SHOSTAKOVICH AND HIS PUPILS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 438, 14 November 1947, Page 21

SHOSTAKOVICH AND HIS PUPILS

S a footnote to the recent discussion in these columns about Dmitri Shostakovich, the Soviet composer, we have received through the Soviet Legation, Wellington, an article which, we are informed, has just arrived from Moscow and was written by Shostakovich himself. SHOSTAKOVICH begins this article by discussing and describing in some detail the various pupils-all of them young-whom he is now instructing in the Moscow and Leningrad Con- " servatories, where he is in charge of classes on composition. He then goes on to describe his teaching methods: "What are the demands which I make upon my pupils; what are the principles which I have laid down for their guidance? First of all I demand that they write a good deal, constantly, systematically, every day in fact. That was the procedure of Peter Tchaikovski, whom I regard as a phenomenal master of composition. For the sake of practice he wrote a fugue every morning. Have I borrowed that habit from Tchaikovski? Certainly! I have been

doing this for years, and believe that constant training is essential to the composer. The composer must consciously and systematically arm himself with technique if he is not to find himself bankrupt in the hour of inspiration. I demand ‘that my pupils carefully study the works of the classics. The prospective composer may _ indeed enrich himself, and develop his faculties, while preserving his own specific traits, by studying the classics. In my daily work of teaching [ prompt my students to think in truthful, clear, and accessible musical terms expressive of exalted ideas. I study each of my pupils attentively, trying to understand the specific qualities of their talent and help them to find the path to maximum development. The single yardstick is not permissible in art. "Teaching has become a necessity to me and I find deep satisfaction in the knowledge that I am contributing to the growth of the young composers of my country. Working with these gifted young people,’ I frequently find the correct solution to problems evolving from my own ‘compositions."