Piano Lessons with Claudio Arrau

501 Pages·2014·4.04 MB·English

Piano Lessons
with Claudio Arrau
Arrau and pupils at Lewisohn Stadium on the campus of the City College of New York.
Left to right: Roberto Eyzaguirre, Germán Diez, Norman Klekamp, Claudio Arrau,
Esther Bernstein, June Eyzaguirre, Goodwin Sammel, Alfonso Montecino. Photo by
Josefina Megret. Courtesy of Germán Diez.
Piano Lessons
with Claudio Arrau
A Guide to His Philosophy
and Techniques
V I C T O R I A A . V O N A R X
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
von Arx, Victoria A.
Piano lessons with Claudio Arrau : a guide to his philosophy and techniques / Victoria A. von Arx.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-992434-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-19-992432-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Arrau, Claudio, 1903–1991. 2. Piano—Performance. 3. Pianists. I. Title.
ML417.A8A9 2014
786.2'193—dc23 2013025765
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Germán Diez
and
Albin J. Zak
This page intentionally left blank
C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments ix
About the Companion Website xiii
Introduction 3
SECT I O N O N E A R R AU ’S PREDECE SSOR S
1. Martin Krause 13
2. Arrau and the Lisztian Legacy 23
3. Rudolf Breithaupt 57
SECT I O N T W O T ECH N I Q U E
4. Arrau’s Concept of Technique and Virtuosity 73
5. Te “Arrau Technique” 81
5.1. HAND AND WRIST POSITION 85
5.2. USE OF THE FINGERS 94
5.3. DROPPING THE ARM 107
5.4. PUSHING THE ARM UP 116
5.5. RECIPROCAL VERTICAL MOTION 124
5.6. VIBRATION 136
5.7. ROTATION 154
5.8. CIRCULAR MOTION 163
5.9. FINGERING AND USE OF THE THUMB 177
SECT I O N T H R E E T E ACH I N G
6. Arrau’s Collaboration with Rafael De Silva:
A Community of Learners 187
Conclusion 203
Appendix: Lessons 207
1. FREDERIC CHOPIN: BALLADE NO. 2 IN F MAJOR, OP. 38 209
mm. 1–46 209
mm. 38–83 222
mm. 79–170 237
mm. 169–end 252
2. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: SONATA IN A-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 110 262
Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo 262
Allegro molto 272
Adagio ma non troppo 280
Fuga: Allegro, ma non troppo 283
3. MAURICE RAVEL: GASPARD DE LA NUIT 292
“Scarbo” mm. 1–119 292
mm. 119–220 305
mm. 232–332 312
mm. 332–end 325
4. MAURICE RAVEL: GASPARD DE LA NUIT 334
“Ondine” mm. 1–41 334
mm. 41–49 349
mm. 49–70 359
mm. 70–80 373
5. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: FIFTEEN VARIATIONS WITH FUGUE, OP. 35,
“EROICA” 381
6. RICHARD STRAUSS: BURLESKE, TRV 145 427
Bibliography 477
Index 483
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
Tere are many people without whose guidance this book could not have been
writen. Principal among them is Germán Diez, who assisted in every phase of
its development. Diez has spent a lifetime tirelessly imparting Arrau’s pianistic
approach and his own wisdom to me as well as to countless others who have
studied with him since the 1940s. Diez provided a framework for my study, giv-
ing me names of others who studied with Arrau and puting me in contact with
them. In 2003, he organized a series of master classes and recitals to celebrate the
one hundredth anniversary of Arrau’s birth; these events were the occasion to
conduct interviews with Arrau’s pupils, observe their teaching, and hear them
perform. As I developed my manuscript, Diez spent many hours with me ex-
plaining Arrau’s teachings, reviewing transcriptions of the lessons and ofering
commentary on them, and sharing the benefts of his own experience as well.
Tis book is a refection of his mentorship.
I frst became acquainted with Arrau’s approach as a pupil of Frederick Mar-
vin at a time when I was young and had very much to learn. Te skills I learned
from Marvin opened up a wealth of piano repertory and gave me access to it. I
am forever in his debt.
I would like to ofer appreciation and thanks to others of Arrau’s pupils who
generously shared stories of their studies with Arrau, their camaraderie, and
much of their experience of performing and teaching. In addition to Diez and
Marvin, they include Goodwin Sammel, Rosalina Sackstein, Alfonso Montecino,
Ena Bronstein-Barton, Edith Fischer, Ivan Nuñez, William Goodrum, Bennet
Lerner, Loreta Goldberg, Roberto Eyzaguirre, Joseph Ries, Stephen Drury, and
José Aldaz. I am grateful to Loreta Goldberg for giving me access to notes she
took during Arrau’s master classes. Grete Sultan also graciously met with me and
shared memories of her long friendship with Arrau.
Tis book grew out of work that began with my doctoral dissertation. I would
like to thank my main adviser L. Michael Grifel, as well as Allan Atlas, Barbara
ix