Music's Lifelong Impact

It is easy as a teacher or a student to become consumed with the endless practice and study of music, whether it be with our voices or instruments. When difficulties such as mastering techniques, memorization to be completed in time for the next recital, and fingers that just will not do what we hope they will absorb most of our attention, we risk losing sight of the most meaningful aspect of music: its lifelong impact.

A few years ago, I attended a concert at a local church called Song of Survival. This concert featured baroque, classical, and romantic works that were arranged and notated completely from memory by two extraordinary women named Margaret Dryburgh and Norah Chambers during their internment in a Japanese prison camp during World War II. The hope that they demonstrated during a time of despair led them to create beautiful music that can continue to encourage and impact us today.

Norah Chambers

Margaret Dryburgh

The concert that I attended was memorable and beautifully performed, and led me to look deeper into the lives of these remarkable women. I learned that both attended or graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and were considered skilled musicians. It is interesting to think that, like us, they studied music and worked hard to become skilled musicians, but never lost sight of the impact music could have, even when they were in a desolate place.

I recommend reading more of their story; it is extremely inspiring and serves as an excellent reminder of what we are striving for as we engage in the study of music.

Piano Mastery: The Harriette Brower Interviews

Piano Mastery: The Harriette Brower Interviews is a collection of forty-three interviews of the most prominent pianists of the early 20^th century. The 2003 Dover Edition of this book is a compilation of selected chapters from Brower's 1915, 1917, and 1926 interviews. Although some of the material is "dated" by current standards, there is value in taking the time to learn from the past and applying the truths found there to contemporary piano pedagogy.

Brower's book offers a glimpse into the personal lives, insights, and teaching styles of her professional contemporaries. Her writing style is typical of that period; flowery and detailed. She takes the time to describe the interview setting, as well as the appearances of the pianists that she interviewed. Modern readers might become impatient with these descriptions, so it is important to keep the original publication date of these interviews in mind while reading this book. Taken in the correct context, this book offers a lot of insight into the musical world of the early 1900s. 

Some of the pianists that Brower interviewed are still remembered for their compositions, performances, and teaching methods. These include Edward McDowell, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Moritz Rosenthal, and Teresa Carreño. It is beneficial to read what these great pianists thought and said about music, teaching, and technique, especially when studying their compositions or listening to the recordings of their performances.

Brower's interview with Rachmaninoff is particularly fascinating. She describes his “reserved yet intense personality” on page 206 and the “peace and quietude” of his home on page 207. The sense of who Rachmaninoff was comes to life through her words, and adds clarity to his compositions. His "reserved yet intense personality" is discernible in even the first measures of his famous Piano Concerto #2 in C minor, Op. 18. His advice on teaching is still applicable today:

 "...do not place a child of even five years old under a poor, inefficient teacher. Else what is poorly done will have to be done all over again--a difficult matter, for early impressions are most lasting, as we all know." (page 210)

Piano Mastery was an enjoyable book to read and is a must-read for piano teachers. Although it was written 100 years ago, it is a timeless and relevant look into the lives of the people who created the music that has permanently shaped our culture today.