Piano Lessons with Claudio Arrau: A Guide to His Philosophy and Techniques

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Introduction
SECTION 1: ARRAU'S PREDECESSORS
Chapter 1 Martin Krause
Chapter 2 Arrau and the Lisztian Legacy
Chapter 3 Rudolf Breithaupt
Section 2: TECHNIQUE
Chapter 4 Arrau's Concept of Technique and Virtuosity
Chapter 5 The Arrau Technique
5.1 Hand and Wrist Position
5.2 The Fingers
5.3 Dropping the Arm
5.4 Pushing the Arm Up
5.5 Reciprocal Vertical Motion
5.6 Vibration
5.7 Rotation
5.8 Circular Motion
5.9 Fingering and use of the Thumb
Section 3: TEACHING
Chapter 6 Arrau's Collaboration with Rafael De Silva: A Community of Learners
Conclusion
APPENDIX: LESSONS
1. Frederic Chopin: Ballade no. 2 in F major, Op. 38
mm. 1-46
mm. 38-83
mm. 79-170
mm. 169-end
2. Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata in A-flat major, Op. 110
Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo
Allegro molto
Adagio ma non troppo
Fuga - Allegro, ma non troppo
3. Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit
Scarbo mm. 1-119
mm. 119-220
mm. 232-332
mm. 332-end
4. Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit
Ondine mm. 1-41
mm. 41-49
mm. 49-70
mm. 70-80
5. Ludwig van Beethoven: Fifteen Variations with Fugue, Op. 35
Eroica
6. Richard Strauss: Burleske, TrV 145
Bibliography
Index

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Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) was a Chilean pianist who devoted his life to an international performing and teaching career. As a child prodigy, he gained national recognition from government officials in Chile, including President Pedro Montt, who later funded Arrau's education in Germany. He completed his studies in Berlin with Martin Krause, a pupil of Franz Liszt, and later immigrated to New York City, where he began his teaching career and mentored a sizeable group of pupils. His unique and magnetic style impassioned his pupils and motivated them to teach his principles to the next generation of students, including author Victoria von Arx. Piano Lessons with Claudio Arrau highlights interviews with Arrau's surviving pupils (from his class in New York City, which he taught from 1945 to the early 1970s) that give readers an in-depth description of Arrau's principles of technique and performance. Quotations and lesson transcripts make Arrau's voice - and those of his former pupils - audible, and detailed references to over one hundred examples from filmed recordings make his famed technique visible. The bulk of the book features edited and previously-unpublished transcriptions of lessons Arrau gave his pupils, lavishly illustrated with musical examples. The author, herself a teacher and performer, draws information from numerous interviews with Arrau's pupils, from her experience studying with two of them, from videos of Arrau's performances, and from the recorded lessons. By culling these disparate sources of information and presenting them systematically in a single book, von Arx provides an insider's view of the art of piano playing as exemplified by one of the great artists of the twentieth century and offers the reader a virtual piano lesson with Claudio Arrau.

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