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A few questions concerning the Great Polish Piano Tradition. In April 2002, I received a
message sent by Mr. Frederik Reitz from Paris. Here you are the shortened version
of his message and, of course, the unabridged text of my answers on
interesting questions of Mr. Reitz. Welcome!
Sir, I am writing a general report
on the Polish piano tradition for the French magazine PIANO, annual issue
made by the LETTRE DU
MUSICIEN. So, I would be very grateful if you answer to some questions for
this report. It will be like an interview by email. Shortly... The piano tradition
is important in Poland, so important that a pianist had been a minister
(Paderewski) and that the image of the heroic national resistance has been
personified in Frederic Chopin. This political image had become the true
image of the heroic pianist, which is very important as an essential shape of
the romanticism. Music could be a mean of salvation. ... But yesterday, the Polish
piano tradition was that of a large Polish culture – where the Jewish culture
was also important. And a lot of great polish pianists were Jewish or of Jewish
culture (Ignaz Friedman also). After the Second World War, Poland was a
country of the communist block. The challenge of all the communist Countries
to "produce"
great young pianists was important... Just some questions... 1. What has happened with the
Polish piano tradition after the 2nd WW? 2. Mickiewicz was also an
important figure for the Polish resistance. Why is the image of Chopin
greater round in the world than the image of Mickiewicz? 3. What bounds the piano and
the Polish soul? 4. There exists the Polish
style of piano playing. But since Chopin, which was its evolution? 5. What is the actual
difference today between a Polish piano player and a French one, or a Russian
for instance? 6. What is your goal for the pupils
at the Chopin Academy? And how do you can describe the general evolution of
Polish piano tradition? 7. What are the cardinal
difficulties of the Polish pupils in high classes of piano nowadays? 8. Who are the greatest Polish
piano teachers of today?
Thank you for your help! Best regards - etc. etc.
Here
my answers begin: Dear Sir! Before I start to write my
answers on your interesting questions concerning the Great Polish piano tradition,
I have to bring up some side aspects of the matter: • Firstly, I am not a professor of any
Academy of music. Actually, I am a lecturer of the piano at Ylä-Satakunnan College of Music in Parkano, Finland. On
the other hand, maybe, I am the sole piano pedagogue on our Beautiful Planet,
who as well seriously studies the Chopin's Method from its theoretical side,
as uses it in the everyday teaching practice. • Secondly, my opinions expressed below are
presenting my personal, maybe, sometimes even uncommon views on the entire
topic, only... Now, to the thing!
1. What has happened with the
Polish piano tradition after the 2nd WW? - In my opinion, as long as the Chopin's
tradition determined what is "good and bad" in the professional piano
schooling, the Polish pianists were classified at greatly honorable positions
in the piano range. We may speak not only about such piano giants as Paderewski,
Hofmann, Godowski, Leszetycki, Friedman or Arthur Rubinstein, who all
doubtlessly, however each one of them should be seen in a different way, could
be recognized as a kind of emanation of the Polish culture in its best, but
as well we should speak about many other piano masters, who were formed by
and in this very special, typically Polish kind of everyday life with its
music-friendly atmosphere that was truly helpful in generating the Artist
just by itself. Among many other strong and very creative artistic
individualities cultivating the piano art in my Homeland within the time Poland
has been politically destroyed (1795 – 1918), I would like to maintain such
pianists as Juliusz
Zarębski, Maurycy
Moszkowski, Karol
Tausig, Józef Wieniawski (mainly composer and accompanist of his much
more famous brother Henryk),
Aleksander Wielhorski, Stanisław Szpinalski, Witold Małcużyński, Henryk
Melcer, Józef
Turczyński, Henryk Sztompka, Zofia Rabcewicz,
Jan Ekier,
and very many others. As well in the tragic years of the 2nd WW,
however all the national potential was targeted on the restitution of Liberty
and the State, they, whose talent was their armory, in that or another way
must worked on it and they just did so.
Learning of the native language,
mathematics, the poetry, swimming and music, belonged to the educational
canon of ancient Greece. Polish traditional standards did not differ from
this good-checked model; the piano playing yet, from times of Chopin, likely
became the Polish national hobby... In the late 40-ties, 50-ties and 60-ties of the 20th Century
here appeared in Poland many talented pianists, principally, educated in
Cracow and Warsaw, but as well in Katowice, Łódz, Gdańsk and Poznań by such Professors
as Henryk Sztompka, Margerita Trombini-Kazuro, Jan Ekier, Bolesław Woytowicz,
Władysława Markiewiczówna, Maria Wiłkomirska, Wanda Chmielowska, Zbigniew
Śliwiński and Zbigniew Drzewiecki – who, however representing diversified
approach to the Chopin's tradition, worked strongly and gained artistically
significant results. Among their students one could found such famous
pianists as Halina
Czerny-Stefańska, Tadeusz Kerner, Ryszard Bakst, Adam Harasiewicz, Barbara Hesse-Bukowska,
Lidia
Grychtołówna, Tadeusz Żmudziński, Regina
Smendzianka, Józef Stompel, Andrzej
Jasiński, Jerzy Godziszewski, Jerzy Sulikowski, and many, many others. However the Polish borders became
nearly closed immediately after the end of the 2nd WW, the Golden
Age of Polish professional piano schooling was continued several years more.
Nevertheless, later, the possibilities of exchange of thoughts, ideas and
techniques started being systematically restricted. Such situation caused
nearly the aquarium-effect. Some, maybe theoretically interesting, but
artistically rather ineffective pedagogic conceptions won the rivalry and the
results become not as good as it had formerly taken place in the Polish piano
tradition. However... Mr. Piotr
Paleczny got the 3rd Prize on the Chopin Competition in 1970
(altogether he was honored on the five International Piano Competitions); Mr. Krystian
Zimerman achieved truly brilliant success in 1975 and started his big career
straight after; Mr. Krzysztof Jabłoński was awarded by the 3rd
Prize at Chopin Piano Competition in 1985. We cannot go forward before
the respected name of Mr. Piotr Anderszewski, the Polish-Hungarian pianist
would be announced here, too!
The main building of the 'K.
Szymanowski' Academy of
Music in Katowice, Poland. In any case, the Polish pianists
after 1945 were factually unable to achieve as high position on the piano
scene worldwide as their Great Ancestors did. And, however truly greater
piano talents persistently were and are being detected among the Polish piano
youth, after 1975 nothing especially spectacular had happened up to the 2005,
when Mr. Rafał Blechacz
won the 1st Prize at the XV International Chopin Piano Competition
in Warsaw. As well in the Polish modern professional piano schooling, the
very interesting switch has occurred: Mr. Blechacz did not studied the piano
in any of these traditionally strong Polish piano centers as Cracow, Warsaw or Katowice. He studied
the piano in Bydgoszcz
and his artistic director was Prof. Katarzyna
Popowa-Zydroń, Polish pianist of the Bulgarian origin, who studied the
piano under Prof. Śliwiński in Gdańsk; could it mean – the new and
artistically strong tradition in the Polish professional piano education is
actually coming to light? One should take into
consideration the fact of persistently growing importance of the so-called
'Śliwiński-route' in the modern professional piano schooling in Poland. Let
us characterize the unforgettable personality of Prof. Zbigniew Śliwiński, even in the very short words:
Prof. Zbigniew Śliwiński (1924 – 2003) He was a true humanist in the
deepest sense of that notion, a largely learned person, whose interest toward
music and the piano was an integral part of his general view on Civilization,
Culture and Arts as a whole. Prof. Śliwiński had studied the piano with Lech
Miklaszewski, Zofia Buchniewiczowa and Boleslaw Woytowicz. During the years
1950 – 1980 he was used to give concerts in Poland and abroad. For 30 years,
he has been a Head of the Piano Department at the Music Academy in Gdańsk.
As an editor, he has prepared tens of publications for the Polish Music
Publishers (PWM)
in Cracow. Author of many writings on piano playing; the Juror at national
and international competitions, he have given also master classes (Brno,
Berlin, Stuttgart, Volterra). Granted from Nature by greatly vivid
intellect and a refined feeling of humor, Professor Śliwiński was the real,
warm and truly protective Supporter to his students. He never must fight for
professional and artistic authority, it was happen in the other way round –
He actually wanted to reduce the distance between the students and himself,
but it was rather impossible yet, once He knew and had been able to do so
much... Furthermore, I am deeply
convinced that the Polish piano today is going to the point when the Chopin's
tradition would come back on its natural place here, well, of course, in the
newer, re-interpreted form expressed in the modern, scientifically acceptable
language. Consequently, maybe, the New Golden Age of the Polish piano would
begin once again.
2. Mickiewicz was also an
important figure for the Polish resistance. Why is the image of Chopin
greater round the world than the image of Mickiewicz? - Adam Mickiewicz (1798 - 1855) was not only an
important figure for "the Polish resistance",
if one would like to understand this notion in its narrow and the truly
limited way. This great Romantic poet of more than Byron's or Schiller's
artistic dimension [Mme George
Sand was used to compare him rather to Goethe] becomes to the Polish
people the most significant personalization of the Polish national spirit;
his poetry reminded the Polish nation about the most important duty, I mean,
about necessity to restore so dramatically lost Independence (1795). Their
great dream came true just in 1918, after 123 years of Polish dependence on
Russia, Prussia and Austria-Hungary.
Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) Mickiewicz was not only the poet,
he also taught the Latin literature in University of
Lausanne, Switzerland and the Slavic literature in Collčge
de France. He has grounded the Polish Legion in Italy and died in
Istanbul preparing the next Legion for the fight against foreign powers that
had occupied his Homeland. Living as Romantic life as possible, and
possessing so great talent for poetry, he still was used to use idioms, which
for easily understandable reason would lost their transparency being
translated into any other language than Polish. That is why he could not
become perceived as the worldwide respected figure in spite of fact he could
fluently spoken many foreign languages. Apart from that fact, we must
remember the particular kind of specific non-universality of his poems: they
simply were so closely oriented on his beloved Poland. Besides, it is worth to
maintain that Mickiewicz was a sincere friend of Pushkin.
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) Chopin and
his legacy, unlike Mickiewicz and his artistic heritage, was and is in the
considerably easier situation, once the musical sense of his Ballads
and Scherzos is actually understandable universally. Who might like to
listen to Romantic music, generally seen – perhaps could as well be the admirer
of Chopin, too. Mickiewicz's relative unpopularity abroad Poland is not a
problem of eventual minority of his artistic mastery; it is in my opinion the
problem of universality, or better – of lack of the real universality of the "used media".
For the same reason French or American people are able rather to understand
better the Chinese porcelain than the Chinese opera; the taste of caviar is
as well more famous worldwide than works of Ilyia Ehrenburg. Poetry and literature, giving
the particular Nation quite a large view on its own history and Myths, not
always could act as a channel yet, another Nations could pass into the same
circle of notions, beliefs and values. Due to the relative closing, caused by
certain limitations related to the language, the literature of such nations
as Polish one, becomes not as well known worldwide as literature of England
or France. How interesting yet, because of such writers as Lec or Lem, and thanks to such
artists as Wajda, Abakanowicz and
Kieslowski, the Polish
modern Art becomes more and more known far away from Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz,
Lublin, Wroclaw or Szczecin.
3. What bounds the piano and
the Polish soul? - Probably, nothing... Do we, the
Poles, are so "difficult
to play with"? Well, however there is no possibility, logically
thinking, to define the Polish, German, English, Dutch, etc "soul",
I still would like to say: OK, let us try to answer on this question just for
fun! Let we have a look at the piano:
its mechanism is so provocative! It forces the pianists to act ridiculously:
however music has to be developed linearly and rather should go up to
Heavens, the keyboard of the piano – superficially seen the matter – nearly
likes to be pressed down [pianists may never just SIMPLY do so!]. Afterwards, when the pianist
would like to brutally press on the keyboard, it could change himself into
something inflexible as the stones in Tatra Mountains, or
become as unfriendly and cold as sand at the Baltic's shore in the
winter-time. On the other hand, the piano can sing as tenderly as it happen
in Chopin's Nocturne played by Józef Hofmann, or be as great as his [J.
Hofmann's] forte in Kreisleriana.
Besides, in my opinion, they who have never heard any of Mr. Hofmann's
recordings, they cannot even imagine – HOW the piano can sing and HOW the
real mastery of our instrument looks alike. One should remember that great Anton Rubinstein, who worked with Hofmann in Berlin was
of opinion, "Józio was the greatest piano giant that had ever lived on the
Earth." On the other hand, the piano keyboard could be as soft and gentle as
the romantic Polish people, when the pianist would be able to deal with the
keys as warmly and friendly as the Great JPII
dealt NOT ONLY with us, Poles. It is very sorrowful, but brutality almost
always provokes brutality, when the thankful tenderness NOT always causes the
positive answer on its active wisdom and love.
The three friends: (from the
left) Karol
Szymanowski, Paweł
Kochański and Grzegorz
Fitelberg; once Polish musical life did and does not depend on the piano, only... Coming back to the subject: for
many years the Polish people must acted, living in nearly schizophrenic
circumstances – their emotions and thoughts have carried up their dreams and
dramas, when their publicly speaking words must express something of
definitely different quality. Poles know how to be strong. But one should
remember too, that Erasmus
from Rotterdam (1466-1536) wrote in one of his letters about Poland as about
the country, which had been chosen by Astraea for her last residence-place on
the Earth. And, this is the fact too, that the whole priceless library of him
[of Erasmus, of course] after his death had found its eternal place in Poland;
up to the days yet, the "more Civilized Nations" came into our territory
and stole not only that treasure, but also many, many other funds – as for
sample the unique collection (for the entire chamber orchestra) of
instruments made by Stradivarius
and bought by the Polish Kingdom. It is perhaps worth to say that even today
the more Civilized Nations are NOT READY to give back the more
than 60.000 (sixty thousand) masterpieces of Art, stolen from Poland between
1939 and 1945. I do not even like to remember of damages to material substance,
of ruined houses, palaces, castles, churches, bridges, roads; of 6 millions of
murdered human beings and of the actual ocean of the human's suffering.
The typical Polish view, Warsaw in 1945...
The typical Polish view, Wroclaw in 2007... Polish people are democrats from
the depths of their hearts, and it was not accident that the Polish
democratic Constitution
(1791) was the first one of such character in the Europe. The piano offers
much more "democracy"
than any other instrument: here exist only one playing area for all the
fingers. Possibilities for dynamic and coloristic nuances are equitably
divided among all the fingers, too. The needs for especial solidarity among
operative – mental, hearing, emotional and physical factors are truly
serious. One cannot forget the tolerance-question too: Poland is famous from
its Catholicism, still in time when the Inquisition burned thousands in the
Europe, no one human being was burned at the stake in Poland. As well, the
Jews and religious dissidents who could not found any living places in other
countries, were accepted in Poland.
After Chopin, in the entire
history of the piano, Leopold
Godowsky (1870 – 1938) was the pianist and the
teacher, whom we should recognize as the real successor of the Chopin's Piano
Style. Besides, many prominent piano virtuoso
of the XIX/XX centuries came from the Polish-Jewish circles, as Moritz Rosenthal,
Bolesław Kon, Roza
Etkin, Felicja
Blumental (Welcome to Website of the Felicja Blumental International Music Festival), Arthur Rubinstein
(Welcome to Website of the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in
Łódź!), Ignacy
Friedman, Leopold
Godowski, Mieczysław
Horszowski, Artur
Schnabel, Stefan
Askenase (a teacher of Mitsuko Uchida and Martha Argerich). The Poles, who generated the Solidarity-movement,
must love the instrument that represents as democratic and a free nature as
theirs own one!
4. There exists the Polish
style of piano playing. But, since Chopin, which was its evolution? - Unfortunately, Chopin was TOO
deeply loved by the Polish society, especially – by his personal pupils and
theirs own pupils, and the pupils of them all as well. So, sometimes even
hysterically devotional approach toward all aspects of his life (counting his
physical weakness as the number one, unfortunately indeed) created the very
false assessment of his musical mastery, in which to the first plan were
raised his sensitivity and illness, when his factual artistic power becomes
likely seen as the background to the more important aspects of the
matter. We, the Poles as individuals, seemingly are much more close to the
family-like approach to our National Heroes than any other Nation is [no, I
do not like to become in my opinions as sarcastic as Gombrowicz
was]. This is the, humanly seeing, the very gentle feature, but if the most
active admirers of Chopin had liked to place at the central point of his icon
the image of "this poor Chopin" who might rather be interested in a
peaceful, comfortable rest at home than in the full-blooded artistic life,
the results sometimes could become truly horrendous. Of course, nobody should
play Chopin's works as if they would represent the character of the Hungarian
Rhapsodies of Liszt, but as well all of us should be informed that
Fryderyk Chopin has had enough much courage to put the "ffff" in the Finale of his 3rd
Sonata. Polish piano performing style
since Chopin has experienced at least the three metamorphoses: At the beginning it was shaped by the personal Chopin's students (as Mikuli), and as well –
generally – by the vivid Chopin's legend. Such values as gentleness and
accurateness of a touch, rational phrasing and form building, interpretation
free of futile affectation, were of the basic importance herein. The most
significant personage of this era indisputably was Prof. Aleksander
Michałowski, whom Prof. Drzewiecki
called as The Superb Master.
Prof.
Aleksander
Michałowski (1851-1938) doubtlessly was the Greatest Master throughout all the Polish piano
tradition after Chopin. He had studied under Karol Mikuli
(the Chopin's student) and visited courses given by
Franz Liszt in Weimar. Being actually 17 years old, Michałowski, according to
Liszt's request, had accompanied the Chopin's Concerto in F Minor, op. 21,
but actually played the orchestral part, ex tempore, just by heart. Even the
Great Liszt was astonished...! The most famous students of Prof.
Michałowski were: Wanda Landowska, Jerzy Śmidowicz,
Misha Levitzky, Jerzy Lefeld, Bolesław
Woytowicz, Vladimir
Sofronitsky (within the first period of his
studies), Henryk Schultz-Evler (yes, yes...), Aleksander
Wielhorski, Henryk Pachulski, Rosa Etkin, Władyslaw
Szpilman, Stefania
Allina, Jerzy Żurawlew. The next phase could be defined as the Prof. Zbigniew Drzewiecki's era; he
started his pedagogic work at the Warsaw Higher School of Music in 1916 and
finished it in 1971. Not many specialists know that his student, Mr. Boleslaw
Kon, won the International Piano Competition in Vienna in 1934, when Dinu
Lipatti has got the 2nd Prize only! In total, the two of Prof. Drzewiecki's
students got the 1st Prize in Chopin Competition in Warsaw, some
of them won or have been awarded on many other Competitions worldwide, but
this is not the most important aspect of the matter. Drzewiecki in the
certain sense of this word could be defined as the successor of Leszetycki, while many
of his tutors were students of that Great Master. He was still not the formal
successor of him, but rather an artist who was able to build the new values
in the piano pedagogy, just using several meaningful elements, he especially
appreciate in that particularly interesting tradition. The most valuable in
his teaching, in my opinion, were the strong faith in naturalness and
creativity, and the will to understand music and art as largely as possible,
which together should prevent the students before possible attempts to cross
the borders outlined by the higher artistic taste.
Prof.
Zbigniew Drzewiecki (1890-1971) discussing some surely important
topics with Mme Prof. Nadia Boulanger in foyer of the National
Philharmonic in Warsaw,
1968; in the center of the photo – Mrs. Barbara Drzewiecka. Of course, the piano professional
schooling in Poland was influenced by inspirations coming from many different
directions, mainly, from the large Busoni-Petri tradition, from
France [especially, from Cortot
[who was a Swiss] and Marguerite
Long, and from Russia [especially, from Neuhaus, who was NOT
Russian at all]. Up to the end of the 60-ties the Chopin's tradition, that formed such
piano giants as Paderewski, Hofmann and Godowski – decided the Polish piano
everyday practice. The third period, after Drzewiecki, as I see,
could in the Polish piano history be defined as "searching for the new identity".
Mr. Krystian Zimerman, a winner of the
Chopin-Competition in 1975, being a student of Prof. Andrzej Jasiński in
Academy of Music in Katowice, brought many sparkles of optimism into the
situation; nowadays his great art presents very modern, mature and highly
interesting piano style. Unfortunately, very few young Polish piano student
(if any...?) got a possibility to study the piano under his artistic
guidance. Thinking about K. Zimerman's art, I would rather like to be more
then careful with definitions; being one of the greatest piano masters of our
time he doubtlessly will evolve his art. Who would be alive, will see, what
kind of evolution will happen. Going back to "the Polish piano style",
at the time, it seemingly tries to find itself again. Chopin's piano idea, sincerely
said, has never seriously been recognized even in Poland, indeed. In fact, it
had been likely rejected by the French (Cortot), the German (Kempff) and the
Italian (Benedetti) piano cultures. Only in the Russian piano schooling the
elements of the Chopin's tradition have been persistently present and this
Idea is playing still herein the very substantial role, mainly, due to memory
of Prof. Neuhaus'
(1888-1964) work, but unquestionably – not only because of it. Beyond, his
piano teaching system has been grounded exclusively on the Chopin's piano
pedagogic formula. The Polish pianists are still waiting for the moment they
would be able to receive the piano pedagogic legacy dedicated to them by
their greatest piano Master
in the whole history of the piano. As I have maintained in the very first
part of this writing, maybe in the nearest future we could get many pleasant
news from Bydgoszcz or, perhaps – from Wroclaw. Let us wait, but in the same
time we should work truly strongly on our own art at the piano and reading,
writing, studying the Culture of the mankind, generally indeed!
5. What is the actual
difference today between a Polish piano player and a French one, or a Russian
for instance? - Oh! Today? Well, but for years
it was much easier recognizable! Poles, exactly as it has been determined by
our geopolitical location, present with themselves the very interesting and
artistically fruitful mixture of typically Slavonic
temperament and the truly Latin-like mental tendency to firstly create the
intellectually firm logical basis before we start to discuss any problem,
artistic or the scientific one as well. Maybe, that is why the Polish nation
must suffer for so long time from desperately bad political misery? Once if
we – I have in a view the nation as well as individuals – truly want to win,
he/she/it should actually for NOT TOO LONG time intellectually deliberate the
matter, but just ACT, as Russians and Germans did when they tried to divide
Poland once again in 1939. Coming back to the question,
again: as I think, to find any actual difference between a Polish pianist and
the French one, or the Russian one for instance, is rather funny question in the Era of
Globalization! Above and beyond, in the Fine Arts, this likely controversial
process [the 'Europeization'] had – in any case – partially been started many
hundreds years ago, when young artists from Northern, Central and West Europe
roamed to Italy to study under Da Vinci, Bernini, Botticelli, Michelangelo,
Raphael, etc. As well, a little bit later, young musicians from around
the cultural World traveled to Paris and Rome to obtain the final touches on
their technique of any art of the artistic creation. Vienna, London, Munich,
Moscow and St. Petersburg, become some decades later the strong musical
centers of our Continent, too. Therefore, we should better ask about the
artistic provenience of teachers of the piano than to try to determine the
nature of artistry of the students just considering their NATIONAL origin.
Let us have a look at some very typical samples. The first of them could be
the Cortot - Gieseking
case: who represented the spirit of France, and who has been featured with a
soul of the typically German kind? On the other hand, the next opposition: Argerich
- Pollini: is the Great Martha typically non-European pianist? What
typically Russian could be found in the Lazar Berman's pianism?
Moreover, which are the typically Polish features in the art of Krystian
Zimerman? Besides, if one would like to speak about nationalities: Harry
Neuhaus was in 50% German, in 25% Austrian and in 25% – a Pole, however
doubtlessly as a teacher, he fully belongs to the Russian piano culture, maybe paradoxically, due to his fully affirmative
relation to the Chopin's tradition...
Prof.
Andrzej
Jasiński – Mr. Krystian Zimerman studied
under his artistic guidance in the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. Well, in my opinion, there exists
only the Art and its stylistic requirements: Martha Argerich, for instance,
has been awarded in Warsaw for her superb interpretation of the Chopin's Mazurkas,
too. Her recording of Mazurkas from the op. 59 is for me nearly the
best sample of the Chopin's style up to today, however this recording has
been done in 1965! In my opinion, again, only the ability to create the adequate artistic image of the piece might decide the matter – not
nationality at all! I am profoundly assured that here exist the fully
unmusical Russians, the Chinese who are unable to play the ping-pong well,
the Finns who do NOT like coffee, and the Americans who are unable to accept
the hamburgers. Of course, one could say that the cultural and social
environment always put their marks on the pianists' career. I agree, but to
reasonably discuss that aspect of the matter one should be the sociologist
rather than a musician, as I am. Therefore, consequently, I feel myself
unable to give any rational answer on that question.
6. What is your goal for the
pupils at the Chopin Academy? In addition, how do you can describe the
general evolution of Polish piano tradition? - I am not allowed to suggest any
goal for students of the Chopin
Academy in Warsaw. Still I can draw up my personal wishes and express my
individual hopes. As I understand the problem, the most burning problem for
young generation NOT ONLY of the Polish pianists, but generally worldwide –
is finding the right ARTISTIC direction for they future work. According to
emails and other messages I am getting from representatives of this social
group from around the World, many of them is actually experiencing a feeling
of being guided to some kind of the "blind alley". Many of them,
for instance, strongly believe in salutary abilities of the scientifically
purified text (the Urtext-syndrome); such faith, on the other hand, is more
than popular among the pianists from the Western Musical World than among
them, who are studying the piano in Poland, for a sample. Among Polish piano
professionals (but NOT among the students!) yet, exists the next fully foully
faith, born as the natural consequence of the maintained above illusory – it
is the deep antipathy toward vivid emotions and images. Music very often
means to them: "the text COMPLETED by the sounds" and on the
other side, "the absolute Form realized by possibly (physically)
strong fingers", wow...! Therefore I am firmly assured
that as long as the humanly interesting, warm and colorful image of the Piano
Art would not be found again, the Polish and all other piano schooling
systems worldwide would live rather poorly. As Chopin said, our Art should
mean, "The
Thought expressed by the sounds", or "Expression of our
feelings realized via the sounds". The piano art should NOT become
cold-blooded in its essence: we should speak in our interpretations about
whole range of the aspects united with our life, in spite – how beautiful or
poor it might even be. Still we must know that such richness cannot actually
be achieved by any kind of the scientific analyzes of musical Forms only, or
via purely mechanic approach to the technique of the piano. The modern
approach to the piano art must take into consideration some additional
aspects of the thing, too: the emotional resonance, the leading role of the
Energy management, the problem of PHYSICAL compatibility between both
co-operative systems – the piano mechanism and the pianists' mind &
body entirety, etc, etc.
7. What are the cardinal
difficulties of the Polish pupils in high classes of piano nowadays? - Guiding many piano
master-courses and seminars in Poland for about 10 or more years, I
have got the nearly clear image of the entire situation: the lack of artistic
self-confidence and of the factual creativity are the most important problems
here. That is why the most natural consequence of this fact is the malignant
dependency of the "scientifically purified text" or of the "steel-strong
fingers", which are habitually being seen as something that COULD
positively substitute the value of the higher importance herein. The whole
powers are focusing on artistically PASSIVE "re-producing of the
text", but not on the artistically ACTIVE "re-creating
of an artistic image of the piece". I mean, the Composer creates
the particular piece of music, working as strongly on it, as the pianist
should afterward try to find the even slightly BETTER QUALITY of its
RE-CREATION. The Composer focuses his attention on his own visions; his
mental, hearing and emotional powers are focused on the THING named: the
transformation of all of his internal World's richness into the ephemeral figure
of the musical Form! How difficult and undetermined job it is! Moreover, the
pianist should act in the exactly same way...!
This is how
the new Music Center of the Olsztyn
City will look alike... The quality of such work,
however, delineates to all of us, who would like to re-create that process,
the very clearly determined duties. Firstly, the RESPONSIBILITY! We must run
exactly the same (in any case - similar) elements of the process, and even do
a little bit more, bringing into it the instrumental technique, which should
help to realize (to express) the artistic image of the piece on the
instrument. This process should not be cut down up to some mental and
mechanical operations...! These all, who do not know how it could be
implement, they should read the famous book of Prof. Neuhaus – The Art of
piano playing, and as well – they just have to start truly critically
rethink their actual piano and/or piano-teaching skills. Taking into consideration the
"Chopin-friendly" approach to the piano: coming back to this path,
the Polish pianists should never feel any shadow of artistic non-confidence;
they would be able to focus their attention on the artistically right aspects
of the matter and they would surely become assured, they are coming back on
the truly right way again. Who knows, maybe this is the cardinal problem the
Polish pupils in the higher classes of piano must solve nowadays.
In any case, the Polish piano
pupils and students nowadays have no problems in participation in tens of
master courses organized by various musical organizations. On the photo above: the
Participants of 'IDEA-IMAGE-TECHNIQUE' International Piano Master Course in Olsztyn, 2006 after final
Gala-Concert given in the City Hall under Honor Patronage of Mayor of the Olsztyn-City.
8. Who are the greatest Polish
piano teachers of today? - I am afraid I am not able to
give any positive answer here. Because I am a man of the greater feeling of
humor yet, I would like to quote the answer one of the Polish leading jazz-musicians had given on
the similar question ("who is the Polish best saxophone jazz-player now?"): - Well, some of us are able to teach
the piano truly well... Additionally, maybe it would be
easier and better to see that question as follows: who is the most well-liked
piano teacher in Poland nowadays? In a good way, taking into consideration
the most impressive victory within exactly last 30 years, which put nearly
all the Poles into "seventh heaven", one must actually see on this
position the teacher of Mr. Rafał Blechacz, Mrs. Professor Katarzyna
Popowa-Zydroń, whom I would like to very sincerely Congratulate in occasion of such
Great Success! I fully deliberately do not like to maintain any other Name;
in any of the Polish 10 Academies of Music work very many very talented and
efficient professors of the piano – this is clear fact. Still within last 30
years, just after Mr. Zimermann's victory, no one Polish pianist won at no
one of so serious international piano competition as it finally happened in
2005 in Warsaw to Mr. Blechacz. This is just the objective fact with many
psychological consequences, of course. One of them is being displayed
above...
With my Best Regards to you all,
Dear Readers! Waiting on your kindly emails -
Last revised:
2007-11-28 |
