News and Views
Helen Smith Tarchalski, Editor
The observations
about the status of piano teaching that appear in Part One of
this article are derived from a Keynote Address given by Fernando
Laires at the 1992 National Conference on Piano Pedagogy.
Part One: from a Keynote Address by Fernando Laires
When I hear people talk about my background, it makes me feel as though I am steeped in history. As a matter of fact I am ancient, and I will tell you why. Perhaps you know that I was born in Portugal. But you may not know that Portugal has been "behind" other countries by many years. When I was growing up, I heard this repeatedly. So, if Portugal was behind by fifty years, I can tell you that I was born before Franz Liszt died in 1886. If you think that I inherited some of the Romantic spirit, I can agree with you. As a matter of fact, I studied with Winfried Wolf, who studied with Emil von Sauer, a student of Liszt. I also studied with Isidor Philipp, a student of the distinguished Chopin student, Georges Mathias. I also had as a good friend, Oscar da Silva, who had vivid stories to tell about his studies with Clara Schumann, who died in 1896. Such experiences are very important, because they give us perspectives that we may not otherwise have. It is from such experiences that I would like to share some ideas with you. . .
Part Two: An Interview with Fernando Laires
Introduction by Helen Smith Tarchalski
We are privileged and pleased to share a conversation with Fernando Laires in which he offers a rare glimpse into the exceptional life of an extraordinary man and musician. In this interview, we learn how many of Fernando Laires' perspectives developed and evolved. Although some of his experiences were clearly opportunities that helped to shape his career, others were challenges that he turned into opportunities and life lessons.
Fernando Laires lives by his precept that "piano teachers are more than piano teachers, they are music teachers and tutors about many things, including life itself." He closes his comments by answering a decades-old musing by members of the piano pedagogy field: How do artists of the stature of Fernando Laires and Nelita True co-exist in the career of music while maintaining a deeply devoted marriage?" His advice is simple, and proves that his philosophies and approach to musical and teaching perspectives are indeed inexorably intertwined with his approach to life.
His fascinating
story is rich in examples of how we can use our own experiences
as "life lessons" that mold us into stronger human beings
with a deep sense of mission and artistry.
What are your memories of your early years at the piano?
My mother wrote in her memoirs that I was three years old when I began playing. She enjoyed singing and playing the piano, and she taught a few neighborhood children. She and her brother, an amateur violinist, made music together when they visited. There was always music at home and in the neighborhood. The neighbor women sang during the day, keeping their apartment windows open.
I repeatedly asked my mother to teach me how to play. She did
not want to teach me because she felt that I was too young. But
one day I cried so much about wanting to play that she finally
put me on her lap, played each note while singing "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si,"
and also slowly played some short, easy compositions. I played
the melodies that I heard. At the age of four, I was instinctively
harmonizing every melody that I played. I learned to read music
before I learned to read Portuguese, my native language. . .
Fernando Laires has concertized and presented master classes on five continents. He received an award in London for his performance in cycle of the 32 piano sonatas of Beethoven at age 19, for which he was also awarded a grand piano by the faculty of the National Conservatory of Music in Lisbon. He was decorated by the Portuguese government with the rank of Commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator in recognition of his career achievements in music.
He has held artist faculty positions at the University of Texas at Austin, Interlochen Arts Academy, the Catholic University of America, Peabody Conservatory, and is currently Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music. In 1989 he was appointed Permanent Guest Professor of Piano at the Shenyang Conservatory of Music in the People's Republic of China. He is a co-founder and President Emeritus of the American Liszt Society and has served as a jury member of major international competitions.
His teachers included Lucio Mendes, Isidor
Philipp, Ernest Hutcheson, James Friskin, and Winfried Wolf.
For the other Samplers from this issue
