Missouri Classical Music News and Notes

All his students learned to do good imitations of Shure's Socratic methods as he grilled us about details in the score. "Tony, what does the B do?," he would ask sternly, pointing to a note. Panic-stricken, I'd answer: "It leads to the C?" Huffing with displeasure, Shure would respond: "Not in my score!" Then he would play the passage in question with such authority, majesty, expressive power and refinement that you felt privileged to be in his presence.

From the master he acquired and passed on a heritage of treating piano music and piano playing itself as a serious artistic undertaking. Both composers and performers, Czerny believed, must learn from the structural integrity of Beethoven's works. Every note must matter. Display for the sake of display should be shunned.