On December 3, 2018, the piano world lost a true icon of the profession, Dean Elder. His life ended, but his brilliance lives on in the amazing legacy that he left for generations of future pianists. Harold Schonberg said, "Dean Elder is one of the few real piano connoisseurs in the country." As consulting editor and record reviewer for C...

Editor's note: These are longer versions of the articles from the May/June 2018 print version of Clavier Companion. Becoming Friends with Jane by Keith Porter-Snell I met Jane Smisor Bastien in the Spring of 1993, at the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition and Conference, in Palm Desert, California. Jane was teaching masterclass...

Beatrice N. Carney passed away on January 28 at the age of 99 (her obituary can be found at the end of this article). Her accepted publication for Clavier Companion was written when she was 97 years old, submitted when she was 98. Her daughter wrote, informing the editors of her passing. It is our privilege to honor Bea's memory...

Edward Francis, a beloved teacher, mentor, and friend, passed away on July 6, 2017, surrounded by family and friends. He was a tireless educator, teaching at several schools around southern California, maintaining a full-time private studio, and organizing and helping out with many not-for-profit musical organizations. He treated every student he t...

Paul Pollei, popularly known as the "ambassador of the piano," passed away in July 2013 in Provo, Utah, leaving behind friends and colleagues on many continents, who loved him and his enthusiasm for life. He was a champion of piano pedagogy and all facets of the wide world of piano performance. He loved the art and science of teaching teachers. He ...

by Gail Berenson, Sylvia Coats, Ivan Frazier, Judith Jain, and Rebecca Shockley   Dr. Guy Duckworth, a pioneer of group piano pedagogy, died January 27, 2015, at the age of 91. He created and directed the unique graduate programs at the University of Colorado at Boulder—MM and DMA degrees in Process of Group Environments: Piano Performanc...

Frank GlazerFrank Glazer, a prominent American pianist and teacher, passed away on January 13th at the age of ninety-nine. Glazer studied piano with Artur Schnabel and also had composition lessons with Arnold Schoenberg.Glazer was an active performer throughout his life, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and with major symphonies ...

In April, the world of piano pedagogy lost a legend. In the following pages, friends and colleagues of Louise Goss pay tribute with remembrances and recollections.  In the "old days," all senior piano majors at Oberlin were required to take piano pedagogy. I will never forget the excitement our professor exuded when she presented to us the bra...

The professional contributions of eminent American piano pedagogue Louise Goss are countless. Her tireless efforts, along with those of Frances Clark, include the establishment of arguably one of the first piano pedagogy programs in the United States at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, the creation of the New School for Music Study, the development o...

In lieu of questions in this issue, the author will share recollections of Louise Goss, visionary teacher, author, composer, editor, and friend who passed away this Spring. If you're lucky in life, you may encounter a teacher who changes everything. Louise was one of those teachers for me. The most powerful teaching doesn't go on in the classr...

I begin each day at the piano with a collection of scales, chords, octaves, and arpeggios. Many prefer to simply slide into sections of the music instead; to me, this routine has become akin to brushing my teeth in the morning. During these sessions, a soundtrack in my mind accompanies the double thirds and sixths. An emphatic voice exclaims myster...

Both the scope of materials to be used and the sequence, or order of presentation, are crucial to the success of the student at each stage of development. Students should understand so clearly what they are doing during the lesson that they can literally teach themselves for the rest of the week.1     —Robert Pace My father, Robert P...