Maykapar aims to teach an ebullient, crisp staccato beside a tenuto (leaned on, detached note) in his beautiful miniature, “In the Garden.”

In the attached instruction I explore the flexible wrist and its role in realizing a beautiful tenuto. At first I demonstrate an exaggerated motion in slow demonstration that becomes attenuated in the assigned Allegro tempo.

(Baby step, separate hand practicing as always is recommended in a layered-learning process)

Rada Bukhman, author, has a generous serving of Maykapar’s compositions in her book, Discovering Color Behind the Keys, The Essence of the Russian School of Piano Playing. An interview with Ms. Bukhman can be found at:
http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/an-interview-with-rada-bukhman-pianist-teacher-author-about-the-russian-school-of-piano-playing/

As I set out my fingering, isolate lines or voices, in a Bach Three Part invention, for example, or even within the Adagio of Beethoven’s “Pathetique” with its choir of voices worth parceling out and singing individually, I want to preserve a sense of awe and inspiration that permeates each stage of learning.

That’s a big order.

For many piano students, regardless of age or playing level, the doldrums set in as they weather the challenges of reading new notes, fingering them, and having to practice consistently with focused concentration. The “newness” infatuation often vanishes after a few awkward, stumbling sight-reads.

Getting down to business, is just that for them–an officious task that steals time from video games and sports activities. Do I have to do it? they sing in chorus.

While we all have to come to grips with DETAILS on the music page, doing our housekeeping, counting out measures, we can still marvel at each step if we don’t separate what drew us to a masterwork from the journey to expand our consciousness about it.

Since I teach mostly adult students, those having returned to piano after years away from lessons, I suggest that they keep a journal of their personal awakenings as they start a new composition.

Mildred Portney Chase, author of Just Being At the Piano, did the same, even at her very advanced playing level. She poetically described the physical sensation of contacting the keys, and the suppleness of motions that drew a gorgeous singing tone from the piano.

“As I discovered a new awareness or as an insight came to me, I would make a brief notation. Before I began to keep a journal at the piano, awakenings would come over me, be forgotten, and then return again, sometimes years later. I finally brought a writing pad to the piano and whenever an idea took hold, I made a note. This helped me to remember the experience of a particular moment.”

She stressed the importance of “developing a sensory awareness of the sound, touch, of what the entire body is experiencing, so that each tone may sing.”

Her words provided a compelling paradigm for learning, since they fleshed out a living, breathing, in the moment encounter with sound without value judgment:

“I am now able to reach a state of being at the piano from which I come away renewed and at peace with myself, having established a harmony of mind, heart, and body.”

More specifics applicable to practicing:

“Every skill acquired at the piano can easily involve kinesthetic pleasure. Even though the total act of playing is complex on an advanced level, it consists of many simple natural movements which are dovetailed. Portney Chase describes”release and responsiveness,” the elements of which “give us the freedom to pause in our playing without stopping, to provide accent in our playing that is strong but also tender, to express subtle fluctuations of mood.”

She emphasized practicing as “living in a constant state of discovery and increased awareness.”

The word “discovery,” has a child-like character since it rekindles our memories of nature’s first sunrises, sunsets, ocean tides, etc.

Why not apply this to the piano in our daily journeys of self-realization. (Not forgetting to breathe deep, natural breaths as we play)

A piece of music has a fresh landscape to explore and the explorer pianist should “feel” the pulse of discovery in every exposure.

Apropos, this is one of my favorites, “First Sorrow,” from Schumann’s Album for the Young, that I learned years ago, and recommended to an adult student. In reviewing it again, I wanted to feel its “newness” by following an inclination to “breathe” through phrases that had their own organic contour. The distance from my first learning encounter seemed to favor the sense of surprise I experienced when revisiting it.

Jeremy Denk, concert pianist, speaks wisely about capturing “freshness” in performance. He alludes to “having a continuous state of wonder about the music he’s playing.” (Please note his final words about “recording” and how to overcome the “decay” of notes with a surmounting soulful, singing expression) He seems to have an innate sense of playing in the moment, with an eternal reverence for his ongoing journey.

LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/Being-Piano-Mildred-Portney-Chase/dp/0916870944/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368878570&sr=8-1&keywords=Just+Being+at+the+Piano+by+Mildred+Portney+Chase

Rada Bukhman, a Vancouver-based piano teacher with native Russian roots, has produced a 212-page soft cover volume that entices with its interspersed selections of compositions at various learning levels.

The text offers a variety of fascinating topics, “Developing Initial Musical Skills: on the Nature and Development of a Musical Ear, on Rhythm, Preparatory Stage, Sight-Reading” and continues with “The Means of Expression in Performance: Sound production, Dynamics, the Art of Phrasing,” etc. among a plethora of compelling instructional headings that follow in a well-organized sequence.

Rather than retread specific areas covered by Ms. Bukhman in her volume, I asked her to respond to a series of inquiries that arose from my exploration of her book.

SK (Shirley Kirsten): Is there a Russian School of Piano Playing, and if so, what exactly is it? Nikolai Lugansky, a student of Tatiana Nikolayeva, for example, said the following when asked the same question:

“It is difficult to describe, but the piano is not a knocking instrument (perhaps he meant percussive), and you must always try to play a melody as if you were emulating the human voice.”

Rada Bukhman: Before answering your question, I would like to define the meaning of “Russian School of Piano Playing.”

Many musicians stress the word “playing,” while for me, it is the “school” that’s important. There is no such thing as Russian piano playing, but there is definitely the SCHOOL.

The singing tone cannot be related to Russians only. The majority of Old Russian masters who impress us with their singing tone have a Western European background. Russia developed slowly: the Rubinstein brothers opened their music conservatories in Moscow and Saint Petersburg only in the second part of the 19th century. By that time Europe produced quite an impressive number of amazing pianists- Talberg, Chopin, Liszt, Busoni, Clara Schumann, Brahms.

While I don’t believe there exists a Russian way of playing, I do recognize the Russian School of Piano teaching – the method historically proven by raising generations of accomplished musicians. I would like to avoid over-generalizing by implying that all Russian teachers are excellent or that only Russian teachers are great. However, in Russia there was a very well-defined organizational structure and pedagogical strategy, both aimed at children. This is something I miss in North America.

In regular Russian music schools children had quite a few courses additional to specialty instrument study. These included solfeggio, theory, and music literature. Students were expected to participate in a choir and to play in the orchestra. The schools provided general musical education on a very high level. Many of these graduates continued professional studies in musical colleges.

There were also special music schools meant for gifted children, which Lugansky himself had attended. Teachers in those schools were both exceptional musicians and great performers. Therefore, the students were taught refined musical taste and a high level of musical understanding.

These teachers had developed the core of the method that we now call the “Russian Piano School.”

One of the most important features of the School is the development of the piano apparatus based on a serious foundation of musical and medical knowledge. It is a well-known fact that many pianists suffer from all kinds of professional traumas due to inappropriate training in childhood. It is vital, therefore, to understand how our body functions. It’s also important to know which movement best suits the desired articulation, particular tone…. Then instead of hours of repetitive practicing one can achieve quality results much faster and be injury-free.

The standard set in schools for gifted children was extremely high. It demanded the embrace of art as a whole. The best Russian teachers expected children to explore music, visual art, and literature. This is another major feature of the Russian School.

The teachers were also unique, and worked day and night. I should mention that the only motivation they had was love for the students and for the music. I have read memories of a principal of one of those schools, where he shared his admiration for old teachers who voluntarily worked long hours and weekends.

Nowadays music teachers have to be business-oriented; it makes the teaching process totally different. You would not imagine someone working additional hours with a private student unless paid extra. The same is the case in contemporary Russia. These extra lessons cost money, and the rate is not low.

It’s ironic, but the terrible economic and political conditions in the Soviet Union motivated artists to work with greater enthusiasm, because the only sanctuary for real freedom and spiritual happiness was their art.

Consequently, only during the first half of the 20th century had Russia produced an enormous amount of extraordinary musicians.

SK: In the Russian tradition of teaching piano, what is the physical route to producing a legato (smooth and connected) singing tone? And what role does a supple wrist play in developing a molto cantabile. (very singable sound)

Rada Bukhman: Legato is a more audible phenomenon than physical. It is sort of an illusion. First of all, one should be talented enough to imagine and to hear this type of sound internally. Another important thing is to control the sound. We often play legato using pedal for connection in situations when physical legato is impossible. It is crucial to build smooth dynamical change from sound to sound creating an illusion of legato.

In the book I introduce the melodic exercises which aim to teach how to play legato with dynamic development. It motivates children to control the decay of each sound and initiate conscious transfer from one sound to the next.

Physical legato definitely is a very important skill and it depends on proper use of pianistic apparatus. The singing sound physically depends on proper touch of the fingertip and on a masterful distribution of weight of the arms on fingers, while moving from key to key.

The wrist helps our fingers to reach the most desirable position on the keyboard. Wrist is a bridge connecting the forearm with the hand, and it contributes to a greater mobility of the hand. It helps the hand to change positions. The wrist can work as a resisting force while we are playing heavy and loud, softening the tone. Thus the wrist should be flexible but never loose. Excessive movements of the wrist may result in a professional injury; this is something to keep in mind.

SK: I notice that in one portion of your book you recommended inking a dot on the fleshy part of a student’s fingers to remind him or her of where to make contact with the key. Does this allow flexibility as far as a deep in the key approach, with longer, less rounded fingers in Largo or Adagio passages? Daniil Trifonov mentioned in an interview that he often plays with “flat fingers.”

Rada Bukhman: Inking a dot is not my invention; this was advice given by the legendary teacher Anna Artobolevskaya.

A skillful performer instinctively flattens his or her fingers for a variety of reasons. Sometimes in fast tempo as well, playing, for example, on black keys. While the finger is flattened, the distal phalanx is still a bit curved allowing touch of a key with a fingertip. In the case of legato, the larger part of the flesh is involved.

Why it is essential to teach children to touch with a tip or in other words, to grab a key with a tip? Because this skill is not innate to us. This skill has to be nurtured, sometimes for years.

Professor Mikhail Voskresensky, who has been teaching for many decades in the Moscow conservatory, once said to me: you should feel as if you’re holding the keyboard with your fingertips. In other words, one should imagine that the grip of the keys should prevent keyboard from falling on the floor. When this feeling is established, one is free to experiment with colors of tone.

SK: What is the value of playing detached notes, before exposing a student to legato playing?

Rada Bukhman: Legato is the most complex skill. Playing non-legato establishes the foundation for movement and touch. It motivates to play with a full arm, realizing the unity of the different parts of the piano apparatus; it teaches to immerse the finger to the end of the key bed. In my book you will find exercises for circular movements of the arm, necessary for establishing the habit of transferring the hand comfortably.

SK: Your teacher antecedents go back to Heinrich Neuhaus who taught Richter and Gilels. What was the main dimension of his teaching that was passed down to you?

Rada Bukhman: I am still learning from my former Moscow teacher, examining her video recordings. Richter and Gilels are not very good examples of Neuhaus’s art of pedagogy because they are geniuses, not to mention that Gilels can hardly be considered a pupil of Neuhaus.

My teacher, Lidija Phikhtengoltz, who was student of Neuhaus from the age of 14, explores his musical principles more obviously. She was always touched following her performances when somebody would say that it is apparent that her teacher was Henry. She has a refined musical taste, expressive natural phrasing, and a deep understanding of a composer’s language. Pay attention to her logical gestures (there are no unnecessary movements). When she was performing, it was always sincere and truthful. From her I learned appreciation for the quality of the sound and the importance of musical taste.

SK: One of the strengths of your book resides in its inclusion of repertoire that you recommend with tie-ins to your whole technical/musical approach to teaching.

Were these pieces you were given to study as part of your training in Russia?

Rada Bukhman: I was searching for repertoire in all possible internet libraries; additionally I wanted to incorporate the material which would be new for teachers and students. I was using the Nikolaev book in my childhood, which is translated into English. However, I found it impossible to use most of its content. I managed to combine well-known music like the selections from Children’s cycles by Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Maykapar with the music that has never been published before in North America. For example, my book includes pieces by Russian prominent composers such as Sviridov and Lokshin. For the part of the book called “Development of Piano Apparatus” I was searching for pieces that would correspond to each technique.

SK: Could you describe the specific teachers who most influenced you and why?

Rada Bukhman: My learning experience is a combination of skills I acquired from very different but unique musicians. All of them contributed to my musical development tremendously. However I feel that teaching young musicians continuously makes me a better musician and performer.

SK: How is your book set apart from other piano instructional materials on the market?

Rada Bukhman: My book is both an exploration of the method and repertoire. The method is a pedagogical tool for teachers interested in learning the “Russian way” of building the piano apparatus. I offer an explanation of the nature of pianistic movements as well as a strategy to follow while working with beginners. I explain in detail the order of techniques introduced and how all exercises have to be performed, from an audible and physical perspective.

By using some of the exercises one can help more advanced students who suffer from inappropriate initial training. Additionally, I touch on every aspect of musical development of the child. That makes my book different from other children’s piano methods.

(I offer free consultations via Skype to new owners of my book who would like to have more detailed explanation of the book’s themes)

LINKS:

AMAZON: DISCOVERING COLOR BEHIND THE KEYS: The Essence of the Russian School of Piano Playing

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Rada+Bukhman

RADA BUKHMAN’S YOU TUBE CHANNEL with playing samples of her students

http://www.youtube.com/user/rbukhman

Bach wrote a preface to the two and THREE Part Inventions (as per Elaine Comparone, Harpsichordist and Baroque scholar), *”where he beautifully expresses his purpose to develop the art of CANTABILE playing in 2 and 3 voices” (loosely translated) “on keyboard instruments.”

Quote, Johann Sebastian Bach 1723

“Honest method by which the amateurs of the keyboard—especially, however,
those desirous of learning—are shown a clear way not only
(1) to learn to play cleanly in two parts, but also, after further progress,
(2) to handle three obbligato parts correctly and well; and along
with this not only to obtain good inventions (ideas) but to develop the same well;
above all, however, to achieve cantabile style in playing and at the same time
acquire a strong foretaste of composition.”

***

The way to approach a composition of this magnitude is to parcel out three voices, and separately track them from beginning to end. This can be tricky, especially where they converge, or are divided between the hands. At one point, the soprano and alto are so closely placed on the printed page, that it takes a keen eye, not to mention ear, to separate them within the texture.

Until the player is thoroughly versed in the alto, bass, and soprano lines to the extent that he can sing each, as if learning his part in a choir, should he begin to layer the voices. The process presumes that singing has been translated into playing each line, beautifully phrased, with a sensible fingering attached. (knowledge of the Subject, its content, articulation and phrasing is pivotal to the learning paradigm combined with an awareness of streamed half-step movement that gives the composition an eerie effect–along with its embedded tritones)

In my instructional video, I take the stepwise journey that begins with a breakdown of voices, and I conclude with a sample playing of three simultaneously layered lines.

There are no learning shortcuts. Laying down a solid foundation is the best route to enjoying a complex composition such as this one.

Play through at Largo Tempo:

It’s grown on me ever since I was seduced by the opener to Karl Haas’s weekly broadcasts on F.M. radio. (“Adventures in Good Music”)

And from there, it was ethereal strains of Classical music with inspired, interspersed commentary.

***

About the Beethoven middle movement masterpiece:

A melody filled with melancholic emotion in the MAJOR key (Ab), has contrasting relief in the Parallel Ab minor–It starts tepidly in the mid-section but builds to punctuated, angry chordal bursts in the Beethoven style with sudden trademark character shifts. Yet, the composer challenges the player to keep his composure in readiness for the return of the haunting, signature theme that’s cloaked in variation. (a bed of triplets)

Who’s to insist that the the Major Key can’t be filled with pathos and passion?

That’s where musical cliches fall flat despite the bombardment of Major/minor, happy/sad Western Music motifs in childhood jingles and TV commercials.

We music teachers tend to drink the dual tonality Kool-Aid until a composition like this knocks us out of our key-biased comatose complacency.

***

And finally, here’s a long lost dose of nostalgia from Karl Haas in soliloquy as he accepts a “Lifetime Achievement Award.” (The man was a student of Schnabel, no less)

A Toast to the Classical Music Ambassador: May his rebroadcasts be forever draped in Beethoven’s Adagio as we, the audience, swoons over every last note.

To avoid the ponderous, vertical approach to these semi-quavers, a set of baby-step preliminaries can nurse along a heartfelt, well-”shaped” musical outpouring.

In my attached video tutorial I suggest “singing” phrases before playing them to get the “feeling” of their contour. (The student and teacher can also conduct from phrase to phrase, noting harmonic rhythm as it influences “lean” and “resolve” relationships from measure to measure)

The motions that merge with a sound ideal can be further explored and noted in journal form. (RELAXED BREATHING frames all music-making)

In the physical realm, I advocate relaxed arms, supple wrists and a continuum of energy without kinks along the way. (Make sure elbows and wrists aren’t tense) Keep shoulders relaxed and transfer upper body weighted energy into the keyboard.

A reservoir of mental and physical images plus a fine-tuned ear will no doubt support a seamless legato that permeates Burgmuller’s “Sincerity.”

***

My play through:

Instruction:

I can confidently say that I was happily blessed to have been side-tracked by a Masterclass appearance at Juilliard by Opera diva Joyce DiDonato. An earthy mezzo soprano born of the Midwest, she spoke in a universal language to an intimate and simultaneous U-streamed international audience.

So what did I know about the world of glittery coloraturas that could have any practical application to piano teaching and performing?

While pianists had to cultivate the singing tone, they faced the challenge of rising above their instrument’s hammer mechanism to find a spiritual core of musical expression. (Our vocal cords seemed subsidiary to our fleet fingers)

Murray Perahia, “tone poet” of the piano, enjoyed early exposure to opera performances at the Met (NYC) as a toddler, propped in his father’s lap.

The pianist recalled the deep impression these staged musical productions made upon him as he soaked up ingredients of drama and molto cantabile that seeped into his playing, ultimately creating a bigger than instrumental-centered expression. (Underline the divine, full-bloomed breath of his immaculate phrasing)

My early memories of the Bronx where I was born, included weekend-beamed Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts of Traviata, Carmen, The Magic Flute, etc. introduced and critiqued by Milton Cross in his indomitable squeaky voice.

How could I forget the strains of Bizet’s “Habanera,” with its rhythmic intensity so appealing to a child engaged in imaginative play. (My mother would tell the story in her own words)

To see the production, “live” years later, added a dramatic component that heightened my pleasure and expanded musical consciousness…which brings me back to Joyce DiDonato as she rehearses Drama Queens (Royal Arias from the 17th and 18th Centuries) with interspersed commentary that underscores communication and emotional engagement. (these being so fundamental to performing) In addition, the two video links below are equally applicable to our collective journeys as pianists.

Here they are:

An excerpt from the Q and A following Joyce’s Juilliard Masterclass, titled, “On your Inner Critic,” and her Vlog, “Handling Nerves.” (Take note of her focus on BREATHING)

I can say with confidence, that absorbing the multifaceted dimensions of this opera diva’s artistry brought home the unity of our creative undertakings as “musicians” and bestowed an expanded horizon of learning that adds to our growth and development.

RELEVANT LINKS:
Joyce DiDonato’s Official Website

http://www.joycedidonato.com/

What we can learn from String Players

http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/what-pianists-can-learn-from-string-players/

Singing in our culture and vocal inhibition

http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/piano-study-and-the-value-of-singing-against-a-cultural-backdrop-of-vocal-inhibition/

Performance Anxiety and the Pianist

http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/performance-anxiety-and-the-pianist/

Piano warm-ups, Chopin and the Art of Breathing

http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/piano-warm-ups-and-the-art-of-breathing-video/

Murray Perahia is in a league of his own

http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/murray-perahia-pianist-is-in-a-league-of-his-own-videos/

At that very instant, I thought about how Edvard Grieg might have rendered his own music. (To hear his personal reading would certainly provide authentic tempo references and suggested phrasing) After all, how many times had piano students been told to worship the composer at his altar –channeling his music as he would have intended.

When I studied Grieg’s “Butterfly” from the Lyric Pieces I managed to dig up a scratchy rendering of Grieg’s that was compelling in its departure from my so-called original edition.

But was His the Holy Bible of interpretation compared to others I sampled on You Tube.

Had the Creator set the piece in stone?

How about this reading?

It seemed warmer with judiciously used sustain pedal.

And my personal favorite played by Sviatoslav Richter–he escapes the tendency to race through.

In summary, I didn’t necessarily embrace the composer’s approach to his own music.

***

BELA BARTOK

Here Bartok plays his hauntingly beautiful “Evening in the Country” with a wide brush of rubato that makes measuring the piece in notational form nearly impossible.

Compare to another rendering that’s compelling.

And now a more “measured out” performance that doesn’t seem to capture the improvised nature of the folkloric idiom, though one may argue that the reading is a personal expression of the artist that doesn’t have to match up with the composer’s so-called ideal.

***

Gershwin plays Gershwin

“I Got Rhythm”

Updated and transcribed in a virtuoso framing:

***

Traveling back over centuries where masterworks have no recorded expressions by their creators, we have treatises by C.P.E. Bach, for example, that inform about ornament execution, tempo, affect, etc.

Yet beyond what’s written by historians, the music itself, including melodic and harmonic flow give the player an interpretive map that is individually followed within the historical period of composition. This seems to be a better overall paradigm for interpretation than trying to be a carbon copy of the composer in any era.

So why not open the door to my private practice room for a layered learning sample a trois.

I’m no different than those I teach. The double standard does not exist for those of us who embark upon the study of new music.

***

My latest undertaking is the J.S. Bach Sinfonia in F, BWV 794, and while my iMac decided not to synchronize my hands voice, and music for most of the track, one can rely on the ears, and gain some insights about voice parceling and counterpoint.

In the video attached, I mapped out the first page, separately playing each of three voices as a paradigm for learning the whole work in a stepwise fashion.

Then in very slow tempo, I played through the composition, noting the SUBJECT as it appeared either alone, overlapping itself, or rendered in parallel motion (in 6ths) as the CLIMAX of the composition. (I considered the Alto, Soprano and Bass parts with attention to Key as well as interweaving counterpoint)

(Not to be overlooked, are pieces of the subject that play off each other in various voices)

This is my second day delving into the Sinfonia’s fabric and as I tell students time and again, slow and steady practicing without built-in deadlines makes the process itself joyful and satisfying.

The rest will come naturally in its time in a patient, self-nurturing environment.

In tempo: