Popper Archives

Hannah Roberts on her Musical Upbringing and Studying with William Pleeth and Ralph Kirshbaum

Reprinted with permission from Aitchison Cellos. In the first of an annual series of interviews with leading UK cello professors, Hannah Roberts talks about her musical upbringing and her experience of studying with William Pleeth and Ralph Kirshbaum. ‘I will always be grateful to my first teacher, my mother, for her unfailing dedication and for striking such a skillful balance between keeping things fun and maintaining discipline. I’m also very thankful that she tested the set up and response of my modest childhood instruments to be sure that they would work well for me because the way an instrument is set up is tremendously formative to a person’s concept of sound and physical approach. ‘I was offered a place at the Menuhin school when I was 8 years old. [...]

By Hannah Roberts|2023-05-15T13:35:28-04:00October 2nd, 2020|Categories: Artistic Vision, Interviews, Performance, Self Discovery, Teaching|Tags: Feuillard, William Pleeth, Popper Etudes, Ralph Kirshbaum, Hannah Roberts, Teaching, Royal Academy of Music, Jennifer Ward-Clarke, Popper|

The Amit Peled Peabody Cello Gang: Closing the Circle — by Amit Peled

Originally posted on Violinist.com. As a student, I was fortunate enough to experience the magic of performing music on stage with my great mentors Bernard Greenhouse, Boris Pergamenschikow, and Laurence Lesser, as well as see how each of them balanced their performing and teaching careers. The difference between listening to them explain how to create a phrase and actually forming that phrase with them on stage was huge and significant. Performing with my teachers was a vastly more effective lesson than a one-on-one in a studio, teaching me “on-the-spot” artistic decision-making, amending each performance to fit the energy of the hall. Ever since those transformative and magical moments, I knew that I would become a teacher and pass on the tradition of sharing music with my own students on stage. [...]

By Amit Peled|2018-12-19T18:15:59-05:00January 6th, 2018|Categories: Artistic Vision, Beyond the Traditional, Chamber Music, Interpersonal Relationships, Repertoire, Teaching, Technology, Videos|Tags: improvement, laurence lesser, Amit Peled, peabody institute, communication, Bach, Bernard Greenhouse, recording, Teaching, nerves, cello ensemble, Popper, performance, spontaneity|

Practicing, Some Practice Advice (Part 1) — by Michael Haber

I've written this brief essay for purely selfish reasons: I like to see my students improve. When they do, I feel happy, they feel happy, I go home for dinner a happy man. What follows is intended to help you organize your practicing, and your thinking about your practicing, in an effective way. Your progress, mine too, depends on the quality and quantity of this work. It's also intended to encourage you to practice, period. Not all of my students are always inclined to work as well and as much as they should. I should confess from the beginning that I have always loved practicing. It is the royal road to instrumental mastery and the incomparable satisfaction of playing music as well as it deserves to be played. I have [...]

By Michael Haber|2024-03-28T00:03:32-04:00September 1st, 2017|Categories: In the Practice Room, Self Discovery, Videos|Tags: scales, trills, Technique, Piatti, Janos, Duport, Starker, Popper, Michael Haber, Practice, setting goals, Gallamian, intonation, Starker method, technical work|

Passing It On — by Brant Taylor

A few weeks back, I was having a post-concert drink with my friend and colleague Joshua Gindele, cellist of the Miro Quartet, and the conversation turned to teaching. Though we are both associated with ensembles that perform dozens of concerts every season, teaching the cello is an important component of both of our musical lives. (Josh teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, and I teach at DePaul University.) Discussions on the general relationship between performing and teaching often give rise to interesting questions, some without straightforward answers. Many performers teach even though the skill sets required for good teaching and good performing are far from identical. If great teaching is something that is learned, when and how are the skills acquired? If a performer is a big star [...]

By Brant Taylor|2017-08-08T01:49:47-04:00February 20th, 2012|Categories: Bernard Greenhouse, Interpersonal Relationships, Janos Starker, Teaching|Tags: Janos, inspiration, Awareness, Starker, Teaching, performance, cello technique, cello, Gregor, cellobello, David, Piatigorsky, Katz, perspective, Popper, music, Bernard, Paul, Brant, Greenhouse, Experience, Development, Taylor, Quartet|