Description
Moscow and its Conservatoire was long, perhaps still is, the heart of Russian pianism. Its graduates range through Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Medtner, Richter, Gilels, Ashkenazy, Pletnev and beyond. Professor Christopher Barnes, a professor of Slavic languages at the University of Toronto, has translated hitherto unavailable essays, critiques and lectures from the leading teaching lights at the Moscow Conservatoire. This is a feast of valuable piano pedagogy.
Contents
Introduction
A Note on the Authors
Part One – Techniques and Artistry:
1. Samuel Feinberg – The Road to Artistry
2. Alexander Goldenweiser – Advice from a Pianist and Teacher
3. Lev Oborin – Some Principles of Pianoforte Technique
4. Konstantin Igumnov – Some Remarks on Technique
5. Grigorii Ginzburg – Notes on Mastery of the Piano
Part Two – Lessons and Masterclasses:
1. Samuel Feinberg – Beethoven’s Appassionata: A Performer’s Commentary
2. Sviatoslav Richter – Three Answers to Questions about Beethoven’s Sonata Appassionata
3. Heinrich Neuhaus – Work on Beethoven’s Sonata in A major Opus 101
4. Maria Eshchenko – Chopin Etudes (based on classes with Samuel Feinberg)
5. Yakov Flier – Reflections on Chopin’s Fourth Ballade
6. Alexander Goldenweiser – Notes on Chopin’s Ballade in F minor
7. Konstatin Igumnov – Chopin’s Fourth Ballade in F minor
8. Nina Lelchuk and Elena Dolinskaya – Lesson with Yakov Flier (based on Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No.1 and Prokofiev’s Sonata No.3)
9. Olga Stupakova and Genrietta Mirvis – Yakov Zak as Teacher (on Liszt’s Sonata, Schumann’s Etudes Symphoniques and Rakhmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody)
Bibliography
Index of Pianists
Composers and Works
Index of Piano Playing Terms
About the Author
Professor and Chairman of the Slavic Department in the University of Toronto, Christopher Barnes is an acknowledged authority on the life and work of Boris Pasternak and a well-known translator of various modern authors. Pursuing a parallel interest in music, he also studied piano privately and is known as a lecturer-recitalist on Russian musical topics. He is currently working on a monograph on Scriabin and a history of Russian Pianism.
Reviews
Here is a book worth its weight in platinum! Christopher Barnes, a professor of Slavic languages at the University of Toronto, has translated hitherto unavailable essays, critiques and lectures from the leading teaching lights at the Moscow Conservatoire. This is a feast of valuable piano pedagogy …
Pianojazz
Cello 
