too complicated, they give up because they have never really understood how to help themselves. I think the whole idea of teaching music is to pass on a love or at least an appreciation of it, the history, the background, and the tools which enable and encourage students to investigate music for themselves, so that they can eventually become self- sufficient. This wonderful thing we call music can last them a lifetime and help them through all kinds of emotional situations.

MR: Do you have any specific technical training approach?

ML: Hands are all very different. We must look at the hand and how it works best. If the hand is stretched out of its natural and healthiest position, it's not going to function very well. I certainly introduce small exercises, often made up of scale and arpeggio figures. If other exercises are needed, I use some of the very early AMEB Piano Series from quite a few years ago, which all had little exercises in the front of the book. They included two part exercises, an introduction to dealing with two voices in the one hand, contrasting articulation/tonal colours etc., in very small stages. There are some for each level of difficulty.

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MR: Do you have any type of music that you prefer to teach to your students?

ML: No. I'm a classical teacher so Bach, Mozart, Beethoven onward! I have had students who don't want to play the classics. They want to learn pop and that's no problem. There is plenty of very good jazz music available to them. However, students who begin with only jazz find it very difficult later on to move over to the classics. Beginning with a basic classic training, they can really branch out into any area of playing so that's usually the better way to go.

MR: Did any of your piano teachers have this sort of concept as well in their teaching, that the classical way was the way to start?

ML: Yes I think most of them did...I always include some works from the AMEB Leisure Series books and if a student chooses the traditional series, then the extra lists can of course be from the jazz area, so they get a good variety. They can learn a lot from jazz style music, especially when it comes to rhythm and coordination because there are challenges in that area that they don't meet in Mozart, Clementi, Haydn and so forth.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? Do you attend masterclasses, do you keep studying with other teachers, do you attend conferences or do research?

ML: Well yes, as a professional pianist/accompanist, I play a lot of chamber music and am always learning new material. The more we learn, the more we realise that there’s no end to learning. I do attend conferences when possible. Being involved with the AMEB, Music Teacher’s Association and Accompanists’ Guild OF SA. I participate in seminars, conferences, professional development days and concert performance days. Music is such an incredibly wide field – we’re fortunate to have so many choices!

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could just first list me the teachers you studied with and where?

ML: I come from Austria where I played piano-accordion as a child. Coming to Australia I began piano in a Catholic boarding school in Sydney. I did reasonably well, and was also taught organ. We moved to Katoomba and then to Geelong. Just before beginning university in Melbourne I met the pianist Nancy Weir, who

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was an Australian that had been living in England during the war. She'd come to the staff of the Melbourne Conservatorium and I did my first degree under her guidance. Then I went back to Austria for a couple of years’ further study.

In Austria I studied with Edith Farnadi, a Hungarian pianist who specialised in Chopin, Liszt and Bartok. She was quite elderly but still did a lot of recording and performing throughout Europe. Coming back to Australia to study again with Weir, I found that unfortunately she would move to Queensland. I studied briefly with Mack Jost, another very fine pianist and excellent teacher, then went overseas a second time. In Austria again, I enrolled at the Graz Music University to study Harpsichord with Professor Vera Stoeger-Schwarz, who was a well- known performer in Europe.

MR: Could you just tell me a bit about how each of these teachers has influenced you?

ML: Well Farnadi put me through a finishing course in Austrian arts. She believed in ‘seeing the bigger picture’. She didn't talk very much about technique and she didn't try to change anything I was doing. So basically she said “Do it your way” and left it at that! She used to travel, as many teachers do in Europe. She taught in Budapest for a certain number of weeks, then in Vienna and elsewhere. So she moved around to different music institutions for short periods. While I was there I would have lessons almost every day for a number of weeks and then she would disappear for three months. Then the same thing would happen again so many weeks later. So it was quite a different way of learning. Stoeger-Schwarz was more of a resident, but they were both very encouraging and I had a wonderful time.

MR: Did any of these teachers influence your choice of repertoire?

ML: No. They absolutely let me choose what I wanted to study. They would make suggestions only. I always enjoyed what I was playing at the time so I don't really have favourite composers, but being a classic at heart, Mozart is a constant in my life.

MR: When you were a student, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? Eg. Did your teacher write on the score, did you take notes, or were the lessons recorded?

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ML: No. None of it. My teacher Nancy Weir never touched my score. Sometimes our lessons were at the conservatorium but quite often we would have lessons at her home and it was never a one-on-one lesson. I would have a lesson and I would have half a dozen of my colleagues sitting around the room listening; then I used to sit in on other lessons, particularly the lessons of the more advanced students. I realised you pick up so much other repertoire just by listening to them having a lesson. I thought that was a wonderful way of sharing and that was one of the great things about her. If anything went on the page it might have been only the occasional word, but mostly it would be my markings. We talked about fingering but we didn't write in more than was essential. Pedalling hardly ever came into the equation unless it was a case of my not hearing something essential. So really it was a very aural training. It was a very free, relaxed musical discussion – well, pressured in effort certainly - but relaxed and open.

MR: Did any of your teachers demonstrate on the piano during your lessons to show you how to play things?

ML: Nancy Weir was performing in public all the time. No, she didn't spend our lessons playing for us. She was a brilliant pianist and everybody who worked with her thought she was inspiring. As far as demonstrating was concerned, she would only demonstrate if she needed to make something clear to us that was difficult to explain in words. Farnadi did demonstrate a little, but we had so many recordings of her we could just listen to these. She didn't actually demonstrate the works that we were working on. There just never seemed any need.

I think when you're teaching little children, it's somewhat different. Children like to hear how the music sounds. They don't get opportunities to see and hear other pianists play unless the parents are willing to provide opportunities. So we do have to demonstrate a little bit for them. I do when it's necessary. I'll play them a phrase to show them the arm/hand movements because sometimes words are enough in one area but not the other. Often they don't really understand what you're talking about until you actually show them, then they copy it. Most young children will copy rather than understand. I think the teaching approach has to be very much geared to the need of the moment and the need of the student - always different.

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MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that your students have had? For example diploma level examinations, playing in competitions like Eisteddfods, or significant performances, any sort of thing like that.

ML: Over the years I've had a few very good students and a lot of strugglers - but since I've been able to choose - to keep or not keep students - I've also had quite a few with disabilities. I've had several blind students, I've had a few with Asperger’s or autistic problems. If they're really trying hard and they love music, then I'll keep them on no matter how slow the progress. But if they're not interested and I have to continually try to persuade them then I eventually tell the parents, "Go and find another teacher.”

I've had more advanced students through the conservatorium. Many have gone on to good positions. One is living in England, having won a scholarship to Manchester and she's done very well. Now teaching and performing, she has two young children now so she's slow-timing it, but she's certainly a professional pianist. A few have gone back to China, now teaching; several from Singapore, a couple of Japanese students, and one girl who has gone back to Taiwan. We have quite a lot of international students here in Adelaide, and I've had many who've stayed in Australia - finished and graduated years ago - coming back every so often for a top-up, which is always a pleasure. A lot of them have gone into teaching roles. Many are accompanying. There's only so much room for star solo pianists. I haven't pushed students into Eisteddfods/competitions unless they really have that competitive drive and are keen themselves - in which case then of course I encourage and support them. Many of them have won prizes.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing/teaching?

ML: Well most of them are. They're playing for public functions, school choirs; two playing for a choir made up of people who have got Alzheimer’s or dementia and some disability.

Most of them have gone into schools to teach because there's only so much room for performance. We run a lunch hour concert series here for advanced students and a lot of them come back and play in those. We have students who play for the singers at the opera studio. Singers and instrumentalists all need

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accompanists; also accompanying the year eleven and year twelve students in schools.

I find that a lot of our young pianists who go into teaching, especially if they go into class teaching jobs, become so busy with their teaching workload that they come home very tired and haven’t got the energy to practice. I try to encourage the better ones not to lose their piano skills and not to teach full-time if possible.

There are also other areas. Trained musicians are needed in ABC administration, libraries, and entrepreneurial organisations to name just a few. They're still working in music, in musicology, music history areas - so there’s plenty of scope outside actual performance or teaching!

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Natalia Ricci – 02/06/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice, with regard to any philosophy or approach you have?

NR: I would say the cornerstone of my philosophy lies in encouraging a student's spirit of inquiry and activating their imaginative potential to discover the deeper artistic meaning that lies beyond the notes. One could describe it as a process of guiding them in their journey - the piano as their vehicle - to discover and develop their own unique musical voice through their playing. On a more concrete level I would say my approach is one that encourages a greater awareness and freedom of body movement that's based on sound biomechanical principles. So my students learn how to cultivate efficient habits of movement and coordinate many different body parts, rather than isolated finger movements. The forging of a solid and flexible piano technique is paramount in helping students meet a range of complex challenges found across the repertoire.

MR: Do you find that your technical or musical approach has been influenced by any of your teachers?

NR: Yes definitely. I’ve had an unusually wide and varied training as a pianist because I moved around so much between different continents, countries and cities over a sixteen-year period, while studying and working abroad. So I think my teaching reflects the diversity of pianistic schooling that I’ve been exposed to - and it has been enriched by it in many ways. I would say then that I'm not really focused on any particular approach or method but I have definitely been influenced by many different teachers, and schools and musical learning environments.

MR: When you're teaching your students, do you tend to focus on any particular type of repertoire?

NR: No, I don’t. Again, because I was exposed to a wide range of repertoire and styles in my training and have also played a huge variety of music in my performing career (both as soloist, accompanist and in chamber music), the repertoire I cover in my teaching is also very broad. Also I am not one of these teachers who tends to stick to or assign students only the repertoire they themselves are familiar with or that they have played or taught themselves. I

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have an insatiable curiosity for discovering new music so if a student wants to work on a piece I have never played or taught before I look on it as a challenge and an opportunity to explore and familiarize myself with new repertoire.

In recent years I've become known as a Spanish music specialist: my research at the university is focused on the Spanish nationalist composers and the influence of flamenco and other Spanish dance forms on their piano works. I try to encourage students to play the Spanish literature because it's just so fantastic - so vibrant, colourful and expressive and it occupies such an important place in the whole of the piano repertoire. Apart from this, it is rarely played here - and when it is, it is hardly ever properly understood or played well. The Spanish literature is very demanding from both a technical and musical viewpoint and requires essential qualities in a pianist: a strong and meticulous rhythmic sense, rhythmic flexibility and freedom, a wide ranging palette of colour, the ability to manage and clearly voice multi-layered textures, a meticulous approach to articulation, and a sophisticated and refined pedal technique. So working on this literature helps students develop many important aspects of pianism. Having said that, I teach everything, not necessarily Spanish piano works more than other repertoire. However, I do try to encourage Spanish works if pianists have not been exposed to them.

MR: These days, how do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? Do you keep attending masterclasses, still study with anyone, or attend conferences etc.?

NR: I wish I had time to do that. Unfortunately I've been performing very little myself these last few years - I would say just because of the sheer enormity of my teaching load and I have brought up two kids virtually single-handedly as my husband lived and worked in Newcastle for the best part of the last 20 years. So I have a huge amount of work and responsibilities and unfortunately that prevents me from spending much time at the instrument myself. That may change hopefully, as the kids grow older and become more independent.

I'll certainly attend concerts whenever time permits if there are international pianists coming through Sydney who are playing at the City Recital Hall in Angel Place or at the Sydney Opera House. If they happen to be giving a masterclass

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at the Conservatorium13 I always try to make time to attend those. We had Stephen Hough and Paul Lewis in the last few months giving masterclasses for Musica Viva. Whenever I can I'd like to have the time to do more of that type of thing. I'm also lucky because I discuss a lot with my husband Gian-Franco, who is also a pianist and who's been a big influence on me in terms of my teaching and playing too. We bounce ideas off each other a lot. That's very helpful too.

MR: Could you give a brief overview of what stood out the most to you about each one of your teachers?

NR: My first teacher was my mother at the age of 4, and at age 6 I went to Steven Dornan, who was probably the most well known teacher in Perth at the time. This was in the 60s. I was born in Perth and we lived there until I turned 7. I also started lessons on the organ and actually gave my first public concert on the organ at age 6. I don't remember a lot about Steven unfortunately, other than that he was quite serious and I would sometimes emerge from my lessons crying! He had a good reputation as a very solid musician - I think my mother may have studied with him at some point - but he may not have had much experience with very young children.

Dorothy White

Anyway, I then came to Sydney and I studied with Dorothy White for eight years and she was definitely one of my greatest musical influences. I think she was a big part of my eventual decision to become a musician and a pianist. She was a recognized harpsichordist, pianist and Baroque specialist and she was on staff at Sydney University - an amazing teacher. She gave me a really fantastic musical foundation based on learning tons of Bach! By the time I'd reached my teens, I'd played a huge amount of Bach, which is fantastic training for any musician.

Hers was a very integrated approach to teaching too so I used to have keyboard harmony, music appreciation and history of music lessons with her as well as my instrumental lessons. I remember that she encouraged and taught me how to realize figured bass from an early age, which taught me a lot about harmony and improvisation. I read an account recently of another former student of hers whom she asked at one stage to turn pages for her in a performance of Bach’s St

13 Sydney Conservatorium

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Matthew Passion. He commented in the article how amazed he was by her inventive realisation of the figured bass part of the full score and how that experience encouraged him in his determination to be able to master this important and challenging skill, which is nowadays certainly a neglected art for the majority of Conservatorium trained piano students.

Dorothy was a pianist for many years before she became interested in the harpsichord in the 1950s at which point she bought a beautiful new harpsichord, built by Robert Goble in England and had it shipped to Australia. She had a fantastic music studio in her house in Pymble on Sydney’s North Shore, complete with a small stage, grand piano, upright piano and her prized harpsichord with its beautiful walnut case, two keyboards and keys of ebony and ivory!

She sometimes took the harpsichord with her on regional concert tours in NSW transporting it in the back of her Kombi-van. Dorothy used to tune and service the harpsichord herself and I recently came across an old newspaper article entitled “A musician handy with a screwdriver” all about Dorothy and her harpsichord, quoting her saying that “Anyone who aspires to play the harpsichord needs to be handy with a screwdriver”.14 It describes how she would arrive at least 2 and 1/2 hours before her concerts in order to help the carriers deliver her instrument safely onto the stage she was to perform on and then to have time to give it a thorough tuning and checking.

The article dating from 1957 described how she “wore old slacks to the concert hall” and carried her evening dress in a leather bag. “Sometimes I work so long on the harpsichord I haven’t time to change so I just slip my dress over the slacks!” she is quoted as saying. It also mentions the other bag she takes with her to the hall, her tool box - full of “tuning forks, sandpaper, strips of leather, razor blades, a couple of hefty sharp knives, and a series of screw drivers…[and some large bolts.”]15

She died tragically from cancer when I was sixteen so that was quite shocking to me. At that point I had a break from music for over a year and didn't think I would carry on with it. This was largely tied with Dorothy’s death because she was like a

14 Honey, E. (1967). A Musician Handy With a Screwdriver. The Australian Women’s Weekly, p.4. 15 Ibid.

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mother figure to me, spiritually and musically - a great mentor - and when she died I felt totally bereft and lost.

Nancy Salas

During my year or so break from the piano, I embarked on overseas travel alone at the age of 17 through South East Asia (much to my parent’s horror and despair!) and also became involved in a number of diverse activities completely unrelated to music.

I was persuaded to come back to start a Bachelor of Music degree at the Sydney Conservatorium having met and been won over by the “enfant terrible” of piano pedagogy in Sydney, Nancy Salas, who was a very big figure in the Sydney music scene. (Incidentally, she got a big kick out of that label as she had a good sense of humour and liked to be controversial and disregard conventions!)

She was the complete opposite of Dorothy in character. Dorothy was very reserved as a person and quite conservative in her outlook. Nancy, on the other hand, was really outgoing, extroverted and quite crazy, and very inspiring in a different way. She had quite an imposing presence in her sweeping long colourful caftans, deep forehead and her grey hair swept up in a high bun on top of her head. I remember feeling quite scared of her when I was a young student studying with Dorothy on the few occasions that I saw her but years later, once I got to know her, that impression fell away because she was really very warm and caring with her students.

Nancy had no children of her own but she had beautiful cats, which she adored - and these and her students were her substitute children. She considered teaching ‘her children’ the greatest achievement of her life. She also loved cooking and I remember on my weekly visits to her house in Mosman for lessons, frequently encountering a pungent smell of garlic wafting down from upstairs....garlic was her favourite herb and she was always extolling its virtues, not only as a flavoursome addition to most dishes but for its medicinal properties as well.

Nancy, like Dorothy was also a harpsichordist as well as a pianist, although she was no longer performing by the time I started studying with her (she would have been in her 60s then). Her father was of Hungarian descent and apart from a love

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of Bach, she adored Bartók and felt a strong connection to his music and her Hungarian heritage. She became a great exponent of his music: she founded the Bartók Society of Australia in 1955 which was the same year she was appointed to the staff of the Sydney Conservatorium, initially teaching piano but later harpsichord as well. Incidentally, Nancy had studied with the renowned Russian pianist, Alexander Sverjensky from 1938 at what was then the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music.

She also travelled to Hungary in the sixties to study Bartók’s archives and to consult his widow, Ditta Pásztory. It was largely through Nancy’s efforts that Bartok’s works came to be included in the Australian Music Examinations Board and Conservatorium syllabuses. She published a small handbook on Bartok’s music for teachers and students in the 1980s, which I still have and refer to at times. In 1981 she actually received an award from the Hungarian government for her efforts and services in promoting Bartók’s music.

Nancy was a big influence on me, both on a personal level - her passion, wit, authority and at times irreverence! - and musically - her love and knowledge of Bach and Bartok in particular - and because she was the teacher that was responsible for coaxing me back into music. She therefore played a very important role in my life as a musician.

Bela Siki

A year or so after starting my degree at the Sydney Conservatorium, I met Béla Siki who came out here to give concerts and a masterclass. I played for him in that class and afterwards we corresponded. I ended up going over to the States to finish my Bachelor degree with him. Two other young pianists, my contemporaries, Marilyn Meier and Christine Logan who had also played in the same masterclass, ended up moving to the States as well to study with him.

So I went to Seattle, where Siki was on staff at the University, and this is where I met my future husband, Gian-Franco, and shortly afterwards, Siki’s whole class moved to Cincinnati because he took up a position at the Cincinnati Conservatorium of Music in Ohio. So we all followed him across the country, and I stayed there for the next two years ending up with a Bachelor of Music degree from Cincinnati University.

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Béla Siki was born in Hungary and studied with Leo Weiner and Ernest von Dohnanyi at the Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. He moved to Switzerland in 1945 where he became the protegé of Dinu Lipatti. Siki was a kind man and a very good musician; he encouraged quiet economical physical motions in his teaching and this was evident in his playing as well, which was typically controlled and careful. Technically, his approach was quite finger oriented. He didn’t speak a lot about playing with weight as far as I can remember or the arm initiating certain motions at the keyboard. It wasn’t until later on in my studies that I really started to develop a concept of how piano playing is not just isolating finger movements but actually involves the whole body - lots of other body parts coming together in different ways.

Having said that, Siki had impeccable musicianship which is evident in the excellent book he wrote, published in 1981 by Schirmer: Piano Repertoire: A Guide to Interpretation and Performance. He must also have been a fantastic pianist at the height of his career as he won the 1948 Geneva Competition and afterwards developed quite a big solo international career performing with major orchestras on all continents.

Claude Frank

During my studies at the College Conservatory in Cincinnati I also had some wonderful lessons in New York with Claude Frank, who had been a Schnabel student. He was also taught by the Italian pianist Maria Curcio, who was another Schnabel disciple. Frank’s pedagogical lineage in fact could be traced back through Schnabel to Theodor Leschetizky and Carl Czerny to Beethoven!

Frank, like Schnabel was known particularly for his interpretations of Beethoven and the classical repertoire; he made a landmark recording in 1970, the bicentenary of Beethoven’s birth, of all 32 of the piano sonatas for RCA Victor and performed the entire cycle in several major cities around the world.

Although Frank’s repertoire was largely of the classical era, as a teacher he encouraged students to work on a wide range of repertoire including contemporary music. As a pianist he was known for the great emotional depth, insight and visionary quality of his performances that were devoid of any demonstrations of pianistic flashiness. The hallmarks of his playing and teaching

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were first and foremost a clear projection of musical structure, which he got from Schnabel, as well as faithfulness to the score and a probing exploration of the poetic, emotional and spiritual qualities of the music. I remember bringing him Schumann’s Fantasie Op. 17 and Beethoven’s Opus. 110 to work on ...the lessons were really quite a revelation.

He had a tremendous passion for beautiful music, especially the music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms, which he was able to communicate to his students in an inspiring spirit, and his lessons were full of his great wisdom, wit and artistry. I was very moved recently to read these words from his autobiography: “The four composers I love most, chronologically, are Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert… Every note by them is holy. I present their music as if they are gifts from God, which of course they are.”16

Gyorgy Sebok

The next place I went was to the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta Canada in 1983, where I worked closely with pianists such as George Sebok, Anton Kuerti, and John Perry - in both private classes and master classes. They were all really quite formative influences in my early 20's, and I would say that Sebok in particular had a really profound effect on my musical approach and thinking. Hungarian born, Sebok had been a student of Kodaly (composition) and Leo Weiner (chamber music), the same teachers that Siki had studied with at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Sebok had the gift as teacher of being able in a few words, to reveal a whole cosmos of meaning beyond the printed notes and thereby place the role of music in a much greater worldly and spiritual perspective. He had a very broad general knowledge and lessons with him could often embrace in-depth discussions on themes related to scientific discovery, philosophy, art or literature, while still remaining pertinent to the musical point at hand. He had an amazing ability to look right through a student into their emotional core - into the heart of their problems or inner psychological struggle, skillfully bringing to light any obstructions to their progress, in a way that was incredibly perceptive and revealing. He would then set to work in the masterclass to gently and effectively help remove those blocks, both physical and emotional. This could sometimes be

16 Becker, Alan. 2011. "Claude Frank: 85th Birthday." American Record Guide 74(2):269.

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quite confronting for the student but it was always done in a very gentle, supportive and humane way. It was almost as if he had the gift of clairvoyance, as his observations were always so accurate and revelatory in regard to each particular student.

I remember sitting in on his masterclasses at Banff. After listening to a student play, he would sit back in his chair and there would be a lengthy silence...he always smoked with a long cigarette holder in the days before smoking was prohibited everywhere, and he would take a long drag, hold his breath and then let it out very slowly. Everyone would just be sitting on the edge of their seat, waiting, in great anticipation for these coils of smoke to waft out of his mouth - which they did inevitably, followed eventually by words of deep wisdom and profound insight. Our playing is all connected to our inner world so you knew that going to play for him in that situation was almost like getting a public psychoanalytic session. You knew that a part of you was going to be exposed in some way but if you could withstand that, it was always very constructive and insightful.

After his graduation in 1943 in Budapest, Sebok was conscripted into the occupying German army and since he wasn’t allowed in the armed forces because of his Jewish ancestry, he was forced to do two years of grueling labour in the most terrible conditions breaking boulders into gravel in order to build roads in the Carpathian mountains. With the return of peace, Sebok eventually escaped Hungary to Romania first and then to Paris, like his friend, the great cellist Janos Starker and many other Hungarian musicians. Sebok said that his experience in the labour camps breaking boulders had also broken him down “to zero” I can imagine - physically, psychologically and spiritually - from which point he had to rethink through everything he had learned until then. He described it as a process of "self-demolition and rebuilding" and he passed on the deep insights he gained from this personal experience in his teaching.

Sebok eventually moved back to Hungary and in 1947 took up a professorship at the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Budapest. However he left again when the Soviet armed forces invaded Hungary in 1956 installing a hard-line Communist regime. In 1962, he went to the United States, having been appointed to the faculty of the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, at that time one of the world's most distinguished music colleges He had been lured there by his

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great friend and colleague, Janos Starker, who had moved to the United States in 1948.

One could describe Sebok’s approach to piano technique as quite holistic: he taught how to use one's whole body to assist in getting around the keyboard. He also worked with students on eliminating any unnecessary tension as well as harnessing tension in a controlled fashion to great effect when the drama of the music demanded it.

His demonstrations at the piano were remarkable in their ease and fluidity and they always immediately and clearly brought to light whatever point he was discussing. He seemed to be able to sit down and play anything at any time, having the bulk of the repertoire constantly in his fingers.

Theodore Lettvin

After Sebok I went to study with Theodor Lettvin at the University of Michigan. Gian-Franco was there at the time and he had persuaded me to go there after I finished my Bachelor degree at Cincinnati. I wasn't there for very long actually but I did have some lessons with Lettvin. Theodore Lettvin was the son of Jewish Ukranian immigrants who settled in Chicago. He made his début at the age of 12 playing Mendelssohn piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at 15 he won a scholarship to study at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia where for the next seven years he studied with Rudolf Serkin and Mieczyslaw Horszowski.

Lettvin had enjoyed a big performing career but he also spent much of his life in musical academia teaching at the University of Colorado, the Cleveland Music School, the New England Conservatory of Music, the University of Michigan and Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Lettvin was a larger than life personality, crazy and unorthodox in his methods, and would sometimes do the most outrageous things to elicit responses from his students. He would challenge students in different ways and call in to question their fixed patterns of thinking that he claimed were limiting their choices. In this way, he delighted in stimulating the student’s awareness and opening up new possibilities.

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Once, he told me to learn the whole Tchaikovsky concerto and memorize it in one week, which I did. A week later, he put me to the test and got me to play it in a group class. I was quite proud of myself for having learnt it and memorized it within the given time limit but because I didn't know the orchestral part and my entries well enough, I got lambasted by him! He would push his students in that way.

Lettvin was also an advocate for quite unorthodox methods of practicing. He knew the tricks of the trade - how to make things easy at the instrument - and he would show his students ingenious methods to facilitate difficult passages, which enabled them to work on big and daunting repertoire that they may not otherwise have dared to tackle. Sometimes his ideas seemed far-fetched, quite wild and daring, but they actually worked very well in solving technical problems. He was very good at teaching tone production and building a palette of varying colours at the instrument.

Leon Fleisher

During that time Leon Fleisher also came regularly to Michigan and so I sat in on a number of his masterclasses. I didn't play for him, but my husband Gian-Franco did, and his teaching was absolutely fantastic. He was an amazing pianist and pedagogue and I learnt a huge amount listening to his classes which were always incredibly inspiring experiences. Above all, Fleisher placed great importance on rhythm, feeling it as the heartbeat of music in the way it “regulates the metabolism of the piece, motivates the music and, if it’s infectious enough, makes us tap our toes”. However, as I didn’t actually play for him in those classes, I won’t talk more about him here.

Jacques Rouvier

Then I moved to Europe and I studied with Jacques Rouvier in Paris for a time. His teachers included Pierre Sancan and Vlado Perlemuter, a pupil of Ravel. Rouvier has made complete recordings of Maurice Ravel’s works and all of Claude Debussy’s piano works as well as the sonatas for piano and violin by Ravel and Debussy, which were awarded the Grand Prix du Disque. He also taught many pianists who went on to have big careers, such as Helene Grimaud

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who was studying with him as a young girl at the Paris Conservatoire at the time I was there living in Paris.

I studied with Rouvier privately in Paris and in Saint-Jean-de-Luz at the Maurice Ravel Academy and although I did not have many lessons with him, I did get some exposure to the French tradition of piano playing through his lessons - the emphasis of a strong rhythmic sense in the music, clarity of texture and an understanding of the classical roots of the style in one’s approach to articulation. A lack of sentimentality was emphasized in tempo and pacing in order to maintain a sense of movement, overall architecture and dramatic cohesion of a work.

Jiri Hlinka

In 1984 I moved to Norway and lived there for the next four years, studying with an incredible teacher whose name is Jiri Hlinka. He was born in Prague in 1944, but moved to Bergen in 1972 and became a Norwegian citizen in 1982. In his youth he studied with Frantisek Rauch and Josef Pálenícek. Jiri had the honour in 1964, of playing for the great Professor Henryk Neuhaus who was visiting the Academy of Music in Prague at the time. Neuhaus took great interest in Jiri and arranged for him to be periodically tutored by Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. His career took off, and he performed from the age of 17 with many of the leading orchestras in Europe and also made finals of the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow in 1966.

However not long after this, Jiri developed a chronic medical condition in his arms and, after an unsuccessful operation, he had no option other than to abandon his promising solo career. As tragic as this was at the time, it allowed Jiri to throw himself into his teaching and develop a career as one of the leading piano pedagogues in Europe today. At the time I was studying with him he was also just starting to teach the young 15-year old Leif Ove Andsnes, who went on to develop a glittering solo career and is now an internationally renowned artist- one of the most sought after concert pianists in the world today.

At the time I met him in the 80s, Jiri’s condition still only allowed him to play for short periods at time. However it did not stop him from pushing me off the piano bench at every opportunity to demonstrate a particular passage or motion. He

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had enormous energy as a person and teacher - and a very passionate, active and enthusiastic approach to the instrument and to teaching. This was very exciting and inspiring for me and very different from anything I had experienced before.

Technically he revised my whole approach to playing, and so was my first really big influence in this respect. His was definitely a whole body approach to piano playing and he taught me the importance of musical gestures at the instrument: how pianistic gestures influence the quality of our sound, how appropriate gestures enhance both the quality and character of the sound, and how every movement we make at the piano should connect to and reflect the character of the music and its dramatic and emotional content. In this way I learnt that gesture should always serve the music – not only in terms of the sound being produced but also in guiding the listeners through the narrative of the music. The appropriate gestures are crucial in terms of conveying this narrative, capturing the desired sound and mood and thus enhancing the performance for both listener and performer.

I learnt from Jiri the need to feel and transmit energy in our body as we play, to move freely around the instrument, to co-ordinate larger arm and upper body motions and gestures with smaller more active and varied finger motions and to engage with the music and our instrument on a visceral level, as well as an intellectual one.

Coming from the Czech tradition he was a great exponent of the Czech piano composers, so through him I became familiar with the wonderful and unique musical language of Janáček. I wrote my masters thesis on Janáček’s “On an Overgrown Path” at the Royal Northern College of Music in the UK, and I learnt and played pretty much all of Janáček's piano repertoire. So Jiri was a big influence in terms of introducing me to this marvelous composer and other Czech composers such as Smetena, Martinu etc.

Sulamita Aronovsky

In 1987 I moved to London where I lived for five years and studied with the Russian pianist and pedagogue Sulamita Aronovsky, founder of the London International Piano Competition. Born in Lithuania, Sulamita graduated with

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distinction from the Lithuanian State Conservatoire in Vilnius and then completed her postgraduate studies at the Moscow Conservatoire where she studied with Alexander Goldenweiser, who had been a friend to the likes of Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Medtner.

Afterwards, she embarked upon a successful teaching career while continuing to develop her considerable reputation as a performer. Sulamita came to Britain in 1971 and was appointed to the staff at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where she remained until 1994 and later joined the staff at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she still teaches today. Many of her students have won major prizes in various international competitions and have gone on to very successful performing careers. Ian Fountain, probably her most famous student, at 19 yrs of age was the youngest ever winner in 1989, of the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition. Sulamita also taught Vovka Ashkenazy, son of Vladimir Ashkenazy who was instrumental in helping Sulamita to get settled and employed in the UK in the early 70s after arriving from Russia.

Sulamita was indefatigable, exacting and authoritative on the one hand in her teaching, but also very caring and maternal with her students on a personal level. I learnt a lot from her from a technical point of view, in terms of wrist suppleness, flexibility of tone, sound and cantabile playing and pedalling. I recently saw Sulamita, who at the age of 88 is still incredibly active, sharp and astute as ever, still living alone in her house in Islington, North London and even continuing to drive herself into the Royal Academy to teach a couple of days a week.

Tatiana Nikolayeva

During that time I also had lessons with the Russian pianist Tatiana Nikolayeva, with whom I studied for two consecutive summers at the Mozarteum in Salzburg after auditioning to get in to her class. She, like Sulamita, had also studied with Goldenweiser at the Moscow Conservatorium. She was a phenomenal pianist and teacher and had an amazing career as a concert artist. Nikolayeva was the woman for whom Shostakovich wrote his twenty-four preludes and fugues.

Unprepossessing in appearance with her rather rotund and dumpy frame, often gaudy concert dresses and grey hair tied back in a bun, Tatiana nevertheless captivated audiences from the moment she came out on stage, smiling warmly at

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her audience and then sitting down to produce the most gorgeous rich warm tones from the instrument. Her demonstrations at the piano in her masterclasses were likewise very impressive for the quality, depth and range of her sound.

Goldenweiser, her teacher, impressed upon his students the need to become highly proficient in contrapuntal playing. Bach was thus heavily prescribed and Nikolayeva ‘s big career triumph came at the age of 25, when she won the Bach International Competition in Leipzig in 1950, inaugurated to commemorate the bicentenary of the composer’s death. Nikolayeva caused a sensation when she proposed to the jury that they could choose any one of the 48 Preludes and Fugues from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier for her to play as she had prepared all of them!

The German press christened her “The Queen of Fugues”. Shostakovich, a jury member of the Competition was so taken with Nikolayeva that he wrote and dedicated his 24 Preludes and Fugues for her, and they formed a close friendship from that time which lasted until his death and which she treasured all her life. She became an undisputed authority on Shostakovich’s music and performed and recorded it throughout her career.

Nikolayeva was one of the great pianists of the 20th century. She had a colossal repertoire and specialised in playing cyclical works - she played everything that Bach ever wrote for keyboard and left a huge recorded legacy covering a phenomenal amount of music and an extremely broad range of composers and styles. Her Bach was not necessarily stylistically “correct” but she knew how to use the resources of the modern piano and she played with great musical intelligence and a terrific sound.

Tatiana’s great love of music was transmitted to her students and to her audiences. She radiated a deep humility, kindness, generosity of spirit and happiness. Her classes at the Mozarteum were so inspiring and she always managed to create a warm, friendly inclusive atmosphere. She would often come out to eat with her students after class was finished and I have very fond memories of sitting around in the Austrian taverns, eating with her together with her other students and chatting about music and life in general.

She kept on performing until literally the very end. On November 13, 1993, while playing the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues at a concert in San

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Francisco, Nikolayeva collapsed due to a cerebral haemorrhage and was unable to complete the performance. She died 9 days later on November 22.

Radoslav Kvapil

I also had a series of lessons in Europe with Radoslav Kvapil, another Czech pianist who was born in Brno. Kvapil began piano lessons as a young child with Ludvík Kundera at the Brno Academy. Kundera was an important Czech musicologist and pianist and a student of Janáček. He became his closest disciple and eventually his successor, serving as the head of the Janáček Music Academy in Brno from 1948 to 1961. (Incidentally Ludvik was the father of Milan Kundera, one of the most famous Czech authors).

Kvapil therefore learned much about Janáček’s life and work from first-hand sources. He made the first recording of the complete piano works of Dvorak for Supraphon in the late '60s as well as recording the complete piano works of Janáček and then later the complete piano works of Vorisek. In the mid-'90s he recorded eight discs of Czech solo piano music and as well, founded the International Dvorák Society in 1994. He is recognized worldwide for his wonderful advocacy of Czech piano music. I studied all of Janáček’s works for solo piano with him.

In summary and looking back over 30 or so years of musical study, it is clear that my training was highly unusual and deviated considerably from the norm, in that it was incredibly diverse and widespread taking place in so many different countries and with many pedagogues. I think the exposure and assimilation of such a variety of different pianistic approaches, traditions and schools has given me quite a unique perspective in a certain sense, which I can pass onto my students. This is obviously an altogether different perspective from someone who has followed a more standard trajectory of musical training, for example graduating from a Conservatorium here, and then going overseas to either America or Europe to complete a postgraduate course in one place and with one particular pedagogue. The fact that I was on the move all the time, across continents and countries, allowed me to have a very wide exposure to a very broad cross-section of teaching styles.

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I think the whole issue with piano traditions and schools is less relevant nowadays because there's been so much cross-fertilization between different schools and traditions. It is difficult therefore to make categorical observations about any one school. It's all a huge mix now. I think perhaps it's possible to trace lineages that share common characteristics. You can notice distinct tendencies that seem to belong to different traditions in terms of the general approach to playing - different technical and interpretive approaches, distinctive use of pedalling or sound production, that type of thing. However, as time goes on I think it gets harder to categorise or make clear distinctions between various ‘schools’.

This is unfortunate in one sense as it can give rise to homogeneity of playing when styles merge into each other. The rise of technology and the internet, and the speed and ease of modern day air travel has also affected the preservation and observation of national identities or schools. The proliferation of competitions worldwide has also contributed to this dilemma and to a certain extent, the tendency towards anonymity, lack of character and the “identikit” perfection of many modern-day artists.

MR: Is there any teacher whose influence has become more apparent over the years in your teaching?

NR: Well I think Jiri Hlinka probably and my husband Gian-Franco. I think a lot of the ideas that my husband started talking to me about initially didn't register at first. I possibly had a bit of resistance to them perhaps because I was his wife! But as time has gone on, I must say in all honesty that the things that I have learnt from Gian-Franco are certainly the things that have stayed with me and have had the greatest impact in terms of my own playing, technical approach and teaching.

Gian-Franco Ricci

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Gian-Franco grew up in an extraordinary musical environment as the son of a legendary violinist -one of the most famous violinists of the 20th century in fact, Ruggiero Ricci. He thus had exposure to many illustrious musicians during his childhood years growing up around his Dad...such as Martha Argerich, who played with his father, Daniel Barenboim

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who spent his honeymoon with Jacqueline du Pre in the family house in Mallorca, Earl Wilde, Abbey Simon Robin McCabe, Nelson Friere and Rebecca Penneys, to name a few.

Gian-Franco’s greatest piano influences were Leon Fleisher, Bela Siki, Theodore Lettvin and Abbey Simon. Gian-Franco has very good technical intuition and also learnt a lot from watching his father: for example, he discovered the importance of economy of motion at the instrument by observing his father who stood ‘like a rock’ and was able to perform virtuoso feats on the violin with no excess of movement. He also learnt a lot from his father’s rhythmic treatment: his rhythmic tightness, grouping and placing of beats for added emphasis and use of rubato that falls within the regularity of the downbeat.

Aside from his father Leon Fleisher probably had the most significant musical influence on Gian-Franco. From Fleisher he grasped the importance of interpretative independence in being able to communicate musical ideas, as well as the need for thorough understanding of the composer’s intentions to justify the interpretative choices and decisions we make. In facing these challenges and by trying to find answers for ourselves, rather than being passed down a set of personal prejudices and opinions from another ‘expert’, we, as performers, can then achieve a sense of authority and conviction. Gian-Franco gleaned much of what he teaches musically from Fleisher, especially in regard to the rhythmic strength and integrity of a work - for example, the rhythmic activation of weak beats in a bar to give the music a sense of motion.

I have studied with a lot of great performers over the past decades, however not all great performers are great teachers - and not all teachers have thought through a comprehensive technical approach to the instrument. They may be able to talk about musical aspects, but not necessarily how that connects with body movement, and I think that's something that Gian-Franco has done extremely well in a quite unique way. I think some teachers may have been hinting at or implying certain concepts but were not necessarily able to explain or systematise things in the way that Gian-Franco has been able to in his teaching.

I guess that from a technical point of view, the approach that would come closest to Gian-Franco’s is Jiri Hlinka's. As I discussed before, it's an approach that encourages a great awareness and freedom of body movement, (rather than being ‘locked in position’) so that all the body parts are involved in producing

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sound at the instrument in an interdependent relationship, as opposed to isolated finger motions. It leads to a much freer and more expressive and secure type of playing. One could describe it as an integrated approach that encourages a greater unity of kinesthetic awareness and musical imagination, while at all times relating the emotional content of music to the physical sensations and the body movements that are producing sound on the instrument.

MR: Would you say that any of your teachers have particularly influenced your choice of repertoire in playing or teaching?

NR: Jiri Hlinka really brought me in touch with Janáček, who I think is an absolutely fantastic composer. I didn't really know anything about Janáček before I studied with Hlinka. Jiri would assign a lot of repertoire by Smetena and Janácek and other Czech composers in his teaching. I was incredibly grateful for that because I really found myself immediately drawn into Janáček's unique and often very uncompromising sound world. Janáček’s music is very strongly rooted in his native culture, but it is also intensely personal. Essentially he uses traditional musical elements, but he evolved a style that is quite extraordinary in terms of its vitality, spontaneity, the sheer force of its expression and the profound inner emotional states it evokes. Janáček had a small output in terms of piano but all his works are gems.

The repertoire I covered with Sulamita was more generally mainstream with an emphasis on Russian composers perhaps. It was the same with Bela Siki: we focused more on the mainstream classical repertoire Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Bartok, and Chopin and Liszt.

In terms of the Spanish repertoire, that's obviously Gian-Franco’s influence because of his Spanish and South American roots, and the fact that we lived in Spain for a couple of years. His family knew Alicia de Larrocha, Spain’s greatest ever pianist and exponent of Spanish piano music and so I came into contact with people at the Marshall Academy, which was the school that Granados founded in Barcelona and which de Larrocha presided over as Artistic Director for many years. In fact, my biggest inspiration in terms of the Spanish repertoire was undoubtedly listening to all the recordings of Alicia de Larrocha,- the 4 books of Albeniz’s Iberia, Granados’s Goyescas and Spanish dances, the works of de Falla and many more. So I guess those influences - the Czech, the Russian, and the Spanish were the strongest in terms of repertoire.

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I also started my doctorate on Scriabin way back in the mid 90s when we had just returned from overseas to settle in Australia. That was the phase in which I was crazy about Scriabin and I started to write my thesis on the twenty-four preludes Op.11. I began the Doctorate at Newcastle University as they had offered us teaching work there when we arrived back in the country, as well as Australian Postgraduate Research Awards for doctoral study. However, I couldn't keep up with all the teaching and research and shortly thereafter I got the job at the Sydney Conservatorium so I had to abandon my doctorate and Scriabin. I would like to take it up again someday. I studied quite a bit of Scriabin with Jiri Hlinka and with Sulamita Aronovsky as well.

MR: As a student when you were studying with all these teachers, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons?

NR: I didn't unfortunately. Nowadays I record all my students' lessons for them and they can access it through Dropbox or they record them themselves with their own devices. But in those days we didn't have any of that, so it's an interesting question actually. I wish now that I had done that, so that I would be able to go back and listen to my old lessons from way back and reflect on this huge array of different influences on my musical and pianistic development over the decades! That would be really amazing actually, but no - sadly I have no records of anything. I wasn't a note taker. I would just go straight to the practice room and practice for hours in the hope of absorbing some of what they were teaching me! I had a pretty good memory. But certainly in my own teaching, the kids who record the lessons and listen to them during the week - or record themselves regularly - are the ones that progress much faster.

MR: As a student, did many of your teachers demonstrate during the lesson? Or was it more verbally based?

NR: Some of them did and some of them didn't. That was one thing that Béla Siki didn't really do - or minimally. He would never get you off the piano chair to demonstrate something. If he did demonstrate, it would be one hand up the top register of the piano as he always sat on the right hand side of the piano. Hlinka however, was just constantly pushing me off the bench. He would sit down - and even though he had sustained severe injuries to his arms in the past and could

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only play in very short bursts - he would still be able to demonstrate these motions and gestures that were just totally new to me, which changed my whole approach to the instrument.

I found that aspect of Jiri’s teaching very exciting - the fact that he could just sit down and demonstrate. I know different people respond to different things but for me, actually hearing and seeing something being demonstrated, worked much better than getting a verbal instruction. I react more strongly to aural and visual clues, rather than explanations. So that was very helpful for me. I do that all the time in my own teaching as well - I always teach at two pianos and I'll always demonstrate. Even if I don't know the piece or haven’t been practising, I can always demonstrate the sound that I want and the technical approach to produce that sound. Demonstrating is, I believe, an important and crucial part of teaching.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that some of your students have had? Eg. diploma level examinations, Eisteddfods, other significant performances.

NR: I teach on all different levels at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. So I have my tertiary students at the Conservatorium, i.e. my Bachelor of Music and postgraduate students. Then I have my Rising Star students - Rising Stars is a program that runs on Saturday mornings at the Conservatorium for highly gifted pre-tertiary instrumentalists. In addition, I also have Conservatorium High School students, so that my load is quite varied.

One of my Con High School students, a 16 year old exceptionally talented boy, ‘Student A’17 recently won a heap of prizes in the last Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition in September of this year - $22,000 in total in fact, including Best Concerto performance, People’s Choice, Queensland Orchestral vote, overall second prize and Best Performance of an Australian Piece. He was the youngest competitor in the Competition and the youngest ever to make finals.

Earlier this year, he won second place in the Russian competition “Steps to Mastery” in St Petersburg, also the youngest competitor in his Division, and he got to play Tchaikovsky concerto with the State Capella Orchestra of St Petersburg. In fact I took five of my young outstanding students from the Rising

17 For reasons of privacy, the identity of the student mentioned here has not been disclosed.

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Stars ages 10 - 16 to that particular competition in St Petersburg as they were selected and invited to participate by competitive audition.

I have also had outstanding international postgraduate students in recent years coming to study with me at the SCM – ‘Student B’ from NZ and ‘Student C’18 from Spain. Gian-Franco and I spent a year in 2009 at the University of Auckland teaching as Senior Lecturers there. I met and taught ‘Student B’ then, and she came over to Sydney subsequently to finish her degree here at the Conservatorium. She did her Honours year here and then stayed on and did a Masters specialising in Spanish piano music, specifically Albeniz’s masterpiece, Iberia. She graduated with first class Honours and a stunning final recital and has done brilliantly - she's been awarded over $90,000 worth of scholarships during the time that she's studied with me, both from within the Conservatorium and outside. She's won numerous additional awards and prizes. She received the prize in 2016 for the best international performer of Spanish music in Barcelona at the Barcelona Academy Festival. Her most recent scholarship award allowed her to undertake a year-long course, a specialist Masters in Spanish Music, in Barcelona at the Liceu Barcelona, Spain, and at the Marshall Academy studying with Marta Zabaleta, one of the only students of Alicia de Larrocha whose pianistic lineage can therefore be traced back to Granados through Frank Marshall, a protegé of Granados and teacher of de Larrocha. Student B’s career is developing well and she has given many important performances in Spain, NZ and here in Australia. She is becoming recognized as a specialist in Spanish music and has received many accolades for her stunning performances of Spanish music.

Another graduate, ‘Student C’ from Spain, recently completed her PhD. She undertook a doctorate with me and her speciality was Granados. Her final doctoral recital was a unique and memorable event: She gave the Australian premier of Granados’s long-lost masterpiece, “Cant de les Estrelles”: a concerto or poem for piano, organ and choirs, in the Verbrugghen Hall at SCM. The concert took place on the exact day and centenary of Granados’s death. She wrote a ground-breaking thesis on the pedagogical method and pianistic tradition of Granados from a highly original analysis of his piano roll recordings. She performs all over the world and is developing a successful international career now actually.

18Due to privacy, the identities of the students mentioned here has not been disclosed.

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My Bachelor of Music students have won all sorts of different scholarships and prizes in Australia at Eisteddfods and Competitions as well as being the recipients of both internal and external scholarships for continued music study. Most of my gifted Rising Star students are on full scholarship - the scholarships are merit based and highly competitive because the standards are so incredibly high. My RS students consistently win prizes in the Sydney Eisteddfod, St George, and Ryde Eisteddfod, scholarships and other important national competitions. I also have a couple of outstandingly gifted Conservatorium High School students, one of whom I mentioned above, ‘Student A’. This year I had four students sitting HSC music extension exams from different Sydney high schools. They were all nominated for “Encore” with the chance to perform in the Sydney Opera House.

I love teaching. I put a lot of time and effort into my students because I am very dedicated and care a lot about them as individuals and about their unique musical development. I think that the teacher-student chemistry is vital in terms of inspiring the teacher and also enhancing the student's motivation to learn. I do try to foster a close and long-term relationship with all my students, based on mutual respect and understanding. Many of my students end up becoming close friends and maintain contact and ties with our family long after they have finished studying with me. They just become part of the family really.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing and teaching?

NR: Wide and varied. When ‘Student B’ was here for example - she's now moved to Japan but she was here for several years - she was very active in the music community and also the Latino music community. She gave lecture-recitals and talks and concerts, and organised events with the support of the Spanish Embassy, the Cervantes Institute and other Spanish institutions as well as the Conservatorium, performing in many different venues here in Sydney both inside and outside the Conservatorium. She also collaborated with local community orchestras and choirs in many performances. ‘Student B’ was very good actually at promoting herself and her research outside in the community, something that I strongly encourage and support in my students. ‘Student C’ followed similar activities - again lecture-recitals, performances and teaching. Both students did an enormous amount to disseminate their research in the local community and

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educate audiences here about Spanish piano music. ‘Student B’ also did a lot of accompanying work. She got to be known as a wonderful vocal accompanist and worked with vocal teachers at the Conservatorium.

Many of my students, both young ones and those at university level are out and about in the community, teaching, accompanying and performing wherever they can.

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Priscilla Alderton – 20/06/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice, with regards to your overall teaching philosophies like technical training, teaching musicality? Etc.

PA: I suppose the thing that I care about most is bringing out the best in the student. I don't have a fixed idea about where they should end up or how they should play. I want to encourage the student to find their own way. For example I have a few students at the moment studying Beethoven. I ask them to listen to up to ten recordings and respond to them. They write how they feel about it and what they're actually hearing and then we go into detail together about what they're listening for and what they hear. And we try to imagine what priorities the performer has in their listening to the piece, and analyse their approach to the piece. It's stunning how astute students can be even at fourth grade level - how astute they can be listening, commenting and being aware of what they're hearing. And then I discuss interpretation. I suppose I'm fussy about things like Baroque performance practice and trills and details like that. Otherwise I encourage the student to find where they sit rather than wanting them to be a mini-me. The thing I'm most proud of is that you can't tell at the end that the student comes from me. I don't want them to take on my philosophies or my point of view. I want them to find their own, and I point each student differently because each student is a different person. I really spend time finding out who they are. I suppose my approach would be quite psychological from that point of view - going with who they are and encouraging them to be more of who they are.

MR: Do you have a particular type of repertoire you do like to use in your lessons more than others, or for any particular purpose?

PA: Technique is absolutely vital to me. I think there's a basic technique, starting with a well aligned and comfortable sitting position, learning muscle isolation so that only the muscles required for work are utilised. Every pianist needs to learn at least two very different techniques – the first we work on is based on finger- work and having a free wrist, a free hand and the strength, intention being in the ends of well-shaped fingers, working towards very clear and neat, precise articulation. The other is based on arm weight and when we start that depends

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on where the student is in their development. We work together to find repertoire that suits the student and encourages them to keep developing. So quite often we'll find technical exercises or create and improvise technical exercises that help them work on their pieces. In the first months, I am mostly encouraging technique - I teach all the scales straight away. I don't just teach C and G Major, and A and E minor. I teach all the scales. I try to work with the circle of fifths early on, to encourage playing chords and improvising, to awaken a sense of colour and feeling for the different scales and keys. Sometimes they're a little resistant and sometimes they really fly with that. It depends on where they're up to. We tend to work on etudes etc., as they advance, as many studies are boring for beginners. I personally love Bartok for beginners, but few young students agree. So the repertoire really comes out of their interest. Sometimes a student will spend half the lesson choosing a piece and I'm prepared to go along with that because for them to really live with a piece and to get to know it deeply, they need to love it. But I also encourage weekly preparation of much smaller pieces that they are spending time perfecting, researching them, finding out where they come from, and playing a convincing interpretation of that little piece. For example, they could be a seventh grader playing a first grade level piece, introducing it to me, telling me about it from a technical, key and harmonic point of view, from a musical era and ethos point of view, and convincing me with their performance. That's what I would be doing in terms of sight reading, and I encourage them to find their own pieces, but if they don't then I find pieces for them. I don't have a fixed repertoire, but I definitely have repertoire that I love. We all do. But I get a feeling of what the students might like and therefore I suggest things if they don't come up with something, and quite often I'm on the ball and sometimes they'll say, "No not this, no not this" but we keep going until we find something that interests them. You've got to live with a piece and love it so much that you make everyone who listens to it love it.

MR: Would you consider demonstration to be a significant part of your teaching approach?

PA: I like to inspire and demonstrate, often demonstrating to beginners, always playing their pieces to them then with them, a hand each if they are willing. As students advance I will demonstrate very small things. If they're doing an exam or have a repertoire of a number of pieces, I'll probably only play one of them. Sometimes I'll go back and learn it so that I play it really well. I won't play ten

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pieces badly to them. I don't want them to hear unpolished playing. I only want them to hear thoughtful and thorough playing, so I might just play one of them. I also want to encourage students to find their own approach to pieces so I am very wary of playing too much. I'll very often record parts or whole pieces for young students or record what we did or what they achieved in the lesson and send it home so that they can listen to it to save them getting stuck, and to inspire them. I try to play just small things as they advance. If they're struggling with a certain piece, I might record a number of small sections for them slowly and at speed so that they can really hear how I would put it together, hear how I'd work on it in slow motion, and then they'll work on those sections on their own. But I won't record the whole piece.

I want them to hear fabulous people playing fabulously and I want them to hear lots of people. I don't want to just play it until they copy me. When I examine I can often tell when the teacher has just played and often you'll get six kids in a row making the same mistake, and it shows that the teacher is making the same mistake - they're all just copying the teacher. I think that's not encouraging for children. I suppose if I had an aim it would be that the children own their own music, enjoy music, and love music - whether playing publicly, playing for themselves, going to concerts or imagining music internally for the rest of their lives. I had a student who's now a feisty lawyer. She did her AmusA, IB music and LMusA with me. Years after she completed her musical studies she came back and said, "You know when I come out of court, I can just listen to music in my head". She still plays very well, sometimes publicly, but at any time she can listen to and imagine music in her head. And it just cuts whatever is happening on the outside, especially anything nasty that's happening in court. I think that is absolutely brilliant. She's got her own music and she owns it, and can enjoy it whether she's playing it or not at any time for the rest of her life.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? Like do you attend masterclasses from time to time, do you still study with anybody else on occasion, do you attend conferences, do your own research, those kinds of things?

PA: I'm constantly reading, researching, taking an interest in what other people are doing, reading magazines, and sometimes writing myself to try to become clear about what is important for me. But I am far more interested in other areas

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of life than just specifically music teaching at this stage in my life. And I keep adding to my skills in other areas of life to enliven my teaching. For example, I have been learning and practising yoga for many years, and I've had four years of Alexander technique work. I go to singing and conducting workshops and masterclasses, and have singing lessons. I am interested in creativity as a process, in learning how the brain works and how different people learn, in mindfulness, in the plasticity of the brain, in healing, and in music as a tool for healing. I love studying happiness and creating conducive environments for optimal learning and creativity. Some musicians are doing exciting and creative things, and I love going along, for example I love to go to Sydney to see Pinchgut opera.

MR: You mentioned that you have an interest in the Alexander technique.

PA: Yes, I'm interested in the body. I'm very interested in using the body correctly and creating a set of habits that take care of your body and allow blood to flow freely. Breathing is naturally easy and flowing so if someone's posture isn't right, I'll work on their posture so they are relaxed, flowing, physically alert. I suppose posture is one of the first things I teach. I like the fact that in the Baroque period, they taught that first you had to learn how to sit at the instrument, correctly and comfortably, with grace and ease. Then you learnt every scale and you learnt to improvise in every scale. It was only after that that you were given the key to your instrument so you could play alone, and only then could you start to read a score. I do think that a comfortable seating position, a comfortable posture, and breathing well are important things. Also, in terms of movement and gesture, it’s important to take note of what your body gestures are telling the audience. .For example, don't jump off a note, take your hand off and leave the pedal on. If you want someone to hear a long note, be and feel long with your whole body. Feel that concentration, sit at the keyboard with your fingers on the notes, join the notes, whether or not you have the pedal on. Tell the audience when that note is coming off, or that thought, so that everything that is happening physically and musically is in harmony.

I think about how music is communicated a lot. I have fun. I never have one moment of boredom or frustration in lessons. I would like a little screen that shows the brain and what parts of their brain are being lit up. I love waiting for that kind of 'aha' moment. I'm happy to wait for it, and when it comes I go, “Oh!

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There we are!”. I enjoy the lessons…I keep trying to work on getting students to own their own music and their music practice, to monitor how alert and creative they are in their approach to issues that arise in practice, how smart they are in their practice. I often ask them to write a practice report to tell me what they did, what their aim was, when they did it, how they felt, and how much they worked towards fulfilling their aim. And at the end of the week, how good they felt about it. I always include how they feel so that we monitor and try to have them happy at the piano, whatever they're doing. Kids are very different these days. Sometimes they'll have three activities in an evening, every evening. So it's tricky. If they haven’t had time or inspiration to practice, we have a session of experiencing music and practising together, similar to how a yoga class runs, doing a balanced set of musical exercises together. If a student is going through a period of no practice for any reason, we just keep making music together in lessons and I am acutely aware that I want them to go out feeling lifted up after deeply engaging with music. Sometimes we will do technical exercises and scales, then learn a piece one week, then tech work and improvisation the next. After training and practising as a counsellor, I am very aware of the quality of my presence, my listening, my fully being with the student each session no matter what else happens. It is also important that I listen to and validate the whole person, to what else is happening for them. I often find that I am the one person who spends quality time with a student, and I hear things that they don’t confide in others, and if appropriate (which is quite often with teenagers) I send them off to counselling, or strongly encourage that, then the music starts again.

I'm really interested in waking people up, moving along at their pace. Last year a student did well in his seventh grade exam after three years at the piano. Another student has been learning for two and a half years and is working towards her sixth grade; some of them travel fast and some of them travel slowly.

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about the piano teachers you studied with.

PA: Well, my first piano teacher looked as if she had come out of Hairspray. My family were extraordinarily narrow. My upbringing was unusually strict and protected. Into this charged atmosphere came a nineteen year old, Clare Carolyn, laden with jewellery, makeup, sparkles, fingernail polish with a different colour on each finger, and hair way up on the top of her head. She was an artist

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as well as a piano player. She would come to the house to teach five children in a row and it was like a little peep into a world that was just so beautiful, open, loving and beyond the world that I lived in. It was inspiring. My mother used to complain that I would “muck around” on the piano and I told my teacher, who was nineteen, that my mum said that I was mucking around. Clare stood up to my formidable mother, "Priscilla must do half mucking around and half reading and learning for exams", which I now realise was wonderful and unusual back in those days. So my mother would put on the clock and I would do 3/4s of an hour mucking around, and then 3/4s of an hour of Beethoven and serious work. I actually managed to do heaps of improvisation and had that side of musical life honoured and encouraged at a young age, which was absolutely brilliant.

My next teacher, Jenny Rosenthal19, worked on my technique because I'd done sixth grade after three years, so she concentrated on developing seventh grade technical skills. We studied heaps of Czerny and Hanon, scales. I loved it. I loved athletics and building physical strength and I thought of it as athletic gymnastics at the piano. She had a Viennese approach - she had studied in Vienna. I think she is at The University of New England, or she was for some time. She's probably retired now. She was absolutely stunning. My teachers were wonderful. Then I had Ron Johnson in Bathurst and he just loved music. He was kind and encouraging and I enjoyed every lesson. I had a few lessons with John Taverner in Bathurst. He was very kind of English and correct. But he was good. I always loved my music lessons.

Then I had Brian Michelle in Perth at UWA and he was fantastic. He again was intensely interested in technique, and he was very relaxed and charming. He showed me choreography at the keyboard, which he had studied in France. We analysed physical movement, made movement efficient and flowing, hovering above the keyboard, then included the notes. I enjoyed studying with him. After that the rest of my teachers have been harpsichord really. As well as private lessons, I have attended many masterclasses with people like Malcolm Bilson, Bart van Oort. I love the forte piano and the work that has come out of forte-piano performance practice. I switched over to the harpsichord and only came back to include the piano later. When I first came back to the piano seriously I went to many masterclasses. Ronald Farren-Price had a big influence on my students, and because I had spent so much time on the harpsichord, I invited people like

19 Now known as Jenny McPhan.

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Ronald Farren-Price and others from Melbourne University Con and the VCA as well as friends who are examiners to conduct masterclasses with my advanced students. That was always very positive. But I think that because I'm not just a pianist, I perhaps have a fresher approach to playing and teaching the piano, a more open mind than I would otherwise have had. I spent twenty years professionally at the harpsichord, and had years and years of study on the harpsichord. I think that it gave me a freedom at the piano because I didn't have a vested interest at the piano. I found being a pianist very restricting back in the days when I didn't like to be told exactly how to play everything. The harpsichord was creative for me. It was a new field of study at university, composers didn't write all those instructions about how to play. Now my approach to what the composer has written in terms of direction is to think compositionally - what are they saying in terms of context, what their intention is based on, and where the piece of music is going.

I have learnt as much from playing on original instruments as I have from teachers I think. Playing Haydn on a Haydn piano, Clementi on one of Clementi’s, Chopin on a Chopin piano, not to mention playing French, Italian, English and German music on original instruments, tells you so much about what is easy, the appropriate touch, the sound composers heard, the relevance of articulation, pedalling, registers and so on. It has immeasurably enriched my approach to playing and teaching.

MR: Could you tell who the main influences have been on your piano teaching approach?

PA: I had two harpsichord teachers who were absolutely brilliant. Trevor Pinnock in London and Tijn van Eijk in Holland would be the two strongest influences because they would sit and work with me until I understood something. I would have two and three-hour lessons, and we would go deeply into what it was that I was learning. I went to them because I wanted what they had to offer, and I knew that they were brilliant. So those two people were very influential. I learned a lot from discussing approaches to playing and performance from John Gibbons in Boston. Roger Smalley, a composer, pianist and teacher at UWA - brilliant pianist and best sight-reader I have ever known - had a huge influence on my whole music-making. He died not so long ago. He used to write symphonies, concerti for the BBC. He was a very good friend. We would talk and talk about music -

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about which note a piece or section was going to, about composition, interpretation. If I had an advanced student, sometimes he would come in and play through the entire exam syllabus to give this student a choice of what to play, sight-reading and analysing it compositionally, talking as he was playing. I'd say that those are some of the major direct musical influences. I attended a series of masterclasses with Gustav Leonhardt and I was deeply influenced by him and his work with students. It was ten days, morning, noon and night. My time studying in Europe wasn't just having the one-on-one lessons. It was going to masterclasses, festivals, to day after day of rehearsals, then I would go to concerts at the end of the rehearsal period. Sometimes I would sit in on recording sessions at the end of that whole process. I watched different groups work with a programme, as it grew, developed and unfolded. I've sat with twentieth-century groups in Australia and just watched them work together, bring something to life together, observing how the whole process and the dynamics work. Also working with other musicians myself, developing programmes, rehearsing and performing has had a huge impact on teaching of both groups and individuals.

MR: How have your teachers influenced your choice of repertoire in teaching and/or playing?

PA: I think that just sharing their love of particular pieces has opened the gates to understanding those pieces more. At university, David Tunley just adored French music and that was infectious and I ended up adoring French baroque music too. Just spending time with teachers, listening to them, turning pages for them at concerts, hearing them rehearse. Learning was often a process of osmosis, the total absorption of professionals in their music was infectious.

MR: When you were a student, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons?

PA: I'm an introvert. Once when I was having a series lessons with Trevor Pinnock, I was having hours of lessons and I think I went so quiet that he wasn't absolutely sure that I was kind of "with it". Then I saw him six months later and he couldn’t believe that I had integrated everything he had taught me. I think that things sink in deeply and I have a very good memory, and so I use that. I'll have almost complete recall of everything that’s happened in the lesson. Whereas with students I take notes and if I feel that they're not really owning their own music, I ask them to write notes. But often it's tedious because it takes too long, as kids

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don't write quickly. Occasionally I've asked students to email me a list of points if I think that I really want their attention - of points that we're focussing on that week. Or I'll ask them to come back and say to me what was this lesson about and what they’re going to do at home. We actually check in and make sure that we both agree with what's happening, especially when preparing for exams and performances.

MR: So you don't record the whole lesson? You said before that you just record small parts of lessons?

PA: Only little bits of lessons. I had one student who only came when he needed lessons. He was extraordinary. He had two hour lessons. He recorded the lesson, went away and came back when he was ready for the next lesson, and he'd learnt everything that I did with him in the lesson. His first exam was LMusA. Some other students have recorded lessons, but I only have one student who I believe was like me, who goes so quiet. And I realise that she is in a kind of zone, and she's completely listening to everything that happens and taking it in.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that some of your students have had?

PA: One of my students recently - an ex-student - she went to New York, she was brought over to New York with her group to demonstrate and talk about the future of music at a TED lecture. Generally, if I can say there's one commonality, they've been successful at whatever they are doing. Because we work so intensely on learning how to learn, they've learnt how to learn in whatever path they choose. They generally know how to achieve high marks in whatever they're studying, to concentrate well in whatever pursuit they choose because they've found out how they work most effectively, how to really wake themselves up. I think that's absolutely brilliant.

MR: What kind of contributions are your students making to the local community through their piano playing/teaching?

PA: I've had a number of students do music at university, including Masters and Doctorate courses. Quite a few of them are teachers and performers. One of them is in music administration at Melbourne University, setting up courses. One is a music therapist. One is a composer.

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Robin Baker – 25/11/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice with regards to any teaching philosophies about technique or musicality?

RB: The main philosophy I have is two things - the student and the music. What that means is how the student feels playing the music. So mainly you need to build their self-confidence. Confidence in the student is number one, and towards playing the music is number two. I just keep that as a total base. It depends on whether I'm teaching a student in year seven or year eleven. It kind of makes a difference to where they're heading. But they're all heading to playing the best music that they can. So I think that's my basic philosophy - playing the best music they can - and the way that I do that is by finding out what their strengths are and using their strengths to say improve their phrasing or improve their technique. All the time I'm using their strengths to further them. I don't particularly work on a weakness as such. I work on weaknesses but I don’t make them the conscious focus. I mainly work with their strengths on weaknesses and it's all towards them playing the best music they can because that brings in a great feeling twofold - 1) The audience enjoys it more, and 2) They get more of a sense of a reward out of it if they don't feel like they're fighting too many battles.

MR: Do you have any specific type of repertoire that you like to start off your students with?

RB: The short answer is no, because I find that if I look at what people are starting with, they're often starting with different books. Like I have one student who is very keen on jazz. She is growing up in a jazz loving family. Knows all the jazz favourites. So I've got jazz books for her.

I find that the Faber and Faber and Martha Meir books have very good arrangements, but I find that if you speak to my students, most of them would be using different books. So it depends on the type of music that they like. That is the key. But I have to find that out and then I will find the appropriate books. So I guess what I'm saying is that I look very much individually at the student and then work with their strengths and their likes and dislikes - then head perfectly in the same direction with everyone towards playing the greatest music that they can play.

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MR: Do you use demonstration in your teaching or do you prefer a verbal approach to teaching?

RB: I demonstrate so that they can watch and listen to the result of my movement. I do both. For example I say, "Just be aware of your elbows for this". They give it a go, and then I do demonstrations as well so they can see. When I do a demonstration I tell them specifically what to listen for or to look at rather than saying, "Do it like this". I say perhaps, "Look at my hand" or perhaps, "Listen to the way I play this". So I demonstrate with a specific outcome.

MR: Would you say any of your teachers that you studied with had a similar approach with regards to demonstration?

RB: They all demonstrated without a doubt because they were all concert performers. I hadn't thought about it until you asked but yes. It was similar. I think teaching is changing. From what I've heard, teaching is changing a little bit more in that we can articulate to the student more about teaching techniques to the student, whereas in my day when I was studying, that was less spoken of. Technique was spoken of in detail but not so much where we were going with it - the total outcome. So there was I suppose less articulation about that, but yes very much so – lots of demonstration from all my teachers. Very much how I was taught.

MR: Do you like to teach technique for example, through a piece rather than just presenting technique by itself?

RB: That's a good question. And I also think that there are two answers to that. One - yes, but also I know that we need to approach for example strong fingers in a relaxed way - firm fingers and a relaxed body. So I use that specifically. I would do technique towards that. Now I could do that perhaps through a piece, but I also do that through specific techniques, perhaps even just through scales or similar. So I do both but I do specific technique separately as well.

MR: Sort of keeping things in context for them?

RB: Yeah that's a good way of putting it. The context is key because we need to keep them on board as much as possible. I say to the kids, "If I could give you a tablet and suddenly you could wake up and play the piano fabulously 1) I would be very rich, and 2) I would do that". But they have to also be aware that at some

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point they will be doing stuff that they may not particularly adore. I'm aware of that so I put it in context in that way. However, I try to keep it in context for them because they get it quicker, and if they get it they'll stay on board for a little bit longer.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? Do you keep attending masterclasses, are you still studying with anyone else on occasion?

RB: Well I also work as a piano accompanist, so I'm playing all the time. I'm always preparing for playing for students in auditions, so I'm performing all the time. That keeps me at concert level. But I also do a lot of professional development throughout the year. I go to lots of masterclasses, quite a lot going on here in Melbourne. I go to any pedagogy event that I can. So I attend a lot and I attend a lot of concerts as well if I can go to concerts - a lot of MusicaViva concerts and similar events.

MR: Do you do any research projects or anything like that?

RB: I do lots for myself. For example I just recently finished a mindfulness course on training to become a teacher of mindfulness. I'm continually researching performance and mind enhancement. I'm continually looking at high-level sport, elite sport, reading about sport psychologists - what the latest research says. I'm researching it all the time.

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could briefly list the teachers that you studied with and where?

RB: I'm Australian, born in Melbourne and I'm a fourth generation musician, so my family understood what it takes to be a musician. So I’ve had teachers that suited me well from the very beginning. I started off with Meryl Ross in Melbourne, from the age of four. Then I was very fortunate to study with Ada Corder - or Ada Freeman, her maiden name. After Ada, I went on to learn from Bill Whitfield. I was with Bill when I auditioned for The Royal Northern College of Music. Just before leaving Australia I briefly learnt from Stephen McIntyre. I went overseas to the Royal Northern College of Music to do my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. I studied solo piano there with Derrick Wyndham, who also taught Stephen Hough. Then I went onto piano accompaniment and learnt from John Wilson in England. So I've had very strong teachers and each of them

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have been huge influences in my life. The biggest influence on my career was going overseas for six years where I spent seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day on music. That was a massive impact. I also majored in piano accompaniment after my years of solo piano study there. The structure of the course at the RNCM was incredibly impactful. For example, I had three lessons a week. The intensity was huge and the expectations were very high. We had plenty of performance opportunities. The education over there fitted me beautifully, which is also really very important, to get that good fit.

MR: Who would you say have been the main influences on your piano teaching and playing?

RB: There are many - firstly my parents, and my grandfather. It was my grandfather who played the piano. So I heard him and wanted to learn. My mother was a violinist and viola player. So from a basic level, my grandfather and my mother and father were a great support. Those were my three starting influences. My English experience was massive. Derrick Wyndham and John Wilson - huge because John was living the life that I wanted to lead. He was a professional accompanist, world class, and teaching piano accompaniment, which I love to do as well. I think also of Ada Corder and then Bill Whitfield, whom I'm still in contact with. They are all massive influences because of the high level in which they taught me - no compromise. They taught me standards. They taught me how to reach beautiful music. They taught me what it takes to create beautiful music. That's the incredible gift to be given that, because not every teacher can communicate that. When I was in England of course, I was focusing 100% on music so I was just lapping everything up. So they made it very clear to me what it took, how to make beautiful music, and also how to live that life as a performing musician. I was shown the expectation that you can go out there and perform at a high level, which is fabulous to receive.

MR: Do you find that what you said about different aspects of making beautiful music, that you've taken those same principles and put them into your own teaching?

RB: Absolutely without a doubt - and I’ve developed them. What I mean by developed them is that I didn't create anything. I just put them into my own language and I put them into a language also that I felt that I could communicate to my own students. I also do a lot of coaching of instrumentalists as a piano

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accompanist. But I coach them in exactly the same way as I teach piano. So I'm using all these principles across the instruments.

MR: How would you say your teachers have influenced your choice of repertoire in teaching and playing?

RB: My teachers gave me a superb grounding in the repertoire. They clearly influenced me in that. I never questioned as to what are the great pieces, or what's out there for piano. They gave me all that. So I have that basis and I use that basis. As a teacher if you look at say the basic level up to grade five or six, there's so much new stuff out there now from when I was learning, that I look at a lot of new stuff that's out there as well. I'm not talking about the Haydn sonatas or the Beethoven sonatas or the great repertoire like that. They obviously had a heavy influence on me. But I'm always researching what's new. I'm always looking in music shops. I'm always going to professional development events and looking at what's out there and what would suit a particular student. That's very important for me. Rather than, "Ok we've got this book, and you've just started so that means you buy this book." I never do that.

MR: When you were studying with teachers, were they always one-on-one lessons or did you have group lessons at some point?

RB: There were group lessons in the art of teaching. We learnt how to teach at the Royal Northern College of Music. I also had pedagogical lessons and things like that, which was also unique at the time. It was encouraged that we play to each other privately. All of them were individual lessons and we had group lessons on that art of teaching. Sometimes as a teenager we would overlap lessons…We didn't do formal group lessons but it was openly said, "Go and play for x, share your time with this". When learning a fugue and pieces like that, we were told to get someone to play the alto part and you play the others. So we were taught in that way continually, but we didn't get together as a formal group.

MR: But there was that sense of collaboration?

RB: Constantly. We collaborated not only in hearing each other perform and practicing performing, but also in learning pieces. For example, in Bach or something like that, one person was told to play the left hand, and you had to play the right hand - which is really hard to do when you're memorising things. So

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yes collaboration was highly encouraged, but at the same time they knew that you had to go back home and do your own practice.

MR: How much would you say that any of your teachers' personalities influenced you and in what way?

RB: The quick answer is yes. They all influenced me as personalities, definitely. It's an interesting question because if I think of them, their personalities are very strong. In what way, well I suppose just to give you one example, the ones that were actually performing, such as Derrick Wyndham who had been a child prodigy. I studied with him when he was perhaps in his sixties but he'd come from a very high level performing career so the personality of him, the way he went about playing the piano - the calm and total knowing the music - was a huge influence. My teachers’ personality on how they approach their music and performing was massive. I was doing a lot of for example, page turning and that sort of stuff, so I actually went on stage with these people as well. So it was a huge influence, seeing how their personalities responded to the performing situation and the way that they prepared for those performances.

MR: So do you find that influenced how you approach performance as well?

RB: Yeah, absolutely. Because you say to yourself, you admire what they do on stage, yes absolutely. Yet do you want to be like them? Yes absolutely, so how do they do it? So yes, huge influence – particularly the way that they approached preparing music and preparing for performance.

MR: When you were studying with these teachers, how did you keep track of key points at the lessons? Did you have things written down, were things ever recorded?

RB: No, lessons weren’t regularly recorded in those days. The way it was recorded was on the music - written on the music, and in a manuscript book. I’ve got my piano notes that Ada Corder wrote in my lessons.

MR: Do you find yourself going back to those notes now?

RB: Absolutely. I'm still playing from those scores. I'm still using the fingering. And this is from the late 70's and 80s particularly. I've still got music from the 60's with fingering.

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MR: From all the influences that you got from your teachers, do you find that those influences have affected you more as time has gone on, as opposed as to when you initially studied with them?

RB: I would say that they were hugely impactful not only on my professional life but on my personal life. Hugely impactful at the time and they have been ever since. You might look at a particular aspect in a particular part of your life, but I would say that the influence at the time was massive and continues to be.

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Sorina Zamfir – 27/05/2017

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice with regards to any teaching philosophy or approach you might have, especially with technique or musicality?

SZ: I am a firm believer that technique should serve the music rather than technique being an end in itself. Of course I teach technique as well. I teach mostly AMEB exam material and I examine as well, but I have taught Trinity and ABRSM. I have students doing diploma or grade exams for that, so of course I think that technique is important but it needs to serve the music.

MR: Do you consider demonstration to be a significant part of your teaching?

SZ: I know that there are some teachers that don't touch the piano at all during a lesson, but I feel that demonstrating is vital and often speaks louder than words. When I was studying, my teachers always had two pianos in the studio, one for the student and one for the teacher to demonstrate on. Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of two pianos at home but I often find myself explaining and demonstrating tone, dynamics and phrasing. As humans we often do things instinctively without realising how we produced the result, so in this case I find it most beneficial for the students to learn through observation.

MR: Do you have any particular type of repertoire that you prefer to teach your students?

SZ: I am teaching individuals with different personalities, tastes, backgrounds and goals, which to me is very refreshing. Beyond the required technical exercises and ‘staple’ repertoire, I enjoy allocating my students repertoire that suits their needs and personalities whilst also extending them to become better musicians.

MR: Do you only teach privately or group lessons as well?

SZ: I find that my teaching is divided into two roughly equal parts. The first consists of my private teaching, both at my home and at Abbotsleigh20. The

20 Abbotsleigh – Anglican day and boarding school for girls in Sydney, NSW

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second is through the accompaniment I do. Due to the high level (mostly Diploma level), often those sessions blend between being rehearsals and ensemble lessons. I find that group lessons are very beneficial for beginners but not so much for older and more advanced students, which is what my studio primarily consists of.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? For example, do you attend master classes, have occasional lessons with other teachers in Australia or overseas, or attend conferences?

SZ: Besides the many concerts of different genres I attend regularly, I am very interested in master classes where I witness not only different playing styles but also approaches to teaching. Most recently I attended the International Piano Kawai festival in Pymble, Sydney where prominent professors from America were presenting. I will also be attending The Australian Piano Pedagogy conference in Adelaide in July. I haven't been to such a thing before because I don't have the time but it sounds very interesting, with speakers and performers from all over the world. All these things aside, practice is still very much a part of my daily routine.

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could first tell me what teachers you studied with and where?

SZ: I started piano with Doina Soare when I was six and a half years old at Dinu Lipatti School in Bucharest, Romania. In those days there were only two ways one could learn piano, either privately or at a specialized music school which started in year one all the way through to year twelve. Aside from regular academics, my music school consisted of instrumental private lessons twice a week, chamber music twice a week, as well as solfege dictation and choir. In the more senior years our music training was intensified through the inclusion of music history, aesthetics, harmony and counterpoint. As the school was essentially training aspiring musicians, being accepted wasn’t as much of a challenge as remaining in the course, with vigorous examinations and performances throughout the year ensuring a high standard was maintained. For tertiary study, the Conservatorium of music was free however very difficult to get into with hundreds of applicants for very few places each year.

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MR: Who did you study with at the conservatorium?

SZ: Before getting into the Conservatorium I studied with Corneliu Gheorghiu, who was the Chair of Piano at the Conservatorium. He taught me privately and prepared me for competitions, concerts and other things, and we planned that I would continue studying with him at the Conservatorium when I was successful with the audition into BMus Piano Performance. Following a grueling audition process I was told I would have to choose another teacher without being given a reason. It was only later that I found out he had fled Communist Romania to Brussels Conservatorium where he taught until recently.

MR: Out of the teachers that you mentioned, who would you say were the main influences on your playing and teaching approach, and how did they influence you?

SZ: My teachers had very different approaches. Professor F. Rauch was head of piano at the Academy of Music in Prague, and I went to a masterclass of his when I was in year eleven going into year twelve in Weimar, Germany. It was a very important masterclass and in order to play at lessons with a teacher, you had to pass an audition. I was the youngest one and Professor Rauch took me on and said, "Go back, finish year twelve and then I will offer you a scholarship to study with me at the Conservatorium in Prague for four years." Because he was on the jury of various international competitions, that would have been amazing. He was on the jury of Chopin and Schumann and other competitions, but when I had finished school and tried to move to Prague and learn with him, the Romanian government said: "What's wrong with you studying here? Don't we have good enough teachers?”

Despite the utter disappointment, I kept in touch with Professor Rauch and was offered two scholarships for two weeks at the International Master Classes in 1980 and 1983 in Prague.

Regarding the approaches of my teachers – Mr Gheorghiu was a gentleman and he had a free way of teaching. He guided you and he was very gentle in his approach. The other teacher that I had at the Conservatorium, Mrs Zorzor, was very technical and very specific. She would say, "No, not any imagination. It's just the finger going to the key and you touch the key, press at this angle, and you get this sound." I remember learning some pieces and imagining the different

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registers as instruments of the orchestra and she said, "No that's rubbish. You can't make the piano sound like a clarinet" - so very different ways of teaching.

I've been trying to use a lot of imagination and comparisons to stimulate my students to have an open mind - to look for more colors, and I actually advise them to listen to orchestral pieces even when they just learn a piano piece so that they develop a more sensitive ear.

I guess I was lucky in the way I was trained and taught. It was very tough at the time but now looking back I really appreciate the foundation that I was forced to build. And I was in this system of going through this special school that forced you to choose your musical career very early in life. I had my first recital at fourteen and my first concert with orchestra playing an entire concerto at fifteen. Once you get to this stage you don't see anything else as a career. My mother wanted me to do medicine or law, not so much music. I chose music because I couldn't live without it. I try to teach my students to read as much as they can and watch videos of performers or pieces that we talk about so they can imagine the type of sound that they want to produce.

MR: How would you say that your teachers have influenced your choice of repertoire in teaching and playing?

SZ: During my studies the curriculum demanded a broad repertoire to be covered. The syllabus was designed so that we had to learn at least two Bach Prelude and Fugues or Scarlatti Sonatas, a Classical Sonata, two Romantic pieces and two or three modern pieces all from memory per year. On top of this we also had to learn compulsory Romanian pieces. You can imagine that having such a heavy repertoire load from the fifth grade, repertoire was accumulated and musical tastes developed.

I particularly struggled with some of the modern pieces, which to me sounded bizarre, but my teacher inspired me to search for the beauty within and practice the piece as if I loved it. This experience has particularly influenced me in encouraging students to go out of their comfort zone when it comes to repertoire selection and interpretation.

MR: Do you encourage your own students to memorize their own pieces now?

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SZ: Yes I encourage them from an early age, but I understand when they come from other teachers and they're not used to doing that. It's very difficult so I let them use the music if they need to. If they play more confidently with the music then so be it. But I actually think if you don't use the music, you own the piece and you are sort of a co-creator. And you can express it and present it more musically.

MR: When you were a student how did you keep track of key points at your lessons?

SZ: My teachers were writing things down. This is what I do now as well with my students. I write a lot.

MR: Do you ever record their lessons?

SZ: Sometimes I take a very short video of a specific elbow or arm position if I think there is something wrong. I like to show them from my perspective or from the audience's perspective what is wrong. If we have a concert then yes I would have a video taken and then I give all of them a copy of it. I wish I had access to this wealth of technology when I was growing up - it's very important to hear and see yourself play.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that some of your students have had? For example, completing diploma level examinations, playing in competitions like Eisteddfods, or other significant performances.

SZ: Most of my students achieved prizes in Eisteddfods and did very well in their HSC, and following high school went into different fields. Some gained their AMusA or LMusA exams while still in school, whilst others later at university. A few are teaching but most of them stopped playing after starting work. That’s how it is.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your current students making through their piano playing and teaching?

SZ: Not much. Some of my students went to some retirement villages and gave a little concert before an exam or major performance. I guess with other instruments you can go busking or you can get involved in community orchestras,

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but with piano I wish there was something we could do.

MR: Do any of your students do accompanying for other students?

SZ: Yes some did when they were learning piano. I’ve taught a few and I'm still hoping that I can impart this knowledge, as it is a totally different profession.

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Stephen McIntyre – 08/11/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice with regards to any teaching philosophies you might have such as for technique or interpretation, a particular approach you might have?

SM: I have many approaches I suppose because it really depends on what the student needs. I have taught many different sorts of people. I've taught people who are exceeding their gift at the age of twelve, and I've taught people who are not exceeding their gift at the age of eighteen. So obviously you have to adapt to each particular one. In some ways the challenges are equally complicated but they're very different. So for somebody who is significantly gifted, advanced, and naturally talented - I mean that technically in a pianistic way, as well as a musical understanding way - then I suppose what you have to do is to try and guide them specifically in terms of repertoire - the pieces they should be looking at. Usually very young people are quick at learning and so they can cover an extraordinarily large amount of repertoire. And so by the time they're eighteen most of those youngsters will have covered the basic big technical works that are necessary for technical development. With the later ones who come along at say age eighteen, some of them have in fact had excellent training and some of them have had less good training, and remaking technical and physical habits in any field - including in piano playing - is quite a long job, and quite a difficult one because you have to re-train a whole lot of what's become fairly natural for them, and try to combine their way of doing it with ways that I think might be more efficient, more relaxed and might get better results. It certainly takes a fair amount of time. So with those sorts of young people I spend quite a lot of time going back to basics, and by basics I mean scales, exercises and arpeggios, and actual analysis of what they're doing with their hands and arms. That's the technical pianistic stuff that I’m always extremely keen to make as good as possible in each particular case.

But the musical stuff is of course a much wider field and one that sometimes is easily adjustable and easily done, and at other times not so easily. I think a lot has to do with significantly good early training - and by early I mean from about the age of ten to eleven. I have to say in my particular process I was very fortunate that I had extremely good early training from the age of eleven, when I was about grade six. And over the next seven or eight years I studied with Ada Corder here in Melbourne who had a significant pedagogical and musical

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background herself. She gave extra physical and musical training, which has stood me in very good stead for many years. Lots of people my age these days have troubles with their hands and arms, and I fortunately have absolutely no trouble at all with any of those sorts of things. I put that down to very successful and early training. Early training that concentrates on natural movements. On movements that are as efficient and small as possible, with no excessive amounts of tension involved.

MR: Do you have any type of repertoire that you prefer to teach, or are you just open to the student's preferences? Do you allow them to choose their own repertoire?

SM: I do have particular repertoire for getting a whole lot of basic technical and musical stuff out of the way. And I'm now talking about shall we say university age - seventeen, eighteen, nineteen. There I do have particular repertoire that involves things like early Beethoven sonatas, Haydn sonatas, and Clementi sonatas. I'm not particularly keen on Mozart sonatas because I think that Mozart sonatas are a little too difficult and there is always the statement about Mozart that he was too easy for children but too difficult for adults. It takes a fairly refined musical technique to be able to play them. Haydn sonatas and early Beethoven sonatas are very good. I'm particularly keen on such things that are not musically complicated but are interesting like Schubert Impromptus, and I'm also particularly keen on the occasional virtuoso piece that sounds more difficult than it is, but which actually develops a lot of technical stuff and things like that.

MR: With regards to your preferences in choosing repertoire, do you find that has been influenced by any of your teachers?

SM: No, not particularly. Some of the things like Schubert sonatas and impromptus - they were things that I learnt when I was about eleven or so, and a lot of the choice of particular pieces from large repertoire. You were choosing something by Chopin, something by Beethoven, or by Debussy. I suppose you do tend to choose repertoire in an order that was probably in the order that you learnt yourself in many cases. I don't specifically set out to do that but it sometimes happens. I find myself doing that.

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MR: When you're teaching do you use demonstration as a large part of your teaching? Or do you use a combination of verbal instruction and demonstration or mainly verbal? What sort of approach do you have?

SM: I use all of those approaches. Some demonstration, particularly with the more advanced ones. I use a whole lot of discussion. I use a whole lot of sitting back and prodding etc., and sitting by their side and analysing movements if it's a technical thing, and analysing sound if it's a sound thing. Some days I do a lot of demonstration, and other days none at all. So I'm not fixed on any one particular thing. I think it depends on what stage the person you're teaching is at. Some students respond very well to analysis, some to technical and definition in great detail, and others respond very well to musical things in great detail. Some of them respond by just copying what you're doing. That's not necessarily the best thing, although if they're very smart they can look artistically between the idiosyncrasies. Many young people listen to performances on YouTube and you can always tell which ones they listen to, because they come after listening to it and they play all sorts of special idiosyncratic personal rubato that the particular performer does. But they don't see that as part of the whole picture, and so particularly if you're a young performer you have to get a sense of the whole of the piece to be able to put it together. There are many ways of doing this.

Speaking of things like YouTube, we live in a very blessed existence these days where we can actually access all these resources. Whereas when I was growing up, I couldn't go on YouTube and discover twenty major pianists playing the piece that I happen to be practicing. It's fantastic! YouTube also has stuff going back to the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s. It's really significantly serious if you use it properly - a significantly serious source of information.

MR: Could you tell me a bit about how you stay abreast in your teaching and playing skills? For example, do you attend masterclasses, still study with anybody on occasion, attend conferences, or do your own research?

SM: I do occasional conferences and things but not very often. There's a group of us here in Melbourne. We're all pianists - three or four of us. We have a little piano club, and we trot along and play to each other. Since we're old friends and old colleagues - one or two of them were students of mine twenty or thirty years ago - we're actually able to say anything we like to each other and I must say that we find that terrifically useful…So we actually learn quite a lot from each other in

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terms of we all have different hands. We all have different ways of fingering. We all have different ways of thinking about the music…Piano club is very necessary. I think too because as players who have been playing for a long time, we actually need colleagues who are interested enough to actually listen to us, rather than an audience who says, "You're terrific and wonderful". We need an audience of peers who will get together occasionally and discuss things properly, because if you're constantly playing and teaching and constantly studying on your own, you lose a bit of that contact - it's the contact you have when you're in your late teens and early twenties. Way back then it was enormously helpful, the masterclasses I went to when I was that age in Europe. One of the most significantly helpful parts was the fact that you had a terrific peer group there who you could spend all your time talking to. I think peer group stuff is tremendously important and rather rare in my field.

Students often say, "I'd like to go and study with so and so in the middle of Iceland. He's a fantastic teacher." I tell them, "Well I don't think that's the answer really. You need to be somewhere where you've got a peer group. You need to be somewhere like an institution like the Royal College for example. Wherever in addition to good teachers there is a significant peer group.” I say that with some feeling because when I first went to Europe I did the opposite of that. I went to study with Michelangeli who because he was so famous, I thought it would be absolutely wonderful but the peer group was four or five other students. We were in the middle of nowhere and I hardly ever saw the other students, so it probably wasn't a good idea.

The most interesting little conference I attended over the last few years was actually in Brisbane. John Bloomfield is a man from the Taubman Institute in the United States. He came and gave a series of masterclasses for advanced pianists. A couple of my advanced students went and I came along too. He's a most interesting and fascinating guy. He analyses movements in particular ways - movements from major pieces in the repertoire. The Taubman Institute, which is probably something you may know about, started life in the States. It's a musical re-training institute for pianists who have had injuries and so it was about getting them back into shape about five or six years ago. It has now progressed into a piano training institute. John Bloomfield is one of the major people there. He's a terrifically good analyser of movements, angles of hands, angles of fingers, and

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ways of thinking about things physically and technically at the piano. I found that extremely interesting indeed.

I have attended - simply because I had friends in various places - a day of some of their masterclasses for example. But in terms of being a regular attendee at masterclasses, I haven't done that for many years.

MR: Just going back to what you said about the Taubman approach, when you went to those masterclasses, did you find there were similarities between your teaching approach and the Taubman approach?

SM: Yes there were many similarities in terms of analysing the movement and how you were doing things. And whether you were doing things the most efficient way possible. What John was particularly good at was taking a passage from an important piano work and just looking at the angles you were approaching it with your hands - which way your hands are going out. It sounds very simple but it's actually terrifically helpful in terms of getting the hand into its most natural position for whatever the particular passage is. He picked some really difficult and interesting passages of Schumann, Schubert, Beethoven and so on, and gave you ways of angling your hand - just analysing the position that you're playing in. Some of that depends on the shape of your hand and obviously on the size of your hand too. But I thought he was terrifically helpful with that type of thing.

One of the greatest difficulties of teaching people the piano depends on what type of hand you have. Do you have a big hand? Do you have a small hand? Do you have large stretches in between the fingers etc.? Many Asian students of course have small hands. You have to learn a different technique depending on whether you have a small hand or a big hand. People who have small hands are always very envious of people who have big hands. However, some people with big hands can't manage things like Chopin Op.10 No.2. People with big hands can manage Op.10 No.1 easily and are not so good with Op.10 No.2, and small- handed pianists often have difficult with Op.10 No.1 but find Op.10 No.2 more manageable. I'm sure most of us who have small hands wish that we had big hands. But because that type of thing is impossible to alter, you do have to tailor any technical approach to the student's hand.

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MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about what teachers you studied with and where you studied with them?

SM: My first important teacher was Ada Corder in Melbourne. She was somebody who had been trained by distinguished people from various parts of the world, and she had a significant playing career herself back in the 1920s. She had a big teaching career for about fifty years. She taught me from the time I was eleven until the time I was twenty. That was just one-to-one teaching. I have to say she charged me nothing for the entire time because she thought that I should have a scholarship of sorts. It is a kindness that I have tried to return over the years for other young people. And I didn't actually go to the university and do an undergraduate music course because she was not on university staff at that stage. Anyway, she was very strong-minded, very individual, somewhat eccentric, but she knew an awful lot about how to play the piano and its repertoire. It's really thanks to that early training that I continue to play now. I doubt that I would have such a good background without that.

When I finished with her I did go to university at the age of seventeen/eighteen - the usual age - but I did a general arts degree. I spent a lot of time playing chamber music. She was my principal teacher from age eleven to age twenty. She formed my technique and my understanding of a very wide variety of composers from Bach up to Prokofiev - but certainly no further than Prokofiev. She herself had given first performances in Australia of Debussy and Ravel back in the early 1920s. But I don't think her taste went any further than Prokofiev, particularly in terms of contemporary music.

When I left her I had an Italian government scholarship that took me to Italy, and I spent one year with Michelangeli, studying one-to-one. I didn't have very many lessons. I don't think one did have very many lessons with Michelangeli. You never really knew if he would turn up. But it was a significantly interesting experience because of course he was probably in many people's minds the greatest pianist in the world in the 1950s/60s/70s. The significantly interesting thing about lessons with him was that he'd play to you. He played in such a way that you simply had no idea how to do what he was doing. But it was an extraordinary eye-opener and he played lots of repertoire. He was famous for not playing a wide range of repertoire in public. It was he who got me into playing

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Clementi sonatas, which are very popular in Italy. It's part of training ground, which is very interesting both technically and musically.

I spent a very short period, maybe one semester after leaving Michelangeli, with a man in Milan who I won't go into because we didn't particularly get along well. But then I went to the summer school in Siena. It used to go for two months, but now goes for one month a year. And so I went three years in a row, which added up to six months. Those six months were with the famous Italian pianist Guido Agosti. After being at Siena for one of those sessions I actually spent a year having private lessons with him in Rome. But the Siena summer school that he had his masterclasses at were probably some of the most significant things I have ever attended.

Then I had a French government scholarship and I went to Paris for two years, where I had piano lessons with Pierre Sancan. He did a lot of technical analysis but I didn't actually find what he was doing particularly helpful for me. He and I were not a terrifically good fit at that stage… I thought that was partly due to the training of movements that he was suggesting for me, which I didn't find suitable.

Then I met a man called Peter Feuchtwanger, who lives in London. He has been a significant guru in the piano world for many years. He's still alive and is still teaching occasionally. I had maybe nine months of lessons with him, and he sorted me back out with my technique - back really into the way that I had learnt it in the first place. He was enormously helpful from a technical point of view. And that was the last person that I ever had lessons with. So I have to say that he was enormously helpful. The musical experiences of Agosti and the masterclasses were significantly helpful. And the early piano teaching with Ada Corder for me was very helpful. So it's a mixed bag of things.

MR: Who would you consider to be the biggest influences on your own playing and teaching approach?

SM: Well I think the initial training with Ada Corder is probably the basis of my piano technique and has remained so over all the years, but musically I think Agosti was the most significant one. The piano classes in Siena were six days a week and they went for three hours per day. There were twenty of us who played, which meant you got to play about once a week, and you listened to people playing all the other days of the week. In those masterclasses he covered

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much of the major piano repertoire. He demonstrated it all. And so pieces you didn't know at that stage, or pieces you were going to learn later, you got to hear them. I had a terrific amount of information and I still find now when I'm teaching some of these big pieces that we did together in Siena with Agosti, that automatically without even thinking about it I tend to repeat some of the things he said. So I think he's one of the major influences on me.

MR: Do you see these influences affecting you more as time has gone on, as opposed to when you were initially studying with the teacher?

SM: No I don't. Not with Agosti. What he had to say initially was enormously helpful. In answer to your question, the experience with Michelangeli was very much like that. While I was with him I had absolutely no idea of how to do the things he wanted me to do, or why he wanted them done that way. But later on I began to understand why he did things in certain ways. I also began to understand how he did things in a certain way. And so a lot of this playing has remained in my head and I actually came to understand it better later on.

MR: When you were a student how did you keep track of key points at your lessons?

SM: In general the key points were on particular repertoire and so occasionally things got written down in the score. I was not a great general note-taker. But I made sure that if I came to masterclasses I actually knew the pieces that were going to be played so that I could take the score and perhaps write annotations on the score. I still have some scores with Michelangeli's annotations on them, and some with Agosti's annotations on them. I think these days lots of younger students and parents are all encouraged to take notes, write reports and all sorts of things. I'm sure that's very helpful at a certain stage. But it was not something that I particularly did. If I go to a conference or a masterclass now, yes I will take notes. But that has more to do with my memory these days than other things.

MR: When you're teaching students now, how do you get them to take notes?

SM: Some of them do and some don't. Some of them I make sure that whatever we're doing is actually done to a stage where it works so that they will go home from the lesson with those bits sorted out to a degree where they can do it on their own. Then of course we check that at the next lesson. I sat in on some

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classes of a German teacher about twenty or thirty years ago in Munich. He had a recording device and he got the student to repeat and repeat until he got the student playing whatever it was in the way that he was happy with, and then he recorded that. Then he would work on another section and recorded that when it was right. And so the student would actually take home the recording with all the right performances of the sections. I thought that was quite an interesting technique.

MR: Do you ever record your lessons?

SM: Some students like to record lessons and I say that's ok. I don't specifically try to record them all, or follow any recording practice myself. For those who find it useful, I'm very happy for them to do it.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that your students have had? For example, diploma level examinations, playing in competitions like Eisteddfods, other significant performances.

SM: Well there's been an awful lot of them so it's a lot to talk about. Most of them are keen to do Eisteddfods and so they do. Some of them are not keen to do Eisteddfods and I would never encourage anybody who's not keen to do it. If you don't have interest in being competitive, there's not much point in doing it. Over the last 25 - 30 years I've had three or four people who have won the ABC performers award, and working hard with them is very exciting, very interesting, and very wonderful when they actually win the national award.

I've had students winning prizes in the Vlassenko competition - students winning the national piano award here. There have been a lot of students who have won competitions. At the moment two of my young people are interested in competitions and will probably be ready for them in a couple of years, but are not quite ready for them yet. The most significant boy I suppose in the last twenty- five years was ‘Student A’21, who won the young performers award when he was twelve playing a Liszt piano concerto. He was the most significantly gifted young talent I have ever worked with. He went on to win various other competitions and to play with lots of orchestras. Then around the age of twenty-seven, he decided he didn't want to do it anymore and now he's training to become an airline pilot.

21 Students mentioned by participants are being referred to as ‘Student A’, ‘Student B’ etc., in order to protect their identities.

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So there you go. He was an extraordinarily gifted kid in ways that I haven't experienced very often. I'm sure lots of people have experienced lots of gifted kids more often. Once you get on YouTube you can see a whole bunch. But he was someone who at the age of ten was able to play Chopin studies. He would learn a Chopin study in a week - significant natural physical ability and an interesting natural musical ability to learn things, and to express things. I used to listen to him practice and he learnt things in a flash. That's a special gift - a special talent. People these days don't like to talk in terms of talent and gifts, but I think there are special sorts of ways of communicating with the music, and he was a better one who had most of it. He was a very extraordinary young player.

I think there's a psychological side to competitions. I think you have to be somebody who actually benefits from competition playing - somebody who actually plays slightly better in competition than not. Some people can't do that so then there's no point in trying it if it actually stresses you out to a degree where it's not a comfortable thing.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing and teaching?

SM: All sorts of things. Some of them do a lot of one-to-one teaching. Some of them do teaching at private music schools, and some teach at secondary music schools. A lot of them play in community concerts. There are a couple of them who play for charity concerts. They're very keen - as I'm sure most young people are - to get as much exposure as possible. There are two or three of them attached to various music schools, and at a high level internationally.

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Wendy Bisset – 27/10/2016

MR: Could you tell me a bit about your teaching practice with regards to any teaching philosophy or approach, especially with your approach to musicality and technique?

WB: I teach privately. I have done school music - which is primary school and early childhood classes - but apart from that I teach privately as a private teacher, and I have my own studio here at home. I've only got about half a dozen students right now. With the little ones of course we still do a lot of singing - even with the older ones - because singing just works. It's being musically literate, and the eyes and ears follow.

If I go back to Canada it was the best postgraduate course available apart from going to Hungary. In Hungary of course you have the language problem so I went to Canada. The courses there were much better even than what was on offer in the USA. So I went there. But we sang Bach fugues. You put words to them. It was a lot of fun and just opened up a whole different world.

MR: Regarding your teaching approach, do you have a similar technical or musical approach to any of your teachers?

WB: I was working all with postgraduates but we had selected undergraduates - this was basically school music. I personally was working with undergraduate students who were performance-oriented, so that was quite a challenge for me because my task working with the undergraduates was to get them keyboard skills. Keyboard is the only instrument where you can learn harmony. All the others are sort of single note instruments. So for such a skill keyboard is just the best place to start. Even now with my grade six student we can look at the music and she is at the stage now where she looks at it with her eyes, and the ears will follow. She's very musically literate. Basically that's what you're after.

MR: Do you use demonstration in your teaching, or are you more of a verbal-based teacher?

WB: Regarding demonstration, if you want to show something, you show it. I will demonstrate role modelling. It's not just a case of telling. It's very much a case of modelling. Again it's not a case of “do as I say”. I go around and around and if for

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some reason the student doesn't grasp something or something is too difficult, then it's my task to get another approach to it. It's not the student's problem. It's my problem to find another approach because when you've got the music in your head, it definitely comes out your fingers.

MR: How do you go about staying abreast in your teaching and playing skills? Do you keep attending masterclasses?

WB: I'm a life member of the Music Teacher’s Association in Queensland. They put on special events that I attend. I keep in touch for the simple reason of being able to say I'm still up there with it. But also sometimes I find particularly from some of the other teachers who are doing the presentations that I disagree with what they say. I have got a few pet peeves especially with teaching beginners of any age. I think there's only one tutor book that actually starts teaching reading from the G for G clef. The others all start on middle C and forever and a day after that every time a student sees a note on a leger line, irrespective of where it is, they think it is middle C. So I try to avoid it as much as I can to the extent that I print off a lot of my own pieces so that the kids are very familiar with reading G clef and F clef. The approach to reading - you've just got to reinforce what the clef sign does. It gives the notes a name and a pitch, and using the terms treble and bass just means high and low. The whole concept is missed. This is where I'm back to with beginners.

MR: Do you attend anything like conferences or do research?

WB: Not anymore. I've been there and done that. I'm on the downhill. I haven't been to a conference for a while because mostly they're interstate and their holidays don't coincide with Queensland holidays. It's probably quite a few years since I went to a conference.

MR: Moving towards your influences, I was wondering if you could tell me what teachers you studied with and where?

WB: I have to go back to Canada. When did I first go there? 1985 - because as music teachers we've always got workshops of some sort going on somewhere, and we had two teachers come - Lois Choksy and a Hungarian pedagogue Ilona Bartalus. That was my first sort of introduction to the Kodaly approach. At the time my husband and I we were planning to go to the US in 1985 for a school

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graduation, so I just asked whether I could participate in a very intensive summer course in three weeks in their summer that fitted, and it just opened up a whole new world. I went back three years in a row. It was extremely intensive with the Hungarian teachers - this was school music, which means you're teaching classroom music, not so much piano performance. That was with Lois Choksy and Ilona Bartalus, but there were other Hungarians involved in that summer school from the musicianship and early childhood side as well. But they were the two main people, and it wasn't performance. This was music literacy in classrooms. It was school music. If you've got twenty-five kids playing recorder you'll know what it's like. It's a challenge.

MR: So these were sort of like masterclass situations you were learning in?

WB: This was a Diploma of Fine Arts degree course at the University of Calgary; run over three summer schools. Postgraduate degree - one semester’s coursework per year. Yes, but there were over 150 teachers in that first year. Not so much master classes. Everybody was involved. There were so many teachers because the Canadian system required that school teachers at that time who were three-year trained, had to upgrade to four-year trained. These were generalist classroom teachers as well as music specialist teachers. So hence this summer course was very intensive. We were probably doing lectures for about eight hours a day, and then you had choir practice. It's all based on singing - using the human voice as an instrument. But then when I went back into the actual Master’s degree course, we still had some undergraduates selected that we were involved with again. But then it was the teachers from the university faculty who were teaching in schools. This is something that I have not found anywhere else. University faculty taught regular class music – Masters students and selected undergraduate students sat in on these classes as observers. This was a three-way set up with faculty, master’s students and undergraduates teaching class music for one entire school year. Three-way observance – faculty observing students, students observing each other and students observing faculty – all teaching children. All in the same school. These children got the best music education.

The faculty, once they get to university - I had one here say to me, "Oh I'd hate to tell you how long it has been since I taught children." And I'm thinking how can

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you train teachers to teach if you're not working with children? That's my big beef with the education system. We've got people purporting to be training teachers how to teach children, but they can't show it. They won't put themselves at risk. Teaching kids can be risky. I've taught privately for a long time, but then I also taught secondary school English. When I retired I sort of did tutoring in secondary English and some Maths, but I much prefer working with little kids.

MR: Who have been the main influences on your playing and teaching approach, and how have they influenced you?

WB: Again I would come back to the Hungarian people. Well Lois Choksy is American but she's worked in Canada. But from the performance angle, because I was involved in Canada too, basically I've come back to that first lady but then a little bit wider, another lady by the name of Katalin Forrai. But this is still more involved with music specialists. More Hungarians, but here again in Brisbane, it's been Hungarian teachers who have come here. It's more about being musically literate so working with performance people, you're dealing with an audience here that understands and appreciates what the performer is doing.

MR: With regards to teachers that you studied with, how much would you say that their personality influenced you, and in what way?

WB: My teachers were very positive - very willing to share their knowledge and experience. In Australia it's a rare pedagogue who will share their knowledge and experience. The people that I worked with in Canada were only too willing to share their knowledge and experience. Fair enough - there were fees involved. But that was not the issue.

MR: How would you say that your teachers' knowledge of repertoire influenced you, and in what way?

WB: Regarding repertoire, we were analysing fugues and pulling them apart. These were very knowledgeable people. Singing fugues in solfa is not an easy thing. But when we teach them we have to get our own students to follow the voices. In a fugue you've got to be able to pull apart a three or four part fugue and follow each part. Now when you sing it, you've got to follow that. The same thing with Mozart - we were analysing music. Even now when I listen to music I'm automatically doing a harmonic analysis in my head. Another approach to

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teaching that I haven't really come across here is the tempo of harmonic changes from different composers and eras. Like working from your Baroque, you're going to get a harmonic change sometimes every note, every bar. Then you move forward through to the Classicals where the harmonic change is getting right back to your Greek basics. Another thing is working in modes. Now I find here that one of the worst things I've found is that teachers here are unfamiliar with the old Greek modes as they appear in music…Often I had to explain this to students when we're doing something that turns out to be in a mode, it's a good time to introduce them, to talk about them. It's a weakness with teachers here – for example; piece in piano exam book entitled ‘Dorian Mode’ – beginning on D, but it had a key signature of one flat. Every B note in the piece was prefixed with a natural sign. D Dorian does not need a key signature.

Most piano teachers are totally unfamiliar with modes. They just don't learn about them. They play pieces but don't learn to pull them apart. That concept of tempo of harmonic change is vital to understand how a piece of music is built. It's interesting. When I listen to it now I'll sort of subconsciously be doing harmonic analysis in my head. I don't get through the whole piece listening like that, but I will definitely follow it. If you need to you can slot it into an era. They're all pretty distinctive. Analysis has helped enormously when I'm teaching particularly the higher grades.

MR: So would you say that the repertoire that you teach your students these days was influenced by your past studies, or is it very different from the repertoire that your teachers gave you in the past? For example, do you teach them the Bach fugues and repertoire like you were talking about in your past studies?

I teach fugues when we get up to that level, see grade six is the only one I've got at the moment but if a Bach fugue is there, yes. For me personally Johann Sebastian Bach is the best teacher. The others, yes. There's beautiful music, yes you learn from it, but if you look at Bach from the earliest little pieces such as Minuet in G, there's a lot you can learn.

MR: When you were still studying in Canada, how did you keep track of key points at your lessons? Did you write down notes on your scores, was anything recorded?

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WB: I've just found stuff and I've got my actual music books. There is harmonic analysis written all over them. When we were working with the teachers we analysed the scores. It's written all over in pencil - still doing it. I also write in my students’ scores.

MR: Do you record the lessons?

WB: Not anymore but for the simple reason that I don't at the moment have recording facilities. But, yes I have done that in the past. It is an aid but also the kids remember things and now of course with YouTube if they want to hear how a piece can be played - and in different ways - you just type in what you want. Technology has made a big impact. But again you've got to have it in your head. But then literally once you've got the music in your head, it comes through to your fingers. But you've got to be able to hear it in your head - not just reading. You've got to turn the concept into music.

Many performers are known for virtuoso playing - speed - but being able to play a piece just that tad slower, or even a slow piece and make it musical - now that's something altogether different. For example – I attended a heat of an international piano competition in Calgary – A student chose the Schubert Impromptu in E flat – but played at breakneck speed – so fast that the beauty/musicality of the piece was totally lost to speed. The student did not progress past that heat.

MR: Could you talk a bit about highlights that your students have had, for example diploma level examinations, significant performances, any competitions?

WB: We have a composer’s competition here on the Gold Coast that we conduct every year. We have a well-known composer as adjudicator - usually Australian, somebody local, and we go from the under five's and yes I've had several kids participate in that. But again I'm thinking of one little girl particularly who got a first place. She was seven I think. But she put words to her composition. There was another boy from grade eight and he won first place in his group. Most of their parents are asking for their kids to do exams. The grade eight boy was also in a competition where he played the Minute Waltz, and the adjudicator at that time - Max Olding - his comment was, "Well I heard him start and I thought he's never

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going to keep up that tempo but the boy did". He really was a talented boy. I was very sad to lose him, but whatever that competition was he won it. It's been about five years since then. Those sorts of students are rare. Most of us just do it through plain hard work.

MR: What kind of contributions to the local community are your students making through their piano playing or teaching?

WB: Well again we're going back to one of my old kids. I'm talking second generation - I taught the mother and child. They're accompanying or they're singing in choirs. Or this particular girl Student A22, playing in a little group at her church - which is just a little outreach thing. Or again one of my other grade eight students - she is now doing an education course here at the local university, but we need classroom teachers who are also musically trained yes. Those are some contributions just sort of off the top of my head.

I am currently rehearsing with a violin student, preparing for her Grade 3 exam next week – one of her chosen pieces is Concertino in La Minore – title needs to be explained with an understanding of solfa terminology – no sharps or flats in key signature, choice of C Major (maggiore) or A Minor (minore). La is the sixth degree of solfa, hence the key for this piece is minor. It is a little thing, but I have my Canadian, American and Hungarian teachers to thank for my acquisition of solfa/solfege (French) skill. Canada is a bilingual country. We sang in English and French.

22 Due to privacy, the identity of the student mentioned here has not been disclosed.

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Vicky Yang – summary of interview from 07/12/2016

Vicky’s teaching approach is mainly based on her aim of instilling musicality, and addressing the needs of the individual student, taking account of their individuality. She mainly focuses on performing and giving masterclasses, but also teaches privately – mostly with high school and (the majority) university age students. She states that her students are all pianists who are aiming to have a professional career in music. Vicky uses much demonstration in her teaching approach and likes to demonstrate a few interpretations of a passage, and then discuss the various interpretations with the student.

She attends conferences and does research as a way to stay abreast in her teaching skills. Her research activities are based on transcription and early music. Vicky mainly gives masterclasses herself, and will occasionally drop into other teachers’ masterclasses when they are being run during the same period as her own masterclasses.

Vicky has studied at the Queensland Conservatorium, Juilliard School in New York, Indiana University, University of Tasmania, and The Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands. She studied with each teacher for at least 2 – 3 years, the main influence being that of Bella Davidovich (New York, Juilliard), who possibly due to her limited spoken English, taught Vicky through demonstration. In this way Vicky learnt through watching and analysing what Davidovich did when she demonstrated, rather than through hearing verbal explanations.

Vicky then went to study organ at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag in the Netherlands. Her organ teacher was a mentor in many ways - constantly reminding that “music is for everybody” and having a very encouraging approach towards his students. Vicky mentioned her organ teacher’s approach as being the example of what she feels being a musician and teacher should aim to be.

In her earlier years of study, Vicky dedicated herself to writing excellent fingering, phrase and analysis markings on the score so that she could learn repertoire as efficiently as possible. She herself found it quite easy to memorise her repertoire, however now realises that memorising does not come easily to everyone, and it is something that can be taught – which is something that she does try to teach her students. Vicky states that recording lessons and note taking did not play a part in her study method.

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With regards to teaching her students on how to practice effectively, Vicky outlined that she starts by getting her students to describe their practice method to her. Depending on how effective their practice method is, she decides to either keep it as is, or makes suggestions on how the student can improve their practice routine. She spends a lot of time in the lesson helping the student to figure out what approach works best for them.

Because of her current work as a performer, Vicky feels that her students have the advantage of being prepared for many different scenarios such as diploma exams, and competitions. Through her experiences as a performer, she shares various tips with her students on how to get through different performance scenarios. Vicky is also involved in the Volteggiando Piano Duo, where she has teamed up with Australian pianist Maggie Chen giving performances and masterclasses in Australia and internationally.

Vicky estimates that about half of her students develop careers in piano teaching. Some of her students continue their study overseas, as Vicky has many connections with music institutions overseas. There are also some students who go on to become performing artists both as concert pianists and with orchestras.

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