Menahem Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching

Menahem Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching by Brown, William. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780253222350.

As soloist, master class teacher, and pianist of the world-renowned Beaux Arts Trio, Menahem Pressler can boast of four Grammy nominations, three honorary doctorates, more than 80 recordings, and lifetime achievement awards presented by France, Germany, and Israel. Former Pressler student William Brown traces the masters pianistic development through Rudiakov, Kestenberg, Vengerova, Casadesus, Petri, and Steuermann, blending techniques and traditions derived from Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and J. S. Bach. Brown presents Presslers approach to performance and teaching, including technical exercises, principles of relaxation and total body involvement, and images to guide the pianists creativity toward expressive interpretation. Insights from the authors own lessons, interviews with Pressler, and recollections of more than 100 Pressler students from the past 50 years are gathered in this text. Measure-by-measure lessons on 23 piano masterworks by, among others, Bach, Bartók, Debussy, and Ravel as well as transcriptions of Presslers fingerings, hand redistributions, practicing guidelines, musical scores, and master class performances are included.