Leonard Bernstein once said, "To teach is suffering, but to see other people learn is a joy!"
Learning and teaching are two profiles of the same face.
In my daily study work I feel like both a student and a teacher. Sometimes I am mainly a student, other times more of a teacher. Whether it's an up-and-coming talent, or a future winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, a dedicated enthusiast, or a piano teacher who teaches children, my role is one and the same. My role is to discover the music behind the notes; clearing the way to music. I help eliminate the friction between what we imagine musically and the sound reality.
When does the rule correct the emotion and when does the emotion adjust the rule?
It is very important to stay within the constraints, including my own. There have been times when I myself needed "help" "from my student.
Last July I gave a workshop to six young pianists from the Talent Class at the local theater. A student came to the session to master his playing of Liszt's Notturno No. 3 "Liebestraum".
During that difficult time, my life-partner was terminally ill and in hospice care. I was barred from visiting him for two weeks.
The young man played remarkably for his age: correct, determined, but kept the cleverly played music somewhat at bay. I listened and but I didn't know what to do. My own grief and powerlessness overtook my best abilities. After the final chord there was a long silence. I felt compelled to get up and run quickly away. Perhaps people thought: is Marietta not well or out of her normal focus?
Finally I asked the student:
"Can you imagine that a good friend of yours is deeply sad and that by playing you could comfort him or her? Today, I feel very sad. Please play for me!"
With this emotion, his music then flowed unimpeded; from ear to ear and from heart to heart.
Sometimes you have to start with the very beginning ..
Private lessons, Workshop or Masterclass
I offer a free introductory lesson for student or young talent, as well as private lessons, workshops and public Master Classes. Are you interested in the possibilities?
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