Inspiration in teaching, learning and playing EXPERIENCEabrahammariann.hu › pdf › helsinki_abstract.pdf39th European Conference of EPTA: Inspiration in Teaching, Learning and Playing,

39th European Conference of EPTA: Inspiration in Teaching, Learning and Playing, Helsinki 10th-13th August 2017

1

Inspiration in teaching, learning and playing

EXPERIENCE

“The deepest source of the artistic experience is the enigmatic content of the unconscious ego1…” Margit Varró

Before we talk about anything at all, I should like to quote three experiential realisations, which have made a profound impression on me over the decades of my working as a teacher. One is the headline of a report made and published with Margit Varró, which says: “A gram of talent carries more weight than a kilo of teaching” (1925) 2

The second sentence was spoken in a master class given by György Sebők3 in Budapest: “There are as many approaches as there are people. I must relate differently to each one. The role of teaching is like that of a shoehorn: I only need it until I have put on my shoe, but I don’t leave the shoehorn in the shoe after that.” (1999)

I was confronted with the third fact in a lecture by Dr. Róbert Büchler, a professor involved in human kinesiology: “Perception and movement are unified, they have an organic connection with one another. Teaching a musical instrument at any level demands the development of a special coordination between perception and movement. It is a proven fact that the two tracks always work together, nothing comes about with the participation of only one of the tracks.”4 That is to say: what and how we perceive – in our case from the sheet music, is transposed physiologically into movement.

A few thoughts on teaching music Who was Margit Varró? At the beginning of the 20th century, Margit Varró was a Hungarian musician-

psychologist, pianist and teacher, known and acknowledged throughout Europe, who with her research, fundamentally changed the practice of how music had been taught up till that point. She masterfully utilised results from psychology, thus introducing pioneering changes by directing attention to the internal processes of playing music. Based on her observations, she distinguished music-feeling and music-understanding5

people. Regarding music-understanding people, besides the three generally known types of musician’s temperament, auditory, visual, motor, she introduced a fourth, the


2

intellectual type. Her purpose was for us to impart music in such a way, that everyone could enjoy it. 6

“For the one who understands music, the function of the mind is primary: the form and structure of the piece, a knowledge of the style play a very important role in musical enjoyment. For the one who feels music, empathy with the mood of the music is primary, a direct perception of the internal content. Someone can be trained to understand music,7 but not to feel it: you have to be born with this. Music is almost like a mother tongue for music-feeling people. They can instinctively feel and think in sounds.

Varró called the musical disposition musicality. Musical aptitude is marked by an excellent musical ear, and the great effect of musical impressions on the imagination and spiritual life. Both types of musicality must be present in a musical talent of full value. By playing music, a talent of such calibre can communicate thoughts which cannot be expressed in any other way.”

The four types of personality are present to various extents in everyone, the

question is, of course, which one or which ones are the most dominant.8

In the work of a teacher, Varró considered knowing the personal temperament of

the pupils to be more important than anything, and thus finding the appropriate path for developing their abilities.

Every personality reacts quite differently to impressions coming from the

outside world, and thus from music, so everyone needs something different on seeing the sheet music, in order to be able to interpret the meaning of the symbols written by the Composer, to understand the will of the Composer, to become receptive to his music, and honestly express his thoughts and feelings. The teacher’s most important role, therefore, is to open up the soul and brain of the pupil. Varró had already declared in the thirties that a teacher teaching on the basis of authority causes very serious damage, because this deprives the pupil of self-confidence.

It was astonishing for me to hear these same words (almost 100 years later!) in a

Hungarian TV broadcast in the July of 2017. I quote, “The problem is not with the children, but with the teaching method which is applied when dealing with them today. These days it is no longer possible to teach successfully using a uniform approach! If we do not understand the diversity so typical of children, today’s pedagogy can only train dark masses, because the teachers are not interested in whether or not the children have grasped what they want to teach them. Children’s thinking is depreciating constantly in our time with regard to the crowd. It is very important that we find out who can be motivated by what.” In my opinion, experience is a key word, and giving experience is a key task. If we want to give a pupil an experience in some connection, then we have to arouse their power of fantasy and imagination. The experience must be in operation in their soul, their brain, in their whole being.

Talent has measurable and non-measurable components. Talent as a whole is much more than the sum of the measurable attributes.


3

The measurable components familiar to all are the following a) a musical ear (for example, a sense of melody, sense of rhythm, perception of harmonies)

b) a musical memory (the extent, reliability, content of this) c) operation of the motor apparatus (for pianists, hands and arms) d) within these, the ease and adequacy of expressive skill. According to Varró, the above are only raw materials of talent, merely just makings.

The non-measurable components

Just as important are the mental factors, which spring from the personal

temperament of the possessor of this raw material, from the internal relationship of the listed measurable components with the personal temperament.

The mental factors are rooted in the imagination and emotional realm of the

given person and are more difficult to perceive. The depth of emotions and the vividness of imagination cannot be measured. But it is just these attributes which do justice to the raw material of talent and raise it to a higher level. This raw material can only attain artistic validity by means of the personality which pervades and moulds it.9

Yehudi Menuhin10 reacted to Varró’s article in the following way in a letter he wrote to her:

”Dear Mrs. Varró, Your work “Talent and personality” will prove, I believe a most valuable contribution towards guidance and clarification in a field, presently obscured by the rapid and almost sudden growth of formal musical education and experience in the mass. Music making must always contain one unknown element of creation to a greater or lesser extent…” With warmest regard

Yehudi Menuhin (1941)

A few thoughts on the temperament of a performing artist

If we concentrate on the melodic-rhythmic-harmonic happenings of the music, then it

is to be expected that our own emotions will become synchronised with the content of

the piece. The melody is the content carrier component of the music, the rhythm is the

motor of temporal happening, the harmonies give the music character, tensions and

resolutions come from them, the tempo is right if everything that the content of the

music says to us can be declared in it. Virtuoso playing in no way signifies mere


4

speed. It must be worked out rhythmically, and it must give a clear picture of the

music. Emotions and expressiveness must emanate from the music itself.11

In order to conceive the personality of the performing artist, I also took Margit

Varró’s commentary as a basis, who formulates things similarly but in different

words, “In order for a musician to be capable of experiential, artistic reproduction, he must

penetrate the music he wishes to play, he must develop in himself the capacity to become

attuned and must acquire perfect technical skill, because this is the only way to impart to

others everything he has experienced inside. Understanding the work to be performed,

possession of the technique needed for performance, a most careful study of the sheet music,

exploring the spiritual content of the composition, then making all these personal are of

fundamental importance.

As far as “musical talent” is concerned, I would reserve this label for those musicians – writes Varró – who have been able to develop their natural abilities into skills, and to form this skill into musical manifestations, which are the visible proofs of their talent. Artistic manifestation is actually an individual means of expression and assumes the strictest self-criticism. If this is lacking we are dealing with a dilettante, an individual who confuses intention with action.”


5

Footnotes: 1. Varró Margit (1881-1976) cikke, részlet, megjelent: Simrock-Rather Kurier, 1932.XI. [Article by Margit

Varró (1881-1976), extract, appeared: Simrock-Rather Kurier, 1932.XI.]

2. Szinházi élet, XV. évf./4, 1925 [Theatrical life, yr. XV/4, 1925]

3. Prof. Sebők György (1922-1999) zongoraművész, Bloomington, USA [Prof. György Sebők (1922-1999), pianist,

Bloomington, USA]

4. Dr. Büchler Róbert (1922-1992) A Budapesti Testnevelési Egyetem humánkineziológiával foglalkozó professzora: „ Gondolkodás, érzelem, mozgás” című előadását közli: Parlando XXX. évf. /3, 1988 [Dr.

Róbert Büchler (1922-1992), professor involved in human kinesiology at the Budapest University of Physical Education: His lecture entitled “Thinking, emotion, movement” communicated by: Parlando yr. XXX/3, 1988]

5. Varró: „A származás, öröklődés, a család, a környezet, a nevelés, az iskoláztatás, a környezet szellemi látóköre, az ország kulturális viszonyai mind-mind fontos tényezők.” [Varró: “Origin, inheritance,

the family, the environment, upbringing, schooling, the spiritual horizon of the surroundings, the cultural conditions of the country are all important factors.”]

6 .„A zene azért van, hogy örömünket leljük benne” – Margit Varró: Der lebendige Klavierunterricht, előszó, 1929 [“The reason music exists, is for us to find pleasure in it” - Margit Varró: Living piano lessons, foreword, 1929]

7. Az analitikusabb, intellektuálisabb megközelítés mély felismerésekhez is vezethet. Az előadást is intenzívebbé teheti, mert felfedező útra indítja el mind a tanárt, mind a növendéket. Sok olyan hangverseny van, ahol a műveket hangosan, vagy kísérő füzetben ismertetik. Utalhatunk Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) világhírű karmester „Ifjúsági hangversenyek” című ismeretterjesztő koncertjeire is, melyeket az 1950-es-60-as években a magyar TV is közvetített; ott több ezer ember előtt, show műsor keretében magyarázta az elhangzó műveket. Ezek mind az élmény megragadását segítették elő. [The more analytical, more intellectual approach can also lead to deep recognition. It can also make the performance more intensive, because it sends both the teacher and the pupil on a path of discovery. There are many concerts where the works are presented out loud or in an accompanying booklet. We can also refer to Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), the world famous conductor, whose informative “Youth concerts” were also broadcast by Hungarian TV in the 1950s and 60s; there in front of thousands of people, within the scope of a TV show, he explained the works which were heard. These all promoted a grasp of the experience.]

8. „Zenei tehetség és személyi alkat” (1937). Lásd: 9. lábjegyzet [“Musical talent and personal temperament”

(1937). See: footnote 9]

9. Varró Margitot (1881-1978) a „Zenei tehetség és személyi alkat” című előadásával Európa számos országának zenei intézményébe meghívták, (Franciaország, Olaszország, Németország, Svájc, Ausztria, Csehország, Belgium) előadását zenei ujságokban közölték, rádióadásokat tartott ebben a témában (1937) Ennek részletes felsorolását lásd: Ábrahám Mariann: Két világrész tanára, Varró Margit, 1992, EMB. [Margit Varró (1881-1978) was invited to the musical institutions of many countries (France, Italy,

Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium) with her lecture entitled “Musical talent and personal temperament”. Her lecture was published in music journals, she made radio broadcasts on this subject (1937). For a detailed listing of these, see: Mariann Ábraham: Margit Varró, a teacher of two continents, 1992, EMB.]

10. Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) levele, 1941. Az eredeti levél megtalálható: USA, Chicago, University of Chicago, Joseph Regenstein Library [Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999), letter, 1941. The original letter can be found:

Chicago, USA, University of Chicago, Joseph Regenstein Library]

11. Prof. Solymos Péter (1910-2000) zongoraművész, Budapest. „Az interpretációhoz vezető útak”című írása a Nagoyai Művészeti Egyetem (Japán) évkönyvében található. Megjelent: 1977-ben. A német eredeti szöveg fordítását közli: Parlando – „Zongora mellett” XXIX évf./12, 1987 [Prof. Péter Solymos (1910-

2000), pianist, Budapest. His writing entitled “Paths to interpretation” is to be found in the yearbook of Nagoyai University of Art (Japan). Published: in 1977. A translation of the original German text is communicated by: Parlando - “By the piano” yr. XXIX/12, 1987]


6

Jean Sibelius 8 December 1865 - 20 September 1957

HIS HOME


7

J. Sibelius (1865-1957): The flowers op. 85

I got a present! A dear former pupil of mine who is a teacher in Finland, Katalin Kothenz, came home to

Hungary to visit her mother. She came to visit me too. In her hand was a large envelope, with a letter

inside, and something else. This is what the letter said:

Dear Mariann!

Please accept with my love this bunch of flowers from the beloved and

revered maestro of the Finnish people.

The flowers: 1. Bellis, 2. Carnation, 3. Iris, 4. Columbine, 5. Bluebell

I then decided that I would learn the pieces.


8

EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL WORLD EXPERIENCE

In this series a distinctive construction principle can be said to be

constant: a theme, a melody appears which returns several times in all

five pieces. Sometimes we hear the same thing in a different register,

elsewhere it passes through unusual key sequences, where the harmonic

colour scheme is full of surprises. Elsewhere the piece is harmonised

extremely simply..

Everything that I mention with regard to the pieces comes from my own

experience.

I feel that Sibelius composed his experiences with flowers in a kind of

duality: as an external observer he paints a visual picture but he also

expresses his feelings in the music as he inwardly experiences the vision

of the flower. I should like to cast some light on which compositional

tools were used to lend beauty and distinctiveness to the pieces. The

action of all five pieces is built up extremely simply and economically by

the Composer, in a way comprehensible to all, but in each one there is

some unobserved, scarcely tangible speciality. It is fundamental that the

Composer’s directions and markings must be interpreted meticulously in

every case. In the performance, however, the most important thing is the

cohesion of the messages. Let us take them in order. As the pieces are

very short, every happening is miniature in size, just indicative.

I would like to perform to you the pieces of two Composers:

J. Sibelius: The Flowers op. 85 J. Soproni: Fugue, D flat major (composed in 2016)


9


10

1. Daisy BELLIS

C major - Presto. The piece is in C major throughout,

there is no modulation. Form: the first cohesive unit

is 18+16 bars, of which the first half is staccato, and

the second is in contrast, melodic. In the first unit,

however, there is a scarcely perceptible asymmetry,

as this is made up of 5+4 bars. When this melody unit

returns, the odd-even ratio is consistently repeated.

The first cohesive section returns three times. The

second time it returns it is heard an octave higher with small variations. In its return

for the third time the motivic sequences are dancelike, the material thickens with a

slight crescendo and stringendo. Then as a continuation of this the Composer

summarises and repeats the closing sections of the theme presented both the second

and the first times. The piece closes with a miniature Coda.

If I look closely at the centre of the little flower, then translate it into the language of

music, then all those tiny spots suggest staccato. For me the staccati represent

spectacle poured into music, and the articulated legati of the subsequent musical

material express the associated emotions. The little coda closes on the sixth degree, I

wonder why. What is uncertain here? It is because this flower is really so simple, or

does it signify a little humour?

2. Carnation OEILLET

A flat major - Con moto. Of the five pieces, this is

one of the most varied. I interpret the flower, the

sight and scent of which inspired the Composer, as a

symbol of several kinds of life situations.

Characteristic: the left hand and the right hand are

even-odd proportioned at the same time, and this

continues almost consistently throughout the little

piece. This rhythmic duality greatly contributes to

the beauty of the piece’s character. I deem to discover the pouring into music of

several kinds of event and character in this little work: 1. The edge

of the flower is crinkly, like a frilled skirt. The first section has a

dancelike character.

2. In the second section we hear little harp-like runs. These evoke

the feelings of a bride holding a bunch of carnations in her hands.

Bubbling over after the sforzato on the highest note of the piece, the


11

arpeggio harmonies run down with rich emotion. 3. In contrast to this – in the inner

voice of the third section, weights in asymmetric places evoke a little bell, which like a

gong, could even be the sign of mourning. Then in chromatic steps the completion of

the piece returns, which has a dancelike swing once again.

3. Iris IRIS

B flat minor - Allegretto e deciso. The melody is a

downward moving, fragmented, articulated scale, every

single note of which is harmonised separately by the

Composer. The piece comprises two sections. The first

section suggests a resigned, melancholy mood. For me, the

floating, volatile, decoratively colourful scales running up

and down picture the scent of the flower.

The second section, in contrast to the first, is somewhat

festive, of giusto character, like a march (over it is written

deciso), then with a chromatic, ebullient series of

harmonies full of tension the piece reaches its climax. From

here, the theme curves downwards again with little sighing motifs of a scale-like

nature, the harmonisation of which is chromatic for the most part with diminished

arpeggio chords. The first and second parts both return, more reticently, in condensed

form, abbreviated. The beginning of the piece then returns in its entirety.

4. Columbine AQUILEJA

A flat major - Allegretto. A piece which seems

cheerful, though it is not at all certain that it is. There

is a playfulness in the offset rhythmic

accompaniment. It makes the character light and airy.

The little piece is more symmetrical in structure, as it

is made up of 8 bar units. Actually, we hear the theme

in its entirety three times. But there is a difference

either in the harmonisation, or that it is played in a

different register. The musical materials linking the themes are sequence-like, and

they become heightened emotionally. Before the third repeated theme appears, that

linking musical material, which until now had headed upwards with a swing, now

with a sigh takes a downward turn and moves chromatically into the theme as it

returns for the third time.


12

5. Bluebell CAMPANULA

C sharp minor - Andantino. I feel this piece to be

a true masterpiece. It is the most unusual of the five

pieces. It is formulated in phrases of various lengths,

and this gives it an asymmetric feeling. Even at the

beginning it sets out with a harmony which makes

the key uncertain. Surging up and down in a scale-

like manner, the melody intangibly wanders

between keys, the Composer asking for an oratory

performance of its notes. On arrival, the melodies with a sudden turn generally curve

off in another direction and another key. The character is melancholy, the

harmonisation plaintive, to me it suggests resignation. It is like a dirge. Every new

thought – like a sigh – begins with an upbeat, apart from the end of the piece, the last

phrase, where the music of the experience provided by the sight of the flower bending

over starts on a downbeat and closes on a fermata. I consider this to be important

phrasing on the part of the Composer. In the middle of the piece with an extremely

surprising turn, the dominant B minor harmony slips down a semitone and takes a

long rest here. The harp runs racing up to the last note of the melody rows are like

improvisations. A beautiful play of timbre is given by such an unperceived mixture of

keys. The closing note is expanded by the Composer with an improvised alternating

tonic-dominant arpeggio running across the entire keyboard. I wonder what Sibelius

wanted to express with the notes running from bottom to top. Why does this series

close in this high register?

* J. Soproni (1930- ): 24 preludes and fugues

With the present performance of the work – as the opposite pole to the Sibelius series

– I should like to illustrate the intellectual experience. The Composer wrote the series

between 2014 and 2016. I should like to present one of these works to you, the D flat

major fugue. The premiere of the series was in the October of 2016, on the occasion of

the composer’s 86th birthday.


13

Mariann Ábrahám

President of EPTA Hungary

Inspiration in teaching, learning and playing EXPERIENCEabrahammariann.hu › pdf › helsinki_abstract.pdf39th European Conference of EPTA: Inspiration in Teaching, Learning and Playing,

Documents