Thank you, Mr Perahia!

Dear Mr Perahia,

This is an open letter to you.

I've just come away from your piano masterclass this morning at YST conservatory, it was most inspiring--that goes without saying, really--but more than that, I was even more thrilled to hear you affirm one of the central beliefs in my own teaching--namely, the importance of learning harmony and counterpoint to understand tonal music. This message was certainly beautifully illustrated with the Chopin and Beethoven examples.

And you went beyond that--for you, all these technical understanding (and likewise all the piano techniques) serve a greater end. This was when you took us, with Beethoven's example, from the 'starry sky' to the 'moral within us'. The crown of the jewel here--for me, that is--was when you cautioned that any programmatic interpretation of music must be grounded on an informed understanding of the composer and his music. So, with one stroke of the wand, you've set the eyes of both piano students and musicians who spend hours analyzing music on a higher, more inspiring plane.

As I recalled my ex-professor telling us that you won't play a piece of music until you have analyzed it (and I think he said) using Schenkerian analyses, I wondered if I should ask you about it. But of course, before I could ask my question, you were already talking about shaping in music and, lo and behold! you went to the piano and illustrated Schenker's Ursatz, even including a Schenkerian interruption, with your Beethoven and Mozart examples--all these, without mentioning Schenker's name, which might have alienated some of the audience. I don't know whether you studied with Carl Schachter at Mannes College, but you sure have grasped the essence of Schenker's profound insight!

So, thank you again, Mr Perahia, for lending your voice to my teaching!

Yours humbly,
ec