In this Book
- Menahem Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching
- Book
- 2008
- Published by: Indiana University Press
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.
Table of Contents
- Title Page, Copyright Page
- pp. 2-7
- Preface: A Few Words Before
- pp. xi-xii
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xiii-xiv
- Part One: A Life in Teaching
- pp. 1-19
- One. A Brief Biography
- pp. 3-4
- Two. The Studio
- pp. 5-8
- Three. Pressler's Early Training
- pp. 9-15
- Four. The Debussy Competition
- pp. 16-22
- Five. Opportunities in America
- pp. 23-34
- Six. Bloomington
- pp. 35-43
- Eight. The Technical Approach
- pp. 54-64
- Ten. Guides for Practicing
- pp. 87-92
- Eleven. Technical Instructions
- pp. 93-112
- Twelve. Pressler's Humor
- pp. 113-121
- Fifteen. Johann Sebastian Bach
- pp. 155-160
- Sixteen. Béla Bartók
- pp. 161-164
- Seventeen. Ludwig van Beethoven
- pp. 165-176
- Eighteen. Johannes Brahms
- pp. 177-188
- Nineteen. Frédéric Chopin
- pp. 189-195
- Twenty. Claude Debussy
- pp. 196-203
- Twenty-One. Joseph Haydn
- pp. 204-206
- Twenty-Two. Franz Liszt
- pp. 207-211
- Twenty-Three. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- pp. 212-214
- Twenty-Four. Serge Prokofiev
- pp. 215-218
- Twenty-Five. Maurice Ravel
- pp. 219-236
- Twenty-Six. Franz Schubert
- pp. 237-244
- Twenty-Seven. Robert Schumann
- pp. 245-255
- Twenty-Eight. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- pp. 256-260
- Twenty-Nine. Carl Maria von Weber
- pp. 261-264
- Appendix C. Tributes to Pressler
- pp. 273-282
- Bibliography
- pp. 295-296
- Index of Compositions
- pp. 297-302
- Index of Names and Concepts
- pp. 303-309
- About the Author
- pp. 311-328