More about Walter Gieseking

Walter Gieseking felt that thoroughness and keen observation were the keys to studying everything. He applied the rigor of a scientist to music. In the book he co-authored with Karl Leimer, Piano Technique, he devotes two pages to advising students how to approach the first six bars of Bach's first Two-Part Invention, known to all piano students. He suggests noting such details as the distance between each pair of notes in a given phrase (such as C downward to A being a musical interval of a third, skipping the B), analyzing the touch to be applied and the manner of connecting notes (smoothly or with separation). He also emphasizes that the student should learn to visualize the piece--i.e., be able to see the piece in our heads, be aware of the structure of the piece, and grasp an understanding of what the piece should sound like.

Funny how often the word "visualization" comes up these days, even though Gieseking was writing in the 1930's. It seems that proper visualization is a means of ordering and directing our lives and the events that flow through them. The power of visualization should never be underestimated. Just tonight I attended a wonderful talk on the current health-food trend of eating raw, uncooked fruits and vegetables. The speaker, whose vibrant health was an excellent testimony to the power of the method, indicated in passing that this system of eating worked best if people "saw" themselves benefiting from it. He also noted emphatically that negative thoughts and emotions can, over time, impact the body as much or more than eating toxic foodstuffs. (This guy made me re-commit myself to healthful eating--and thinking! I'm a strict vegetarian, but now want to be even more careful.)

Some readers have commented that Gieseking's method would make them more nervous about performing, not less, which is the total opposite of what he wanted to achieve. They feel being so acutely aware of the music would make them freeze up, perhaps like a diver who freezes in fright at the edge of a diving board if he/she contemplates the movements of a dive too intensely, making them realize the many possibilities for error. I understand such a feeling, and have felt it myself, but I think Gieseking would counter by saying his method asks us to delve so deeply into what we are doing that we become totally at one with it. He advised practicing each phrase very, very slowly in order to develop complete familiarity and ease with it. (This would require singers and wind players to make an adaptation for breathing, but over time they would come to practice with greater speed.)

I don't think Gieseking was trying to discourage spontaneity and freedom in a performance--just the opposite. Rather, he felt that memorization and flawless technical skill are the bedrock upon which freedom and spontaneity are built.

A few more points to make about this method in my next post. Have a great weekend!

Thanks,
Gary