Page 48 - The Strad (February 2020)
P. 48
JERRY HORNER
‘TALENT CAN BE A
BLESSING OR IT CAN BE
A CURSE DEPENDING
ON WHETHER OR
NOT IT’S REALISED.
ANOTHER WORD FOR
TALENT IS POTENTIAL’
ʞ 7 VVx )HVB V
The Fine Arts Quartet from 1980–2
(¡'đ ;3 8-+,;): violinists Leonard Sorkin
and Lawrence Shapiro, Laufer and Horner
hygiene, positive mentality and philosophical perspective.’ He
remembers Horner’s sense of curiosity when it came to teaching
methods: ‘At Indiana University Jerry was very inspired by the
excellence of the basketball and swimming and diving
programmes. I believe he had some conversations with the
diving coach, then he started experimenting with applying the
same principles to practising the viola and I was his guinea pig.
We also experimented with new technology – videotape! For
the rst time, video machines were available, and Jerry got the Evans, Boico, Horner and Laufer: the Fine
Arts Quartet lineup from 1983–2000
university to put one in his studio. Amazing! I could use those
images to analyse my position in a more natural way than with
a mirror.’
Silvia Santamaría, rst violinist of the José White Quartet, hundreds of little technical things that can keep you from
which Horner coached in Canada and Mexico, says: ‘Jerry was expressing yourself, but if you correct those technical problems,
not only the José White Quartet’s teacher and mentor, he was it frees you to express what is inside. Importantly, technique has
its father, friend and fth presence. From the beginning and to ring true for the student, otherwise they cannot maintain it.
during these endless teaching sessions, he became our musical So that is where this so-called talent comes in.’
and personal reference. e José White Quartet is an extension
of his immense wisdom and, thanks to him, we became artists THE PRACTICE ENVIRONMENT MUST
as individuals and as a group.’ $'ǡ5#(' #0& ,7&)'/'06 (4''
When teaching, Horner was frequently asked by students how
uring his lifetime Horner developed a philosophy of to avoid anxiety on stage. He responded: ‘Anxiety is present
teaching, learning, musicality and dedication. Some of where there is a fallacy or a hopeless situation. So very often the
D his chief convictions as a teacher are outlined here, as student will blame themselves – that is where the fallacy exists.’
recorded by his widow Margaret Clements. In lessons he would emphasise to students how important it is
to remain free of excessive judgement, reiterating continually that
TALENT IS POTENTIAL ‘the whole process of learning is a process of making and Һ c
Һ
To Horner, talent was nothing more than potential. He would correcting mistakes. For example, an in-tune note is one kind of
often say that he felt it was like a ‘monkey on your back’, information and an out-of-tune note is another kind of
explaining: ‘Talent can be a blessing or it can be a curse depending information. Both are valuable to me. A mistake, in truth, is a
on whether or not it’s realised. Another word for talent is potential.’ valuable thing.’ He believed we should welcome mistakes as it
Although he would frequently say that technique demanded gives us a chance to repeat the passage again. He stressed: ‘Only
talent, he believed that technical achievements must be repetition of the dicult passage in the practice room, having
accomplished from a foundation of inspiration or idealism. worked out the technical details, will build security into that
‘e very rst ideal is in the notion of what is a beautiful sound’, passage. When students practise with anxiety – even if the anxiety
he said. ‘Playing must be in the service of that ideal. ere are is about something else altogether – it will inevitably manifest
46 THE STRAD FEBRUARY 2020 www.thestrad.com
