La escuela anatómico-fisiológica de técnica pianística en Inglaterra y Alemania entre 1900 y 1939

Abstract

Abstract: Between 1900 and 1939, teachers from the anatomical-physiological school of piano technique published many treatises in both England and Germany. This thesis focuses on the differences and similarities between four of these which, for the first time, featured descriptions of human anatomy and physiology which are applicable to piano technique. The Act of Touch, by Tobias Augustus Matthay; Die natürliche Klaviertechnik, by Rudolph Maria Breithaupt; The Levinskaya System of Pianoforte Playing, by Maria Levinskaya and Die vollendete Klaviertechnik, by Erwin Johannes Bach. Since all the above authors had different approaches to the subject and were self-proclaimed pioneers of the definitive piano technique, this thesis focuses on the similarities which unify the four theories and also highlights the coincidences and differences between them. The thesis also deals with the work of two of them, who found it very difficult if not impossible to have their work published. This was due to the fact that they belonged to groups which struggled to achieve social acceptance. One of these authors was Maria Levinskaya, a Russian teacher based in England, who had clearly made an impact during her lifetime but whose voice was silenced in later years. The other, Erwin Johannes Bach, was a German pianist and teacher who was persistently and systematically alienated by the National Socialist régime.