During the last school year when Leonard Sharrow spent several months in Europe on a sabbatical leave from his bassoon teaching post at Indiana University, his students had the unprecedented (in America) opportunity to study with not one but two other well-known bassoon performer/teachers, Milan Turkovic of Vienna (fall term) and William Waterhouse of London (spring and summer terms).
From a student's point of view I feel sure that the year gave a broader view of fine bassoon playing than most of us ever experienced in our training. An important aspect of the year was the performance by the guest lecturers in solo and ensemble recitals at the university, from which the students could best understand and assess the performing natures of their overseas professors.
Here are some comments and reactions from our visiting colleagues following their first experience with students in a U.S. professional music school of first rank. I find them very interesting and in general agreement with my ideas on the strengths and weaknesses of my university-aged students. I hope that all North American bassoon students reading these observations will consider them in the light of their own progress so far and begin to see new possibilities for improvement.
Generally I think that the standard of playing at the bassoon class there is a little above the international standard. I could also say that after my experience the best students there are better than the best students in my country, but the worst students represent a lower level than ours do. I think this has much to do with the early music education on both sides of the ocean as well as with the cultural background and the difference of "tradition" which makes our weak students able to start with a relatively high background. On the other hand I think that the lack of "tradition" sometimes helps the good and talented U.S. students to develop their abilities faster! I was very impressed about the beautiful and often very personal sound of some students. I was also very happy about the approach to studying of most of the 17 students.
There were more problems than expected with the very low knowledge about theory of some students, who had unnecessarily hard troubles playing Milde because they could not analyse chords. I also had the impression that there could generally be more flexibility concerning staccato; therefore I let them do many staccato exercises as well as breathing exercises.
The two chamber music groups I worked with gave me a delightful time. They really tried harder and they played two beautiful concerts.
There is one most interesting difference from teaching in a big (European) city, I noticed. Since most of the students are far away from home when they are studying at a university (like big I.U. at small Bloomington), the teacher has to take much care of their personal problems. So you sometimes feel or have to substitute for father, or mother, or psychologist.
It was for me a privilege indeed to teach at a prestigious institution like Indiana University and work with the students of such a justly famous teacher. For them in principle a temporary change of instructor can be stimulating and of value; only for the less able is the inevitable break in continuity liable to slow the rate of progress. My general impression was of open-minded interest and receptiveness to what often appeared unfamiliar notions.
As the visiting stranger - and in many ways W. Europe and England seem at a far remove from the Mid-West - I was in a good position to make inevitable but seldom odious comparisons. The keenness and dedication of the students was impressive; perhaps in part due to the fact that in contrast to their opposite numbers in Europe, it was their own money that was being spent; also to the greater degree of competition at all levels (though I found the long-term professional prospects together with the inherent implications very disturbing). The high standard of instruments in use was very gratifying.
Differences in playing techniques I noticed included: venting of the high register, infrequent recourse to wing keys for the middle notes, position of thumb for the lowest notes, stopping notes exclusively with the breath, discarding of the hand rest, reliance on foot-tapping for rhythm, musical expression bearing little relation to vocal style. Many of the problems I encountered were, I felt, being caused by incompatibility of design of instrument to the player; a strained playing position causing inefficient breath technique; a steep reed angle coupled to a retracted jaw causing an inflexible embouchure and difficulties of articulation.
However, it will be a sad day when all of us everywhere play the same way and make the same sort of noise - though I'm glad that at least England and the U.S. agree on A = 440!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues in America for their friendliness and kindness, which made my stay so enjoyable.