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The Russian School of Piano Technique

by Tatyana Alexeyeva

(found at http://www.mainlyopera.com/features/russpiano.html)

More than one hundred years have passed since the birth of the Russian piano school. The past century has given us so many great names, so many geniuses.

The phenomenon of the Russian piano school lives on, in spite of the storm of revolutions and social upheavals. What is it - the force of tradition, special talent, or simply a characteristic of the soul? Perhaps it is just brilliant pedagogical work which has given us this great school and its traditions.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries both instrumental performance and pedagogical practice underwent intensive development. It is enough to recall the names of the outstanding musicians and teachers - Goldenweiser, Safonov, Siloti, Egumnov. They were highly educated people, standing at the origins of Russian pianism.
Alexander Scriabin, pupil of Safonov, and Sergei Rachmaninov, pupil of Siloti, are two of the greatest names of Russian culture. They were the two great opposites - the huge, soft hands of Rachmaninov, and the tiny, delicate hands of Scriabin. How much force and richness of sound is to be found in the performances of one, and how much lightness and magical colour in the pianism of the other. It is amazing that they both met for the first time in the class of the great teacher Prof. Zverev, when they were young boys.

When discussing the Russian piano school, above all we should not forget its most important characteristic, that of individuality. The individuality of each performer is the hallmark of the Russian piano school. It is exactly this individuality which the great pianist and teacher A. B. Goldenweiser sought to discover in each of his pupils. Goldenweiser brought up a whole generation of outstanding pianists. Among his pupils, two names stand out, well-known not only within the former USSR, but outside - Tatyana Nikolaeva and Samuel Feinberg. These two artists are closely connected with the name of J. S. Bach. Both these great pianists breathed new life into the music of the great master. A new interpretation of Bach's works, using all of the expressive possibilities of the modern piano, drew the accolades of the critics. This new, creative approach to the master's music was fostered by Goldenweiser in his pupils. The brilliant spirit of pianism of Tatyana Nikolaeva inspired Dmitri Shostakovich to compose his own 24 Preludes and Fugues. Created for, and dedicated to Ms Nikolaeva, she gave the first performance of this inspired work.

Samuel Feinberg - the "artist-innovator", became Professor at the Moscow Conservatoire. A wonderful teacher, Feinberg established his own school of pianism, distinguished by its special virtuoso technique. One of his students, Victor Merzhanov, shared first prize with Sviatoslav Richter in the first post-war All-Union Musicians Competition in Moscow. Merzhanov's incredible performances combine an unusual warmth of sound and richness of colour with a dazzling technique. Merzhanov conquered foreign critics in the late 1940's and 50's. They found his performances as something supernatural, recalling the performances of the great masters Siloti and Rachmaninov.

The international success of the Russian piano school has strong connections with one more name. The "poet of the pianoforte", Heinrich Neuhaus, an artist of great culture, passionately in love with his art. Neuhaus was not only a talented performer, he was also a great teacher. He created his own highly intellectual, and at the same time very romantic, school of pianism. He forced the hands of his students to submit to artistic expression, to "obey the intellect". Neuhaus brought up a brilliant generation of musicians. The names of his students speak for themselves. Richter, Gilels, Zack, Malinin, Kastelsky, Petrushansky, Lubimov, and so on.

The great traditions of the Russian piano school continue, undiminished by time. They carry on from generation to generation, from teacher to student, from hands to hands. These traditions bring to us the experience of great art, and unforgettable moments of pleasure in music.

Tatyana Alexeyeva was born in the USSR into a musical family, and began piano studies at the age of five. She attended music college in Alma-Ata, and the Conservatoire, before graduating in music pedagogy from the Alma-Ata State University, following her chosen profession as a teacher of piano.

Tatyana Alexeyeva migrated to Australia in 1998. She lives in Sydney with her husband and two young children, and teaches piano to a select group of students.