Ive recommended the book The Great Pianists from Mozart to the Present by Harold C. Schoenberg. Here is a blurb to perhaps spark your interest: As a teacher Chopin was strictly business - both financially and artistically. He was punctual (with me things go by the clock) and he started at 8 a.m., ushering the student into his studio, which contained two pianos - a Pleyel grand and a small cottage piano on which Chopin accompanied. The lesson cost twenty francs, and the student was expected to leave the money on the mantelpiece. Chopin, fashion plate that he was, always dressed impeccably for his lessons: hair curled, shoes polished, clothes elegant. Lessons were supposed to be an hour but sometimes ran over......Chopin did much illustrating and explaining at the second piano. He could be cutting. Pupils disagreed about how effective a teacher he was. One said that his only method was to play like an angel and then tell me to do likewise...The hopeless part of it was...each time he played, his interpretation was entirely different. But another pupil testifies that Chopin was patient and tolerant. Mme. Rubio, one of his assistants, said on the contrary that he was often irritable...Mathias once saw him break a chair in rage. All of which indicates that Chopin approached his pupils differently, and that each saw him through a particular set of circumstances. The same would be true for any teacher who ever lived. Teachers are always patient and tolerant with their talented pupils, irrated by the stupid ones. Chopin intended to bring out a book on teaching, and left some preliminary notes. Some of the notes are listed in the book. Youll have to read the book to see what they are.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 15:02:44 +0000
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