The ultimate goal of piano technique: the expression of a deeper Self
December 11th, 2007
The other day my two students the Elmazi sisters were rehearsing their piano duo program in Belgrade’s main concert hall, Kolarac. They had prepared their program well, and as we worked to bring out all the magical, beautiful tone that a well-regulated concert Steinway offers, exploring further details of orchestration, phrasing and colour that we had already worked on in earlier lessons, their sound and expression became truly ethereal.
I never told them, “Play with love.” And yet, they committed themselves so totally to the task at hand, completely submerging themselves in creating a real phrase shape, ensuring that the four orchestral entities of lead voice, bass, accompanying voice and harmonic colouration were always fully distinguishable, creating a three-dimensional sound that lived in the hall and seemed to viscerally touch the listener, that they brought themselves to a state that I can only describe as playing with love.
There was no contradiction in their bodies, no need to struggle with parasitic contractions – physically they were each a unified whole, well-organized to fulfill their musical intention. Mentally they needed to be so focused on producing and perceiving the sounds they were making, that there was no room left for distracting, mundane thoughts. They managed to put their everyday self aside, so that the deeper intention of the composers could be made manifest. I never told them to play with heart, but when mind and body conspired to join together in this work of creation, a third element, Heart, appeared as if unbidden. They played with their essential selves, and something special and beautiful was happening in the hall.
As a family friend drove me to the airport afterwards, I tried to talk about this with her, describing everything I wrote above and saying in conclusion, “They really played with love.”
She replied, “Oh yes, they really love what they do. No one ever had to force them to practice.”
So what can you do?
I harbour a fear that my entire second book may meet a similar fate. You may think you know what I am talking about, but not having experienced it, you map my words onto some previous experience of your own and then think that this is what I said. This is what happened repeatedly in the translations of my book and DVD subtitles. The only way to avoid this happening is to be rigorous in really questioning yourself, and of course, in trying things out instead of just reading about it.
AFF
It is a sure thing that you will not understand what I say
The ultimate goal of piano technique: the expression of a deeper Self
December 11th, 2007
The other day my two students the Elmazi sisters were rehearsing their piano duo program in Belgrade’s main concert hall, Kolarac. They had prepared their program well, and as we worked to bring out all the magical, beautiful tone that a well-regulated concert Steinway offers, exploring further details of orchestration, phrasing and colour that we had already worked on in earlier lessons, their sound and expression became truly ethereal.
I never told them, “Play with love.” And yet, they committed themselves so totally to the task at hand, completely submerging themselves in creating a real phrase shape, ensuring that the four orchestral entities of lead voice, bass, accompanying voice and harmonic colouration were always fully distinguishable, creating a three-dimensional sound that lived in the hall and seemed to viscerally touch the listener, that they brought themselves to a state that I can only describe as playing with love.
There was no contradiction in their bodies, no need to struggle with parasitic contractions – physically they were each a unified whole, well-organized to fulfill their musical intention. Mentally they needed to be so focused on producing and perceiving the sounds they were making, that there was no room left for distracting, mundane thoughts. They managed to put their everyday self aside, so that the deeper intention of the composers could be made manifest. I never told them to play with heart, but when mind and body conspired to join together in this work of creation, a third element, Heart, appeared as if unbidden. They played with their essential selves, and something special and beautiful was happening in the hall.
As a family friend drove me to the airport afterwards, I tried to talk about this with her, describing everything I wrote above and saying in conclusion, “They really played with love.”
She replied, “Oh yes, they really love what they do. No one ever had to force them to practice.”
So what can you do?
I harbour a fear that my entire second book may meet a similar fate. You may think you know what I am talking about, but not having experienced it, you map my words onto some previous experience of your own and then think that this is what I said. This is what happened repeatedly in the translations of my book and DVD subtitles. The only way to avoid this happening is to be rigorous in really questioning yourself, and of course, in trying things out instead of just reading about it.
AFF