Malwine
Brée, The Groundwork of the Leschetizky
Method (New York: Haskell House, 1969)
Issued
originally in German in 1902, this book was
approved by Leschetizky and written by his
longtime assistant Malwine Brée. She
had learned the method from Leschetizky in
St. Petersburg, Russia, and later in Vienna
prepared hundreds of students to study with
the master. Leschetizky was "no friend
of theoretical Piano-Methods" but did
accept that everything printed reflected his
personal views on training to play the piano.
He was especially delighted that Brée
used pictures of his own hands.
We
can see that circularity is one dimension
of his method in chapter 26 on "Practice
and Study:" "Thought is most essential
in the study of pieces. I lay stress on memorizing,
because it is the best way to possess one's
self permanently of a new piece. Go about
it as follows: Read (play) it through only
once, so as not to grow accustomed to faulty
fingering; then take up one measure at a time,
analyze it harmonically, and determine the
fingering and pedaling. Abstain for the present
from fine shading and emotion, until Matter
is conquered. Now read your practice measure
through carefully and repeatedly with the
eye, until the notes stand out clearly before
your mental vision, and name the notes a few
times either aloud or mentally; and then--not
before--play the measure from memory, but
no faster than memory can dictate the notes.
When you can play the piece faultlessly by
heart, add a new portion playing the piece
from the beginning. The next day you will
re-memorize it rapidly. This is "memorizing
in the form of addition.