This chapter is the most interesting chapter I have read in this book up to now. It includes many composers and pianists whom the author called Schumann circle. This circle nearly includes three generations of musican.
In my country, piano professors usually switch their kids to teach. They don't think they are able to teach their own kids since these kids are not serious to what their parents teach them. In this chapter, we can see the most prestigious woman pianist Clara Schumann in the 19th century was cultivated completely by her father Friedrich Wieck. And Clara also became her daughter Eugenie's main piano teacher later. Clara might train her daughter in the same way as how Clara was taught by her father. I am not sure this method of teaching could be successful in any family. But Clara's family was surely a good example.
We always say that music come from our daily life. I found some interesting descriptions in this chapter. Clara told her kids: "… When he (Schumann)read poetry, resting on the sofa after dinner, it turned into songs. When he saw you children at play, little pieces of music grew out of your games. …" (p214) Zelter asked his friend to make a proper compliment before young Mendelssohn. "…please do so moderate, without too much noisy instrumentation, and in C major …" I can't help laughing when I read the way Zelter expressed something by using so many musical ideas and terms.
Although I doubt Liszt's "group piano" method in the chapter 10, I quite like Wieck's "group piano". I am in favor of the proper size of the "group piano" and the way how he taught "... he made three of them sing, one after the other, …,one of them he made improvise a cadenza, and a second sang the alto to it without accompaniment."(p210) Wieck was such a good trainer of so many good musicians. The way he trained his pupils was creative and efficient.
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Korean teacher or professor also usually do not teach their children. I think I might not teach my daughter to play the piano. kiki.. I think it causes conflict between mother or father and son or daughter. Anyway, I never think about the change about teaching relationship and I really enjoyed your thought.
ReplyDeleteI think with advanced degrees in piano and piano pedagogy it would be more awkward to have someone else teach piano to your children... at least until they reach a certain point. Perhaps the teaching should be conducted ma non troppo rather than con brio in order to limit conflict...
ReplyDeleteI have heard many teachers say they would not teach their own children, but have never had a really good explanation. I think that every parent-child relationship is different, and with some the children may not take what their parents say seriously, but I think that if there is a respect in the relationship they would be serious students. I wonder if sometimes parents do not want to teacher their own children for other reasons that fear of conflict.
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