Menahem Pressler
Artistry in Piano Teaching
- Author: Brown, William
This is a loving paean to Pressler (b. 1923) written by a former student with a wealth of input from other former students. . . . A good selection for collections supporting study of the piano....
Menahem Pressler
Artistry in Piano Teaching
- Author: Brown, William
Purchase product
This is a loving paean to Pressler (b. 1923) written by a former student with a wealth of input from other former students. . . . A good selection for collections supporting study of the piano....
About
As soloist, master class teacher, and pianist of the world-renowned Beaux Arts Trio, Menahem Pressler can boast of four Grammy nominations, three honorary doctorates, more than 80 recordings, and lifetime achievement awards presented by France, Germany, and Israel. Former Pressler student William Brown traces the master's pianistic development through Rudiakov, Kestenberg, Vengerova, Casadesus, Petri, and Steuermann, blending techniques and traditions derived from Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and J. S. Bach.
Brown presents Pressler's approach to performance and teaching, including technical exercises, principles of relaxation and total body involvement, and images to guide the pianist's creativity toward expressive interpretation. Insights from the author's own lessons, interviews with Pressler, and recollections of more than 100 Pressler students from the past 50 years are gathered in this text. Measure-by-measure lessons on 23 piano masterworks by, among others, Bach, Bartók, Debussy, and Ravel as well as transcriptions of Pressler's fingerings, hand redistributions, practicing guidelines, musical scores, and master class performances are included.
Contents
- I: His Teaching
- 1. A Brief Biography
- 2. The Studio
- 3. Pressler's Early Training
- 4. The Debussy Competition
- 5. Opportunities in America
- 6. Bloomington
- 7. General Aspects of Pressler's Teaching
- 8. The Technical Approach
- 9. Principles of Expressive Performance
- 10. Guides for Practicing
- 11. Technical Helps
- 12. Pressler's Humor
- 13. Pressler at the Met: Beethoven's Sonata Op. 110
- 14. Pressler at the TCU/Cliburn Piano Institute
- II: The Music
- 15. Johann Sebastian Bach, Partita No. 2 in C minor, S. 826
- 16. Bela Bartok, Out of Doors
- 17. Ludwig van Beethoven, Concerto No. 5 in E- flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor" Beethoven, Sonata, Op. 81a "Les adieux"
- 18. Johannes Brahms, Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 2
- Brahms, Trio in B Major, Op. 8
- 19. Frederic Chopin, Nocturne in E major, Op. 62 No.2
- Chopin, Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
- 20. Claude Debussy, Selected Preludes
- "Les collines d'Anacapri" (Bk. 1, No. 5)
- "Feux d'artifice" (Bk. 2, No. 12)
- Debussy, L'Isle Joyeuse
- 21. Joseph Haydn, Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI:50
- 22. Franz Liszt, Apres une lecture du Dante
- 23. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata in B-flat major, K. 281
- 24. Serge Prokofiev, Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83
- 25. Maurice Ravel, Gaspard de la Nuit
- Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin
- Ravel, Piano Trio in A minor
- 26. Franz Schubert, Fantasie in C Major, D. 760, "Wanderer"
- 27. Robert Schumann, Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
- Schumann, Kreisleriana, Op. 16
- 28. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Concerto in B-flat minor, Op. 23
- 29. Carl Maria von Weber, "Perpetual Motion" (Sonata in C major, Op. 24, Finale)
- Appendix A: Pressler's Musical Ancestry
- Appendix B: Lineage of Piano Teachers
- Appendix C: Tributes
- Appendix D: Studio Rosters (1955-2007)
- Bibliography
- Index of Compositions
Awards and reviews
This is a loving paean to Pressler (b. 1923) written by a former student with a wealth of input from other former students. . . . A good selection for collections supporting study of the piano. June 2009
