Jane Magrath is Professor of Music in Piano and Piano Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma. She has presented over 200 recitals, workshops and masterclasses in over forty states as well as in locations in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia. She is a regular writer of New Music Reviews for Clavier, and her articles have appeared in the major piano journals. She has written, compiled, and/or edited over 25 volumes including the multi-volume series Masterwork Classics, Practice and Performance, Technical Skills, Masterpieces With Flair, Melodius Masterpieces, and Encore for Alfred Publishing Company. Her major reference book The Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature was published in 1995 by Alfred Publishing. She has served as Coordinator of Piano for the National Conventions of the Music Teachers National Association and in major capacities for other organizations including the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy. She has also served as the Rildia Bee Cliburn Lecturer at the Cliburn Piano Institute at TCU in Fort Worth, TX on two different occasions. A recipient of the University of Oklahoma Regent's Award for Superior Teaching and a two-time recipient of the Associate's Distinguished Lectureship, Dr. Magrath is a McCasland Foundation Presidential Professor at the University of Oklahoma where she serves as Chair of the Piano Department and teaches applied piano and courses in piano pedagogy.
Jane Magrath
School of Music
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK 73019
405.325.4681
jmagrath@ou.edu
I had the opportunity to visit Tromso, Norway during summer 1999 to present a session at the European Piano Teachers' Association (EPTA) Congress held in that far Northern city. Excited over the prospect of visiting a new country, I especially anticipated getting to know teachers from various European countries and learning more about their work and teaching. Tromso was billed as a special city on top of the world, and indeed, situated nearly 1000 miles north of Oslo, Tromso clearly held an aurora of adventure, nestled far above the Arctic Circle. The conference was fully contained at the Tromso Conservatory, a modern four-year music college with excellent instruments and facilities. Practice facilities were the most modern imaginable, with elaborate key cards and codes for entry, and motion and light sensors that aided building security and light conservation in the rooms.
The conference opened with a performance by coordinator Tori Stodle, piano faculty member of the host institution, who played a contemporary work Listen by A. Nordheim with television cameras poised practically inches from her hands, clearly center stage and in the visual periphery of the performer. Thankfully these distractions to the performers and presenters did not last, and only the opening session was taped for broadcast.
Presenters stemmed from twenty-five different European countries, ranging from Switzerland to Greece, to Lithuania, Croatia, Latvia, and of course Russia. Representatives too came from Iceland, Russia, Germany, Roumania, England, Scotland, and the Ukraine. The variety of life experiences as well as musical experiences amassed by these musicians was the jumping-off point for establishing relationships and bonds among the 100-125 participants.
Carola Grindea was guest of honor and, as founder of EPTA, formed a common connection for all participants. Presidents from the various countries delighted in seeing her again or in meeting her for the first time. Her gracious presence pervaded the entire conference, and her influence on the professional organization was evident through the presence of representatives from numerous European EPTA countries. An advocate for piano technique to prevent and cure physical problems and injuries, Ms. Grindea was omnipresent and approachable throughout the conference, gracing all with a warm smile and unwavering enthusiasm. A high point of the four-day event was the performance of the complete Grieg Lyric Pieces, played by Einar Steen-Nokelberg of Norway in a series of three afternoon concerts. Professor Steen-Nokelberg played with charm, finesse, and inspiration as the beauty of these works that he has recorded on the Naxos label spilled out into the recital halls. Almost all were struck by Steen-Nokelberg's vivid realization and portrayal in performance of Grieg's avowed affinity for the natural beauty of his native country, central inspirations in the writing.
The sacrifice to be able to come for several of the attendees from some of the Eastern European countries was notable, with some of them saving for the year to attend and take part in this gathering of music teachers. Many attendees were unaccustomed to eating meals in restaurants and out of the home, and of course many do not afford luxuries as these at home. During the conference, all meals were eaten in the Conservatory's canteen where music students and faculty eat during the regular year. How strange to hear strains of Ginastera coming from the concert hall but also to simultaneously catch the aroma of dinner being prepared down the hallway in the canteen area. Almost all of us were struck by the expensive food in Norway, with $7.50 for a sandwich a common occurrence.
Problems in creating a unified European teachers' association appeared real as several of the four U.S. presenters pondered the various problems working against a European association, such as severe economic limitations for some country presidents which hinder their attending the annual meetings. What was present was a core interest among independent teachers and college teachers in collaborating and gaining what they could from fellow teachers throughout the world. Never did one hear criticism of a different philosophy of playing nor of a different school of technique; simply, all was met with general acceptance, and critical evaluation and reflection kept as a personal opinion. Judgments were kept to one's self, and participants seemed to care most about the exchange of ideas and about hearing ideas on teaching and performing the music.
It was abundantly clear in this setting that the music making was fundamentally a universal language. Nevertheless, sessions were presented in English, no matter what the native language of the presenter or participants. Performances and concerts were a major part of the conference program. Presentation topics ran the gamut from a performance of a student of a professor at the Liszt Academy in Budapest who played all 24 Etudes of Chopin, to performances of standard concert literature, to several concerts of piano duets, to sessions on teaching literature, to lectures with demonstration on teaching topics. The variety proved to be stimulating and even provocative, pointing out the value and importance of several different delivery formats and modes.
Presentations at the conference frequently consisted of performances, or they related to the teaching of advanced performance - "Some Folk and Contemporary Influences in 20th Century Portuguese Solo Piano Music," "The 24 Preludes by Chopin - A Unity or a Series of Pieces?," and "'Hawarti'- the Pre-Columbian Influence on Alberto Ginastera's Second Piano Sonata, Op. 53." This was not exclusively the case, and presentations by Europeans on the following topics showed some emphasis on pedagogical aspects of playing for younger students: "How to Stimulate Pupils to Practice Studies and Scales" and "The Written and Unwritten Enigmas in Mozart's Piano Music." The variety was effective and kept the general audience engaged with the variety of topics.
What thoughts rise from the sub-conscientious after a conference such as this? First, participants from the European countries, as we in the U.S. might imagine, are highly knowledgeable of the classical teaching literature, perhaps more so even than here in the U.S. They know what they want to teach, and music anthologies of high quality teaching literature by both standard classical and educational composers are more readily available in Europe than ever before. What one finds more frequently in the U.S. perhaps is the teacher's application of learning theories and modes and the treatment of piano students as individuals. Teachers in the U.S. also focus often on how to help students learn to practice effectively. Another area of emphasis in the U.S. is on helping the student learn to think and analyze, and above all, to listen to himself during the practicing of the music. Individual thought and interpretations based on personal experience, to an extent, are sometimes encouraged in the U.S.
Secondly, participants from the European countries seemed to be much less aware of potential motivational problems with precollege students or of a potential lack of a practice ethic among the students. For many students outside the U.S., study is a luxury and is expensive, and the work ethic is taken for granted. On the other hand, in the U.S. music study is available to the general populace as a whole.
Finally, one could not help but notice the variety of life experiences of the participants who came from so many countries, and of these life experiences reflected in their faces. Most of us in the U.S. will never know the hardships many have endured to sustain a career as a musician and music teacher. The collective reactions to the music performed and studied at the 21st EPTA Congress pulled this international group together in a setting for experiencing music as a truly universal language.
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