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Page 27
AVOID RESTRICTING RULES
"Because our ancestors were brought up to study the piano a certain way,
and we--some of us--have been trained along the same rigid lines, does
not mean there are no better, broader, less limited ways of reaching the
goal we seek. We do not want to limit ourselves or our powers. We do not
need to say: 'Now I have thought out the conception of this composition
to my present satisfaction; I shall always play it the same way.' How
can we feel thus? It binds us at once with iron shackles. How can I play
the piece twice exactly alike? I am a different man to-day from what I
was yesterday, and shall be different to-morrow from what I am to-day.
Each day is a new world, a new life. Don't you see how impossible it is
to give two performances of the piece which shall be identical in every
particular? It _is_ possible for a machine to make any number of
repetitions which are alike, but a human, with active thought and
emotion, has a broader outlook.
"The question as to whether the performer must have experienced every
emotion he interprets is as old as antiquity. You remember in the
Dialogues of Plato, Socrates was discussing with another sage the point
as to whether an actor must have felt every emotion he portrayed in
order to be a true artist. The discussion waxed warm on both sides.
Socrates' final argument was, If the true artist must have lived through
every experience in order to portray it faithfully, then, if he had to
act a death scene he would have to die first in order to picture it with
adequate fidelity!"
THE QUESTION OF VELOCITY
In speaking of velocity in piano playing and how it is to be acquired,
Mr. Bauer continued:
"I believe the quality of velocity is inherent--an integral part of
one's thought. Even a child, if he has this inherent quality, can play a
simple figure of five notes as fast as they need to be played. People of
the South--not on this side of the water--but of Spain and Italy, are
accustomed to move quickly; they gesticulate with their hands and are
full of life and energy. It is no trouble for them to think with
velocity. Two people will set out to walk to a given point; they may
both walk fast, according to their idea of that word, but one will
cover the ground much more quickly than the other. I think this idea of
a time unit is again a limiting idea. There can be _no_ fixed and fast
rule as to the tempo of a composition; we cannot be bound by such rules.
The main thing is: Do I understand the meaning and spirit of the
composition, and can I make these clear to others? Can I so project this
piece that the picture is alive? If so, the fact as to whether it is a
few shades slower or faster does not enter into the question at all.
OBTAINING POWER
"Many players totally mistake in what power consists. They think they
must exert great strength in order to acquire sufficient power. Many
women students have this idea; they do not realize that power comes from
contrast. This is the secret of the effect of power. I do not mean to
say that we must not play with all the force we have at times; we even
have to pound and bang occasionally to produce the needed effects. This
only proves again that a tone may be beautiful, though in itself harsh,
if this harshness comes in the right time and place.
"As with velocity so with power; there is _no_ fixed and infallible rule
in regard to it, for that would only be another limitation to the
feeling, the poetry, the emotion of the executant's _thought_. The
quality and degree of power are due to contrast, and the choice of the
degree to be used lies with the player's understanding of the content of
the piece and his ability to bring out this content and place it in all
its perfection and beauty before the listener. This is his opportunity
to bring out the higher, the spiritual meaning."
XIV
A VISIT TO RAOUL PUGNO
TRAINING THE CHILD
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