Lessons with Brahms

I found a wonderful text about how Robert and Clara Schumann’s daughter (Eugenie Schumann, 1851–1938) studied with Brahms, and I decided to share it here together with a few of my own comments. And you'll find a 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 at the end of this text!

𝗘.𝗦.: “𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟮, 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰. 𝗜 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆. 𝗠𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗺 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸. 𝗛𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.”

DZ: It is very telling that she begins her description by speaking about how she felt. The emotional situation is incredibly important. If it is not right, the chances of real progress are very small.

Sadly, parents and teachers very often bring demands and expectations to a child instead of listening to how this particular child naturally wants to grow. When a child is turned into a project, or used as a way for a parent or teacher to prove something about themselves, to have something to be proud of, or when an excellent pianist cannot accept the idea that their child or student may not become a strong pianist, that child is very often being led into real suffering.

Some children are very gifted, they feel a strong calling, and they are ready to carry a heavy load. But others are simply not ready for that. And a good teacher, in my view, must be able to adapt to the student’s abilities, both mental and physical. Brahms, it seems, was very good at this.

𝗘.𝗦.: “𝗛𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗛𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗱. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.”

DZ: This is a great remark, actual today as never before. Clara Schumann could not really teach her daughter technique, because she herself had learned piano at such an early age, and was so naturally gifted, that she no longer remembered how it had happened. And this is actually one of the main reasons why so many brilliant pianists cannot fully teach technique. Most pianists learn it so early that later they simply do not remember how they themselves were taught. For such pianists, playing the piano can feel so natural that when you meet a student with technical problems, it is almost like meeting someone who lives in a completely different reality.

It reminds me of that parable about the blind man and his sighted friend. The sighted man was trying to explain what the color white is. He brought a rabbit and said, “Here, it is white, touch it.” “Ah, so white means soft,” said the blind man. “No, no,” the other replied, “look, I brought you white snow, touch it.” “Ah, so white means cold,” said the blind man.

That is why the people who often teach technique best are either musicians who became deeply interested in these questions out of real pedagogical curiosity — which unfortunately is quite rare — or musicians who had their own difficulties and were forced to go deeply into these issues themselves, as happened in my case. I overworked my hands because of a huge load, and also because I was playing with just a little more tension than necessary. Over fifteen years of a very intense career, that built up into muscular pain. Because of this, I had to understand these things in depth in order to return to performing. And only because of that was I also able to become a fairly good teacher.

Truth be told, there is sometimes another extreme: experts on efficiency can become so obsessed with it that they focus on it too much, and forget that ultimately, technique is only a tool for creative expression and artistic exploration.

𝗘.𝗦.: “𝗛𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗼𝘀, 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱… 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲, 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.”

DZ: This is an interesting point of view, and of course Brahms’s collection of exercises is very good. I even made a full course on these exercises, explaining how to practice them. Because if you do them the wrong way, they can actually do harm instead of good. But in general, opinions differ here. There are also brilliant musician-teachers who do not put so much emphasis on exercises and say that all the necessary skills can be developed directly through studying pieces themselves.

In the end, though, I would say that all roads lead to Rome. Sviatoslav Richter could not stand scales and never played them in his life, while Emil Gilels or Sergei Rachmaninoff found benefit in playing scales and exercises even at a very advanced age. You can practice exercises and scales, or not — the most important thing is to practice correctly, reinforcing good habits, and not becoming a victim of mindless routine. But that is a topic for another discussion.

𝗘.S.: “𝗛𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗯, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗯, 𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗼.”

DZ: And this is a really excellent remark, because in my own teaching a huge number of technical problems are connected precisely with the fact that students do not know what to do with this big, awkward elephant. The thumb really does require very careful training. If it is placed well, it becomes a reliable anchor in any storm. If it is placed badly, it is like throwing a stone brick into a working washing machine. By the way, as a reward for getting through this text, use coupon 𝟰𝟱𝗢𝗙𝗙 for a great 45% discount for the next courses before April 30:

The Ultimate Technique [re]Building course

Brahms 51 Exercises

Burgmüller 6 Etudes op. 109

Czerny Intensive Technique Training via 10 Etudes op. 299

Schumann Kinderszenen No. 1 “Von fremden Ländern und Menschen”