Russians; a

Piano; the

Legend.
(Fascinate story about Russian Classical Technique of Playing
the Piano)

Prof. Lev Naumov probably the

most EFFECTIVE teacher of the piano WORLDWIDE
of the whole 20 Century; this photo has been given
to the author of this Web-Site by Lev Nikolaevitch
himself.
Famous

Russian

Piano-Schooling

System

fascinates

piano

students worldwide again and again. Besides, many piano

music admirers become assured that the musical event the
Russian artists might participate in, nearly MUST represent a
truly higher artistic quality. As well the piano teachers who
even very little, sometimes, somewhere... still have been
learned by the Russians, become likely more trustful for the
students.
Quite a strange fact: very few musicians are able to take into
consideration that each one Russian pianist truly CANNOT
represent equally high artistic level as represent the Great
Russian Masters of the piano, and consequently it is not truth
that any Russian or in Russia educated piano tutor is able to
work in equally high professional way. One ought to be sure as
well that any sole & one, homogenous Russian Piano School
really does NOT exist; that fact should be apparent to us all. On
the other hand, factually many great individualities have

appeared in the piano field in Russia, putting ultimate touches

on development of the piano art NOT only in their homeland,
particularly in the first half of the 20th Century.
They were such artists as:
Felix

Blumenfeld (1863

1931);

among

his

students

were Vladimir Horowitz and Harry Neuhaus...

Alexander GOLDENWEISSER (1875 - 1961) and his disciples
- Samuil

Feinberg, Dmitry

Kabalevsky, Grigory

Ginsburg, Tatiana Nikolaeva, Dmitry Bashkirov...

Konstantin IGUMNOV (1873 - 1948); he taught, among others
- Lev Oborin, Jakov Flier, Maria Grinberg, Jakov Milstein...
Leonid

Nikolaev (1876

were Vladimir

1942);

among

Sofronitsky, Maria

his

students

Yudina,Dmitry

Shostakovitch, Pavel Serebryakov...

Harry NEUHAUS (1888 - 1964); among his students could be
found such pianists asSvjatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Jakov
Zak, Lev

Naumov, Radu

Lupu, Vera

Gornostaeva,Evgeny

Malinin, Evgeny Mogilevsky...

After them were coming the tens and hundreds students of

their students (and pupils of their pupils), who, working around
the World started to develop and evolve the Great Russian
Piano Tradition. In this tradition, seeing the problem from
professional piano pedagogical point of view, most interesting
is the very special approach to the piano technique: Russians
are used to INTEGRATE all the musical abilities and aptitudes,
which commonly provide the pianists with the real skill of
playing as naturally as the Italian singers sing.
The

pedagogic

art

and

artistic

activity

of

all

of

above

maintained masters, have been grounded under many various

influences,

mainly

coming

to

Russia

from

the

Romantic

tradition via such masters as John Field (1782 - 1837) and

Anton Rubinstein (1829 - 1894). Still before all, the Russian
Piano Pedagogy grew under influence coming from the three
other Masters yet:
- Theodor Leschetizky (1830 - 1915), who taught as genuinely
Russian master as Vassily Safonov, more late the teacher
of Alexander

Scriabin, Nikolai

Medtner, Josef

Lhevinne andRosina Bessie (later Lhevinne).

- Franz

LISZT (1811

1886),

the

artist

who

primarily

influenced the Russians as the greatestpianist-virtuoso in the

whole history of music...
- and Frederic CHOPIN (1810 - 1849), who put the most
perceptible touches on the Russian piano pedagogical art.

However,

the

Russian

Piano-Schooling

System

sometimes

becomes considered as a phenomenon caused by the collective

work, Russian piano masters' activity was strictly INDIVIDUAL
yet. These artists did not work as members of any particular
GROUP, and as well they did not represent any ONE & SAME
point of view on playing and teaching the piano; surely no one
of above maintained piano masters would like to accept such
dishonorable summarization. Factually, this phenomenon a
Russian Piano Legend should be interpreted in analogous way
as it happens in the history of Art, generally. Though, we are
used to define some particular eras or even informal groups of
artists who simultaneously lived and worked in particular
periods

and/or

places

as

the

Viennese

Classics,

French

Impressionists, Slavonic Romantics, etc still in spite of all

such categorizations the particular artists working even in the
same cities in the same time are fully recognizable as clearly
different individualities...
Seeing the problem from another point of view, we have to
maintain yet that herein exists something HABITUALLY SHARED
by all the greater Russian individual approaches to the piano

question, which approves common evaluation related to the

entire subject:
- The piano technique is being interpreted by elite of the
Russian piano teachers as such kind of ability to play the piano
well that cannot be obtained in any MECHANICAL way!
- The piano playing is being interpreted by them as an activity
of the evidently creative character.
This is this main component of the whole matter, which if
superficially interpreted might even cause the feeling of
identity of many Russian teaching methods in history of the
piano. Positively said: the technique of playing the piano
according to Russian standards must be obtained in the
artistically QUALIFIED way. That is why the piano technique is
being interpreted by elite of the Russian piano teachers as a
phenomenon that includes much more than the action of
fingers and hands only. Furthermore, the artistically proper
piano technique according to the Russian piano methodical
rules cannot be developed as something of the one-track
character: the artistic IMAGE, the creative HEARING, the IDEA
doubtlessly must always be present in the performance as
well as in PRACTICING the piano!
Generally: the artistically clear musical INTONATION (a kind of
the internal anticipative ergo creative hearing) is the most
essential point in adequate understanding of the whole Russian
Piano Miracle.

It is truly sorrowful that so many adepts of the piano from

around the World deeply believe in existence of something that
could be defined as the MYSTERIOUS RUSSIAN TECHNIQUE,
which according to the most common opinions concerns
exceptionally FINGERS and HANDS' action, and if rationally
used finally must bring the ARTISTIC SUCCESS! Factually,
nothing

of

that

kind

had

ever

existed

in

the

Russian

professional piano schooling. Any magical training system

surely does NOT exist in the Russian modern piano teaching

formula, too! And actually no one Russian teacher might show
HOW one could duplicate the quickness of ones fingers using
purely mechanical tricks.
In the Russian leading piano systems one cannot find any
concept that would exceptionally be related to FINGERS or
HANDS, once fingers' and/or hands' action have never been
seen as the most fundamental elements of the matter. As well
in the Russian leading schools or conservatories of music no
one student is being forced to endless studies on SCALES,
PASSAGES, DOUBLE TONES, OCTAVES separately. In spite of
it or, better said thanks to that kind of approach they ARE
able to play such elements of the piano pieces much better then
they who so desperately try to polish these elements, strongly
believing in possibility to gain the proper piano technique just
via improving their fingers' dexterity. Of course, due to the
nature of theirs instruments violinists, cellists and wind
players must work on scales & passages much more then the
pianists have to; the piano tuner decides the cleanness of the
piano pitch yet, so the pianists have nothing to do with this
problem. Therefore the exercising of pianists' hearing, focusing
their attention on the EXTERNAL clearness of intonation
factually has no great importance in the professional piano
schooling. Instead, the pianists HAVE TO focus their attention
on the anticipative ARTISTIC INTONATING that must constantly
act, guarantying the actual smoothness and virtual vividness of
performed sounds and phrases; generally such activity firmly
assures the fluency in developing the musical Form. As well
the emotional colors and dynamic values of the sound have to
persistently be watched when practicing and playing the piano,
because just these elements determine the whole future
TECHNICAL progress of the piano students.

Of course, the mechanical part in piano technique doubtlessly

exists and is the very important aspect of the whole thing. The
Russian piano masters are interested in building the rational

proportions between the usage of fingers' energy and the

hands' weight in playing and especially in practicing the
piano. They strongly avoid speaking about purely mechanical
errors yet; instead they always try to solve the technical
problems focusing students' hearing and fantasy on such
VALUES of the SOUND that would help in recognizing any
possible manual disorder in playing.
The

grounders

Professional

of

The

Russian

Piano-Schooling

System

perfectly knew that if something HAD

NOT formerly been recognized, planned
and shaped by the artistically skillful and
active FANTASY, nothing positive could
factually happen in the PRACTICE. When
IDEA does not rule the practice the
practice

becomes

ruled

by

something

UNKNOWN and it should be more than

very clear that such kind of activity
cannot

yield

anything

of

artistically

valuable character...
This Supreme Law is valid at all of the
schooling levels: from the first lessons up
to the post-graduated studies.
Such

pedagogic

approach,

at

least,

firmly

supports

the

students' activity in their individual searches for instrumentally

proper solutions. Indeed: this is the THEORY! But such theory
means nothing else as a generalization made after many years
long PRACTICE. And that is how the real everyday work in any
schooling level really looks alike in the leading Russian schools
and conservatories of music.
In my opinion, going THAT WAY along, not only Russians would
be able to build the suitably integrated, harmonized, stable and
solid piano technique. This is the "top-secret" idea of piano
professional schooling in Russia in the past as well as today.
And that is one & sole, Chopin-based, in Russia practically

tested piano pedagogic concept, which if becomes assimilated

by any other piano schooling system, might bring much
instrumental ease connecting its piano-technical thinking with
the real essence of musicality.

Which aspect of the matter represents so

high

value

in

the Russian

Classical

Technique of Playing the Piano?

In my opinion - this is the real ARTISTIC
approach to any piano pedagogic goal...

Let you have a look at the following model: as long as the

student tries to "relax the muscles" in any particularly difficult
phase of the musical piece, having no image of its MUSICAL
IDEA he is unable to gain the exact image of the whole
situation. Relaxation, besides, had obtained nearly religious or,
better-said,

OBSESSIVE

sense

in

several

piano-schooling

systems (as in the Taubman Approach, for instance). I feel the

necessity to maintain that many years ago I have been infected
by this truly dangerous "virus", too...
Working in the Russian-like, Chopin-based way, the students
would gain just really working HABITS that in the future might
efficiently provide them forward if any technical problem might
happen. The students would getting sure skills then, which will
give them the practical knowledge related to "WHAT & HOW "
should persistently be observed in the sound's quality. As well,
herewith they become informed about the way, the certain kind
of piano technical INCOMPETENCY could finally be thrown out.
That should mean that the pure "relaxation" becomes replaced
by the "energy & weight managing", which does not include
any shadow of PASSIVITY that I am truly afraid is so
typical to relaxation, generally.

As it has been formerly maintained, this formula has straight

relation even to the first phases of the piano schooling. Building
possibly firm interest in FANTASY'S ACTIVITY the Russians
especially emphasize its NECESSITY in the first phases of the
children

piano

education

IN

SPITE

of

quality

of

their musical talents! According to Russians beliefs, again, the

manually unfit students NEED even more help in activating of
their likely dead FANTASY.
That is why they never try to improve the
pupils' manual abilities focusing their
attention

on

the

magical

circle

hands'

action!

of piano

The

technical

incompetence starts just from this point:

THE FANTASY cannot be vitalized by any
kind of the PHYSICAL (manual) ACTION,
and because the any smallest physical
MOTION

is

practically

ruled

just

by

FANTASY, it should finally become clear

that any kind of relaxation or other
manual

acting

ACTIVATE

the

definitely
pianists'

CANNOT

fingers

and

hands. AMEN!
The Russians know perfectly well - what is bad and what
is good for the acting pianists' hands. It should be however
clear, that such knowledge might be possessed by any pianist,
and everywhere! The hands' acting straightly shows: WHAT,
factually, HAPPENS in the pianist's MIND. One has to be sure
that hard, rude thinking and indeterminate emotions must
definitely produce inharmonious, physically offensive motions,
additionally inducing hard and rude sounds that must come
just as the simply LOGICAL consequence.
The best Russian teachers apparently believe in possibility to
improve the quality of EXTERNAL, physical aspects of the
instrumental skills primarily improving the INTELLECTUAL
and EMOTIONAL approach to the playing, represented by such
elements

as

hearing,

thinking,

creating

emotionally

clear

images. The very interesting hereby is the fact that all these
artistically most important elements of the matter represent as
well the technologically most important side of the technique of
playing the piano. As Prof. Neuhaus said: "Music lives within
us, in our brain, in our consciousness; its domicile can be
accurately established: it is our hearing." Therefore only
affecting the hearing, causing changes in thinking, awaking the
fantasy the pianists (violinists, singers, etc.) would be able to
achieve the stable, firm and permanent results in REALLY
VISIBLE, mechanical side of their instrumental technique. This
quotation verifies the straightest connection between Russians
piano tradition and the Chopin's Method; as Prof. Jean-Jacques
Eigeldinger
"Sketches

wrote
for

the

[in

his

Method"]

Introduction

herein

to

the

did not

Chopin's
exist

any

discontinuity between the physical and mental domain in the

Chopin's teaching. I hope, I do not have remain the fact that to
understand the Chopin's Method even partiall, one should
become acquainted with truly greatly larger material then the
Chopin's "Sketches for the Method..." is.
It should mean, that NOT the NUMBER of played studies, scales
and passages, exclusively would decide the piano technical
growth. The QUALITY or (better said) the MANNER these
scales, passages and studies would be realized in, plays the
decisive role in the piano technical progress as a whole.
Many pianists, worldwide, make the raw mistake understanding
the hearing & artistically creative fantasy as a part or phase of
work on the artistic INTERPRETATION only; these factors have
to be seen as the most IMPORTANT and indispensable BASIS,
necessary to any technically proper, PHYSICALLY adequate
motion of fingers and hands. As long as this truth would be
hidden to us, the actual ARTISTIC INCOMPETENCY would cause
the instrumentally improper, ergonomically WRONG MOTIONS
and rise very melancholic feelings among our students.

The Russian piano technical formula could be defined as

follows: seeking for the best results, one should mainly
remember the following things:
- The artistic IMAGE-MAKING instead of looking for
nuances...
- The active INTONATING instead of playing by
heart...
- The ergonomic ENERGY & WEIGHT management instead of
muscle power's usage and the endless hands' strengthening...
As you see, nothing of esoteric character could be found herein.
Everybody can start to try this easy and truly effective way. The
joy that comes from being CREATIVE is typical not only to all
the genuine artists it should come to any human being who
dares to act in such way.

Well, only they who possess something could be able to

share this with others. Who of us would like to become
granted by the "relaxation" shining from the stage, or to
share the joy caused by "dexterity" of fingers? Piano adepts,
who are getting no joy from IMAGE-MAKING, must seek for
substitutes that would originate the illusion of "being an
Artist"; they actually need in any possible surrogate of the
"Art-making". As the result they overuse their hands and
fingers only, trying to find the key to the doors of Art in the
absolutely wrong way. Seeking for the finally good result one
has to be sure that they, who are looking for "relaxation"
PROBABLY could find it! Who looks for "fingers' dexterity"
probably will find it, too. As well: who wants to make his
hands iron-strong probably sometimes will get as strong
hands as the Finnish woodsmen have...
Still no one of them, who is seeking for above maintained
elements, will achieve the goal they PROBABLY were looking
for because the artistically proper piano technique cannot be

developed as the SIDE-RESULT of work targeted on clearly nonartistic objects. At this place I would like suggest reading the
Prof. Harry Neuhaus great book about the piano art. It
represents

the

genuine

knowledge

of

typically

Russian

approach to main questions of forming the piano instrumental

technique.

It

has

being

written

in

very

condensed

and

attractive form; additionally, it brings up much larger view on

intellectual backgrounds that have played very essential role in
forming this surprisingly generous phenomenon recognized
today as The Russian Piano Schooling System.