Saturday, August 19, 2017

My early learning efforts (J.S. Bach) under the influence of Peter Feuchtwanger

My students know that I say what I do, while they do as I say, with the understanding that we are perhaps interchanging the whole music learning process on an egalitarian basis. Therefore, it’s no surprise that I regularly thank them for “teaching” me what I might otherwise have overlooked in my daily practicing.

For example, as I journey through all six French Suites of J.S. Bach, often in the company of pupils who’ve joined me at various common junctures of study, I can share my baby step approach to a “new” dance movement with a candid admission that my first shaky steps taken through virgin terrain can be as tentative and experimental as theirs. And to the extent that my students see me, their teacher, as the model of a work in progress, they might allow themselves the same space to grow a piece in stages without harsh self-judgment and self-imposed learning deadlines.

That’s why, periodically, I impart my very earliest, slow tempo, learning efforts embodied in various video samplings. (Sarabande, French Suite no. 3 in B minor, BWV 814)

I must admit that bundled into my first stage (second day) Sarabande immersion were epiphanies about phrasing, vocal modeling, fingering choices/rotations, etc. that were allied to Peter Feuchtwanger’s mentoring (via you tube)–my having been under the influence (his) in the proverbial sense.

The late pianist/teacher/and composer, who was based in London, formidably championed fluidity in the context of a vocalized musical line, with a technical universe that was inseparable from what he believed to be a particular expressive musical “language,” be it in the French compositional vocabulary, (Debussy), or within the framing of Couperin, Bach, Chopin, et al.

Fingering decisions reflected a pure, though innate expression of a phrase that had its analog in ways of speaking. (and singing)

Naturally, Feuchtwanger advocated freedom from tension in the arms and wrists, having devised certain exercises to liberate a pianist from any constraints in the flow of phrases. He embraced a flexible, supple wrist approach wedded to a Zen-like, here and now concentration that was the kindred focus of his musical colleague, Yehudi Menuhin.

This particular sample from Feuchtwanger’s home teaching environment is particularly emblematic of an approach that has tweaked my own consciousness about music learning and mentoring. Feuchtwanger begins by demonstrating the opening measures of Fur Elise with an untraditional fingering that heightens the “shape” of the line, preventing a vertical, inorganic rendering. (It allows for a “rotational” movement that promotes a curvaceous contouring of notes.) His student, sitting beside him, fleshes out a “circular” analogy that is quite relevant.

Feuchtwanger’s bio expands upon his legacy as a teacher, his having influenced so many prominent pianists including Martha Argerich.

http://www.peter-feuchtwanger.de/english-version/biography/index.html

In my own rush of enthusiasm, I urge piano students and all music lovers to ingest Peter Feuchtwanger’s ideas that are well communicated in a set of you tubes, one of which showcases his work with pupil, Marian Friedman. It’s an amazing display of virtuosity that’s inextricably tied to the natural expression of musical lines without physical constraint.



from Arioso7's Blog (Shirley Kirsten)
https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2017/08/19/my-early-learning-efforts-j-s-bach-under-the-influence-of-peter-feuchtwanger/

No comments:

Post a Comment