Tobias Matthay (1858-1945)

Cécile Genhart (1898-1983)

The year 2015 also marks the ninetieth anniversary both of the founding of the American Matthay Association, and the American debut of Cécile Genhart, who first performed in New York in November of 1925. Mme Genhart, who was born Cécile Staub in Basel, Switzerland, was from an intensely musical family, and her father was intimate with some of the greatest musicians of the day—including Max Reger, Fritz Kreisler, Albert Schweitzer, and Walter Gieseking—all of whom were welcome guests in their home. During World War I, she played for both Ferruccio Busoni and Eugen d'Albert in Zurich, and she also studied intensively with Emil Frey, a student of Rudolf Breithaupt. She made her European debut in Zurich in November of 1920, before relocating to Munich to attend the master classes of Josef Pembauer, eventually reaching Berlin in October of 1921, where she became close to Edwin Fischer and his wife. But though she revered Pembauer and Fischer for their musical insights, she felt profoundly disappointed that neither offered any guidance to explain how their effects were achieved at the instrument. In December of 1922, she made her Berlin Philharmonic debut to a packed house under its concertmaster, Otto Marienhagen—deputized to stand in for an ailing Fischer—performing both the Beethoven First and the Brahms Second, and the reviews were marvelous. After she married pianist and conductor Herman Genhart, they both arrived in Rochester in 1924, and less than a year after her Carnegie Hall debut, she joined Eastman's faculty in the fall of 1926. She began studying with Tobias Matthay in 1929, and in her words,"He was the greatest teacher I had ever known. ... If one of the criteria of a great teacher is the ability to make every one of his students play beautifully, then surely Tobias Matthay is master of us all."

To see the program Mrs. Genhart performed for the American Matthay Association in 1944, click here.

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The annual Matthay Festivals are designed to offer participants direct and concentrated access to the Matthay teaching principles as they apply at all levels, including that of the performing artist. Daytime sessions include lectures, demonstrations, performances, and master classes, and a recital is heard each evening. The year 2015 marks the fifty-eighth annual gathering. Previous Matthay Festivals have taken place at many locations throughout North America, including the Philips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, the University of Maryland, the University of Central Florida, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, San Jose State University, Williams College, Pennsylvania State University, the University of South Carolina, Wittenberg University, the University of Kansas, Columbus State University, the University of Richmond, East Carolina University, King College, Union University, Western Carolina University, and Texas Wesleyan University. Because this year the Matthay Association is also honoring the dual legacies of two great teachers, several special events have been planned.

VALERIE TRYON

will be the featured artist at this special 2015 commemorative Matthay Festival. Acclaimed the world over especially for her performances of Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff, she studied at London's Royal Academy of Music with Eric Grant, a devoted pupil of Frederick Moore, who taught at Matthay's School virtually from its founding. The Washington Post has lauded her as an artist who "never strains," adding that "even the most fiendish sections seem simple in her hands," and Harold Schonberg—after praising one of her Chopin recordings as among the best of the decade—added, "The pianist of the past she most reminds me of would be Leopold Godowsky. If I sound excited, I am."

RIGHT: Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music (Click on photo to enlarge)

STEWART GORDON

will be the featured speaker at this special 2015 commemorative Matthay Festival. One of America's most noted pianist/scholars, Dr. Gordon, as Cécile Genhart's biographer, is uniquely qualified to give the Festival's opening presentation. He will also moderate a panel discussion with the participation of some of Mme Genhart's most noted students, all of whom are Eastman alums. Currently Professor of Piano and Keyboard Literature at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, Dr. Gordon is the author of A History of Keyboard Literature (Schirmer, 1996)—considered by most to be the standard work in the field—and has edited all the Beethoven Sonatas for Alfred Masterworks. At present, his edition of the complete Mozart Sonatas, also for Alfred, is in preparation.

LEFT: Sibley Library at the Eastman School of Music

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BARRY SNYDER,

who has served as a professor of piano at the Eastman School since 1970, will present an opening program to begin the Festival on Monday afternoon. Prof. Snyder holds both a B.Mus. and a M.Mus. from Eastman, where he studied extensively with Cécile Genhart. In 1966, he was a triple-prize winner at the Van Cliburn International Competition, receiving the Silver Medal, as well as the Pan-American Union and Chamber Music awards. Barry Snyder has performed and given master classes across Asia, Europe, Australia, and South America. Additionally, he has performed in festivals, including Aspen, Schwetzingen (Germany), Takefu (Japan), the Vienna Summer Festival, Bechyne (Czech Republic), and Shenyang International (China). He has also appeared as a soloist with numerous major orchestras around the world. Other accolades include his listing in the book The Most Wanted Piano Teachers in the United States, the Diapason D’or for recordings of the complete cello and piano works by Fauré with Steven Doane, and the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Teaching Excellence.